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London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

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Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#231

Post by annzabelle »

Grombobulous wrote: post #221
juleiie wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly avoiding people on the street improves my mental and physical health by reducing chronic cortisol. These fuckers stare at you and worse. A day of this and i am an anxious wreck. It’s better to just get in your tanklet. Your little oasis. Home away from home. That’s how i move nowadays from most point As to Bs. Music, AC, glasses. Perfect privacy. Calmness. Peace. Kilograms of metal between you and the viciou…

lol, I can't tell if your comment is satire. Home of the brave, right? Where people looking at you is considered scary? I'm a lot more scared of car crashes, since in most years they kill more people in the US than firearms do [1], and that's a pretty morbid statistic considering 58% of firearm deaths are suicides. [2] In other words, all those bullets flying at you as you walk down the street are less than half as d…

I think a lot of it is that the US doesn't take a paternalistic approach to mental healthcare or addiction treatment, so there are a lot of junkies and people with psychosis out on the streets in many cities. My understanding is that in Europe these people are more likely to be receiving some kind of treatment and be living in supported housing of some kind, whether mandatory or not, where in a lot of the US they are ranting and raving on the streets and on public transit. But, it's their freedom to refuse shelter and to refuse treatment (and our freedom to choose not to fund it).

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#232

Post by dyauspitr »

scld wrote: post #156
dyauspitr wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drive an EV powered by my own solar panels. I’ve done my part and frankly don’t much like public transport unless I’m specifically looking to be in the hubbub which is mostly on the weekends when I’m socializing.

....what part have you done???

For the environment. I’ve done my part for the environment in the travel context. I travel without causing emissions or using any grid power.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#233

Post by torginus »

myself248 wrote: post #105

I wonder how many people will forget to roll up their windows because they parked in a garage, then the robot leaves the car outside for a week, then the owner comes back to find the car back in the garage but inexplicably soggy and full of mold. Does the process have a check for forgotten windows?

My car rolls up the windows after a while if I leave it and lock it. I though pretty much all cards did.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#234

Post by crote »

juleiie wrote: post #173
aequitas wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe that’s why the “elektrische bakfiets” (electrified cargo bike) is really popular here in the Netherlands. I’ve got one and don’t even live anywhere near an airport, closest one is at least an hour by car.

What about a sudden rainstorm on a bike? Or a heatwave without AC? The way I see it sure you can go everywhere using a less than ideal transport option and manage if you must. But.. why?

What about a unicorn shitting a rainbow onto your head?

The problem with "but sometimes..." arguments is that the "sometimes" rarely happens. For example, at www.hetregentbijnanooit.nl someone tracked how often it rained during their daily commute of 2x 45 minutes of cycling. Over an 11-year period, 90.3% of the commutes were dry - and that number would be even higher for people with a shorter commute, or those willing to wait a few minutes for the current rain squall to pass. Invest $100 in a luxury rain coat and the problem is solved.

Besides, in a country like The Netherlands the car is the less than ideal transport option! It is expensive, you keep getting stuck in traffic, you have to search for an available parking space, you can't park right at the door of your destination, and so on. For intra-city people movement, a bike is almost always the most convenient option.

Does it sometimes suck? Yeah, of course, but it sure beats getting stuck in traffic every single day.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#235

Post by juleiie »

Grombobulous wrote: post #227
juleiie wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know why it feels like this but the modern world doesn’t feel like a safe place with sane people around us. I would rather take my chances on the road than on the sidewalk or on a bus, completely exposed and defenseless. Like a girl from certain bus video. You mentioned yourself that you can even be hit by a car. Many such cases lately of people driving car into groups of people. This world is mad and i think…

I won't literally ask where you live where you feel this way as I don't need you to reveal personal info about yourself, but I truly believe that if you feel this way and you don't live in some kind of extreme outlier crime-laden area, you might want to seriously think about talking to a therapist. This level of fear you describe is not a healthy or reasonable way to live your life and is not a very typical sentiment…

These feelings are coming from being stared at. I can manage them by staring at people back in not so pleasant ways and having a weapon in a pocket if the staring contest escalates.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#236

Post by crusty »

simonklee wrote: post #19
pontus wrote: post #14

So I'll have to park my car in a garage first, then take a bus to the terminal just so that a robot can move my car from the place where I parked it to a different place? I was hoping it'd be something where I'd pull up to the curb, grab my bags and head in while the robot parked the car for me but apparently I'll still have to take a bus to the terminal?

Exactly, i think this product is solving an airport problem and not a user problem. Whenever i park at an airport i always look for the shortest distance to terminal / price, then chose an option that lands within an acceptable range. Unless i'm way for very long shuttle-bus isn't really on the table.

It's solving the 'meatsack labor costs are really cramping my profitability' problem.

It's an inconveniently located valet service. But oh, you keep your keys. So it's really an inconvenient tow-truck valet service - or two guys with fork lifts.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#237

Post by crote »

myegorov wrote: post #130
telesilla wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes airport parking is insanely expensive (cough Schipol), so I'll park further away anyway or park somewhere I can get the train. If this helped lower costs I'd be fine with this but probably they'd keep the high price anyway.

Fun fact: you can get to/from Schiphol by bike.

Practical fact: Schiphol is built literally on top of one of the busiest train stations in the country.

Virtually all major cities have a direct rail connection to it, with frequencies from 2x / hour all the way up to 10x / hour. No direct connection? There's probably a one-transfer option running 4x / hour.

It's a five-minute walk from the train platform to the check-in desks. It is closer than the taxi stands or the parking shuttle. It is definitely cheaper than them as well. Level boarding is increasingly common, so there's a good chance you can just roll your luggage onto the train. The trains are generally clean and safe, homeless people and drug addicts on the train are incredibly rare.

If you visit The Netherlands, don't bother exploring other forms of transport until you are absolutely certain that rail transport is impossible. You'll just be wasting money and making things needlessly difficult for yourself.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#238

Post by crusty »

IshKebab wrote: post #59
have_faith wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Article says one of the terminals is within walking distance

Anything is within walking distance if you're willing to walk... Anyway here's where it is: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YZKPXp7LSjc5jPot5 Turn on satellite view and you can see it is on the edge of the long stay parking. I dunno if you're realistically going to save a lot of time unless your parking space is right at the back of the long stay car park. Worth it if it's free! I assume it's overpriced though.

I love (/s) that there's a Cafe business that can survive on a singular customer base of people who parked their cars for a long time in one very specific parking lot.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/wL9jK7Pnsc2Ezzp4A

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#239

Post by crote »

juleiie wrote: post #205
Grombobulous wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re right, it’s not ideal. That’s why people in the Netherlands invented a special technology to compensate, which they call “clothes.” Clothes are not really an ideal solution compared to surrounding yourself with a 4,000 pound piece of machinery that costs $50,000, loses half its value in 3 years, and degrades your mental and physical health.

Honestly avoiding people on the street improves my mental and physical health by reducing chronic cortisol. These fuckers stare at you and worse. A day of this and i am an anxious wreck. It’s better to just get in your tanklet. Your little oasis. Home away from home. That’s how i move nowadays from most point As to Bs. Music, AC, glasses. Perfect privacy. Calmness. Peace. Kilograms of metal between you and the viciou…

> Honestly avoiding people on the street improves my mental and physical health by reducing chronic cortisol. These fuckers stare at you and worse.

... you do realize that you are also "these fuckers", right? It's like complaining about "being stuck in traffic": no, you are the traffic.

The people on the street are just people. They aren't any different from your coworkers, your family members, or the parents of your kid's classmates. If merely being in the presence of other people causes you serious anxiety, you might want to consider asking a medical expert for potential therapy options before it gets even worse and you're left unable to leave the home at all.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#240

Post by crote »

juleiie wrote: post #235
Grombobulous wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't literally ask where you live where you feel this way as I don't need you to reveal personal info about yourself, but I truly believe that if you feel this way and you don't live in some kind of extreme outlier crime-laden area, you might want to seriously think about talking to a therapist. This level of fear you describe is not a healthy or reasonable way to live your life and is not a very typical sentiment…

These feelings are coming from being stared at. I can manage them by staring at people back in not so pleasant ways and having a weapon in a pocket if the staring contest escalates.

How do you know those people aren't staring at you because you started staring at them in an unpleasant way in response to them randomly glancing a look vaguely in your direction?

I don't stare at people. They don't stare at me either. Problem solved?

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