6 votes

Thousands pour through gates to ride Sydney's first driverless trains

Posted by Algernon_Asimov
Tags: australia.nsw.sydney, transport.public, railways, trains, vehicles.autonomous

Thousands pour through gates to ride Sydney's first driverless trains

What this article fails to mention is that there have been teething problems.

6 comments

  1. [6]
    Octofox
    Link
    Hopefully driverless trains can lower the costs enough to make free public transport more viable. I am just amazed how driverless cars have become more of a thing than driverless trains.

    Hopefully driverless trains can lower the costs enough to make free public transport more viable. I am just amazed how driverless cars have become more of a thing than driverless trains.

    1 vote
    1. clerical_terrors
      Link Parent
      AFAIK salaries were only ever small part of the cost sink. The really big issues are that developing new transportation networks is incredibly expensive, so increasing revenue is difficult, and...

      Hopefully driverless trains can lower the costs enough to make free public transport more viable.

      AFAIK salaries were only ever small part of the cost sink. The really big issues are that developing new transportation networks is incredibly expensive, so increasing revenue is difficult, and maintenance is similarly expensive. Personally I'm pessimistic that driver-less transport will actually cause an increase in the availability of public transport, it is simply not an industry which abides by simple principles of market economics.

      2 votes
    2. [4]
      vakieh
      Link Parent
      How do you figure? They're being talked about because they are new. Driverless trains are pretty old news at this point.

      driverless cars have become more of a thing than driverless trains

      How do you figure? They're being talked about because they are new. Driverless trains are pretty old news at this point.

      1 vote
      1. [3]
        Octofox
        Link Parent
        I see self driving cars semi regularly but I have never seen a self driving train. This one in the OP post is the first one I was even aware of existing in Australia

        I see self driving cars semi regularly but I have never seen a self driving train. This one in the OP post is the first one I was even aware of existing in Australia

        1. [2]
          Algernon_Asimov
          Link Parent
          That's because it is the first one in Australia. FYI: @vakieh.

          This one in the OP post is the first one I was even aware of existing in Australia

          That's because it is the first one in Australia.

          FYI: @vakieh.

          1. vakieh
            Link Parent
            Don't get me started on how late to the game we are on this, I have enough jealousy looking at the NUMTOT posts of their fancy overseas driverless train networks...

            Don't get me started on how late to the game we are on this, I have enough jealousy looking at the NUMTOT posts of their fancy overseas driverless train networks...