[lars512]

You're right, public transport isn't going anywhere and still has huge efficiency benefits. But these cars can make it better, by solving the first/last mile problem.

I imagine them ferrying people frantically to and from mass transit hubs, especially between low-density suburban housing and trains.

[danielweber]

You are going to have to, first, make the mass transit so awesome that people voluntarily leave their cars behind to get on the train.

As you get more cars off the road, other people will use the open roads to travel into the city.

Note that "you have to make mass transit awesome enough that people use it" is not "make driving suck." You will never make any headway in a democracy by telling the majority of the people they should re-arrange their lives to follow your utopian model.