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Public transportation could take the form of government-owned fleets of self-driving electric cars :) I love going directly from point A to B in a private spac
by mrshadowgoose 4y ago
Public transportation could take the form of government-owned fleets of self-driving electric cars :)
I love going directly from point A to B in a private space and I'm not ashamed to admit it. This provides value to my life in the form of comfort and convenience, factors that are so frequently waved away as irrelevant by anyone screaming "car culture".
However, it's admittedly obscene that for this privledge, my vehicle sits unused most of the time. I'd be more than happy to have a non-owned electric vehicle show up when I need it, take me to my destination, and then proceed to help someone else with their journey.
- Akronymus 4y ago> I love going directly from point A to B in a private space and I'm not ashamed to admit it. This provides value to my life in the form of comfort and convenience, factors that are so frequently waved away as irrelevant by anyone screaming "car culture". Its not irrelevant. But driving becomes better the less people are taking cars. So, even for people who would never take public transport or something like that, its beneficial to invest in it. Being able to take a car is a freedom, HAVING to take one isn't.
- thescriptkiddie 4y ago> Public transportation could take the form of government-owned fleets of self-driving electric cars It absolutely could not, here simply is not enough space for all those cars. A heavy rail metro line can carry up to 60 thousand passengers per hour per direction, which is the equivalent of a 30 lane highway.
- ironmagma 4y agoWho says the self driving vehicles won’t be articulated buses?
- asdff 4y agoEvery company currently trying to sell a self driving car
- ironmagma 4y agoJust because that’s the current market strategy doesn’t mean governments won’t hire those companies on contracts to run buses. It would be a lot cheaper than paying human drivers most likely, but even more than that it’s probably easier to build and maintain a bus and dedicated tunnel/lane than it is to build and maintain a railroad track.
- asdff 4y agoPeople claim its an easy pivot all the time but these sorts of industries just do not seem to overlap, and these companies today seem to have zero interest making a go at this sector. There is no tesla articulated bus or a ford articulated bus. Maybe driverless busses will happen, but will it be waymo or anyone available on the market today? I doubt it. I would think it would be whoever makes an articulated bus today licensing that tech from whoever based on the fact that no one in the car market cares to bother with the articulated bus market today.
- ironmagma 4y agoWhether it’s the specific car companies that exist now is sort of uninteresting to me, I guess. Once AVs are deployed, the whole sector becomes way less risky because there is an example of a successful business model, and more funding can be attracted by various parties to support more AV development, both by startups and governments. Either way, the exact vendor of the vehicle is a matter of trivia to the AV company, since the majority of the hard work goes into the software. Private companies have been servicing government contracts for decades, so I think it would happen if a government wanted it to.
- fhsm 4y agoSame observed facts but different conclusion… As a commitment device I now put junk food on top of my shopping. The judgment of my fitter fellow train riding citizens helps me realize my aspirations of health. That said, I paid a lot to live right by a good stop on a good line b/c I too like directness.
- JKCalhoun 4y agoSounds just like a taxi with a discreet driver.