Should Self-Driving Cars be Publicly Owned?
Self-driving cars will disrupt the spaces in which we live, move and interact. Shouldn’t we have a say in it?
Self-Driving or autonomous vehicles have huge potential. Part of this excitement, of course, is buoyed by the science fiction fantasy which self-driving cars fulfil, one of fluid cities and yes, robots. But there are legitimate reasons to be enthusiastic about self-driving technology too.
For example, in 2013 the average US vehicle was stationary 95% of the time, rising to 96.5% of the time in the UK. Inefficiencies like stationarity are similar to what has driven the growth of, ‘sharing economy,’ companies such as AirBnB. Autonomous cars can reduce this inefficiency in two ways. Firstly, by utilising vehicles when they otherwise would be unused. Secondly, by reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
Some slack will have to be built into the system. Consider the tale of the UK’s National Grid during advertisement breaks, when everyone in the country goes to make a cup of tea. Spikes in energy demand mimic spikes that will occur in autonomous vehicle industry during rush hour periods. But there’s no reason to believe that, through experience, data and changing commuting habits, the size of this slack can’t be made quite small.
