TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Timothy Lee:

To return to O’Toole’s original claim that self-driving cars will reduce demand for rail transit, I think it depends on which cities you’re talking about. In smaller metro areas, self-driving cars will likely make recently-built light rail systems look even more like white elephants, as the falling cost of taxi service and the reduction in congestion causes many rail customers to switch to them. As self-driving taxis become affordable even for poor commuters, smaller metro areas are likely to become even more car-focused and sprawling than they already are.