Transit after Amazon Flop ?

[O3H]

An editorial cartoon says it all

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUpnVjNVwAALVvt.jpg:large

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...o-our-old-ways

[SammyS]

Hackel spoke next. After complaining about the region's roads, he suggested that technology would be the mass transit elixir — autonomous vehicles shuffling people to all points across the three counties. Hackel said, "we need to figure out whether we want to lag behind other regions" by focusing on "buses and rails."

This guys gets it and it will be so much in the spirit of Detroit to lead the world in this new tech. Imagine a city where all of it's public transportation needs are met by a network of self driving mobility pods and buses scooting people around. It's time for Detroit to reclaim its standing as a world leader in innovation and solutions. Move the World

[dtowncitylover]

This guys gets it and it will be so much in the spirit of Detroit to lead the world in this new tech. Imagine a city where all of it's public transportation needs are met by a network of self driving mobility pods and buses scooting people around. It's time for Detroit to reclaim its standing as a world leader in innovation and solutions. Move the World

Wrong. This guy doesn't get it. The solution isn't more cars, drivers or driverless, it's more diversity whether it be streetcar expansion, real rapid bus transit, commuter rail, along with cars, biking, and walking.

"Self driving mobility pods" is the next flying car. We have the solution NOW not 15-20 years from now if it ever actually comes to pass.

[SammyS]

Wrong. This guy doesn't get it. The solution isn't more cars, drivers or driverless, it's more diversity whether it be streetcar expansion, real rapid bus transit, commuter rail, along with cars, biking, and walking.

"Self driving mobility pods" is the next flying car. We have the solution NOW not 15-20 years from now if it ever actually comes to pass.

It's less than 5 years away. I'd also venture to say that a self driving car with all the privacy of a personal vehicle is the preferred method of travel unless it's a party bus atmosphere you're looking for. Furthermore, it's inherent to the technology that there will likely be less cars on the road, less parking structures and less congestion. And to answer your other question, it bloody well better be private companies competing for the transportation of the public for any chance of success.

[Richard]

Wrong. This guy doesn't get it. The solution isn't more cars, drivers or driverless, it's more diversity whether it be streetcar expansion, real rapid bus transit, commuter rail, along with cars, biking, and walking.

"Self driving mobility pods" is the next flying car. We have the solution NOW not 15-20 years from now if it ever actually comes to pass.

I agree,if it is not required to have a drivers license to be in a driverless vehicle,most likely a highly fuel efficient one,how does the state make up for the lost revenue?

[dtowncitylover]

Who's to say self driving mobility pods will be PUBLIC transportation and not a hodgepodge of private pods akin to taxis?

[O3H]

The ~~ Big Four ~~ meeting at Mackinac Island focused on mass transit
- when the pressing needs for most residents is pothole repair.

Simply put, pot hole repair at the Big Four was NOT addressed.

Warren, one of Michigan's larger cities, has directed its DPW to use whatever overtime is needed to patch potholes, including working on Saturdays. Warren has six crews working with at least 20 employees round the clock.

[softailrider]

The ~~ Big Four ~~ meeting at Mackinac Island focused on mass transit
- when the pressing needs for most residents is pothole repair.

Simply put, pot hole repair at the Big Four was NOT addressed.

Warren, one of Michigan's larger cities, has directed its DPW to use whatever overtime is needed to patch potholes, including working on Saturdays. Warren has six crews working with at least 20 employees round the clock.

Maybe Jim Fouts is the one that gets it.

[JonWylie]

It's less than 5 years away. I'd also venture to say that a self driving car with all the privacy of a personal vehicle is the preferred method of travel unless it's a party bus atmosphere you're looking for. Furthermore, it's inherent to the technology that there will likely be less cars on the road, less parking structures and less congestion. And to answer your other question, it bloody well better be private companies competing for the transportation of the public for any chance of success.

You’re living in a fantasy. Even if we get autonomous vehicles in “less than 5 years” [[which we won’t), they won’t serve the people who actually will benefit the most from public transportation ie. the poor. And they still don’t solve the problem of parking, potholes, and an urban sprawl. Detroit’s biggest problem is public transportation and until we fix it with a real solution, this comeback is going nowhere

[SammyS]

You’re living in a fantasy. Even if we get autonomous vehicles in “less than 5 years” [[which we won’t), they won’t serve the people who actually will benefit the most from public transportation ie. the poor. And they still don’t solve the problem of parking, potholes, and an urban sprawl. Detroit’s biggest problem is public transportation and until we fix it with a real solution, this comeback is going nowhere

Actually, I live in the R&D world and it's my job to make your fantasies reality. Stay tuned

[JonWylie]

Actually, I live in the R&D world and it's my job to make your fantasies reality. Stay tuned

How affordable are these cars going to be. Will it help the Detroiters without a car or with one per family. These are the people who need public transportation

[Don K]

Actually, I live in the R&D world and it's my job to make your fantasies reality. Stay tuned

I await the autonomous vehicle that can navigate a snow-covered road or a Michigan road on a rainy night when the lane-divider lines magically disappear. Or are we going to be like Atlanta and shut down for a few inches of snow? There's a reason the first tests of AVs are going to be in Arizona - talk about a gimme test! No snow and almost no rain.

Also, since most people with office jobs work a standard 8:30-5:00 day, autonomous vehicles really won't take many if any vehicles off the road at rush hour. We still would need lots of cars to handle the rush, cars that would sit idle for the intervening eight hours. This idle time would be priced into the cost of the AVs. Unless the plan is to have multiple people in each vehicle, in which case the poor schmuck who happens to live at the end of the trip has to sit around while the AV makes multiple subdivision stops at, oh, ten or so minutes per stop.

[dtowncitylover]

It's less than 5 years away. I'd also venture to say that a self driving car with all the privacy of a personal vehicle is the preferred method of travel unless it's a party bus atmosphere you're looking for. Furthermore, it's inherent to the technology that there will likely be less cars on the road, less parking structures and less congestion. And to answer your other question, it bloody well better be private companies competing for the transportation of the public for any chance of success.

Then I look forward to the cities of the world to flip their metros and transit systems to self driving mobility pods. Oh wait... probably not gonna happen.

[SammyS]

Then I look forward to the cities of the world to flip their metros and transit systems to self driving mobility pods. Oh wait... probably not gonna happen.

same goes for you

[JonWylie]

same goes for you

Can you tell me how much a self driving car will cost in 5 years? Is it going to be cheaper than a car now? How will it help people making <$20,000 a year. Seriously I want to know because maybe you know something I don't

[O3H]

Bicycle = self driving mobility pods
[[YES, they function in the rain)
https://vimeo.com/76073304

http://www.reliance-foundry.com/site...ng-6-large.jpg

[Hypestyles]

advocates for better public transit will face continued hostility and indifference from Patterson and Hackel. People in the general public in Oakland and Macomb need to be engaged with more small town hall meetings, neighborhood meetings, etc. houses of worship, schools, community centers and other gathering places need to be engaged.

[Wheels]

advocates for better public transit will face continued hostility and indifference from Patterson and Hackel. People in the general public in Oakland and Macomb need to be engaged with more small town hall meetings, neighborhood meetings, etc. houses of worship, schools, community centers and other gathering places need to be engaged.

You are leaving out over half of Wayne county who have no use for mass transit!

[dtowncitylover]

You are leaving out over half of Wayne county who have no use for mass transit!

I bemoan anyone who says exurban/rural county-ers don't have use for transit. No one is calling for 80ft articulated buses running down Napier or 32 Mile every 7-10 minutes. That would be stupid. But how about better connections via commuter rail? Or a SMART Park and Ride from Wixom or Novi to Southfield?

[swingline]

You are leaving out over half of Wayne county who have no use for mass transit!

People thinking that they "have no use for mass transit" is the biggest transit obstacle we have. This sad but widely-held sentiment expresses precisely what the RTA millage proponents negligently failed to address in the 2016 election. Reflective of our selfish what’s in it for me culture, the sentiment ignores the obvious macro-economic, region-wide benefits of effective mass transit. The benefits are easily observed in the roaring regional economies of New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Toronto, Paris, London, Munich, etc. Also see the benefits in lower tier cities like Denver, Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis.

Unlike in these successful cities, millions of people in SE Michigan believe that if they won’t actually use transit, they shouldn’t have to pay anything for it. If only that same logic could apply to schools, roads, police protection and parks, taxpayers could save a lot more money, right? All those millions of folks in those successful cities who have good jobs and increasingly valuable homes and who don’t use transit but pay even a dime in taxes for it are just dupes. We’re smarter than that.

[stasu1213]

I had noticed that the Fast bus doesn't go as FAST as it did when it first ran in January. I had suggested to SMART that the Gratiot Fast bus go to Michigan and Cass so that riders could connect to the DDOT busses at the Rosa Parks Transit Center. I really feel that SMART could had kept the REFLEX busses for Gratiot and kept the Limited busses for Woodward, Gratiot, and Michigan. I could say that I could hang out downtown much later being that there are busses that runs in and out of the city after 6pm. Don't slack up on services for Detroit still have to be commuter friendly to any other big companies who are possibly eyeing the city for a their second headquarters

[stasu1213]

I had just had a discussion with a rep from SMART online trying to convince him the importance of having the Gratiot Fast bus ending it's line on Michigan and Cass next to the Rosa Parks Transit Center. I informed him that it would be more convenient to connect with other busses from the Fast bus if it stopped there instead of walking from Jefferson and Griswold especially in inclimate weather just to connect with DDOT or another SMART bus. He was saying that the reason why Gratiot Fast doesn't go to the Transit Center is due to it would add more driving time and the bus would be ineffective. I told him that it was just a couple of blocks up Washington Blvd and it would be there.
It's attitude like this that give me the reason why having a good decent reliable transportation system in Detroit and Southeast Michigan is not taken seriously and planners are very shortsighted of the big picture. Many who are on SMART's planning committee don't use public transit on a daily basis and make decisions out of ignorance and not from experience

[dtowncitylover]

advocates for better public transit will face continued hostility and indifference from Patterson and Hackel. People in the general public in Oakland and Macomb need to be engaged with more small town hall meetings, neighborhood meetings, etc. houses of worship, schools, community centers and other gathering places need to be engaged.

You're exactly right and that's the failure of the Yes campaign in 2016.

[SammyS]

Can you tell me how much a self driving car will cost in 5 years? Is it going to be cheaper than a car now? How will it help people making <$20,000 a year. Seriously I want to know because maybe you know something I don't

I don’t think it will be anymore expensive than what’s available today. A more relevant question may be, why would you want to buy one? The beauty of self driving cars is that it can drive it’s ass away once you’re done with it hense, less parking lots. You may want to start thinking about reclaiming your garage as living space.

[JonWylie]

I don’t think it will be anymore expensive than what’s available today. A more relevant question may be, why would you want to buy one? The beauty of self driving cars is that it can drive it’s ass away once you’re done with it hense, less parking lots. You may want to start thinking about reclaiming your garage as living space.

Sorry I actually didn't mean to quote your post, but still, how will this help people that can't afford a car?