Auto-autos, Serendipity Apps, and Social Hubs

We often hear that autonomically-controlled vehicles will eliminate parking lots, reduce congestion, make streets safer, and make streets into places we love. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) hopes so too. Yet, this vision also requires new ways of choosing itineraries and new social hub.

Traffic will get worse rather than better if auto-autos roam around empty or if riders just want to nap in solitude. We must change two more things besides transportation: the people we travel with and meet and the physical places we pass through.

TL:DR: If we want self-driving vehicles to work as advertised, we need social hubs and apps to encourage us to share the ride.

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