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Blind, can’t drive, dont want to drive, this type of vehicle could be the answer.
Article
General Motors unveils the Cruise Origin, its first autonomous car
The idea is that, instead of owning your own car, you pay for a seat on the Cruise Origin, saving yourself the trouble of dealing with urban traffic. Eventually, the company aims to have a fleet of vehicles constantly touring around each city, ready to offer transport.
Cruise also assures us that the Origin is far safer than a conventional car, thanks to an array of sensors which can supposedly keep track of obstacles and pedestrians in 360-degree space around the vehicle – even if they’re obscured by rain or fog.
There’s also a high level of redundancy in the vehicle’s autonomous driving system, so there shouldn’t be a single point of failure across the Origin’s sensing and computing network – which is important because there’s no option for a back-up human driver.
The design of the Cruise Origin was led by the company’s desire to maximise passenger comfort and practicality. Styling-wise, it’s little more than a cuboid on wheels – although this has allowed the brand’s engineers to push the seats over the front and rear axles, which they say allows plenty of leg-room for passengers.
The vehicle’s door opening is low to the ground and three times larger than that of an average car, which Cruise says makes it easier for passengers to get into. Also, the doors slide open rather than hinge outwards, making the vehicle safer for passing cyclists and bikers.
As passengers won’t engage with the Origin’s drivetrain, Cruise hasn’t released any details on the vehicle’s power output or performance. Instead, the company focuses on the Origin’s reliability and value, claiming each example will have a life-span of more than one million miles and save each passenger up to $5,000 per year when compared to a normal car.
The Origin is based on an all-new, modular all-electric platform, built by General Motors, which Cruise says will be upgradeable over the vehicle’s life-span. As such, any improved sensors, batteries or motors can be retro-fitted after the vehicle has been sold, which Cruise says will keep their cars away from the scrap-heap, making them better for the planet.
Pricing information, fare rates and an official on-sale date for the Cruise Origin are all yet to be confirmed. The Origin was originally due to reach the US market at the end of last year, although legislative issues prevented the launch.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.
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I actually like the looks of this, on a personal level, once I’m too knackered to drive I would be onboard with this kind of transport(beats our lass driving) and I suppose once they have a whole network of autonomous vehicles then it would be so easy to pop for a coffee or a bit of a shop and I would assume they would build in access for wheelchairs etc.
Vinalspin I really think this type of vehicle will be brought in to motability. In the future transportation costs for the likes of this vehicle and taxis, will be slashed as no driver will be required. This type of vehicle will be able to run 24/7.
Not sure how it would work on the scheme unless there was a kind of contract you had to subscribe to and then a small charge every time you used it, I suppose that if you did it through this scheme you might get all your journeys free maybe?
I would suspect it would work something like that but I would suggest it would not cost all of your weekly payment.
It amazes me how few miles some people drive in their motability car and yet they still pay to have it sit there doing next to nothing. Having a vehicle like this, let’s call it a mobility taxi, would be ideal for many and would in courage those who can’t drive, for what ever reason, to join the scheme.
Maybe wmc but with no driver this form of transport will be really cheap and this may prompt motability customers doing minimal mileage to jump ship.
IMO motability would be missing an opportunity if they miss out on this. With the beginnings of contactless charging and the low cost of maintaining these vehicles the overheads will be minimal.
The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.I’m all for technology and autonomous vehicles eventually being the norm
I think in the UK the technology of the vehicles will arrive well before the average street and an UK road will be able to support it
These cars on good quality motorways and dual carriageways look impressive but go into your average housing scheme, back roads, single track roads not even mentioning all the potholes, roads with worn out markings and I think the car will be useless and big flashing sign displayed saying “Computer Says No”
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