I fear the unavoidable cost is going to ruin the model. The advantages of these things is that they are able to work as a unified network, keeping space, allowing space, preventing pileups from simply driving too close, etc.
What about all the 30 year old $2000 corollas you see on the road? Are these people expected to shell out $50k+ to get a self driving car? Absolutely not. There will always be people who can only afford a 10, 20, 30 year old car. What happens when they own a 30 year old self driving car, outdated for decades and based on how tech companies operate today, probably unpatched and unsupported for 20 years?
Self driving would really shine as a self driving bus, in a dedicated lane. Single occupant vehicles are irresponsible in cities that are choked with too many of them, but there is no alternative if all you can afford is a $2000 corolla and rail connections to work are nonexistant. But then again, a self driving bus is much less sexy to investors than a self driving car...
What about all the 30 year old $2000 corollas you see on the road? Are these people expected to shell out $50k+ to get a self driving car? Absolutely not. There will always be people who can only afford a 10, 20, 30 year old car. What happens when they own a 30 year old self driving car, outdated for decades and based on how tech companies operate today, probably unpatched and unsupported for 20 years?
Self driving would really shine as a self driving bus, in a dedicated lane. Single occupant vehicles are irresponsible in cities that are choked with too many of them, but there is no alternative if all you can afford is a $2000 corolla and rail connections to work are nonexistant. But then again, a self driving bus is much less sexy to investors than a self driving car...