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We should put self driving cars on tracks so they are always out of the way and have easily predictable behavior. Maybe we can even link the cars together for e
by Zambyte 10mo ago
We should put self driving cars on tracks so they are always out of the way and have easily predictable behavior. Maybe we can even link the cars together for efficiency or something like that.
- quantified 10mo agoSlot cars at the grown-up level.
- pokstad 10mo agoMaybe we can do away with the expensive battery if we feed power to these cars using overhead cables.
- dzhiurgis 10mo agoAt this point overhead cables are likely many orders more expensive. Buses in Paris run with IIRC 60kWh battery and pantograph charger at every other station. Packs (not cells) recently dropped to below $100 kWh. At $6k thats probably what city pays for couple of replacement seats (gold plating et all).
- sofixa 10mo agoMaybe even put them on steel wheels on steel tracks, to make them more efficient.
- Imustaskforhelp 10mo agoHave something like metro (maglev trains) too as they are more efficient than steel wheels on steel tracks. Public transport for things like metro/trains/trams/buses are honestly underrated.
- voidfunc 10mo agoRugged American Individualism and Capitalism doesn't allow us to have things like that. We must always be in our individual bubbles away from the filthy poors.
- rcxdude 10mo agoIf you're happy to put those tracks on every road, sure. I wonder why no-one's bothered with that before.
- Zambyte 10mo agoSorry if you're playing in to the joke, I can't tell. Streetcars / trams were widely deployed before they were ripped out for the car, driven by lobbyists interested in selling cars. Wondering why no one has bothered with that is starting from a false premise, because people have bothered with that.
- rcxdude 10mo agoI'm well aware that there are multiple options for public transport, but none of them are actually as flexible or as far reaching as cars/taxis. To me this 'but why not trains' on every article about self-driving cars is a tired meme that fails to address that these are not equivalent options. I might as well say "Well, why don't we get rid of these expensive rails and fixed timetables and just lay down some cheap concrete and let people navigate how they want" in just as condescending a tone and be equally as unconvincing.
- trymas 10mo agoIt shouldn't be all black and white (either 100% car use or 100% public transport use). If you're rural - of course this probably doesn't apply. If you're suburban - "park and ride" type of thing solves a lot of problems in western Europe already. Drive to nearest hub, hop on a train (that is included in your parking ticket) that has bigger bandwidth comparable up to a 30 lane highway[1], also don't worry about parking in dense downtown as a benefit. If you're urban, city planners should plan public transport network dense enough so you could walk - at worst do "park and ride" thing again. Of course there are cases where car still may be fastest and most convenient way to reach your destination (e.g. if you're suburban and need to go to other suburban town), but in big cities (individual) car travel should be a minority. Compare Japan's, China's mega cities. Whole countries like Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, to LA, SF or other USA's mega cities. It just falls to the Onion trope of `'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens`. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_capacity#/media/File:Passenger_Capacity_of_different_Transport_Modes.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_capacity#/media/File:Pas...
- beAbU 10mo agoYou can further optimize the setup by not installing engines/motors in all of them. So maybe you have one car providing locomotion, with the rest following behind and designed for carrying.
- philistine 10mo agoIf we do all of that, then we won't need to train them to know how to operate in traffic. Perhaps we can give them a name in honour of that fact?
- culi 10mo agountrains!
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- cr125rider 10mo agoAnd all the power could just come from a few large centralized facilities that are super efficient. We could just use thin strands of metal to get it to the vehicles over head…
- fragmede 10mo agoOf course, the maintenance on those wires outside of the city means that you'd make electric trains with large batteries on them instead. https://evmagazine.com/articles/tesla-launches-first-all-electric-train-in-germany https://evmagazine.com/articles/tesla-launches-first-all-ele...
- beAbU 10mo agoI don't think I buy BEV trains to be honest. I'm struggling to think of a proper reason why they might be better compared to normal electric trains. But the linked article is pretty light on info, so I'll reserve judgement till more info comes to light.
- asdfasvea 10mo agoFast forward to blackjack and hookers.
- warmedcookie 10mo agoIn the original Sim City, having your city entirely use tracks instead of roads was superior because there was no traffic congestion from tracks
- jrs235 10mo agoAnd less pollution from cars.
- will4274 10mo agoIt's tedious to see these same sarcastic comments on every self driving car story. Yes. Buses and trains exist. When you link the cars together, they usually switch to a hub that's a 10-15 minute walk from your destination instead of your destination and the compartments are occasionally shared with unstable and violent people, which while possibly "efficient" in some metrics, are downsides that many people would rather avoid. Personal compartments are a real differentiating advantage.
- ailurooo 10mo agoviolent unstable people aren't inherent to cities.. they're inherent to places that refuse to spend any money on social work/housing/and enjoy punishing people
- rangestransform 10mo agoI would rather pick to not be subjected to them than to be subjected to them. NYC spends over 40k/homeless person and I still have to be subjected to them, even though I paid enough taxes to wash my hands of the issue morally
- mint5 10mo ago“10-15 minute walk” A quaintly American complaint. A 10 minute walk being an issue is very a learned helplessness my fellow Americans suffer from. But unfortunately the 10-15 min walk is only possible in a couple cities. most Americans day to day experience of public transit is spaced out buses that don’t work well for single family sprawl and strip malls parking lots where walking is treated as undesirable. Car oriented rather than people oriented urban planning (or lack thereof) is the original cause.
- rangestransform 10mo agoIt could be 10-15min where I am blasted by -10c wind in Boston or Miami torrential rains Door to door shelter and climate control >>>>>>>>>>>
- NetMageSCW 10mo agoHow long do you think it will take you to get across town if you have to wait through a stop on every block? Better leave now for you doctor’s appointment tomorrow and I hope you scheduled three days off from work.