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I think it's mainly a matter of speed. A little 15 mph robot just fits best in the bike lane. If the robot was a 30 mph moped, then they belong in the street.

I think it's mainly a matter of speed. A little 15 mph robot just fits best in the bike lane. If the robot was a 30 mph moped, then they belong in the street. Also, if e-bikes and bike-speed robots become really numerous in the bike lanes, that should motivate more creation and better maintenance of bike lanes. I'd much rather bike in the street versus the sidewalk. The sidewalk is just far slower and more treacherous. No one rushes in a truck fix a hole or branch blocking a sidewalk. In a car-based country, you want to be included with the favored mode of travel, even if you're second-class there.

ineptech 5y ago
> Also, if e-bikes and bike-speed robots become really numerous in the bike lanes, that should motivate more creation and better maintenance of bike lanes. Bike lanes aren't, like, a natural resource to be shared. Cyclists fought hard to get them, in order to cycle on, and now we need to get crowded out of them to subsidize a startup on the theory that, once we can't use the bike lanes, we'll complain some more and maybe get as much space as we have today? I mean, I like pizza and startups and pizza startups and I don't blame them for trying, but my reaction is a very strong fuck no. If you want to use the bike lane, build a pizza delivery robot that can ride a bike.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  > If you want to use the bike lane, build a pizza delivery robot that can ride a bike. How do you feel about bikes with sidecars?
  - thatcat 5y ago
    That's not a cycle. Ithas poor turning and is too wide.
    - Dylan16807 5y ago
      By "that" do you mean bikes with sidecars? Not allowing those is pretty rude. If you mean the current robot, it could surely be redesigned.
      - thatcat 5y ago
        Sorry, it just initially seemed to me that those would inherently be a problem due to the additional width and the narrowness of bike lanes. Maybe things are different in your area but it's like 2-3 ft. wide where I'm at. The idea of a side mount robot that pedals your bike and controls it, if that's what you're thinking, sounds pretty cool tho and could work if narrow enough.
joe_the_user 5y ago
I think it's mainly a matter of speed. A little 15 mph robot just fits best in the bike lane. If the robot was a 30 mph moped, then they belong in the street. -- I took your stuff 'cause it was the stuff that fit me the best. Just because it's convenient to the robot be in the bike lane doesn't mean the robot has a right seize the bike lane.
tartoran 5y ago
Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? The pizza delivery robot is a solution to an already solved problem and which creates problems for everybody else. The bike lane is for bicyclists and the like, no autonomous motorized things should be on them, bicyclists requested them for a long time and finally have them. If the robo-delivery things prove so popular they may apply for their own type of lanes
- crackercrews 5y ago
  > Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? Because the business plan that they sold VCs on involves autonomous delivery, of course.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  > Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? ...are you asking why autonomous robots exist? Like, at all?
  - bordercases 5y ago
    No, just in this case.
- jayd16 5y ago
  >Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? Humans cost $30k+ a year, no?
  - II2II 5y ago
    No. Restaurant delivery is not a full time job and it is not a job that pays particularly well, particularly after factoring in expenses. Tips may make up for some of that, but it is an expense for the customer rather than the restaurant. Autonomous delivery also has questionable benefits. Moving at 15 MPH, and likely being prohibited from using certain roads, means several vehicles would take the place of the more traditional delivery driver in a car. The restaurant would also be responsible for paying for upkeep of these vehicles. (If they have contracts with a company to operate these vehicles, they would be more aggressive at recovering their expenses than the typical owner-operator delivery driver.)
Johnny555 5y ago
Then why not make them 30 mph robots? If a 15 mph robot is safe sharing the bike lanes with cyclists, why can't they make a 30mph robot that can share the lanes with cars? Even if the robots are in the bike lanes, they still have to contend with cars and pedestrians.
- unishark 5y ago
  Well there's cost. If you only allow cars (and of course there are lots of self-driving car startups and corporate initiatives too) then delivery robots will be limited to bigger richer companies with small businesses at a disadvantage.
- thatcat 5y ago
  BC these foos don't want to comply with stricter regulation that would apply to cars.
stingrae 5y ago
the problem is it needs to adjust speed based on the bikes around it. 15mph in all cases is a disaster if it is unsafe to pass.

ineptech 5y ago

> Also, if e-bikes and bike-speed robots become really numerous in the bike lanes, that should motivate more creation and better maintenance of bike lanes. Bike lanes aren't, like, a natural resource to be shared. Cyclists fought hard to get them, in order to cycle on, and now we need to get crowded out of them to subsidize a startup on the theory that, once we can't use the bike lanes, we'll complain some more and maybe get as much space as we have today? I mean, I like pizza and startups and pizza startups and I don't blame them for trying, but my reaction is a very strong fuck no. If you want to use the bike lane, build a pizza delivery robot that can ride a bike.

Dylan16807 5y ago
> If you want to use the bike lane, build a pizza delivery robot that can ride a bike. How do you feel about bikes with sidecars?
- thatcat 5y ago
  That's not a cycle. Ithas poor turning and is too wide.
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    By "that" do you mean bikes with sidecars? Not allowing those is pretty rude. If you mean the current robot, it could surely be redesigned.
    - thatcat 5y ago
      Sorry, it just initially seemed to me that those would inherently be a problem due to the additional width and the narrowness of bike lanes. Maybe things are different in your area but it's like 2-3 ft. wide where I'm at. The idea of a side mount robot that pedals your bike and controls it, if that's what you're thinking, sounds pretty cool tho and could work if narrow enough.

joe_the_user 5y ago

I think it's mainly a matter of speed. A little 15 mph robot just fits best in the bike lane. If the robot was a 30 mph moped, then they belong in the street. -- I took your stuff 'cause it was the stuff that fit me the best. Just because it's convenient to the robot be in the bike lane doesn't mean the robot has a right seize the bike lane.

tartoran 5y ago

Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? The pizza delivery robot is a solution to an already solved problem and which creates problems for everybody else. The bike lane is for bicyclists and the like, no autonomous motorized things should be on them, bicyclists requested them for a long time and finally have them. If the robo-delivery things prove so popular they may apply for their own type of lanes

crackercrews 5y ago
> Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? Because the business plan that they sold VCs on involves autonomous delivery, of course.
Dylan16807 5y ago
> Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? ...are you asking why autonomous robots exist? Like, at all?
- bordercases 5y ago
  No, just in this case.
jayd16 5y ago
>Why not send a bicyclist to deliver pizza then? Humans cost $30k+ a year, no?
- II2II 5y ago
  No. Restaurant delivery is not a full time job and it is not a job that pays particularly well, particularly after factoring in expenses. Tips may make up for some of that, but it is an expense for the customer rather than the restaurant. Autonomous delivery also has questionable benefits. Moving at 15 MPH, and likely being prohibited from using certain roads, means several vehicles would take the place of the more traditional delivery driver in a car. The restaurant would also be responsible for paying for upkeep of these vehicles. (If they have contracts with a company to operate these vehicles, they would be more aggressive at recovering their expenses than the typical owner-operator delivery driver.)

Johnny555 5y ago

Then why not make them 30 mph robots? If a 15 mph robot is safe sharing the bike lanes with cyclists, why can't they make a 30mph robot that can share the lanes with cars? Even if the robots are in the bike lanes, they still have to contend with cars and pedestrians.

unishark 5y ago
Well there's cost. If you only allow cars (and of course there are lots of self-driving car startups and corporate initiatives too) then delivery robots will be limited to bigger richer companies with small businesses at a disadvantage.
thatcat 5y ago
BC these foos don't want to comply with stricter regulation that would apply to cars.

stingrae 5y ago

the problem is it needs to adjust speed based on the bikes around it. 15mph in all cases is a disaster if it is unsafe to pass.