Good point. I was already thinking that taxis have an issue with peak demand, but I was only thinking of the capacity, I didn't consider the return trip. One o

Good point. I was already thinking that taxis have an issue with peak demand, but I was only thinking of the capacity, I didn't consider the return trip. One option is to mix public transport with driverless taxis - consolidate public transportation into fewer, bigger routes (knocking down costs), then use driverless taxis for short trips to the station. A little inconvenient to add 1-2 extra transfers to your trip, though. There's also the opportunity to automate carpooling, but that's not quite the same - it's just moving a little further on the flexibility <-> efficiency scale of transportation (where individual vehicles are furthest left and trains are furthest right). Even if you're just sharing a taxi with 2-3 other commuters, you're still sacrificing the convenience of leaving at the time of your choice and having privacy during the trip - though of course for a big price discount.