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Stingy driverless cars will clog future streets instead of parking
It's a nightmarish vision of San Francisco's future, like something out of science fiction: streets full of driverless cars, crawling along implacably but at a snail's pace, snarling traffic and bringing the city to a standstill from the iconic Ferry Building to Union Square.
But according to Adam Millard-Ball, associate professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, this scenario could come to pass simply as a result of rational behavior on the part of autonomous vehicle owners. Congestion pricing that imposes a fee or tax for driving in the downtown core could help prevent this future, but cities need to act fast, before self-driving cars are common, he argues.
Those conclusions emerge from an analysis published in the journal Transport Policy, in which Millard-Ball used game theory and a computer model of San Francisco traffic patterns to explore the effects of autonomous vehicles on parking. He found that the gridlock happens because self-driving cars don't need to park near a rider's destination – in fact, they don't need to park at all.
The autonomous vehicle parking problem (DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.01.003) (DX)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday March 12 2019, @02:21PM (1 child)
Point may have been hit upon already, but are these cars going to miraculously refuel themselves? Or will they be equipped for a full day or driving around and fueled when going to or from destination? "We're sorry, but your car is not available. It ran out of electricity 4 miles away from you and was towed. Have a nice day!"
OTOH, one could build a car park on the city fringe that driverless cars could home to, find a spot, and park themselves until needed. If the rental was cheaper than the fuel then profit!
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 12 2019, @10:59PM
Maybe they'll be moving slowly enough that strapping solar panels to them will make sense.