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0 pointsjasonwatkinspdx12y ago0 comments

You've misunderstood. Automation allows greater throughput given a set road real-estate, but that does not directly transfer into more total cars owned.

In particular, if totally automatic driving is legalized, then many people will have a strong incentive to use on demand car services as they'll be cheaper and more dependable than existing taxi options. In parts of the world where labor is still extremely cheap this may not be the case, but it is the most likely outcome in the developed world.

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shin_lao12y ago· 2 in thread

And an engineering study published last year concluded that automation could theoretically allow nearly four times as many cars to travel on a given stretch of highway.

I am pretty sure it means what it means: the possibility of selling more cars.

jasonwatkinspdxOP12y ago

> allow nearly four times as many cars to travel on a given stretch of highway

That's throughput not total ownership. A manufacturer doesn't monetize throughput. Moreover a study about allowed throughput is about the civil engineering constraints. It doesn't say anything about purchasing demand. Throughput can increase while total ownership decreases if average car utilization increases. The vast majority of cars spend the bulk of their time parked. Autonomy invalidates the reasons why those cars sit parked. If you work in software it's important for you to understand these distinctions. That or you're just trolling. I can't decide.

shin_lao12y ago

My point is that if there are less traffic jam, owning a car becomes interesting. I currently do not own a car because of traffic jams. Remove traffic jams and I'll buy one right away.

If you work in software it's important for you to understand these distinctions. That or you're just trolling. I can't decide.

You never know who is at the other end. In my case, I just felt it was inappropriate. But I could have been an insecure teenager and this comment could have hurt a lot.

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