Nice piece! If I may add what I think is another under-discussed aspect of AVs; they can be solitary. I stopped driving a long time ago but use ride-sharing occasionally, when I recently took an AV to work one morning, I suddenly realized that it was the first time in years I'd been alone in a moving car. Not even a driver with whom to have (or not have) a conversation. Waymo cars humorously let me pick the music because there's no driver who's tastes might clash with mine.
Public transit seems to me obviously where we shoult invest more: it has these great positive externalities on the environment and more equal access. But there's also that important comaredrie of shared transit spaces, and AVs feel like a worrying step backwards in this regard.
Nice piece! If I may add what I think is another under-discussed aspect of AVs; they can be solitary. I stopped driving a long time ago but use ride-sharing occasionally, when I recently took an AV to work one morning, I suddenly realized that it was the first time in years I'd been alone in a moving car. Not even a driver with whom to have (or not have) a conversation. Waymo cars humorously let me pick the music because there's no driver who's tastes might clash with mine.
Public transit seems to me obviously where we shoult invest more: it has these great positive externalities on the environment and more equal access. But there's also that important comaredrie of shared transit spaces, and AVs feel like a worrying step backwards in this regard.