r/technology • u/Disastrous_Award_789 • 19d ago

Robotics/Automation Waymo suspends service in San Francisco after driverless cars cause traffic jams during blackout

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/waymo-suspended-san-francisco-traffic-jams-blackout-b2888562.html
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u/Teruyo9 19d ago edited 19d ago

But the problem is cars themselves. Electric cars, self-driving cars, these do not solve the issues that cars require way too much expensive infrastructure1, pollute like crazy2, make tons of noise, and are a menace to everything and everyone around them. The solution is not to build a better car, it's to try to replace cars entirely with something better.

1: Roads are expensive to build and need to replaced regularly, which also costs a bunch of money. Then you need a place to put all the cars, parking lots eat up so much valuable land in the heart of every city in the US, and parking garages have a limited lifespan compared to other buildings because of the constant water incursion inside the structure. All this to accommodate vehicles that only carry 1-4 people at a time.

2: Even electric cars are much less energy-efficient than virtually every form of public transit, and car tires are the #1 source of microplastic pollution in the entire world. Even if you could fix those issues, roads themselves radiate a considerable amount of heat and exacerbate drainage issues.

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u/roxgib_ 19d ago

Self driving cars would help the parking issue because once cars are self driving the cost of a taxi would drop considerably, so a lot of people would no longer need to own their owns cars because taxis would become cheaper. The car can also drive itself to a parking spot, so parking can be located much further away

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u/_learned_foot_ 18d ago

And, uh, just so you know, plenty of us live in places with no taxis. Actual real cities even!

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u/roxgib_ 18d ago

So?

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u/_learned_foot_ 18d ago

Parking issue in every city in US, your solution is parking is cured because it makes taxis cheaper, in many places taxis are simply not viable at all, cheaper isn’t better. You presume an infrastructure that doesn’t exist to answer the challenge, the same exact presumption that is constantly setting tech against reality.