6 ms·

Tesla being irresponsible about this aside, self-driving cars/transportation have existed for years - it's called rail. Yes, yes - there will always be room fo

Tesla being irresponsible about this aside, self-driving cars/transportation have existed for years - it's called rail. Yes, yes - there will always be room for personal vehicles. But this conundrum is the epitome of excessive and terrible infrastructure design, to the N-th layer. Look at how much fuss this causes when it's better replaced by competent public transit. Mark it as another useless invention to paper over a huge crack just so we can continue to sell everyone a car.

gremloni 5y ago
I hate the constraint of public transportation and I suspect I’m not the only one.
- sasaf5 5y ago
  I hate the constraints of private transportation more.
- estaseuropano 5y ago
  Is that a problem of public transport in general or just of the public transport available to you? In most European cities e.g. buses have separate lanes and go every 10 minutes bringing you often faster to your destination than a private car can, not even counting the cost and time burden of finding parking, maintaining your car, insurance, ... It all depends on your local context, but where I live there is great and cheap transport and if I have a need for a car I can get one from stations across the city for 2-5€/hour + 1-3c/km, significantly cheaper than even a fully paid off car would be for the same trip, if you count insurance, maintenance, and petrol.
  - gremloni 5y ago
    It’s not so much about the price or availability. I just prefer to have my own space and not have to share a resource and be in a crowd while traveling.
agumonkey 5y ago
also bike/ebike in dense urban areas it's a serious contender (free health, free workout, free meditation, near zero cost for the non-e bike, faster in traffic jams)
NoblePublius 5y ago
Trains go from a place you don’t want to leave from to another place you don’t want to go at a time you don’t want to leave. Now imagine instead of rails, we built roads (much cheaper) only for autopilot vehicles (including busses or whatever proletarian fantasy you prefer). You’re welcome.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- andbberger 5y ago
  people just love to hate trains
- sofixa 5y ago
  Or they're built with some sense and actually cover the population's needs. I wonder how it is that trains are so successful across Europe and Asia, but are a proletarian fantasy that couldn't possibly work in the US.
  - djbebs 5y ago
    Trains aren't sucessful in europe. They are a massive drain of resources that survive primarily as a result of subsidies and government policy. The US ironically has a much more efficient and sustainable train network, it's just that the thing trains are really efficient at is cargo, not personal transportation.
    - andbberger 5y ago
      Roads aren't sucessful in the US. They are a massive drain of resources that survive primarily as a result of subsidies and government policy.
    - goos 5y ago
      Are you implying that being successful and receiving subsidies are mutually exclusive? In which case the petroleum industry would like to have a word with you. Much like with healthcare, European countries (generally) tend to think that it's decent idea to spend government resources to provide value to their citizen. Having regularly commuted using trains in Europe for a decade and a half, I would argue they are a pretty great, comfortable mode of transportation – and I can feel slightly more at ease knowing I'm not contributing as much to our carbon emissions.
mrb 5y ago
Your post sounds to me like the famous first impression about the Apple iPod release «No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.»
dzhiurgis 5y ago
1 mile of rail costs same as 20,000 Tesla's...
- sofixa 5y ago
  And the Teslas need expensive highways to run on. You should be comparing highway vs rail, and Tesla vs train. A railway has a much higher and faster capacity, even if it does indeed cost that much ( it doesn't, it varies highly based on terrain, conditions, regulatory framework, etc.).
  - Ekaros 5y ago
    Not to forget the grid. You need local powerplant or grid to be accessible at least so often for Tesla to operate at all.
- estaseuropano 5y ago
  Road, policing, signage, emergency services, ... Not even counting the loss of space and air pollution you are much cheaper in the long term with rail.

gremloni 5y ago

I hate the constraint of public transportation and I suspect I’m not the only one.

sasaf5 5y ago
I hate the constraints of private transportation more.
estaseuropano 5y ago
Is that a problem of public transport in general or just of the public transport available to you? In most European cities e.g. buses have separate lanes and go every 10 minutes bringing you often faster to your destination than a private car can, not even counting the cost and time burden of finding parking, maintaining your car, insurance, ... It all depends on your local context, but where I live there is great and cheap transport and if I have a need for a car I can get one from stations across the city for 2-5€/hour + 1-3c/km, significantly cheaper than even a fully paid off car would be for the same trip, if you count insurance, maintenance, and petrol.
- gremloni 5y ago
  It’s not so much about the price or availability. I just prefer to have my own space and not have to share a resource and be in a crowd while traveling.

agumonkey 5y ago

also bike/ebike in dense urban areas it's a serious contender (free health, free workout, free meditation, near zero cost for the non-e bike, faster in traffic jams)

NoblePublius 5y ago

Trains go from a place you don’t want to leave from to another place you don’t want to go at a time you don’t want to leave. Now imagine instead of rails, we built roads (much cheaper) only for autopilot vehicles (including busses or whatever proletarian fantasy you prefer). You’re welcome.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
andbberger 5y ago
people just love to hate trains
sofixa 5y ago
Or they're built with some sense and actually cover the population's needs. I wonder how it is that trains are so successful across Europe and Asia, but are a proletarian fantasy that couldn't possibly work in the US.
- djbebs 5y ago
  Trains aren't sucessful in europe. They are a massive drain of resources that survive primarily as a result of subsidies and government policy. The US ironically has a much more efficient and sustainable train network, it's just that the thing trains are really efficient at is cargo, not personal transportation.
  - andbberger 5y ago
    Roads aren't sucessful in the US. They are a massive drain of resources that survive primarily as a result of subsidies and government policy.
  - goos 5y ago
    Are you implying that being successful and receiving subsidies are mutually exclusive? In which case the petroleum industry would like to have a word with you. Much like with healthcare, European countries (generally) tend to think that it's decent idea to spend government resources to provide value to their citizen. Having regularly commuted using trains in Europe for a decade and a half, I would argue they are a pretty great, comfortable mode of transportation – and I can feel slightly more at ease knowing I'm not contributing as much to our carbon emissions.

mrb 5y ago

Your post sounds to me like the famous first impression about the Apple iPod release «No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.»

dzhiurgis 5y ago

1 mile of rail costs same as 20,000 Tesla's...

sofixa 5y ago
And the Teslas need expensive highways to run on. You should be comparing highway vs rail, and Tesla vs train. A railway has a much higher and faster capacity, even if it does indeed cost that much ( it doesn't, it varies highly based on terrain, conditions, regulatory framework, etc.).
- Ekaros 5y ago
  Not to forget the grid. You need local powerplant or grid to be accessible at least so often for Tesla to operate at all.
estaseuropano 5y ago
Road, policing, signage, emergency services, ... Not even counting the loss of space and air pollution you are much cheaper in the long term with rail.