TOP 10 Ways AUTONOMOUS CARS are Disrupting our World

Commentary and opinion on current state of the art by Grant Johnson, TE, registered Traffic Engineer and Transportation Enthusiast
#4: Infrastructure at intersections will be grade separations. Plastics can be used to quickly and inexpensively create elaborate grade separation infrastructure at larger intersections to keep all traffic and turning movements moving. All AV modes of traffic would be separated completely from pedestrian and bike modes. There will be no human element of error to introduce accident situations between cars and pedestrians. All traffic will be in constant motion for all of the potential 12 THRU/TURN movements at the intersection. |
TRANSIT today is for the AUTOLESS situations in life. But the CAR when available has always been for everybody, very convenient, no matter the social standing. In fact, even Kings and Heads of State or Movie Stars will always be seen in some form of a car, especially a luxury car, and probably a private gas guzzling jet with huge carbon footprint. The car is here to stay (especially if kings, politicians and heads of state have anything to do making laws establishing the AV as the future of motorized surface transportation based on safety alone).
A bus is HUGE (350 SQFT) and takes much more time to stop than a small vehicle. You also need big parking spaces for loading and unloading, or storing, space that is hard to come by in today's crowded streets and cities. Sometimes you must wait long times for all people to board a bus, and you may not GET on board if crowded. Think China where this is a daily occurrence. While living there myself for years, I have literally waved a bus on, as it would be impossible to squish in and have the door be able to close, these buses were literally packed, and I'm not going to Bus-Surf*. Loading can take a minute or more.
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Average footprint for cars = 15x6 = 90 SQFT.
Same with AV Minibus Here is a sample of what NAVYA has been coming up with. An interesting small footprint minibus that is autonomous. |
Some History, on Buses. Anciently it took up to 10 minutes for people at a transit/bus stop just to get on and off the bus,
Today we don't have time for that kind of nostalgia or novelty. We want efficiency, not a traffic jam. We want convenience, because today with technology, it is easy to have convenience. With electric AV we can also easily save the planet by keeping air clean, noise down, etc. Safety at a premium.
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source: wikipedia
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sourcesource: PRISM Engineering
If ubiquitous, these could be like the "people-movers" of yesteryear, except these would go faster, be on a GPS path, and could leave the path (and convoy) at any time needed. Flexible, and much more efficient through intersection nodes. No human drivers to slow things up, honk, or crash.
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<<MINIBUS AV TRANSIT.
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PROS in a MINIBUS AV TRANSIT CONVOY:
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CONS in a MINIBUS AV TRANSIT CONVOY:
...but you can read, ...use electronics, ...sleep and be woke in time for your stop, by the AV minibus. source: Youtube
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Author: Grant Johnson, TE, registered Traffic Engineer in State of CA
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