Of course the car companies are all in on an improvement to their devices that would sell more of them; what I really want, though, is far more buses on the road (big ones on the arterials, van-sized ones on the side streets) and a much larger and more intricate trolley system.
I don't want to see a world that enhances and entrenches private vehicle movement; that's not necessary. The goal is to get from place to place. I want to step outside, walk a block, wait 3 minutes, and get on a bus or a marshrutka and be on my way without ever thinking about gas, traffic, insurance, or any of that.
All this "when self-driving cars..." is missing the point: we can move people conveniently and easily and more earth-friendly with what we've got, we just don't use it well because car companies want to sell everyone a private vehicle.
Follow the money. If there was sufficient profit in what you describe, it would be happening. Since it's clearly not then it has to be done by Government. That means actual people lobbying their local and state government for change.
And on top of that, it has to be marketed properly. Where I live there's essentially no taxi/Uber/Lyft service (see my comment above about waiting 4 hours for a taxi), but the County has an on-demand bus service that you can call and they'll pick you up at your home. However, since I've never had to take it, the few times I needed a taxi (e.g., to go pick up my car from the shop), I never even remembered that it exists!
I don't want to see a world that enhances and entrenches private vehicle movement; that's not necessary. The goal is to get from place to place. I want to step outside, walk a block, wait 3 minutes, and get on a bus or a marshrutka and be on my way without ever thinking about gas, traffic, insurance, or any of that.
All this "when self-driving cars..." is missing the point: we can move people conveniently and easily and more earth-friendly with what we've got, we just don't use it well because car companies want to sell everyone a private vehicle.