> I sort of find the idea of self-driving cars as ... selfish? >Don't want to drive, take the bus. A big issue with public transport is the “first/last mile” p

> I sort of find the idea of self-driving cars as ... selfish? >Don't want to drive, take the bus. A big issue with public transport is the “first/last mile” problem. You want to take the light rail to commute 25 miles to work but the station is two miles away from your house and the closest station to your work is over a mile. “Just walk” does not work for everyone, either because of weather (getting soaked by rain or sweating too much in your work clothes), or physical abilities, or time. So are you looking to take the bus to the station and from the station to work? How much time does that add? Do the schedules even line up well? If you buy a bike, is it allowed on the light rail, is there a safe place at your work for it? Do you drive a car and leave it at the station, and what do you do on the other side to get to the office? Autonomous vehicles can/should be used in conjunction with public transport to solve the first/last mile problem. Hail a small electric autonomous car to take you to the light rail station, and hop into another one at the other end that takes you directly to work. It is still convenient for the individual and it still eliminates 23 miles of vehicle driving in a dense urban environment and removes the need for a parking space in a location that space is likely a premium. Same with busses. They take forever because they have to stop so often. They have to stop so often because people can’t walk long distances to a more central location for pickup. People in the lowest incomes that, out of necessity, have to use the bus system may commute for multiple hours simply because of these inefficiencies. But if you had small 10 person shuttles servicing a limited area to bring local people to and from their front door to a more central bus location, you could reduce the number of stops a bus makes over a commuter distance by an order of magnitude and turn a 2 hour commute into a 40 minute commute.