Autonomous cars: Atlanta's transportation future? (credit card, transit, money)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by jsvh

I think we are already heading towards a "3R" situation though. "Sharing" (Uber / Lyft) is happening now even without automation. Automation will only make the "sharing" model even more efficient.

I can see why they call it sharing when several people are using the same car.

But what is the "sharing" involved with Uber and Lyft if you're just paying a fare like any other cab? It's not like you can walk away from a Uber ride and say, "Hey, buddy, thanks for sharing your car."

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by arjay57

It's not like you can walk away from a Uber ride and say, "Hey, buddy, thanks for sharing your car."

Why not? They shared the use of their own car with you. It wasn't charity, you paid them (via Uber), but still. Isn't that still sharing? I would think?

If you stay at someone's apartment for a week via Airbnb, when you leave, would it not be appropriate to say, "Thank you for sharing your apartment with me" ?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Why not? They shared the use of their own car with you. It wasn't charity, you paid them (via Uber), but still. Isn't that still sharing? I would think?

Well, they "share" in exchange for a fee.

Don't get me wrong -- I am okay with Uber. I just don't get the "ride-sharing" moniker. What they are doing is agreeing to come pick you up and take you somewhere for a fee, which is the same thing taxi cabs have always done.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Well, they "share" in exchange for a fee.

Don't get me wrong -- I am okay with Uber. I just don't get the "ride-sharing" moniker. What they are doing is agreeing to come pick you up and take you somewhere for a fee, which is the same thing taxi cabs have always done.

Uber just calls it ordering a ride. I'm not sure who's saying "ride sharing". But, it's not entirely inaccurate.

[jsvh]

It is still "sharing" because it isn't your car. If you are the only one in an autonomous car but it then goes to pick up other people after you, you are still "sharing" that car. And it will reduce the total number of cars needed significantly.

[primaltech]

The 4th tier of the revolution when it comes to cars, is going to be average occupancy usage vs total passenger capacity vs overall transportation space efficiency of the road vehicles and their passengers.

The 3 tools we can apply here: 1) highly financially incentivize pooling. 2) reduce the size of/ increase the space efficiency of vehicles, 3) narrow the lanes/ decrease wasted road space.

Instead of 60 people in 60 Nissan Altimas, we need to be transporting 60 people in 15 Honda Fits. The latter would take up so much less space, which of course reduces congestion and/or adds free capacity.

[brown_dog_us]

Two interesting articles. Thanks arjay and cq for posting them.

I never thought of sponsored AV rides. Free ride to Kroger totally makes sense. What about a free ride if you listen to ads the entire way? lol. It might drive you crazy, but free...

I see AV vehicles ending the new urbanism movement and our current transit model. It's so much easier to build a new shiny urban area and give people the feel of an urban environment. People see buses as a pain and beneath them, so I can't see any further adoption of bus transit. We've been touting the advantages of buses vs cars for 2 decades, and people keep buying suvs for single occupancy commutes.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by jsvh

It is still "sharing" because it isn't your car. If you are the only one in an autonomous car but it then goes to pick up other people after you, you are still "sharing" that car. And it will reduce the total number of cars needed significantly.

So why isn't a bus or a traditional cab referred to as ride-sharing?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by arjay57

So why isn't a bus or a traditional cab referred to as ride-sharing?

Bus should be, because you are sharing the vehicle with lots of other people.
https://www.citylab.com/transportati...t-isnt/525156/

Microtransit’s routing software is a brass ring for underfunded agencies struggling to make barren routes more efficient and add capacity to overloaded lines. Rightsizing some vehicles, adding more flexibility to routes, following patterns of demand to supplement seats: That all makes a lot of sense for them, and it’s what other services like Bridj still promise.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Bus should be, because you are sharing the vehicle with lots of other people.

Yep.

Uber and Lyft should be referred to as ride-hailing apps. You're still paying just like you do with a traditional taxi.

Unless you happen to use Uber pool or something like that, there's no sharing involved.