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Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

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Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My car doubles as a "everything I need when I take the kid out" storage. We always have: - diapers - changing pad - strollers - extra clothes - kids movies for the tv in the van, queued up to where we left off Sure, people in places like NYC just carry all that stuff with them when they take the kid out, but they also take the kid out less often or move to the burbs because it's a huge pain in the butt. I'd much rath…

don't forget the bulky and heavy car seat(s)

Right!! I totally forgot that part because it's just always there. But yes that's actually the worst part.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is the most probable scenarios I foresee. If you are a pessimist about autonomous being bigger part of transpiration then add 2 years to DATES shown below. 2021 : Electric Self-driving on-demand FLEET Car 1000 miles/month SUBSCRIPTION from Google, DiDi, Uber, Renault/Nissan,Tesla, VW,Toyota,GM for $400/month 2024 :same 1000 miles/month SUBSCRIPTION $200/month At $200/month Subscription price for 1000 miles/month…

I still think that proper self-driving cars are such a paradigm shift that predictions of how it will work are still up in the air. For example, right now I live on the west coast and my parents live on the east coast. 4 kids, Minimum of 40 hour drive or $3500 flight. Here's one tiny example: I can work remotely for a few weeks and my boss doesn't mind. The kids sleep for 8+ hours at night. Friday, Saturday, Sunday,…

While I agree that it's impossible to make predictions, your example is a massive edge case.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#263
post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My car doubles as a "everything I need when I take the kid out" storage. We always have: - diapers - changing pad - strollers - extra clothes - kids movies for the tv in the van, queued up to where we left off Sure, people in places like NYC just carry all that stuff with them when they take the kid out, but they also take the kid out less often or move to the burbs because it's a huge pain in the butt. I'd much rath…

When I lived in the Metro DC area (Bailey's Crossroads in NoVA) with a 1-2 year old we kept that stuff in the bottom of our stroller (mostly in a single medium-sized bag). We took the stroller everywhere via buses and trains. We very rarely drove our vehicle while living in DC since a couple grocery stores, several restaurants, and several department stores were within easy walking distance (about a mile) from our ho…

Yes, we've done all that too when traveling. But it's a lot easier to just hop in the car and go, knowing that all that stuff is already there.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#264
post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would self-ownership ever be the goal though? I can see people just moving en-masse to Lyft/Uber type services that use a mix of people and machines, with people eventually being phased out, and simply giving up their own cars (except for those who genuinely enjoy driving).

Interesting question. Like you, I too believe that a large population may prefer Lyft/Uber type services instead of dealing with the concerns of owning one (e.g., parking, requiring space for parking, insurance, time spent in fueling, maintenance, etc.). However, I tend to think that there still may be a decent size of population who'd prefer owning. Others mentioned the convenience of using cars for storage, being r…

While there are some valid points there, I think most of those benefits can be realized to some extent without anyone needing to actually "own" any of these cars.

> using cars for storage

While it's true that you won't be able to just stash all your stuff in a car you don't own forever, I think it's entirely feasible to have a system that lets you rent a car for a day to use in this manner. Obviously not quite as good as owning a car, but you can get a lot of the same benefits in limited circumstances.

> being readily available

I think under most circumstances shared cars will actually be more "readily available" than a car you own. Once autonomous ridesharing services reach a certain level of market penetration, it's practically guaranteed there'll be a car less than a minute away whenever and wherever you call for one. Plus there's no need to worry about where you parked, whether your car is out for repairs, or whether you can drive home without leaving your friend who hitched a ride with you on the way there stranded without a vehicle.

> lower cost of owning

Wouldn't a shared vehicle actually cost less, since the cost is split among all the different people using it?

> reduced insurances

Again, probably be cheaper with shared vehicles, since the driverless car company can self-insure.

> customizations

Yeah, this you'd probably lose with shared vehicles. No more bumper stickers or vinyl wraps. Though there may still be a way to pick a car of a specific brand or paint job if you so desire.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My car doubles as a "everything I need when I take the kid out" storage. We always have: - diapers - changing pad - strollers - extra clothes - kids movies for the tv in the van, queued up to where we left off Sure, people in places like NYC just carry all that stuff with them when they take the kid out, but they also take the kid out less often or move to the burbs because it's a huge pain in the butt. I'd much rath…

I agree, say now you may have two CARS each costing $400/month ( AAA estimate ) Total cost of ownership ( Insurance, gasoline, Repairs, depreciation ). Now when some thing is available for $200/month , you won ONE CAR like OLD way ( for Kids etc.. ), and your spouse may use FLEET CAR .

Sure, I can totally see us ditching the second car for a self driving subscription. We barely use the second car as is, but we use it just enough that it's still cheaper than Lyft/Uber. Unless the self driving rental were even cheaper, it wouldn't make sense.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#266

I'd like to see successful rain/night/snow/road construction/fog condition tests before I get in one

No worries, they won't put you in a self driving car that isn't perfectly safe. Considering Alphabet sold Boston Dynamics because of PR issues (remember kicking the robots) they won't allow any human losses.

> No worries, they won't put you in a self driving car that isn't perfectly safe.

That they think isn't perfectly safe.

It's not about what they will allow or not. It is about what will happen. Whether or not it will happen remains to be seen, even if Waymo does not allow it.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#267
post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I store tons of stuff in my car so I can have it available at all of the various places I end up, and while I would happily believe I am not in the majority, this does not seem to be something that would be rare. While I don't feel the need to "own" a car (I literally rent a car continually, paying in 30-day cycles), it would be extremely annoying to not have consistent control over most of the storage space in a car…

I agree, there are good % of people like you for all right reasons to have a their OWN CAR "same CAR" every day. There will be different flavors of pricing for needs like yours, like 'Keeping CAR With you'. How about this pricing Option 1: The CAR will be in serving people 10 streets around your Home, will be available whenever you want but costs you $300 /month ( It will have two Locker boxes in the Truck to keep yo…

Lockers in the trunk reduce the ability to go grocery shopping :/

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#268
post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still think that proper self-driving cars are such a paradigm shift that predictions of how it will work are still up in the air. For example, right now I live on the west coast and my parents live on the east coast. 4 kids, Minimum of 40 hour drive or $3500 flight. Here's one tiny example: I can work remotely for a few weeks and my boss doesn't mind. The kids sleep for 8+ hours at night. Friday, Saturday, Sunday,…

While I agree that it's impossible to make predictions, your example is a massive edge case.

I don't think it's an edge case: If an operator redesigns the interior of their fleet with large, comfortable reclining seats, long distance travel by road will become much more competitive with business-/first-class air travel. Boarding at my house and being dropped off at my destination and sleeping all the way (or working if you're a telecommuter, or watching movies) is quite appealing to me - the lack of TSA and/or Rapey-scan is a bonus

edit: changed a few words for clarity

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#269
post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still think that proper self-driving cars are such a paradigm shift that predictions of how it will work are still up in the air. For example, right now I live on the west coast and my parents live on the east coast. 4 kids, Minimum of 40 hour drive or $3500 flight. Here's one tiny example: I can work remotely for a few weeks and my boss doesn't mind. The kids sleep for 8+ hours at night. Friday, Saturday, Sunday,…

While I agree that it's impossible to make predictions, your example is a massive edge case.

People didn’t just use computers to speed up existing processes. They also started doing brand new things that were infeasible without computers.

Re: Waymo now testing its self-driving cars on public roads with no one at the wheel

#270
The self driving (small)cars will almost be gone from every motorway within 20 years is my prediction. They will be replaced by self driving busses, trains and boats combined with a smart docking system where you automatically change “vehicle” at speed. This way we can travel at a fraction of the cost/emissions. We will se the first docking system on highway within 10 years, and the first prototypes within 5.
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