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re: productivity - you forgot to point out that the same problems occur with buses and trains, except people have to wait 10 minutes, 20 minutes, half an hour for them. Whereas with self-driving cars in the uber model, you wait 5 minutes, with zero warning time.

And the article fails to mention a key benefit of self-drivers: removal of human error, and lowering of accident rates because of it. This is still theoretical, but it almost certain to become reality. Imagine saving 33% of the lives lost annually in car crashes. That's 10,000 people.

Another key benefit not mentioned is the enablement of non-empowered people. Sight-impaired people, young people, older people, people who are unwell or otherwise physically limited - all of these people can benefit from door-to-door service offered by self-driving cars, and not offered by buses. Yes, today there are "Access" vans, but cmon. Those are not a viable large-scale solution. Self-drivers will set many people free.

Self-driving cars are going to happen, because they're convenient and offer privacy and utility that a bus or train cannot. Some people will be willing to pay extra for that. Some won't. As the author of the article said: We need the mix.