Times have changed since the bug was the ultimate in romance.

Have you been wanting to convert your garage into a useful room, or save thousands of dollars toward something other than car maintenance? Do you wish you had more time to read the paper or just zone out? Well, Automated vehicles may be the answer. These automated chauffeurs, in the not so distant future, could potentially provide point to point, affordable transportation, arriving at your doorstep and delivering you to your destination when you need them to and while you are just kicking back. No more searching for parking, lining up at gas stations or spending time staring at someone's tailgate when you wish you could be reading a novel or FaceTiming a loved one. SAVE (Shared Automated Vehicles Electrified) fleets have the potential to liberate many from car ownership as at an estimated 19cents a mile it will be far cheaper and more desirable to hop on a SAVE Fleet car, especially in cities and suburbs. Imagine no car payment, no insurance payment, no gas costs, no liability, just leisurely transportation when and where you need it.

Automated fleets are potentially far more efficient, time-saving and safer. That is why I have changed what the 3 Revolutions at UC Davis calls AVEV to SAVE - Shared, Automated, Vehicles, Electrified as indeed they may SAVE the climate and a lot of lives. If SAVE Fleets are designed well and public policy and city planning step up, shared, automated, vehicles, electrified (SAVE) will become the life-saving solution to our problem with filthy, cancer-causing emissions that are also filled with greenhouse gases causing an extreme threat to public health, safety. SAVE Fleets, could not only reduce personal stress and vehicular deaths, they could also drastically reduce the amount of CO2 emissions associated with transportation and improve urban air quality. They, in turn, would reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce international conflict and environmental damage. Because these vehicles are safer, they can also be made with less weighty, energy-intensive materials, reducing the embodied energy of manufacturing. We would no longer have to pave over green space. Congestion caused by accidents and peak travel time would be eased by safer, shared vehicles. Public space could be liberated and used as parks, and carbon-absorbing green space rather than tarmac in prime central real estate currently filled with empty cars. If what we need most is to get from point A to B at a designated time, without breaking the bank, SAVE fleets will be UberPool and LyftLine with a facelift. Unlike current public transportation that often takes you from where you aren't to where you're not going SAVE's get you to where you want to be. SAVE's also have the potential to take thousands of cars off the road, as the vehicles will be shared and not just waiting around in prime public space for someone to use. You could also order the type of car you want, like a date night fire-red Tesla or an SUV to get you to the slopes. So finally, not only can we all have the equity of chauffeured driving, we may also be able to convert our garages into more useful creative spaces, increasing the livability and value of our homes.

Article by Daisy Carlson, Photo Amos Bar Zeev, Source 3Revolutions @UCDavis and a talk by Jon Haveman

As I finished this article it was announced that GM is investing 100 million in Automated vehicles.

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