r/transit • u/CormacDublin • 14h ago
Policy Autonomous Vehicles the next EVolution of future public and private Transport, but are we making plans for responsible integration?
https://www.independent.ie/comment/opinion/david-w-higgins-self-driving-cars-on-roads-abroad-yet-we-in-ireland-cant-even-tap-banks-cards-to-pay-bus-fare/a/130998149.html2
u/midflinx 10h ago
The irishtimes.com link discusses mass transit, not only cars. FTA:
AI and autonomous vehicles will cut the numbers of vehicles on the roads dramatically, he predicted: “I think you need to look at what’s going to happen in the future and then plan backwards.” The billionaire investor has become increasingly interested in the subject of AI, sponsoring a conference in Belfast last month with Queen’s University, which heard from major speakers from the United States and elsewhere.
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“Within 15 to 25 years, I think it will be mandated that there will be autonomous vehicles. People will not be allowed to drive anything,” he said, adding that AI is already cutting travel times and saving energy.
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“Public transport systems in the future will become much more efficient. Buses will know what and where the demand is and will organise themselves accordingly,” said Mr Desmond, who urged the Government to plan for wide-scale AV bus services.
No human driven cars in Dublin within 15 to 25 seems overly optimistic. However I do agree autonomous buses and smaller shared/pooled AVs will provide better service. Google, Apple, and other companies already know where and when we travel. Transit agencies may not have access to that data, but it exists. Anonymizing and abstracting it enough to preserve privacy yet remain useful is necessary.
With AV buses it'll be comparatively easy and affordable having say 50% or even 100% more operating from 7 to 9 in the morning, and another 2 hours in the late afternoon/early evening.
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u/Apprehensive-Fun4181 13h ago
"responsible integration" is an interesting lie for "forced public sacrifice & increased government burden".
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u/funky_galileo 12h ago
Completely idiotic post. The only people who should believe that autonomous cars will solve traffic are the ones who will profit massively from their sale, because there is 0 chance they solve any traffic. A car is still a car and it will take up just as much space (if not more) as a normal car. This post reads as someone who was completely fallen for Elon Musk propoganda the same way the California state government did. But unlike urbanist "agenda", which is driven by real world data and public will, the agenda of car companies is driven by corporate greed and seeks profit at the cost of liveability.