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by natefox 2643 days ago
Even taking that to a more 'day to day' degree:

1. I live near the coast. I want to go surfing, but not sure where. Is my rideshare or autonomous car going to drive me around checking out different breaks to see what waves are good?

2. How about when I get out of the water, does it keep my change of clothes with it? Many times I take a couple boards with me cause I'm not sure which board is right for the conditions. And wtf do I do with my phone? Dont tell me its waterproof cause salt water for 2hrs at a time == destroy just about anything other than fiberglass.

3. What autonomous car is taking me camping? Sure I dont touch my car much once I'm done setting up camp, but I sure load it up and grab stuff from time to time out of it.

4. I need some 10' 2x4s from Home Depot, some plywood and also a bunch of bags of soil. Whats my best option here?

5. Going back to the beach thing.. how about taking my kids to the beach? That's a shitshow of a mess.. which autonomous or ride share is going to work best? Cause carseats + sand + water to rinse off + snacks + towels.. omg all the crap we bring and need to take home.

For anyone who enjoys the outdoors, the autonomous/ride share thing just isnt anywhere close. Same for anyone with kids. Same for anyone who does projects with large-ish materials (aka runs to Home Depot).

4 comments

This was my thought - I mountain bike for fun. Maybe it will drive itself but having a car/truck with the necessary setup for my bike/camping is part of my transportation requirements that I've not seen addressed yet.
> 4. I need some 10' 2x4s from Home Depot, some plywood and also a bunch of bags of soil. Whats my best option here?

This may actually be a good case for car sharing. If I could call up pickup truck to my door whenever I need, it'd be much cheaper / more efficient than getting a ride to a truck rental place and doing the same.

Ride share falls apart for this of course, but if the truck can deliver itself to my door? I'm all in.

Urbanite hipsters don't enjoy nature. They read about it on buzzfeed while drinking lattes.
For infrequent trips like camping or picking up Home Depot stuff, you rent a large vehicle. I used to live near a Zipcar garage for these types of trips.
Home Depot already rents trucks. Although 10' stock fits in a Civic.
Home Depot, U Haul, etc. charge by the mile in addition to by the day. Useless for long trips.