A self driving shuttle that needs its own dedicated lane with special markers painted, therefore following a predetermined route.

Just use a fucking train.

  • captcha [any]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    One of the hosts from "well there's your problem" did a video on one of the reasons why trains are so expensive.

    US law mandates that all US train cars be US made. But there are no US companies that make passenger train cars because the company that made all passenger train cars in the US, Budd co, went out of business because their train cars were too good and never went bad.

    So if you want any sort of passenger train system, you must pony up for a foreign company to build an entire factory in your state, just to build the train cars you need (probably using Budd Co. licensed designs), and then close shop.

    Edit: the youtube video, its long: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CEjozE--YrY

    • Kumikommunism [they/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      "Not linking a cool video you talk about. That....That is the 57th type of liberalism."

    • asaharyev [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      US law mandates that all US train cars be US made.

      Well, this clearly doesn't apply to subways or streetcars, because the MBTA is replacing their fleet with trains made in China.

    • dayruiner [they/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      The worst part is that the US hasn't built good train cars in so long that they don't have the expertise anymore. So as soon as the factory closes shop (after building subpar train cars due to american inexperience), they have to send the cars back to south korea for repairs when the welding is inadequate. No one from the factory that made them is working there anymore, and they don't iterate on their existing designs to kinda cement that knowledge and improve the quality. So building trains in the us is expensive, slow, and bad.

      Meanwhile, China and Spain are building all the trains.

    • Lovely_sombrero [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Loved the discussion on how nothing can even be marketed as a train, even when it is just a shittier train.

      ITS A POD!!!

    • Quimby [any, any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Holy shit. In a single anecdote, I think you very nearly managed to sum up everything wrong with capitalism.