XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: leszek.karlik@gmail.com   
      
   On Mon, 13 Jan 2014 19:16:58 +0100, Doc O'Leary   
    wrote:   
      
   [...]   
   >> No, self-driving cars are, basically, taxis with robot drivers instead   
   >> of human drivers, which makes them cheaper, so people will be better   
   >> able   
   >> to afford them.   
      
   > Afford them?  Why would we even buy them?   
      
   The sentence "Some people can't afford a taxi." doesn't mean that   
   some people are not able to buy a taxi cab. :-)) When I was a student,   
   I used public transport, because taxis were pretty much too expensive   
   for my budget.   
      
   Whey there's a fleet of municipal smart cars that don't need taxi   
   drivers, you could plausibly have taxis at a price point of   
   public transport. Say, a monthly "taxi card", with a discount   
   for being lower-priority (for students and poor people) and   
   surcharge for being a high-priority passenger.   
      
   [snip the rest, because I seem to be generally agreeing with you]   
      
   --   
   Leszek 'Leslie' Karlik   
   http://leslie.hell.pl/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)