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That is easily solved the good old fashioned way - through prices. Charge more during the most popular times. Also note that the vehicles can spontaneously ca

That is easily solved the good old fashioned way - through prices. Charge more during the most popular times. Also note that the vehicles can spontaneously carpool - and could incentivize an existing rider. (Do you want a $5 discount on this journey if it goes 5 mins out of the way and you share the vehicle?) And of course they can be different sizes (eg 13 people, or 23 people). Or a local small car can take you to a feeder location where you get on a big bus and the process reverses at the other end. Sure you can still pay for your own reserved car, but it is likely to be even more expensive than pay as you ride. The big problem with existing solutions like public transport and car pools is they are cumbersome at either end and require precise in advance organisation for timing and capacity, plus being inconvenient if you don't fit their deployment patterns. The major benefit of self driving cars will be algorithms can maximize utilisation and reduce individual costs. Owning your own car will look like a really bad decision by then.

jacalata 12y ago
You are proposing that this is easily solved by charging enough to enforce widespread, MASSIVE social change (that is, changing from a 9-5 commute schedule), which will be most punitive for those who also have least control over the behaviour being punished (as your job pays more, the likelihood of flexible hours increases). Unless your proposal comes along with "and use those fees to provide housing for people to live next to the Walmart/pharmacy/bank that they work in so they don't have to pay to commute" then it seems pretty damn inequitable.
- rogerbinns 12y ago
  It is already expensive at peak times - transport is not free in time or money. The change doesn't have to be MASSIVE. For example shifting by 15 minutes may be enough to better match capacity. The most expensive would be point to point direct service for just you. But the driverless vehicle could pick up several people for a lower cost to them, but taking more time. ie the worst case wouldn't be substantially different than today with its limits and hard routing/timing on public transport. It will also be easier for competition to come in compared to today which will help. It is still possible to provide social services. For example in Britain my over 65 parents get free bus passes. Lower income people can be subsidised in similar ways.
xur17 12y ago
This is a really great observation - I think we need to think of it less as a 'car rental' service, and more as a ride rental service. If people are comfortable sharing the car with other people, it could automatically assign a group of people to a certain car as they walk out of the building. Essentially little buses, except they don't have to stop as often. A side benefit would be less cars on the road = less traffic.

jacalata 12y ago

You are proposing that this is easily solved by charging enough to enforce widespread, MASSIVE social change (that is, changing from a 9-5 commute schedule), which will be most punitive for those who also have least control over the behaviour being punished (as your job pays more, the likelihood of flexible hours increases). Unless your proposal comes along with "and use those fees to provide housing for people to live next to the Walmart/pharmacy/bank that they work in so they don't have to pay to commute" then it seems pretty damn inequitable.

rogerbinns 12y ago
It is already expensive at peak times - transport is not free in time or money. The change doesn't have to be MASSIVE. For example shifting by 15 minutes may be enough to better match capacity. The most expensive would be point to point direct service for just you. But the driverless vehicle could pick up several people for a lower cost to them, but taking more time. ie the worst case wouldn't be substantially different than today with its limits and hard routing/timing on public transport. It will also be easier for competition to come in compared to today which will help. It is still possible to provide social services. For example in Britain my over 65 parents get free bus passes. Lower income people can be subsidised in similar ways.

xur17 12y ago

This is a really great observation - I think we need to think of it less as a 'car rental' service, and more as a ride rental service. If people are comfortable sharing the car with other people, it could automatically assign a group of people to a certain car as they walk out of the building. Essentially little buses, except they don't have to stop as often. A side benefit would be less cars on the road = less traffic.