Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
Why would it mean people stop owning cars? Urbanites, probably: the same sort of people who find it convenient to call a taxi to get around in the city. But if you live outside the cities, calling a taxi/autonomous car might involve an hour or more response time, and double the amount of driving (and hence fuel consumption & traffic) for the autonomous car. And really, if I drive to a remote trailhead, I really don't want to depend on summoning someone's autonomous car to pick me up.
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I'm sure the end of car ownership won't be universal. My guess is that it will be more like boat or ATV ownership - a toy for use on the weekends, or for specific environments. The vast majority of people will have no need to own a complex, expensive, depreciating, deteriorating lump of steel which takes up significant space on their property.
Consider your typical suburban home owner who doesn't do their own maintenance and needs a two car garage plus driveway space. Imagine reclaiming 700 sq feet of living space.
Consider an urban apartment owner. No more paid parking, or crowded garages. No more worrying about the most expensive thing you own sitting on a dangerous street. Imagine all of the street-side parked cars going away. Imagine costs coming down for those who already don't own a car, because no driver needs to be paid.
No more trips to the DMV, no insurance or registration or driver's licenses, no oil changes, charging stations, having to deal with stealerships telling them they need new tires again, or haggling with crooks on Craigslist or used car lots.
Sure, some people will still want to spend $30,000 on a car for some things, but my guess is that they'll largely be relegated to expensive toys.