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How about trains of vehicles that are automatically driven, can spit apart and only pieces with people in that that want to stop, stop, and the rest of the trai
by njarboe 8y ago
How about trains of vehicles that are automatically driven, can spit apart and only pieces with people in that that want to stop, stop, and the rest of the train just keeps moving? You could even let people pay extra to have a train car just to themselves and their friends. It would never have to stop for other people and go directly to where the group of people wanted to go. These train cars could even be designed to run on public streets and you could take it from the train tracks onto the road system. People could maybe, if they thought it was worth it, even own their individual train cars. They might like to carry around lots of stuff or pick up some furniture or a pile of groceries. Who knows. With such flexible train cars, most people might like using the train.
- adrianN 8y agoThat's a nice idea. However, it requires a lot of technology that we currently don't have. Given that building new underground lines in cities is already a project that takes more at least a decade from planning to finishing, I don't think waiting for a) self driving technology to mature (this includes regulatory approval!), and b) self driving technology becoming cheap enough to compete with rail, is a good idea if you want to prevent total traffic breakdown in the face of continuing urbanization.
- njarboe 8y agoSelf-driving vehicles already work really great in a controlled environment like a well marked single lane tunnel. The tech to do this is already here. The Boring Company has recently announced a Dodger Stadium to Red line tunnel project. Construction time estimated at 14 months. If it is running two years from now, that might get people think about new time frames for tunnel projects. Hope it works.