4 ms·

If the same car can do 20 trips on its own that graphic looks completely different.

dragontamer 7y ago
Because now 20 cars will hold less than 20 people on the average. 20 cars on the road with many of them autonomous may only have 15 or maybe only 10 people.
- zaroth 7y ago
  It’s a good point, but counting the taxi driver as increasing efficiency is disingenuous.
  - dragontamer 7y ago
    Taxis are an invalid alternative. The truly "Green" alternatives are electric scooters, bikes, busses, and subways. Electric scooters seem to be the winner in point-to-point movement within a city, although we're going to need to figure out proper safety regulations moving forward (scooter speed limits, road vs sidewalk, etc. etc.) Although still immature, the explosion of scooter-based inner city travel gives me a lot of optimism to that methodology. 20 people on 20 scooters will be more space efficient, cheaper, and environmentally friendly. They move slower than cars, but seem ideal for urban point-to-point travel under 2 miles. Apparently, Segway had the right idea (but the tech wasn't mature enough. Modern Li-Ion batteries + Scooter rentals + Scooter Ride Sharing apps didn't exist in the 00s, but today make it a reasonable technology to use). ------------- Given a good enough bus network, scooters should work for Point-to-bus-to-point travel, or Point-to-subway-to-point travel, since they're small enough to carry in a backpack.
    - zaroth 7y ago
      I think this is just wildly out of touch. Yes, a family of 4 with two small children, getting around on buses and scooters carried in their backpacks.
      - dragontamer 7y ago
        Children in my area are largely carried around in school busses. I couldn't drive in High School and relied upon walking to the bus stop. There are unorganized groups ("groups of friends") who travel together from bus-stop back into their neighborhoods. This is just walking. And I don't think I grew up in a very urban area. --------- Scooters are helpful when walking further distances for personal city travel. But... when it comes to school, busses are extremely efficient at the job. Probably the best at the job: a large group of people are getting to the same location at roughly the same time.

Because now 20 cars will hold less than 20 people on the average. 20 cars on the road with many of them autonomous may only have 15 or maybe only 10 people.

zaroth 7y ago
It’s a good point, but counting the taxi driver as increasing efficiency is disingenuous.
- dragontamer 7y ago
  Taxis are an invalid alternative. The truly "Green" alternatives are electric scooters, bikes, busses, and subways. Electric scooters seem to be the winner in point-to-point movement within a city, although we're going to need to figure out proper safety regulations moving forward (scooter speed limits, road vs sidewalk, etc. etc.) Although still immature, the explosion of scooter-based inner city travel gives me a lot of optimism to that methodology. 20 people on 20 scooters will be more space efficient, cheaper, and environmentally friendly. They move slower than cars, but seem ideal for urban point-to-point travel under 2 miles. Apparently, Segway had the right idea (but the tech wasn't mature enough. Modern Li-Ion batteries + Scooter rentals + Scooter Ride Sharing apps didn't exist in the 00s, but today make it a reasonable technology to use). ------------- Given a good enough bus network, scooters should work for Point-to-bus-to-point travel, or Point-to-subway-to-point travel, since they're small enough to carry in a backpack.
  - zaroth 7y ago
    I think this is just wildly out of touch. Yes, a family of 4 with two small children, getting around on buses and scooters carried in their backpacks.
    - dragontamer 7y ago
      Children in my area are largely carried around in school busses. I couldn't drive in High School and relied upon walking to the bus stop. There are unorganized groups ("groups of friends") who travel together from bus-stop back into their neighborhoods. This is just walking. And I don't think I grew up in a very urban area. --------- Scooters are helpful when walking further distances for personal city travel. But... when it comes to school, busses are extremely efficient at the job. Probably the best at the job: a large group of people are getting to the same location at roughly the same time.