[seanmcdirmid]

Three things:

(1) Private cars will go away eventually even in the states as we transition to self-driving cars (at least in the cities) that will be used more like taxis to avoid parking problems.

(2) We probably aren't that far away from self-driving planes, heck, we already have drones. One could imagine a fleet of small planes that are also used like taxis (or better yet, for ride shares).

(3) Its almost 2015 and we all saw Back to the Future, so we know what's going to happen (VTOL garbage powered Delorean anyone?). (this point is a joke, the first two are more serious)

[da3da]

I've heard that almost the entire flight can be/is automated now, including the landing and that most commercial pilots have to land the planes by hand just so they can keep their skills up. But I doubt the salary of pilots is really such a significant cost for airlines compared to their other expenses, otherwise we'd probably be seeing a push for autonomous aircraft.

Also: think of how much the TSA would love autonomous aircraft, you never need to worry about them being hijacked because they'll only go where the computer tells them too.

[seanmcdirmid]

Salaries are not significant for bus drivers, but would be significant for taxi cab drivers. Automated small planes could really revolutionize the sector, especially if we could figure out how to make them fuel efficient and even electric.

[mapt]

Salaries are in fact a dominant expense of bus and rail fleets. In my area, WMATA pays out 78% of operating budget for buses towards personnel, and 72% of operating budget for trains towards personnel. Operating budget does not include capital expenses like rolling stock or infrastructure.