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if you own a self driving car, you could either have it sit in your driveway doing nothing - or you could hook it up to an api provided by uber to put your car
by MarkPNeyer 12y ago
if you own a self driving car, you could either have it sit in your driveway doing nothing - or you could hook it up to an api provided by uber to put your car to work.
if everyone does that with their self-driving cars, the cost of transportation will go down. it'll change the economics of car ownership; the cost of using a car will go down because the cars that exist will be put to greater use - so why bother buying one?
that whole thing could precipitate a sea-change in how the auto industry works. we'll see far fewer cars, built to be maintanable with easily replaced parts, sold to people who use them as investments that generate returns.
it's even going to change the _retail_ model if you think about it. couple the ability to see anythign you want with an occulus-rift headset, and lower traffic (thanks to fuller cars driving smarter) means it'll take less time to get where you want to go, and the model of 'a target every 1 mile' will just stop making sense.
the FUTURE!
- srs0001 12y agoThis is interesting. I've assumed ride-sharing services would benefit self-driving cars, but the thought that individuals could own cars and rent them out in an AirBnB like manner is something I hadn't considered. That's very cool, considering that today cars are a pretty poor investment.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago> You could either have it sit in your driveway doing nothing Driveways are such an American luxury! There are many places in the world that lack these. One reason I don't own a car in Beijing...where would I park the damn thing? A parking space is a comparable expense to my apartment rent. The real value of self driving cars is (a) optimizing road bandwidth and (b) getting rid of the need for parking everywhere. I can't imagine people owning their own cars as densities increase (which invariably will happen, even in the states), especially if they don't need to.
- toomuchtodo 12y agoI've always been fascinated with the thought of driveways disappearing from new homes in America once self-driving vehicles take off. Future generations will see garages as a decadent luxury, akin to an indoor swimming pool or a private, on-property tennis court.
- waterlesscloud 12y agoI wonder what percentage of garages are used as storage/workshops/playrooms now? In my personal experience it's very, very high.