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by ericmay 1038 days ago
It'll be a dark, sick twist that driverless cars will get their own protected lanes in many American cities before bikes do.
3 comments

Counterpoint: traffic congestion is almost entirely due to individual driver differences. An automated lane would be vastly more efficient and could potentially lead to fewer lanes being needed for vehicles altogether. This is assuming that most cars would be automated so I'm talking about a more distant future, but I see that as more realistic than convincing America to abandon it's car addiction.
Making it easier to take a car places has always caused an increase in driving. I don't see a reason that this would change with increases in automation. It's an additive solution (like feature bloat, for example) when we need subtractive solutions (better products)
Isn't San Francisco very hilly? That's pretty bad for biking, it's a waste to reserve lanes for bikes if nobody will use them.
Meh they're not really bad for biking, and you can also just walk your bike up the hill, take a street car, or since you are probably using a bike with battery assist you can just ride up the hill.

There are plenty of options that negate this as a concern (actually it's not even a concern), especially when the alternative is big government autonomous vehicle welfare shoving ads up your ass and nickel-and-diming every move you make to participate in society.

Want to protest something? Sorry the government shut down your ride. Whoops you were mistaken for a terrorist - straight to jail! Did you forget to pay your Waymo bill? Guess you're stuck at home until you get the funds to pay it. Heading to the airport? Sorry sir you can't exit the car while the car is in motion, 40 minutes ETA until you arrive at your destination. But I can walk, it's right there! Sorry sir for your safety and those around you please enjoy this new Netflix special while you wait. You can purchase this bottle of condensed milk for $7.99 and it'll automatically be deducted from your paycheck.

Car-only infrastructure isn't just a really stupid and expensive way of doing things, it also keeps you under control.

Why though? We have plenty of bike lanes in my city and I see hundreds of cars for every bike I see. Usually those bike riders are either kids who ride on sidewalks or dudes in spandex who don’t seem to be going anywhere.