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by interestica 330 days ago
> Elon is trying to reinvent public transportation

If done well, this should fix the most critical gap in public transit. You can move massive amounts of people via trains and buses -- but that doesn't get them from transit to home (unless you're lucky enough to live near an access point).

The robotaxis should be solely used for that 'last mile' -- reduce the need for transit parking (which is insane for commuter lots).
3 comments
rsynnott 330 days ago
About the only place I’ve ever been to where this complaint really rings true in suburban areas is the US, and I’d be inclined to put that more down to poor funding and planning than anything else. If anything I kinda have the opposite complaint; there are bus routes in Dublin with literally a stop every hundred metres, in weird winding routes, and you can’t get rid of them because people will write to their TD (MP).

This is what happens when you move a bus stop: https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2024/03/18/legal-a...

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Larrikin 330 days ago
Bus routes and other expansions are constantly fought against in the suburbs, not because they don't want to conveniently get to the city, but because they don't want certain people conveniently coming from the city to the suburbs. There's a history of exactly why the suburbs exist in the US.
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Mawr 329 days ago
Humans have these weird appendages called "legs". Non-americans often use them to get places.

More seriously, bicycles exist.

There is no "gap in public transit". Transporting people in cities is a solved problem. It's trains+trams/buses+bicycles. There, done.

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DennisP 328 days ago
I've lived in Germany where the public transport was fantastic. I used it all the time. It's also a great place for bicycles. And guess what, people still drive cars. There's still plenty of traffic in town and on the autobahns.

Sometimes you're carrying lots of stuff. Sometimes the weather's bad and you just don't feel like walking in it. All sorts of reasons.

If public transport and bikes haven't done away with cars in Germany, then it's not going to happen anywhere.

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intended 330 days ago
I see this as a call for the robo-rickshaw.
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