[jedberg]

My car doubles as a "everything I need when I take the kid out" storage. We always have:

- diapers

- changing pad

- strollers

- extra clothes

- kids movies for the tv in the van, queued up to where we left off

Sure, people in places like NYC just carry all that stuff with them when they take the kid out, but they also take the kid out less often or move to the burbs because it's a huge pain in the butt.

I'd much rather own the car simply so that I can keep all my stuff in it that I need when I go out.

[emidln]

When I lived in the Metro DC area (Bailey's Crossroads in NoVA) with a 1-2 year old we kept that stuff in the bottom of our stroller (mostly in a single medium-sized bag). We took the stroller everywhere via buses and trains. We very rarely drove our vehicle while living in DC since a couple grocery stores, several restaurants, and several department stores were within easy walking distance (about a mile) from our house. With the stroller, we used carabiners to hold bags on the walk back. For longer excursions (all day to a museum or zoo), I'd bring a backpack with misc stuff in addition to what was in the stroller. Our stroller had a detachable car seat integrated (the car seat set locked into the stroller when using it as a stroller), which allowed us to use taxis if needed.

[jedberg]

Yes, we've done all that too when traveling. But it's a lot easier to just hop in the car and go, knowing that all that stuff is already there.

[Johnny555]

It's only easier if you know you'll have parking at your destination. If you live in a city with convenient transit service, you don't need to worry about parking.

And if you want to take a long stroll down the waterfront, you don't need to return to your car to go home, you just hop on a different train.

[glangdale]

... and someone else mentioned the car seat, too. Always fun!

However: unless you are planning a very large family, this is a transitory phase. I noted as my kids matured the amount of crap you have to lug around drops precipitously. I can't see that many people needing to carry the stuff on the bulky end of this for years and years. I carried my kids sequentially in a back-pack (3 years separation, so #1 was walking everywhere when #2 came along) and managed to fit all the above (aside from movies) into the back pocket of the kid backpack (strongly recommended for the transition to walking, incidentally, as a backpack is almost zero hassle when empty, while a stroller is just as hard to push empty as full).

But back on topic: you could lease a car/van for the Peak Kid bit of your life and still save money.

[jedberg]

Yeah I know it goes down over time and then won't be an issue anymore. We did in fact get a van that I plan to keep for Peak Kid.

I fully expect to be using at least one driverless vehicle before they leave to college. I'm just not sure if it will be exclusively a rented driverless car or something else.

[nradov]

Wait until your kids get involved in sports and you have to haul around a trunk full of equipment.

[bufordsharkley]

For non-personally-owned self-driving cars to catch on, you'd probably have to see an expansion of convenient storage lockers near parking lots.

[fludlight]

don't forget the bulky and heavy car seat(s)

[alkonaut]

For subscription cars to be even remotely usable by anyone with small children, you have to summon a car with the correct configuration of car seats.

Having to install one just won't fly. if you can't get one with the right car seats, it's a no go for a daily use family car. On the other hand it might easily work as a second car in such families. I'll probably need to own/lease my own car for the foreseeable future, but I'd be very happy to not have to own two like I do now. And my requirements for a second car are much simpler.

[jedberg]

Right!! I totally forgot that part because it's just always there. But yes that's actually the worst part.

[chingjun]

Easy, have a self driving cart to follow you wherever you go!

[rrhd]

pfft, made up problems. You will submit to not owning anything. You don't need a house either, just go to an AirBnB every night.

Everything must be a service. Ideally provided by google.

Next thing your going to say is that waiting for 15 minutes in the rain with a crying baby while you get gouged for triple price because of nearby concert is a problem for you. Just suck it up and accept that car ownership is a outdated idea and you need to bow to the will of the tech hipsters and conglomerates.

[jodrellblank]

An entire AirBnB? You're just an opinion-having meatball, there to get adverts screamed into your face 24/7 while you have opinions and allocate your UBI.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BzOVUGrIIAAH8c9.jpg:large

There won't be everything as a service, because you won't have anything. There's no need for you to do anything in this fiat-advertising-bubble-money future world. Expect maybe a stream of soylent and a ventilated cage, unless you have pro-tier skills in extracting money from Stanford Prison Experiment 'customers'.

[aey]

we (people with families), will just create our own zones outside of cities with identical tacky housing that will make childless hipsters go blind. there will be no avocado toast, and the only music will be alternative rock from the mid 1990s

[mjrbrennan]

Hey I have a family and you better not even try taking away my avo toast buddy!

[LrnByTeach]

I agree, say now you may have two CARS each costing $400/month ( AAA estimate ) Total cost of ownership ( Insurance, gasoline, Repairs, depreciation ).

Now when some thing is available for $200/month , you won ONE CAR like OLD way ( for Kids etc.. ), and your spouse may use FLEET CAR .

[jedberg]

Sure, I can totally see us ditching the second car for a self driving subscription. We barely use the second car as is, but we use it just enough that it's still cheaper than Lyft/Uber. Unless the self driving rental were even cheaper, it wouldn't make sense.