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Re:BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on W... by eveningcoffee on Monday April 25, 2016 @07:02PM (#11568092)
Don't get me wrong; I can't wait for the future where nobody owns a vehicle and we all travel in autonomous electrical vehicles that are efficiently utilized, monitored and cleaned automatically as needed.

There is still at least one problem left - peak usage.

Re:BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on W... by arebop on Monday April 25, 2016 @07:13PM (#11568151)
There is no time at which all cars are in use. So there this isn't a problem that prevents that future vision from improving on the present.
Re:BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on W... by eveningcoffee on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @07:22AM (#11570892)
This is my thought also but the question is how big is the ratio between total number of cars and the cars in use during very limited time frame (mornings, evenings).

My observation is in the place where I live that around first morning hour the people who drive are the people who would use the car whole day. So we can ignore them in the estimation.

Then comes the bulk of the people who use the car to just get to work. I would estimate that around 1/2 to 2/3 of the cars are in the move during one hour.

I would assume that sizeable proportion of the current public transport users would also consider to use cars when they are readily available.

So I would assume that the number of cars needed to provide reliable automated cars service instead of private cars would be close to the number of current cars.

Re:BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on W... by UVB-76 on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @09:28AM (#11571633)
What's the crux of this concern?

If it's environmental, we can assume cars in the future will be all-electric, powered by nuclear or renewable energy sources.

If it's congestion, firstly we should see a dramatic reduction in the number of accidents. Automated vehicles will make far more efficient use of limited road capacity, and with no need for parked cars to litter urban streets, we will have greater capacity.

More importantly, we can just regulate against congestion. Cap the number of cars in an area at any one time, if you want, or implement dynamic pricing. That will go a long way to eliminating unnecessary journeys during peak times.

Re:BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on W... by eveningcoffee on Thursday April 28, 2016 @09:02AM (#11588462)
What's the crux of this concern?

Price or rather TCO. That is, if the amount of cars needed is the same as today, then why should people prefer communal self driving cars instead of personal ones?

Of course same cars could be used during the day, the question is just how much it would bring the cost down.

That will go a long way to eliminating unnecessary journeys during peak times.

Or eliminate the idea of communal self driving cars. There are no unnecessary travel when you have to get to the point A on time.

Re:BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on W... by nmrm2 on Monday April 25, 2016 @07:20PM (#11568183)
I think the typical fear actually goes the other way -- that infrastructure won't be able to handle increased peak demand, leading to a lot more gridlock/pollution, longer commute times, etc. when more people are driving.
Re:BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on W... by Retric on Monday April 25, 2016 @07:38PM (#11568267)
Reducing the need for parking in city's should have a massive net positive impact. In time we should see self driving electric cars on electric highways which can mean unlimited range and vastly reduced pollution. Even if all you do is drive one person to and from public transit that lets a wide swath of family's go one car without public parking fees.