Quote:
Originally Posted by CraigSca
I think short-haul airplane travel will die off one day, but not due to high-speed rail. I think it will be self-driving cars that spell the doom.
Think about it - with self-driving cars traffic delays/accidents will be minimized, and cars will become more of a moving office/living room rather than "the ultimate driving machine."
I'd much rather drive (sit in the back seat) from Philadelphia to Buffalo in a comfortable atmosphere, watching movies or working on my laptop without the drudgery of baggage check, long security lines, wasted time in the airport, etc.
Sure, when I have to go cross-country, flying will still be necessary. But for convenience and flexibility, self-driving, utility cars will be the bees knees.
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I'm there today, even having to drive.
My intersection point is roughly 10 hours.
In the past I had a client in Miami, FL. That's a 10 hour drive for me.
Charlotte to Miami is a 2 hour flight. I am 1 hour south of the Charlotte airport. Add in 2 hours to get through security successfully. Then an hour de-boarding and getting through the terminal and another 30 minutes at the rental counter and its
10 vs 6.5 hours.
Then cost factors in and that flight costs ~$300 1 way. Add in $50 for a rental car.
Compared to 700 miles. It costs me roughly $100 in fuel
Now balance out I can talk on the phone and do business the entire way down. Never have to go "out of pocket" Stop where I want when I want. And have much more comfort in my plenty wide air conditioned and heated seats. I drove it every single time.
But I've driven 50k+ miles every year for the last 15 so Im probably an anomoly.
Thanks.