[wolfram74]

I wonder if the waymo solution is very vehicle specific or if it could be easily applied to say, a 10~12 person van that could accommodate a wheelchair? It would be interesting to design a transit system around 4~5 times as many vehicles with higher interval or more responsive pathing with something like pick up kiosks.

[jasonpeacock]

Many cities are already upgrading their transit systems to implement "rapid ride" where they run buses on a 10min schedule through popular routes.

This eliminates the need for planning routes - go the nearest stop, wait 10-15min (sometimes buses get bunched up so it's not really every 10min), and get on the next bus.

Buses already have drivers, wheelchair (and bicycle!) support, etc. and the stops usually have live tracking of the next arriving buses.

[microtherion]

I recently came across an article on the early years of the Zürich streetcar. In the early 1900s, 5 minute schedules were customary, with one especially busy line running a 3 minute schedule!

In contrast, nowadays the peak schedule is 7.5min.

[ggreer]

Self-driving makes the most economic sense when fewer people are in a vehicle. With a large van or bus, the cost of the human driver is split between more passengers. Also van or bus service is less compelling to individuals, as it makes them beholden to bus stop locations and schedules instead of picking them up and dropping them off when and where they want.

Adding support for wheelchairs introduces new failure modes that would require more software and/or human intervention. For example: Wheelchairs need to be strapped down for safety, and not all wheelchair users can do this themselves.

[jasonpeacock]

> Also van or bus service is less compelling to individuals, as it makes them beholden to bus stop locations and schedules instead of picking them up and dropping them off when and where they want.

Exactly this. The attraction of self-driving transit is the support for individual planning. Everyone gets a direct route to their destination, no delays stopping or detouring for other people.

There's also increased safety in having a personal ride. You're not being hassled, stalked, or threatened by random people.

[JumpCrisscross]

> With a large van or bus, the cost of the human driver is split between more passengers

It's also increased in that one must manage the passengers.

[kalleboo]

I'm seeing a lot of talk of there being a shortage of bus drivers in many places, so self-driving could probably still help increase service

[Retric]

That’s offset by dramatically lower prices and significant service in off peak hours.

Net result bus drivers are still a large fraction of the cost of bus service.

[varelaseb]

Are you... is this the micro-bus?

[aiauthoritydev]

Mass manufacturing vehicles is important part of their long term strategy. So I am pretty sure a large van with wheelchair support will be on cards.