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0 pointstimdavila9y ago0 comments

I think this claim is making the assumption that self driving cars will be much more accessible and available than taxis/Ubers today. Where I live (in the suburbs) I can't rely on an Uber being available at any time I would want to go somewhere, and taxis only exist at the airport. If I could count on a car showing up at any time, anywhere I might go after a short but predictable wait time, I would definitely ditch my car. But the current options available to me don't allow for that. I don't want to own a car - I feel like I have to.

Also, cost is another big factor. I would also assume that taking a self driving car would be a smaller expense than owning for the average user.

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agildehaus9y ago

Ridesharing currently requires human drivers which limits them to where the drivers want to be and limits them to how many drivers are in your area.

When human drivers are not required you have neither of these problems. It will be significantly easier for ridesharing companies to provide availability in non-dense areas.

Hell, they'll be able to control where these vehicles go by algorithm, so it will simply be a matter of adding more vehicles to their fleet and the algorithm will take care of minimizing response time for everyone.

rtx9y ago

Why would ride sharing companies behave diffrently than human drivers. I don't think laws of economics will change.

erikpukinskis9y ago

It takes time to sign up human drivers and onboard them. Buying new cars can be done in bulk at scale.

Also, you can easily send a car from one city to another. A human driver needs to get home to their family. You can't just say "drive to Miami and work there for three weeks".

Also, simply decreasing the cost per mile by cutting labor costs makes further flung areas more accessible. You can't sell a $10 ride if it costs $10 just to pay someone to drive to the area and back. But if it costs $4 to send a car, that ride becomes financially viable.

anko9y ago

Cause they are competing with anyone with a car. That makes margins a fair bit lower.

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