I do share the concern about robotaxis exacerbating car dependency and making cities worse. On the other hand, if people don't have to own cars because of robotaxis, and if robotaxis are much safer than human drivers are currently, then there's one possibility that could be nice: vehicles could get smaller.
A lot of people buy their vehicle for maximum usage, so you see a bunch of people driving big SUVs alone. If they don't need to own, then they can hail a one-person vehicle, a two-person vehicle etc., depending on the trip. And if there's no big concern for crash safety, these vehicles could be much lighter. I wonder if this may make some of the space issues less bad. (And actually, this makes me want to narrow the roads)
If robotaxis get cheap enough, I'm sure there's induced demand issues where an improvement in congestion leads to more people riding, so miles-traveled tax does sound like an important policy.
I've taken a few of Waymo rides over the past week, and I've been pleasantly surprised by their consistent ability to pull over to a vacant curb space. This should be a requirement for all ride hail and delivery vehicles in busy parts of town.
I do share the concern about robotaxis exacerbating car dependency and making cities worse. On the other hand, if people don't have to own cars because of robotaxis, and if robotaxis are much safer than human drivers are currently, then there's one possibility that could be nice: vehicles could get smaller.
A lot of people buy their vehicle for maximum usage, so you see a bunch of people driving big SUVs alone. If they don't need to own, then they can hail a one-person vehicle, a two-person vehicle etc., depending on the trip. And if there's no big concern for crash safety, these vehicles could be much lighter. I wonder if this may make some of the space issues less bad. (And actually, this makes me want to narrow the roads)
If robotaxis get cheap enough, I'm sure there's induced demand issues where an improvement in congestion leads to more people riding, so miles-traveled tax does sound like an important policy.
I've taken a few of Waymo rides over the past week, and I've been pleasantly surprised by their consistent ability to pull over to a vacant curb space. This should be a requirement for all ride hail and delivery vehicles in busy parts of town.