If you wanted something like dynamic routing, then what you'd do is have it as a supplement to standard routing. Effectively taxi to the nearest bus stop.
There's absolutely no reason for dynamic routing to not reliably be faster than or as fast as static routes.
You could even design vehicles for transporting multiple individual passengers in totally separate spaces.
There are endless improvements to the status quo you can achieve with self driving vehicles, things which will simultaneously improve quality of life for literally everybody.
When 100 cars hit a decrease from 4 lanes to 3 you are going to have a jam no matter how the cars are driving.
When we continue using individual transportation to allow suburbs to expand further and further from the places people want to go roads will continue to fill and traffic will slow and jam.
We can make the roads straighter with more gentle curves and robotaxis can drive 100mph you say!
Keep going…
Traffic jams most often occur during periods of peak usage (rush hour). How much of this is attributable to driver attention vs the inherent inefficiency of many independent vehicles attempting to coordinate speed, position, exiting, entering, etc? I don't take for granted that independent (vs synchronized) FSD would be significantly better.
FSD cars that coordinated with each other could leave lights even more quickly and better collaborate to zipper, observe/communicate/predict lights and modulate speed to prevent excessive stopping, etc.
I can’t see how that won’t negate and even be worse than any benefit from improved reaction times.
Any attempt to solve for repositioning just takes you closer and closer to buses or trains.
Not necessarily. FSD services would probably optimize for occupancy, which would mean limited and unpredictable availability for customers. Since the fleet is a capital investment rather than being floated by gig workers, supply would presumably be more constrained than Uber etc are now, and we see what happens at peak demand with them. I don't see that business logic changing between Uber drivers and FSD.
The really big win here is parking and time spent looking for it. Self-driving trips can just be shorter
Parking is a problem because of our dependence on cars. You also don’t need to park if you take a bus or a train and the things you want to get to are built near the bus and train stations.
> You also don’t need to park if you take a bus or a train and the things you want to get to are built near the bus and train stations.
It is nonsensical to compare self-driving cars against buses or trains in a situation where we still have tons of private cars on the road.
FSD can totally improve buses too, and well-designed multi-passenger vehicles can certainly easily end up making up most of the fleet. You could for example seat 4 people in completely isolated spaces without needing outrageously large vehicles. That'd be great for serving commutes where loads of people are going to the same areas.
Should, but if you really want to sell it to the public, you want to keep the service as close as possible or better than what's currently available. That's more feasible with fewer passengers on a vehicle, too many stops will easily double your travel time.
But they don’t solve the fundamental problems with mass transit: comfort, convenience, and trip times.
I was just at Disney World and joking to my wife that the park is propaganda to get people to use public transit because Walt loved trains. (You can’t get into the parks by driving. Only the train, bus, or gondola. If you drive you have to park at this giant lot and take the train from there.)
But even within that self contained environment—where land for transit infrastructure is basically free because Disney bought it all decades ago—public transit still isn’t great. Trying to get three kids and all their shit out the door to catch a bus or train, having to fold up strollers, etc., just sucks in comparison to throwing them into a car.
Yes, Walt did want that extra step of separation from the real world. Then Disney realized the logistical problems with it and didn't repeat it for the other parks, but they're stuck with it at Magic Kingdom. (And it also acts as an upsell for the premium resorts that are positioned right next to Magic Kingdom in walking distance.)
You straight up lack empathy.
Transit advocates are the ones who lack empathy for the typical person whose life is improved by having personal, point-to-point transit.
Someone using a train doesn’t mean someone else can’t use a car, but when cities make decisions about their transportation strategies, they have to prioritize.
How selfish does someone have to be to see dozens of examples of world class cities with trains and roads, then think that trains shouldn't exist and people without cars shouldn't be able to get around just in case roads could be improved in some secret undetermined way.
Or are you against the idea of “public transportation” (transportation costs shared by taxpayers) and your criticisms of its quality or convenience are really moot because you are ideologically against the premise?
ChrisArchitect•1d ago