Driverless cars were the future but now the truth is out: they’re on the road to nowhere::The dream of these vehicles ruling the roads remains just that. Focusing on public transport would be much smarter, says transport writer Christian Wolmar

  • silverbax@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    59
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    The problem is not that driverless cars won’t be viable. The problem is the same as several other tech developments where a few startups promise tech that hasn’t matured yet, taking in billions of ‘stupid’ money from investors who are greedy but not knowledgeable about the underlying viability of what can realistically be done in a decade.

    One hundred years from now? Driverless cars will be old news, so common or maybe even surpassed with something newer. But investors want a 10 year explosion of cash, not a 50 year investment.

      • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        17
        ·
        11 months ago

        Aerotaxis for the rich already exist: helicopters, Gulfstream, etc.

        Or a 747 with everything inside gold plated if you’re a Saudi Prince.

        • Ech@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          7
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          Can’t land a helicopter at the club without a bunch of pansies whining about “public safety”, as if a few heads on the street is such a big deal.

          • erwan@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            7
            ·
            11 months ago

            Aerotaxis would still be aircrafts.

            I don’t know why people imagine that making an aircraft the shape of a car suddenly landing would be as simple as going to a parking lot.

            • eric@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              11 months ago

              Air taxis are sometimes helicopters or quadcopters, and while they aren’t parking in parking lots for cars, but could still end up landing in what equates to a parking space. In New York City, they are already presenting plans to expand an air taxi hub on a pier in lower Manhattan to transport people and goods to and from the city, and it looks like a bunch of parking spaces with a logistics facility attached.