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General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019
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big kahuna
Dec 2, 17 13:18
Post #1 of 12 (805 views)
That's right around the corner. Really, this could be a revolution if done right. And it could deliver untold mobility benefits to the elderly and those who don't want or can't afford their own private transportation. We just need to make sure the political "elite" doesn't screw this up, is all. ;-)

"General Motors laid out its vision for self-driving vehicles on Thursday, telling investors it planned a commercial launch of fleets of fully autonomous robo-taxis in multiple dense urban environments in 2019, in a challenge to rivals such as Alphabet Inc's Waymo.

Underscoring the potential opportunity ahead, GM President Dan Ammann told investors the lifetime revenue generation of one of its self-driving cars could eventually be in the "several hundred thousands of dollars." That compares with the $30,000 on average that GM collects today for one of its vehicles, mostly derived from the initial sale."

GM says it will deploy self-driving robo-taxis on a large scale in U.S. cities in 2019 - Autoblog
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [big kahuna] [ In reply to ]
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timbasile
Dec 2, 17 13:41
Post #2 of 12 (785 views)
The long term implications of this aren't just limited to transportation.

What do you need stores for when a truck will simply bring anything to your door and you just take what you want to purchase?
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [timbasile] [ In reply to ]
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big kahuna
Dec 2, 17 13:44
Post #3 of 12 (780 views)
timbasile wrote:
The long term implications of this aren't just limited to transportation.

What do you need stores for when a truck will simply bring anything to your door and you just take what you want to purchase?

I'm loving it. On a purely selfish note, I'll be 59 and heading into my late middle age when this GM stuff starts becoming more common (hopefully). By the time I'm in my 70s and 80s -- when I could be a danger to others on our roads hahahahaha! -- they should have everything nicely worked.

Like I said; I'm loving it. :-)
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [big kahuna] [ In reply to ]
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tfleeger
Dec 2, 17 13:45
Post #4 of 12 (780 views)
How are robo taxis a big deal compared to non robo taxis? Im pretty sure the elderly have a few transportation options without robo taxis. Maybe i missed sonething.
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [tfleeger] [ In reply to ]
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big kahuna
Dec 2, 17 14:05
Post #5 of 12 (769 views)
tfleeger wrote:
How are robo taxis a big deal compared to non robo taxis? Im pretty sure the elderly have a few transportation options without robo taxis. Maybe i missed sonething.

It's about ultimate convenience and really low cost if this thing scales out the way many of us are hoping. These will be "rides on demand" and similar to the cost you pay to have a good cellphone plan. You order the ride via your phone, for example, it shows up quickly and takes you where you want to go -- all without worrying about driving or focusing on things you may not be able to focus on anymore -- and then you do the same thing on your return trip. The possibilities (again, if scaled correctly) are endless.

I love my personal automobile, don't get me wrong. I am a product of the Detroit Motor City car culture, believe me. But I really could get behind something like this.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [big kahuna] [ In reply to ]
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FishyJoe
Dec 3, 17 5:13
Post #6 of 12 (716 views)
This will be the biggest improvement in road safety since the seat belt. I wish this technology existed when I was seriously training on my bike. I think I used 8 lives due to aggressive, drunk and distracted drivers.

With every car having 360 video coverage, a lot of bad motorists will now get dinged as well. So it will even make non-autonomous cars safer. I hope they develop apps so if you see a crazy driver, you can send the video straight to the police in real time.
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [tfleeger] [ In reply to ]
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FishyJoe
Dec 3, 17 5:25
Post #7 of 12 (713 views)
tfleeger wrote:
How are robo taxis a big deal compared to non robo taxis? Im pretty sure the elderly have a few transportation options without robo taxis. Maybe i missed sonething.

Taxis are very expensive for any trip of length. Autonomous cars could operate in private fleets and significantly reduce cost, to the point of being cheaper than vehicle ownership.
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [big kahuna] [ In reply to ]
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Andrewmc
Dec 3, 17 5:45
Post #8 of 12 (706 views)
I have a friend who is a transport planner

They are currently working for two cities / towns, on in MA, the other in China where the ownership of private cars is basically eliminated.

So no new developments in either will provide parking, no city parking and the city will contract out transport for residents.

It's very interesting work that with the development of driverless cars becomes much more realistic
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [Andrewmc] [ In reply to ]
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big kahuna
Dec 3, 17 8:42
Post #9 of 12 (688 views)
Andrewmc wrote:
I have a friend who is a transport planner

They are currently working for two cities / towns, on in MA, the other in China where the ownership of private cars is basically eliminated.

So no new developments in either will provide parking, no city parking and the city will contract out transport for residents.

It's very interesting work that with the development of driverless cars becomes much more realistic

Urban density and automobiles often don't mix, I freely concede that. Maybe concerted planning will do better than the mashup of rules and regulations many US cities have come up with as a way of accommodating both the automobile and dense populations. I think driverless technologies can help greatly in that regard.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [big kahuna] [ In reply to ]
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Andrewmc
Dec 3, 17 8:57
Post #10 of 12 (684 views)
Both these new cities are being entirely planned around the elimination of private transport. My new apt in London has something like 30-50 spaces for 200+ apartments and only suites and penthouses can purchase them. The owners of those will have multiple properties, drivers and use car services. For us peasants public transport is readily available.

These new cities that are being planned have zero public parking. Zero on street parking and they have analysed traffic flows, commutes and populations and believe they can service the city by almost eliminating private vehicles.
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [Andrewmc] [ In reply to ]
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torrey
Dec 3, 17 10:07
Post #11 of 12 (674 views)
There is a new building in Los Angels that has a standard underground parking garage because they need that to move in tenants now, but the whole thing is designed to replace the parking with an underground shopping center.

Cities won’t be able to eliminate parking all together as they will need queue areas for autonomous vehicles to wait during lower demand times. Otherwise the streets will be clogged with empty cars driving around the block waiting for someone.
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Re: General Motors to Go Big With Self-Driving Cars in Cities by 2019 [torrey] [ In reply to ]
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Andrewmc
Dec 3, 17 10:43
Post #12 of 12 (663 views)
True but you don't need as much space for autonomous vehicles
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