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Re:G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft by Retra on Monday January 04, 2016 @02:08PM (#10837716)
As long as cars aren't prohibitively expensive and remain symbols of personal freedom and identity, then people will pay for the luxury of not riding in public transportation.
Re:G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft by danans on Monday January 04, 2016 @02:56PM (#10838060)
Some people have an aversion to riding on public transit when it is used by people large income/wealth disparities, i.e. the professional doesn't want to be on the same bus as the indigent person.

Those people might use a vehicle subscription, because the cost of private rides would still be lower than the costs of private vehicle ownership (depreciation, maintenance, insurance). Many people would pay for the privilege of a private ride (like they do with Uber/Lyft now).

If car subscriptions services succeed and are nearly ubiquitous, the personal-freedom symbolism of car ownership will degrade.

Then, if people want to own a car as a status symbol, they will probably be better served by a more expensive one anyway, the same way people buy other status symbols (rose-gold iPhones, etc). Ironically, most of those status-symbol cars will still have an autonomous mode.

Re:G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft by Retra on Monday January 04, 2016 @09:36PM (#10840615)
I'm not talking about cars as status symbols, but as factors of identity. Teenagers want cars because it is a rite of passage. Half my coworkers want trucks because they are 'outdoors' people. And some do use it as a monetary status symbol. Some people are just car people who have strong opinions about the car they drive because it is part of their self-expression. This is a pretty big thing in American culture.
Re:G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft by Symbiote on Monday January 04, 2016 @02:43PM (#10837961)
People pay to use trains when the journey time compared to a car is marginal, since they can do something productive on the train.

Some people pay more to use a first-class compartment.