[sangnoir]

I don't think it's an edge case: If an operator redesigns the interior of their fleet with large, comfortable reclining seats, long distance travel by road will become much more competitive with business-/first-class air travel. Boarding at my house and being dropped off at my destination and sleeping all the way (or working if you're a telecommuter, or watching movies) is quite appealing to me - the lack of TSA and/or Rapey-scan is a bonus

edit: changed a few words for clarity

[notahacker]

I've been on long distance buses with large, comfortable reclining seats and convenient pickup/dropoff points for 8 hour plus journeys more than most sane people

I assure you it's not the human driver which means that most people strongly prefer other methods of transport.

[FreakyT]

I feel like a car has greater potential for comfort than even a "comfortable" reclining bus seat.

For example, right now the idea of a folding bed in a car isn't something you'll ever see as an option, since it would only really appeal to people trying to live in their cars, which probably don't overlap much with the "people who buy fancy cars with fancy extras" market segment. However, in a future where a car can auto-drive you on a long-distance trip, why not offer an actual bed mode in the car as a purchasable option?

[scirocco]

A bed. With seat belt :)

[barney54]

In the future cars might be so safe you don't need a seat belt. Another thing that changes with autonomy is a reduction of crash-related features.

[Piskvorrr]

Improbable, unless you can handwave terrain away. (And deer. And malfunctions. And...) There's so many things a car can impact besides other cars that a non-seatbelt in a car is far less likely than cars being replaced by some other form of transport.

[lddemi]

Imagine something like a modern first class cabin with the concept of 180 degree flat bed-seats.

[sangnoir]

A closer analogy (rather than a bus) would be human-driven limousine: not bunched up with strangers, door-to-door service (not just "convenient" location). Even that considered, I am yet to encounter a limousine designed for long-distance travel (but that might just be because I'm not rich). Also, the human driver and the associated control interfaces takes up interior space which would have been put to other uses.

It's not about the driver for me - I would hire such human-driven limousine today (for a reasonable cost). I think the costs of finding the driver a place to stay and planning their trips in order for the driver to get home frequently makes such a service impossible today. This problem would go away if the car was self-driven - the service becomes scalable.

[cardiffspaceman]

Not being rich, I believe from folklore that the rich have this in the form of custom luxury buses. The furnishings seem to be about the same level as those of an RV or yacht but there is more space and a professional driver.

[WalterSear]

I don't think the comparison is as apt as, for instance, a 1st class intercontinental seat on Singapore airlines.

https://www.singaporeair.com/saar5/images/navigation/flying-...

[notahacker]

Road travel is very rarely smoother than air travel though. I've actually been to Singapore on BA's lie flat beds, as well as bus seats that weren't far off in basic comfort, and train beds which were much more comfortable and generally smoother than both yet remain a very niche form of budget transport. Taking an order of magnitude longer than air travel means the overland options are still rarely a better fit (the sort of road trip that can be done overnight without interfering with schedules is also a nice short evening flight, and I'm happier emailing on the plane too). I can see the appeal to some demographics for some itineraries, but can't see people preferring a series of road trips amounting to 40hrs over a 4hr flight being a mainstream market.

[alasdair_]

I've taken sleeper train services before from Scotland to London. It's cheaper than a hotel and the service leaves at 11pm and arrives at 7am. You get a room with a real bed (and lockable door, sink, toilet, etc.) and a pretty decent restaurant and bar to avail yourself of. You also get to leave from the city center and arrive in the city center, without messing around with security and arriving 1-2 hours before the flight.

[intended]

The line from travel via auto mated car to TSA style security invasion is actually pretty short.

It just takes one person to decide to go carmageddon and now every car will have weight restrictions, luggage restrictions, then there will be ~~economy cars~~ pods and more.

The moment you start paying for a seat, and the car is owned by someone else, the owners are going to see exactly how LITTLE they can keep in the car, and still get someone to use it.

Unlike flying which benefited from budget airlines, car transport is not likely to benefit more people by going this route.

All this thread is filled with people talking about some sort of benevolent firm wanting to take care of its customers.

The moment the market place hits it's growth plateau, people will be cutting corners to reduce weight, and improve fuel efficiency.

As for rapey scans - they will just expect people to get to a hub, and from that hub pick up their cars.

The hub will have the rapey scans.

The point of the TSA is to make the public feel that something is being "done", post 9/11.

Its a product of fear, not of security requirements.

So you can take it as a bet, that if any of the scenarios come true here - you will eventually return back to TSA levels of security theater.

[Noos]

Do you drive?

Because motion sickness prevents a large amount of people from watching movies or doing work in a car, even if you could make a decent enough workspace. The start and stop mode of car traffic is much different from an airplane or even train, and the road surface varies so much by area that potholes would make sleeping, working, or what have you a nightmare.

A lot of this discussion seems dominated by people who don't use a car or understand driving.

[geomark]

Am I the only one who gets car sick when reading or using a computer in a car? Everyone keeps talking about working while on a long commute in a self-driving vehicle. Doing more than 30 minutes of it is not really an option for me.

[madengr]

No. Me too. Can’t even read in a plane, or watch a video. Won’t even think about getting on a boat.

[cardiffspaceman]

I think there's going to be a spectrum of motion sickness.

Would happen to me as a teen when we were going down well-made freeways to go to the beach, I had to just watch the scenery go by and ruminate about the lives of the residents of the various districts. Never happened to me as an adult in a plane, even reading tiny low-res screen of netbook. Can't imagine reading on a sailboat, I've got a job to do, or I'm drinking and socializing. No problem reading or walking around on the one cruise ship I've used.

Of course there are individuals out there who can't read or even sit quietly in any of those scenarios without motion sickness.

[Piskvorrr]

Nope, not alone. Might be something with sudden acceleration changes - doesn't happen to me on a train, and only rarely on a bus.

[andrewtbham]

Yeh things will change... you sorta already see stuff like this in Asia where drivers are common... people have vans with offices in the back and work while their driver takes them to places.

[Canada]

How common is that? I've never seen it.

[andrewtbham]

Drivers in Asia are, to my understanding, very common... Idk about the office/van. I just know one guy in South Korea that has that setup and he is rich. He says other people have it but not sure how common it is.

But "executive" back seats are very common on luxury brand vehicles in China.

[rorykoehler]

I've never seen that.

[kozak]

Would be interesting to see some photos of such vans.