Mobility advocates have an idyllic vision. Are they kidding themselves?

摘要

We may not know exactly how self-driving cars will fit into urban transportation, but I can tell you this: It will be a painful, confusing, error-prone process for the everyday person. It will be a pain because disruption is painful. If this revolution is comparable to the advent of the Internet, well, I'm sorry to say, we're about to enter the dial-up age. Mobility advocates, like me, have an idyllic vision of what on-demand access to cheap transportation via networks of robotaxis could do for the world. Our air will be cleaner. Our streets less congested. Elderly and disabled people will be granted renewed independence, and you won't have to stress about your kids' car pool.