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posted by martyb on Monday November 07 2016, @05:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the bring-back-the-trolly,-too dept.

The New York Times has a story about what may be a more likely future of public transportation.

A small electric bus chugged along at a slow but steady seven miles per hour when a white van, entering the street from the side, cut in front of it. The bus slowed, as if its driver had hit the brakes, and got back up to speed after the van moved out of the way.

But this bus has no brake or accelerator pedal. It has no steering wheel, either. In fact, it doesn't have a driver — it operates using sensors and software, although for now, a person is stationed on board ready to hit a red "stop" button in an emergency.

At a time when self-driving cars are beginning to make progress — most notably with a trial program that the ride service Uber began in Pittsburgh this fall — the bus represents a different approach to technologically advanced transportation.

I say a more likely future because of the following:

A driverless car, after all, is still a car, carrying at best a few people. By transporting many passengers on what could be very flexible routes, driverless buses could help reduce the number of cars clogging city streets.

Few advantages accrue from driverless cars if the streets and highways are clogged with them. The passenger(s) can curse the vehicle up ahead instead of its idiot driver. My take: The idea has some promise, especially in places where people do not have long distances to travel.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @11:34PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @11:34PM (#423843)

    >"People will drive into the city and send the car back home until recalled ..."

    Probably not so much. What will happen instead is that people will get dropped off conveniently close to their destination, and their car will go park itself up to a few miles away in a large parking structure. The parking system can be automated as well so that a space can be reserved before the car starts off to park in it. This will eliminate one of the biggest causes of congestion in cities: searching for parking. Since automated cars will make proximity a second order consideration in selecting parking, there will be little concern over whether the car goes to one lot or another.

    Also note that since the major cost of a taxi ride is the driver and artificial scarcity that is justified as a means of providing drivers a decent wage, automating taxis will make them significantly cheaper than they are today. When people are simply commuting to work, they will often opt to take an automated taxi instead of their own car so that there is no need for parking. In fact, the lower cost and enhanced convenience of renting a taxi will mean that more people choose to forgo owning a car.