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Seems like a hard business proposition. Huge infrastructure investment upfront, heavy maintenance needed, you get a very inflexible system, etc. Not to mention,
by GuiA 6y ago
Seems like a hard business proposition. Huge infrastructure investment upfront, heavy maintenance needed, you get a very inflexible system, etc. Not to mention, what happens when Amazon uses 99% of the capacity and you can’t get your package through?
It’s hard to beat trucks and minimum wage drivers (and everyone’s hoping that the “driver” part of the equation will be removed sooner rather than later)
If we’re going super future, drones seem more plausible.
- crazygringo 6y agoI don't know though. If they're just "dumb" tubes with smart commoditized capsules, it seems like maintenance could be relatively low. And obviously Amazon using 99% capacity isn't a worry because 1) it would have to be built for full demand for a planned population and 2) in times of over-demand, market-based pricing simply selects consumers willing to pay the most. Beating trucks and minimum wage drivers has to happen at some point. Drones might be useful in suburbs and more rural areas, but I'm trying to imagine constant swarms of them all day long over Manhattan and it looks like a nightmare to me.