Comment by JKCalhoun
Are taxis like the anti-public transportation? Maybe they're "public" transportation for the individual?
But we don't want drivers because....
So strange to me.
Are taxis like the anti-public transportation? Maybe they're "public" transportation for the individual?
But we don't want drivers because....
So strange to me.
> Omaha is not very "urban" (in the Manhattan sense)
I split time between Manhattan and Wyoming. I still take taxis from time to time in the latter, e.g. to and from the airport or to and from a bar on the weekend with friends.
Much of the US was built in ways that make mass transit impractical and inefficient, but those same areas have comprehensive road systems already built out, sometimes excessively. That gives self-driving taxis an opportunity to fill in the transit gap in the huge expanses of this country ill-suited for trains and buses, but well-equipped with roads.
I think the actual concern is around medium-to-large cities and metros, where self-driving cars will compete directly with mass transit, much like Uber does, but potentially much more competitively.
> Are taxis like the anti-public transportation?
Taxis are a useful way to get around, including to and from public transit. That's all that should matter. Whether they fit into a particular urban vision is secondary to the fact that they're desirable to the people living there.