How about "How Driverless Cars Could Reshape Car Ownership"?
Why bother owning a car at all? Couldn't I just subscribe to some service that will have a car drive to me when I need it? And when I need a two seater, or a five seater or a seven seater I just tell the smartphone app that? And when the car is dirty is just drives somewhere to be cleaned?
I make a fair number of "quick trips" that are within maybe 5 miles of my house.
Like most suburbs, we have no public transportation. It's not practical for me to bike to these destinations, due to either weather, or bulk/size of items being purchased.
I wouldn't want to have to wait around for as long as the total trip takes just for a car to arrive. I see no problem with owning private vehicles, it would be nice, at times, if my vehicles were more autonomous though.
It works in some places and not in others. In San Francisco, it would work pretty well. In larger metropolitan areas, it may work with a hub-like form of public transportation. An autocar takes you to the train, which takes you to the destination city, where you can use another autocar or other public transportation to get to your destination.
Will it work in rural areas? Of course not. The sun belt cities may have trouble utilizing it. But the Boston - DC corridor opportunity would be enough to make it worthwhile. Add to that many European cities and there's enough of a market.
This is already the case in urban environments. Many people do not own cars but just use taxis. I think there are even some subscription taxi services too.
As for why this will probably never take on in less urban environments:
- 5-10 minute wait times (people are inpatient)
- Can't leave belongings in car
- Keeping the car clean would add cost to the service
> This is already the case in urban environments. Many people do not own cars but just use taxis. I think there are even some subscription taxi services too.
There are people that share a small garage of vehicles, or are members of a club that rents out a lot of vehicles on an hourly or daily basis. It seems like an economical choice for people that don't need a car every day, but sometimes. Plus, the assortment of cars is varied so they can probably get things like a van if they are going to move out of their apartment or something.
I dunno. In well developed cities people used bikes and public transport instead since decades now. Driverless cars sounds so silly, if I ever used a car, it wouldn't be in the city, be to go out somewhere outside the normal infrastructure.
Why bother owning a car at all? Couldn't I just subscribe to some service that will have a car drive to me when I need it? And when I need a two seater, or a five seater or a seven seater I just tell the smartphone app that? And when the car is dirty is just drives somewhere to be cleaned?