
Waymo: Partnering with Valley Metro to explore public transportation solutions - jfoster
https://medium.com/waymo/partnering-with-valley-metro-to-explore-public-transportation-solutions-ff01ae36484d
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stephencoyner
In my mind, there are a few potential outcomes from this kind of a partnership

1\. Waymo and other self driving cars become a bridge for transit, linking
riders to major transit hubs and helping transit agencies become more
efficient with traditionally expensive services like dial-a-ride and
paratransit.

2\. Waymo uses these kinds of partnerships to pull transit riders into their
self driving cars and show them how great the experience is, then drops prices
over time to divert riders from transit. This could kill traditional fixed
route bus systems.

3\. Another outcome could be a combo of the two as many large infastructure
projects like subways and light rails will always be more efficient than
transit. Bus systems could die and rail systems will thrive.

We shall see I suppose.

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dragonwriter
There are already rideshare-public authority partnerships for transit, in part
to address the fact that fixed route bus systems aren't great in suburban
areas.

It makes sense for SDCs for much the same reasonds. And the focus on first and
last-mile makes it more complementary to existing transit than some
partnerships.

