If services like this become more broadly adopted and accepted, they could become cheaper or subsidised. But sometimes you won't have a widely accepted idea until it is put out to early-adopters or a richer audience first.
Cars were once restricted to only those who could afford or justify them. Now they're far more accessible, even too accessible.
I can think of a couple: the bus service in the area is very poor, the students have quite a few of extra-curricular activities that are not located at their schools, their parents can afford to pay for the high cost of a prototype service, and (I am guessing here) that this project is being spearheaded by a Mercedes R&D group that is located in Sunnyvale. [1]
It's easy to see that they may need this service. I'm wondering more why the rest of us proles need to be told about it. Sorry to go off ToS a bit but the concept is grating.
More on the subject, this relates to the common discussion on benefits of scheduled vs. free time for kids. Many lament how the up and coming generation has no free time to be creative etc. Any parents with older kids care to chime in how things turned out? Having a two year old, I have a vested interest :-)
On one hand I can see the overscheduled approach being kind of soulless, maybe lead to loss of creativity etc. But on the other hand, it's not the 50's any more, and it seems like it's not practical to leave kids alone these days. There is also a bit of a network effect at play; if all the neighborhood kids are off learning piano / playing soccer, leaving your kid home alone is no use if the neighborhood is deserted and there aren't any others to play with.
the privileged people in the Bay Area are the ones who can pay for this service. that's what privilege means.
Nobody is claiming this is a charity, or something for the public good. It's a money-making service one step below chauffeurs for rich kids. Why is it something to get angry about?
Cars were once restricted to only those who could afford or justify them. Now they're far more accessible, even too accessible.