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[Autonomous Transportation] When the cars have all the jobs, the poor will walk the earth

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Posts

  • NyysjanNyysjan FinlandRegistered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    Nyysjan wrote: »
    Once it becomes viable, i could totally see single seater vehicles with nothing but a comfortable chair, a cupholder, small stable for a laptop or a tablet, and possibly tiny compartment for a backpack, briefcase or stuff like that.
    Not for personal use, but as a replacement for taxies in major cities.

    There's no point to making or buying one unless that smaller size confers some sort of advantage in using the road and getting around though.
    Smaller cars do have easier time parking and generally getting around in my experience.
    Also smaller vehicle means less energy spent moving it or storing it, possibly also easier to maintain.

  • AridholAridhol Daddliest Catch Registered User regular
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

  • electricitylikesmeelectricitylikesme Registered User regular
    Aridhol wrote: »
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

    If you go down this line of thinking then you end up at separate passenger and cargo vehicles. People own a passenger pod so they can keep it their standard of cleanliness/avoid other peoples microbiomes, and then the money is in renting the cargo fleet out.

    I'd love to be able to on-demand a van to move standard size sheet products for example.

  • AridholAridhol Daddliest Catch Registered User regular
    Aridhol wrote: »
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

    If you go down this line of thinking then you end up at separate passenger and cargo vehicles. People own a passenger pod so they can keep it their standard of cleanliness/avoid other peoples microbiomes, and then the money is in renting the cargo fleet out.

    I'd love to be able to on-demand a van to move standard size sheet products for example.

    If this comes to pass I wouldn't ever own my own passenger pod. For general day to day getting around I would just subscribe for a per use vehicle.

    In this far flung future a cargo pod brings my building materials or groceries or whatever the hell to me when I order stuff from my local Amazon.

    The only personally owned vehicle I anticipate owning when I'm 90 is my boat, which, with all my money saved of gas, insurance and maintenance I will have moored all the time :)


  • FeralFeral MEMETICHARIZARD interior crocodile alligator ⇔ ǝɹʇɐǝɥʇ ǝᴉʌoɯ ʇǝloɹʌǝɥɔ ɐ ǝʌᴉɹp ᴉRegistered User regular
    edited April 2018
    We already have Smart cars. Americans are prejudiced against them. They sell remarkably poorly in the US and only saw any measure of success when gas prices were high. They sold 10,000 units in the US when gas prices peaked in 2012.

    Feral on
    every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.

    the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
  • The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    Feral wrote: »
    We already have Smart cars. Americans are prejudiced against them. They sell remarkably poorly in the US and only saw any measure of success when gas prices were high. They sold 10,000 units in the US when gas prices peaked in 2012.

    They look like they have just enough cargo space for a single bag of groceries. 2 bags if you don't have a passenger. God forbid if you ever need it to hold anything more.

    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
  • knitdanknitdan In ur base Killin ur guysRegistered User regular
    edited April 2018
    Also, whether or not this is reality, the perception is that they are death traps if you’re ever in a collision while inside one.

    knitdan on
    “I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
    -Indiana Solo, runner of blades
  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Aridhol wrote: »
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

    Why would you ever own one? What use are they compared to just a normal compact car?

    They offer huge restrictions and no benefits comparatively. It's like a worse smartcar.

  • NyysjanNyysjan FinlandRegistered User regular
    Yes, why would you own one, when you can rent one for next to nothing for commutes and not have to worry about shit like parking or insurance or shit?

  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Nyysjan wrote: »
    Yes, why would you own one, when you can rent one for next to nothing for commutes and not have to worry about shit like parking or insurance or shit?

    Why would you own one to rent out? You could just buy something larger and more versatile for your investment instead.

  • NyysjanNyysjan FinlandRegistered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    Nyysjan wrote: »
    Yes, why would you own one, when you can rent one for next to nothing for commutes and not have to worry about shit like parking or insurance or shit?

    Why would you own one to rent out? You could just buy something larger and more versatile for your investment instead.
    Because bigger and more versatile does not always mean more profitable.
    If you can store 4 times as many commuter pods as more traditional car, you can either have 4 times as big a fleet in same parking space, or need only one quarter the parking space.

  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Nyysjan wrote: »
    shryke wrote: »
    Nyysjan wrote: »
    Yes, why would you own one, when you can rent one for next to nothing for commutes and not have to worry about shit like parking or insurance or shit?

    Why would you own one to rent out? You could just buy something larger and more versatile for your investment instead.
    Because bigger and more versatile does not always mean more profitable.
    If you can store 4 times as many commuter pods as more traditional car, you can either have 4 times as big a fleet in same parking space, or need only one quarter the parking space.

    Why would that be your main cost though? If anything it seems like things such as maintenance are a much large cost and every 1 man car is an engine that does less.

    A one-man car is a specialized vehicle. It does very few things and there's basically no gains in terms of anything but some amount of the purchase cost for all those downsides.

  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    knitdan wrote: »
    Also, whether or not this is reality, the perception is that they are death traps if you’re ever in a collision while inside one.

    The only reason I would entertain the idea of owning a pod is that the big 4WD in the lane next to you is also an Autonomous Vehicle and communicating with your pod to make sure you're not flattened, even if a human driver might not be able to see you through their window.
    shryke wrote: »
    Aridhol wrote: »
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

    Why would you ever own one? What use are they compared to just a normal compact car?

    They offer huge restrictions and no benefits comparatively. It's like a worse smartcar.

    - They are small and, so, cheap so you can have multiple for the same price as a car
    - which allows adolescent kids to have their own chaffeur to drive them to places, saving the adults time.
    - And more speculatively, they may not need fuel, as the weight/surface area ratio may allow them to sport solar panels (assuming passenger is lying down I think, and that that form factor is accepted by people). Not really suited for long distance travel however.

    discrider on
  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    discrider wrote: »
    knitdan wrote: »
    Also, whether or not this is reality, the perception is that they are death traps if you’re ever in a collision while inside one.

    The only reason I would entertain the idea of owning a pod is that the big 4WD in the lane next to you is also an Autonomous Vehicle and communicating with your pod to make sure you're not flattened, even if a human driver might not be able to see you through their window.
    shryke wrote: »
    Aridhol wrote: »
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

    Why would you ever own one? What use are they compared to just a normal compact car?

    They offer huge restrictions and no benefits comparatively. It's like a worse smartcar.

    - They are small and, so, cheap so you can have multiple for the same price as a car
    - which allows adolescent kids to have their own chaffeur to drive them to places, saving the adults time.
    - And more speculatively, they may not need fuel, as the weight/surface area ratio may allow them to sport solar panels (assuming passenger is lying down I think, and that that form factor is accepted by people). Not really suited for long distance travel however.

    Based on what? There's no reason or evidence they would be stupendously cheaper.

    The rest is shit a more versatile car could do anyway.

    Again, a 1-man car is a highly specialised piece of equipment and there's no indications there are savings in terms of cost or in terms of driving time or something else that make is a viable proposition.

  • AridholAridhol Daddliest Catch Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    Aridhol wrote: »
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

    Why would you ever own one? What use are they compared to just a normal compact car?

    They offer huge restrictions and no benefits comparatively. It's like a worse smartcar.

    I didn't say I would own one. In fact I said one post later I wouldn't own one.
    Someone has to buy them though and they will cost less. It's a big factor for any fleets now and that's not going to change.

    What restrictions are there that aren't shopping/groceries related? These can/will be delivered by delivery AV's more capable than some joe's Honda Fit.



    I find it a bit silly to argue that significantly smaller vehicles will not be cheaper. This is demonstrably false now and I don't see an argument for how this will change in the future.
    A small "personal" AV will be less costly than a multi-passenger AV.

    I'm not saying there won't be demand for multi-passenger AV's (anytime a family goes somewhere together for example) but I still believe a single passenger vehicle will be common.

  • HappylilElfHappylilElf Registered User regular
    knitdan wrote: »
    Also, whether or not this is reality, the perception is that they are death traps if you’re ever in a collision while inside one.

    Most of my issues with Smart Cars would be solved by Escalades and Fuck Off pickups not being common vehicles

    But as it is I absolutely don't trust a Smart Car to stand up to a collision with a large SUV or pickup and I have a hard enough time dealing with those vehicles in a large four door sedan because people who drive them don't give a fuck that they're blocking the vision of the vehicles next to them

  • NyysjanNyysjan FinlandRegistered User regular
    I would not expect small smart cars becomming a major feature until smart cars become significant percentage of common traffic and the technology advance a lot from what it is today.
    And they would hardly become universal vehicles of choice, because people have very different needs, and culture, when it comes to vehicles and transportation.

  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Aridhol wrote: »
    shryke wrote: »
    Aridhol wrote: »
    There will absolutely be a market for little "pods" for commuters. They would be cheaper to manufacture and easier to store (space).

    Cheaper to manufacture being the killer feature.
    Something like a personal pod to ferry you to work and back or to a show or basically anything but grocery shopping will murder all taxi companies.

    Why would you ever own one? What use are they compared to just a normal compact car?

    They offer huge restrictions and no benefits comparatively. It's like a worse smartcar.

    I didn't say I would own one. In fact I said one post later I wouldn't own one.
    Someone has to buy them though and they will cost less. It's a big factor for any fleets now and that's not going to change.

    What restrictions are there that aren't shopping/groceries related? These can/will be delivered by delivery AV's more capable than some joe's Honda Fit.



    I find it a bit silly to argue that significantly smaller vehicles will not be cheaper. This is demonstrably false now and I don't see an argument for how this will change in the future.
    A small "personal" AV will be less costly than a multi-passenger AV.

    I'm not saying there won't be demand for multi-passenger AV's (anytime a family goes somewhere together for example) but I still believe a single passenger vehicle will be common.

    They will be cheaper. But I never said they wouldn't. I said they would not be cheaper enough and that's demonstrably true right now. Smart cars are not half the cost of a normal compact sedan. Hell, they aren't even half the cost of a minivan. They aren't even like 3/4s of the cost. Some of this may be the target market for smartcars but some of it is simply that the cost savings aren't there. You can pay a bit more and invest in a vehicle that just does a lot more. Like, you know, carry more then 1 person.

    And if we are talking someone renting out cars from a fleet the numbers on this idea actually get worse. Because owning a bunch the same vehicle makes maintenance cheaper so it's better to buy a fleet of larger more versatile vehicles then a bunch of tiny cars and a bunch of larger cars and increase your maintenance costs.

    Single passenger vehicles generally don't seem to make economic sense. You are still stuck on the same roads, using the same spots and driving the same speeds in a vehicle that is much less versatile and all without being commensurately cheaper.

  • MeeqeMeeqe Lord of the pants most fancy Someplace amazingRegistered User regular
    If someone could make a smart car that didn't look terrible it would solve approx 95% of the problem with them to the general public. We live in a consumer society and your objects are a status symbol. The second you bridge the gap between green/AV and cool you win. See: Teslas.

  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    Meeqe wrote: »
    If someone could make a smart car that didn't look terrible it would solve approx 95% of the problem with them to the general public. We live in a consumer society and your objects are a status symbol. The second you bridge the gap between green/AV and cool you win. See: Teslas.

    The conventional standard of beauty for today's cars is long and sleek. Smart cars are the opposite of that by definition - they're designed to minimize length, while still needing the full height for passengers, so they'll always be chubby-looking. People just need to get over it.

  • NyysjanNyysjan FinlandRegistered User regular
    Biggest problem with smart cars is that you need to own (or rent) and drive one.
    Autonomic smart car just gives you a lift where you need to go, and then buggers off.
    Lower price, plus convenience is what could make them viable as mini taxies.

    Also, as said, they would not work everywhere because of different needs, and aesthetics.
    Personally i would love a small car that's easy to park anywhere, but i can't afford one and i need a car with higher carrying capacity, so i'm stuck with my current one that's too big for me about 90% of the time.
    And then keeps running out of space when i really need it.

  • mRahmanimRahmani DetroitRegistered User regular
    The only advantage of a Smart style car is ease of parking. They ride poorly, are easily buffeted by wind at speed, and are useless at transporting anything beyond 2 people. And for all of those drawbacks, their fuel economy isn't even impressive - the Smart ForTwo is rated 33 city/39 mpg highway. That's easily beaten by not only the much more useful Prius (58 city/53 highway), but also much larger conventional gas cars like the Honda Civic (32 city/42 highway).

    They're useful in dense European cities and pretty much nowhere else.

  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    mRahmani wrote: »
    The only advantage of a Smart style car is ease of parking. They ride poorly, are easily buffeted by wind at speed, and are useless at transporting anything beyond 2 people. And for all of those drawbacks, their fuel economy isn't even impressive - the Smart ForTwo is rated 33 city/39 mpg highway. That's easily beaten by not only the much more useful Prius (58 city/53 highway), but also much larger conventional gas cars like the Honda Civic (32 city/42 highway).

    They're useful in dense European cities and pretty much nowhere else.

    And in those cities they're directly competing with comprehensive public transportation.

    Switch Friend Code: SW-6732-9515-9697
  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    Why not build a fleet of cars that are just hollow shells with engines

    Then the user owns their own passenger pod, they order a ride, the shell car comes by and hooks onto the pod and off you go

    Users don’t have to own the whole car, so it’s cheaper; and the fleet is interchangeable. Plus my pod is my own space and I don’t have to live my life in taxi cab interiors where somebody just threw up (bonus for the fleet owner, you don’t have to clean interiors).

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • MvrckMvrck Dwarven MountainhomeRegistered User regular
    Astaereth wrote: »
    Why not build a fleet of cars that are just hollow shells with engines

    Then the user owns their own passenger pod, they order a ride, the shell car comes by and hooks onto the pod and off you go

    Users don’t have to own the whole car, so it’s cheaper; and the fleet is interchangeable. Plus my pod is my own space and I don’t have to live my life in taxi cab interiors where somebody just threw up (bonus for the fleet owner, you don’t have to clean interiors).

    And say I live in an apartment building in downtown Seattle: Where do I store my pod?

  • NyysjanNyysjan FinlandRegistered User regular
    DoctorArch wrote: »
    mRahmani wrote: »
    The only advantage of a Smart style car is ease of parking. They ride poorly, are easily buffeted by wind at speed, and are useless at transporting anything beyond 2 people. And for all of those drawbacks, their fuel economy isn't even impressive - the Smart ForTwo is rated 33 city/39 mpg highway. That's easily beaten by not only the much more useful Prius (58 city/53 highway), but also much larger conventional gas cars like the Honda Civic (32 city/42 highway).

    They're useful in dense European cities and pretty much nowhere else.

    And in those cities they're directly competing with comprehensive public transportation.
    People still use taxies though.
    Because not everyone wants to share space with other people, and some can afford not to.
    And not even the most comprehensive public transportation takes averywhere, from anywhere, at anytime.

  • AiouaAioua Ora Occidens Ora OptimaRegistered User regular
    Mvrck wrote: »
    Astaereth wrote: »
    Why not build a fleet of cars that are just hollow shells with engines

    Then the user owns their own passenger pod, they order a ride, the shell car comes by and hooks onto the pod and off you go

    Users don’t have to own the whole car, so it’s cheaper; and the fleet is interchangeable. Plus my pod is my own space and I don’t have to live my life in taxi cab interiors where somebody just threw up (bonus for the fleet owner, you don’t have to clean interiors).

    And say I live in an apartment building in downtown Seattle: Where do I store my pod?

    same place you'd store your car if you had one?

    I would set up the service to let you choose to bring your own pod or not

    life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
    fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
    that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
    bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
  • MvrckMvrck Dwarven MountainhomeRegistered User regular
    Aioua wrote: »
    Mvrck wrote: »
    Astaereth wrote: »
    Why not build a fleet of cars that are just hollow shells with engines

    Then the user owns their own passenger pod, they order a ride, the shell car comes by and hooks onto the pod and off you go

    Users don’t have to own the whole car, so it’s cheaper; and the fleet is interchangeable. Plus my pod is my own space and I don’t have to live my life in taxi cab interiors where somebody just threw up (bonus for the fleet owner, you don’t have to clean interiors).

    And say I live in an apartment building in downtown Seattle: Where do I store my pod?

    same place you'd store your car if you had one?

    I would set up the service to let you choose to bring your own pod or not

    When I lived down by the stadium a parking spot was $200 a month. The whole point of going to a ride share fleet for me in that circumstance is to eliminate the need to pay for that kind of storage.

  • AiouaAioua Ora Occidens Ora OptimaRegistered User regular
    Mvrck wrote: »
    Aioua wrote: »
    Mvrck wrote: »
    Astaereth wrote: »
    Why not build a fleet of cars that are just hollow shells with engines

    Then the user owns their own passenger pod, they order a ride, the shell car comes by and hooks onto the pod and off you go

    Users don’t have to own the whole car, so it’s cheaper; and the fleet is interchangeable. Plus my pod is my own space and I don’t have to live my life in taxi cab interiors where somebody just threw up (bonus for the fleet owner, you don’t have to clean interiors).

    And say I live in an apartment building in downtown Seattle: Where do I store my pod?

    same place you'd store your car if you had one?

    I would set up the service to let you choose to bring your own pod or not

    When I lived down by the stadium a parking spot was $200 a month. The whole point of going to a ride share fleet for me in that circumstance is to eliminate the need to pay for that kind of storage.

    so then you wouldn't select the 'I have my own pod' option

    life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
    fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
    that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
    bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    Pod parking would be cheaper because they’re smaller and meant to be parked by machine, so you can fit way more into an automated garage than you can full cars that need to be parked by human beings.

    But you can also use a public pod too of course. Private pods are basically for people who want to split the difference between owning a car (expensive but private) and using fleet vehicles (cheap but public). That won’t be everybody but it won’t be nobody either.

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Nyysjan wrote: »
    Biggest problem with smart cars is that you need to own (or rent) and drive one.
    Autonomic smart car just gives you a lift where you need to go, and then buggers off.
    Lower price, plus convenience is what could make them viable as mini taxies.


    Also, as said, they would not work everywhere because of different needs, and aesthetics.
    Personally i would love a small car that's easy to park anywhere, but i can't afford one and i need a car with higher carrying capacity, so i'm stuck with my current one that's too big for me about 90% of the time.
    And then keeps running out of space when i really need it.

    Does it? Because as I keep pointing out, someone else needs to still buy the things and the incentives for them doing so are actually lower. Especially if they are basically automated taxis and thus parking isn't an issue, which automatically removes one of the main benefits of a smaller form-factor car.

  • FeralFeral MEMETICHARIZARD interior crocodile alligator ⇔ ǝɹʇɐǝɥʇ ǝᴉʌoɯ ʇǝloɹʌǝɥɔ ɐ ǝʌᴉɹp ᴉRegistered User regular
    edited April 2018
    Priuses are basically the standard car for livery services in the 21st century, at least in the US.

    Even traditional cab companies have been going to Priuses for new purchases.

    That seems to be the right-size for taxis.

    Feral on
    every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.

    the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
  • redxredx I(x)=2(x)+1 whole numbersRegistered User regular
    I'd use a single person auto car, if it could lane split.

    They moistly come out at night, moistly.
  • FANTOMASFANTOMAS Flan ArgentavisRegistered User regular
    if everyone uses single person auto car, we are all going to be stuck in traffic, and parking prices will go through the roof.
    I mean, I love the idea of autonomous vehicles as much as the next guy, but cars are not sustainable, soon we will hit peak-car, a lot of cities already have.

    I wish there was a company invested in doing all this marvelous advances, but for public transport, mainly buses, since trains and subways already work great in places where they are well funded.

    Yes, with a quick verbal "boom." You take a man's peko, you deny him his dab, all that is left is to rise up and tear down the walls of Jericho with a ".....not!" -TexiKen
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited April 2018
    Heffling wrote: »
    This dystopian future is always predicted when a change comes to society, and yet it has yet to happen.

    Actually, it already has! Major jumps in labor-loss technology seem to have a strong coo
    Heffling wrote: »
    Did the Industrial Revolution, by putting weavers and other now automated professions out of work while the industrial elite grew fabulously wealthy, lead to an unemployed homeless underclass?

    Dozens of wars emerged from the Industrial Revolution, also colonialism is a direct side effect of having a suddenly large lost population of people with nothing to do.
    Do you cry a tear for the American horse, where displacement by the automobile lead to a population crash from 20M in 1915 to 4.5M in 1959? Do you wail for the carriage driver, whose profession disappeared? Or do you look at the idea of riding around in a horse'n'buggy as being archaic and unworkable in the modern world?

    Two world wars during that period reflect the


    No amount of fighting against technology based on the argument of unemployment has ever stopped tech from moving forward.

    You mention the current political climate and corporate interests along with some of the tools that they use to oppress society, but let's take a look at that in more detail.

    Republicans are currently keeping Congress from passing any meaningful laws, which has caused the federal government to stagnate. Most major reforms start at the state level, and spread across the US before being adopted nationally. With the current Congress, this means that any meaningful implementation will come from the local level. And at a local level, Republicans refuse handouts because it conflicts with their "bootstrapper" position.

    So, the states that are most likely to implement self-driving cars are also those that are most likely to support any displaced workers. I fully expect a state like California or Washington to lead the way on self-driving cars because they also support the companies that are driving this technology. They can also institute a Basic Living Income (BLI), expand welfare/medicare, or use other tools to insure that our citizens are cared for.

    Once self-driving cars are proven, those corporations you mentioned will jump on the self-driving car bandwagon due to the savings in both wages and insurance. As more people in Republican states become unemployed and are poorly supported by the government, the fact that Republicans are acting against the best interests of their constituency will become apparent and they will lose more and more elections. Additionally, those that are able too will relocate to more progressive states that can better support them.

    And if this peaceful political revolution doesn't occur, then eventually a violent one will. History has shown that when you have a very large downtrodden class and a very small ultra-wealthy class, the system collapses.
    Feral wrote: »
    We already have Smart cars. Americans are prejudiced against them. They sell remarkably poorly in the US and only saw any measure of success when gas prices were high. They sold 10,000 units in the US when gas prices peaked in 2012.

    The Smart Car is also a really shitty product, expensive to maintain, impossible for the majority of households (you cant have a carseat in one), and really bad in crash testing. The reason they sold so poorly next to alternative small cars (like the explosion of Fits/Yaris/Fiesta/Mini and other small coups) is utility. Any pod will need 4 seats, or at least a bench seat for ferrying youngsters, plus high enough crash safety to keep from killing everyone inside when someone not in a POD disobeys traffic laws.

    Enc on
  • honoverehonovere Registered User regular
    Just bring back BMW Isettas and Messerschmitt bubble cars but as ev and or autonomous. I'd love it if we could just reduce traffic space back down a bit where it doesn't have to constantly keep up with ever larger vehicles.

  • NyysjanNyysjan FinlandRegistered User regular
    FANTOMAS wrote: »
    if everyone uses single person auto car, we are all going to be stuck in traffic, and parking prices will go through the roof.
    I mean, I love the idea of autonomous vehicles as much as the next guy, but cars are not sustainable, soon we will hit peak-car, a lot of cities already have.

    I wish there was a company invested in doing all this marvelous advances, but for public transport, mainly buses, since trains and subways already work great in places where they are well funded.

    The whole point of a single person autonomous car is that you keep it at your place, and when you go to work, you still keep it at your place.
    Also, i'd expect them as more of a taxi replacement for commuters.

  • mRahmanimRahmani DetroitRegistered User regular
    I think one thing we have to step back and recognize is that there's no one-size-fits-all solution for autonomous cars (or even just cars, period.)

    Big cities (NYC, LA, etc), single/dual occupant AVs would make sense as part of a taxi fleet, with larger vehicles available for larger parties. In these areas, there's not much need for ever owning a car, and doing so is a luxury when ride share and public transport options are available.

    Suburbs and rural areas will want to skew toward both larger vehicles and personal ownership of those vehicles. The Uberlyft SoloPod Deluxe™ rideshare experience doesn't work when everybody has a 30 mile commute to work and the grocery store is 20 minutes away. AVs are nice to have here, but infrastructure shortcomings like dirt roads and parking lots will hamper their ability to function at full capacity.

  • honoverehonovere Registered User regular
    You could make the pods linkable, maybe?

    Commuting to work? Take one passenger pod.
    Grocery shopping? Link up the storage pod.
    Family trip? Three passenger pods plus the storage pod.

    Getting to sci-fi?

  • mRahmanimRahmani DetroitRegistered User regular
    honovere wrote: »
    You could make the pods linkable, maybe?

    Commuting to work? Take one passenger pod.
    Grocery shopping? Link up the storage pod.
    Family trip? Three passenger pods plus the storage pod.

    Getting to sci-fi?

    It's a fun pipe dream, but not workable. Am I going to queue up 4 pods so that I can stuff myself in one, my wife in one, and then my 1 and 3 year olds each in one for the trip to their grandparents? And where am I putting the stroller? To say nothing of what happens when one kid gets car sick and the other one drops her juice box 5 minutes into the trip.

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