Why Self-Driving Buses Hold More Potential than Self-Driving Cars

An article by Greg Lindsay and Anthony Townsend takes the shine off of self-driving cars and identifies a preferable avenue for autonomous vehicle technology: buses.

1 minute read

November 4, 2014, 12:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


The fronts of three double-decker buses in London

Roman Pavlyuk / flickr

"The autonomous car will not be nearly as autonomous as its champions would have you believe," begins the article for Quartz by Greg Lindsay and Anthony Townsend.

After listing the many obstacles autonomous cars will have to overcome before they can be introduced into the market—much less adopted by the public—Lindsay and Townsend suggest a different focus: "…Google’s greatest shortcoming isn’t its technology, but how it has defined America’s transportation challenge. Our public transportation systems are running near historic highs in ridership, while using technology and business models from the 19th century. We should be upgrading these, not trying to fix America’s auto-dependent suburbs."

One upgrade that could "solve some of the most challenging transportation problems facing American cities" according to the article: platoons of buses traveling safely only feet apart at top speeds.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 in Quartz

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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