npts2020

I thought you already knew all of that, thus enabling you to claim:

What are the costs, time, effort and lost opportunities? Also, what are the new problems with society and accessibility?

The SW USA is about to get a year's worth of rain in the next couple of days.

We'll just have to disagree, then. I say those engineering issues are solvable but apparently you do not. For one thing, vehicles in an automated system will not have to be subject to the same constant high speed turns, braking and accelerating as a race car. For another, there won't be any technical (just physical) restrictions on design, weight, power, etc. and if the system is enclosed to separate the system from pedestrians etc, things like weather and foreign objects should mostly not be a major consideration.

OTOH a cab will pick you up at your front door and drop you off wherever it us you are going at any time of day. Even if one lives next to a bus stop or train station and is going near another stop, there are frequently times and places where mass transit doesn't run. It would be interesting to see what the other 2/3 of the fare is and how much of it is the same for mass transit. Well, humans drive cars around in circles (actually ovals if you want to be technical) at 200 mph (average speed for the Indianapolis 500 this year was over 190 mph including pit stops and yellow flags). Are you telling me that in a system designed similar to railways AI can't go as fast? How many current railroads (especially in the US) go that fast? I would like to see a system anyone can access at any time. Why would we continue to have mass transit with such a personal transit system in place?

AFAIK there are no federal regulations in the US about building your own boat other than the Coast Guard safety guidelines but most, if not all, states require boats to be licensed and some may have restrictions in order to get one.

And I asked, with similar system design, why cars couldn't go as fast, your reply is because some people might feel motion sickness? I have never been unfortunate enough to have motion sickness but I hear tell it happens in all manner of transport; boats, planes, human driven cars and even trains.

Again you are comparing apples to oranges. What maglev system in the world has any of those things where the train goes as fast as a car?

You are comparing apples to oranges, it is precisely because "it is on city streets". If you had a similar design as a maglev, why couldn't it go just as fast?

How much more per passenger mile do you estimate an automated system would be vs a comparable rail system? Taxis are expensive primarily because you have a driver to pay. Why couldn't an automated system be designed to go just as fast? Are we replacing the current system or just putting automated vehicles on it? Since a modern system would likely have to be owned and operated by a government entity of some kind (similar to the postal service), the US will not likely be a leader in this kind of thing. This would not have to preclude people from owning their own vehicle but I can't imagine many people wanting to go through the expense to do so.

Because you are dragging irrelevancies into the discussion. In case you don't know, there are already people who use the current road system who can't afford/store/want a vehicle. Things like car rentals, taxis or borrowing. Why would this necessarily change in an automated system? Also, in a system where the vehicle arrives at your doorstep and takes a person directly to the doorstep of their destination any time they like, who is going to go to a bus stop or train station, wait on a train or bus (if they happen to be running at that time), then have to get from wherever they are dropped off to where they are going?

Why would everyone have to own their vehicles and why would you outlaw having your own?

When autonomous vehicles become ubiquitous (especially if they are in a self-contained and self-powered system), there will be no need for mass transit or railways because everyone will be able to access them, not just those with drivers' licenses and/or the ability to haul loads. I think Peterkin and iNow adequately explain why even more roads will not be required but I can further elucidate if needed. Why would a single automated transit system be worse than the current paradigm where we pay for roads, railroads and all of the local transit systems?

I thought it might be but sarcasm doesn't necessarily translate to print very well and there are those who would believe such a thing...

Citation? I was always under the impression that stress caused slower growth of all types of hair due to increased corticosterone levels hindering that growth.

Seems like AI could "know" whether fuel/recharging is necessary before arriving at the desired destination and take appropriate steps. Why wouldn't this be preprogrammed?

I agree, but none of this explains why it can't be done. It is simply why it won't happen in the US first.

No. Simply explain to me why roadways, being centuries old technology, can't be updated to be more like rail and subways. The USDOT in the 1970's thought it was a good idea to automate the highways and should be done ASAP but the computing power for control technology didn't exist at the time. We have had the required tech for at least a couple of decades, now.

That is one of the silliest and least imaginative things I have ever seen you write on this forum. How do they have high speed rail or subways without pedestrians, even after they leave the trains? Do they have to take trains everywhere where such things are available? Same with the other things you mention and bad weather, most of which would be eliminated if the system is enclosed (or at least mostly so). The bold part I completely agree with, however.

Pretty funny I didn't catch that because I do editing and frequently have to get the same sort of changes made in manuscripts. I probably should have said, "one of the few pontificators of economics".

Doesn't that depend on the sport? In equestrian events and auto racing men and women compete against each other and I would say Simone Biles is as good as any gymnast in the world.

Well, about 15 years ago I estimated the cost of rebuilding most of the roads in the US to accommodate an automated system at around $3-4 trillion. A vast sum, to be sure, but a good deal less than we collectively paid for the then current system (which we still have). By coincidence, the amount of paved roads in the US is almost exactly the same as the area of solar panels required to power the entire country. All of this is an entirely different discussion from the OP, tho. In a system where ALL of the vehicles are automated and you don't have other random obstructions, AI could easily deal with varying speeds for local or long distance commuting and safely put vehicles in their proper lanes.

Or at least a "Cliff Notes" of both. I find Marx to be very repetitive but one of the few economic writers who actually make sense.

At present, they are not but it isn't impossible to make transit systems self contained.

Exactly. That is why a self contained system will be required, otherwise you are trying to automate a system that is centuries old...