• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I disagree about being no negatives. Cars with or without drivers are ruining both our cities and our planet and San Francisco already has multiple excellent public transportation options. All driverless cars do is discourage people from taking public transit.

    • Grimy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I see them as a stepping stone towards a mostly carless society personally.

      I also think anyone being discouraged from taking public transit would likewise buy a car before taking public transit. I can even see the opposite, where it lets people who still need a car 5% of the time sell their ride in exchange for mostly public transit and a bit of taxi.

      Individually owned cars are the devil and true public transport is definitely king, but I think driverless taxi services can serve an important niche.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I think you’re missing the end goal here, which is having everyone in a driverless car. The taxis are a first step in that direction. It will by no means stop there.

        There was a reason why GM was investing so heavily in Cruise (until a woman got dragged under a Cruise car in SF during a crash). They weren’t doing it in the hopes people would transition to public transit.

        • Grimy@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I’m not missing the end goal, I just don’t think GM will pull back if we decide to ban driverless cars or boycott them.

          We both want 100% public transport but that’s beside the point, the event happened because the car was driverless, not because it wasn’t a bus.

          If someone was proposing to ban all cars in San Francisco, I’m all for it but that isn’t really what’s happening. But for now, I’ll take driverless cars even if it only gets rid of a couple privately owned ones.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            You’re right. It isn’t what’s happening and I am proposing a ban on personal transport in San Francisco (and other major metropolitan areas with decent public transportation systems).

            I also don’t see this as a path to that happening. And that should be the goal.

    • Kcap@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      To be fair, calling San Francisco’s public transportation ‘excellent’ isn’t something I can agree with after living there for over a decade haha. But it is better than nothing 🤷