On Thursday, 16 March 2017 17:33:17 UTC, wrote:
On Thu, 16 Mar 2017 16:23:18 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:
vehicles physically joined together
And you can walk from one end to the other with it in motion. To get to
say the bog or buffet car.
People vary, I'm fortunate in that I can still go for about 12 hours
if needs be between needing a pee. Not many Buffet Cars left and even
where they exist then fighting along a crowded train and hoping nobody
is going to pinch your seat isn't like it was in the days when trains
were unpopular but meant space for those who did travel.
If I'm in a driver less car then eating on the move from a picnic
basket isn't going to be problem.
A caravannete style vehicle could even have a bog.
If a pee stop or a brief walk to stretch legs is required then drop
off out of the "driverless car train" as suits you and others in the
car. That could be more than offered by a railway train or less and 4
to 6 people will offered more flexibility than the thousand or so on
an intercity train.
And all without breaking pace. ;-)
Raise the speed limit a bit to 80 and missing all those 5 min stops at
stations en route a normal and the journey times will become fairly
competitive with the traditional train as we know it where all on
board make no progress for a few minutes while others get on and off.
But an HS train doesn't stop every 5 minutes.
Even four stops between London and Glasgow is 20 mins stationary
,meanwhile the car will have done over 20 miles though I accept not
every one is like me and most will stop for a on a journey that long,
when we did it regularly my mates used to jest that if I could refuel
without stopping like an aircraft I would have done so.
And that is before you include time getting to and from the Railway
station anyway, where you are in London that is just a few stops on a
tube but for large number of people they have to use another means of
transport to reach a railhead in the first place
So what does that driverless car do after your journey? Hang around for
the return one - or go back to base empty?
I was more thinking of a personally owned one and I would use it to
travel around the area had gone to in the following days and then
returning without the requirements to stick to a pre booked seat
allocation on a train or pay a high price for a walk on fare.
Sadly, many of the disadvantages of taxis apply with or without a driver.
At the end of the day like the railway train they are public transport
but posher than buses.
Other thing is those who can't currently drive for whatever reason might
just buy a driverless car. Increasing the numbers on the road.
I don't think we can really predict what may happen, I live in a
different situation to you in London with its well established public
transport, here any one no longer capable of driving either has to
move or depend on friends, relatives or socially subsidised taxis to
get to the doctors etc. At least much shopping can now be delivered
again compared with 10 years ago.
Older people tend to know a circle of similar friends and I can could
easily see a group owning a driverless car amongst themselves so that
would reduce the little convoy of Aygos, Micras etc that travel from
the village each day to the towns nearby and as a bonus those no
longer capable of driving won't have empty Taxis coming out to fetch
them and returning back empty afterwards.
We already have car clubs a couple of miles from where I live.
Ok for the chavs I suppose.
http://malvernhills-carclubs.weebly.com/