500 manually driven cars and 500 robocars take the same space. Building schools, cities, and communities in the US that are pedestrian based is the only real solution. The author summarizes as "We need to thicken up our places, slow down cars, and install pedestrian or biking infrastructure" which I couldn't agree with more.

> can just wait for this problem to go away as robocars becomes the norm

I live in a well-to-do community where many kids are chauffeured to school. The problem isn't just the parents' wasted time. It's the congestion and lack of agency this behaviour bestows on children. Head to head, I'd bet the kid who can navigate themselves to and from school outcompetes the one chauffered in a robotaxi in novel environments.

I'm not in disagreement, robot cars would be awesome, but why do we need scifi technology here in the usa to solve something that is already a solved problem the world over.

It really is a mental problem more than anything else. The inability to imagine a virtuous public realm welcoming to children, conjure its value in one's mind eye, and commit to the necessary material changes.

I used to be in this camp, but when it comes down to it busses, trains, and other shared transportation options are both the past and the future. Kids from all economic backgrounds can use them at once, they are extremely space and energy efficient, and the necessity of walking the final leg to the central access point is healthier for our bodies and our communities.

We need busses.

If it has to be techy-flashy, would it satisfy you if the bus was self-driving?

Busses are slow as snot in many cases, because the routes are insane.

We can walk to school and see the bus when we leave the house and easily beat it by many minutes.

(Busses being slow and routes taking long is probably a design feature, allowing schools to let out at 3PM but parents to not have to be home until 5PM or later).

But the real final solution won't be robocars, it'll be robokids. Then if you lose one you can just get a replacement.

If you can beat the bus by walking then you shouldn't be on the bus. (unless in order to pull this off you have to do something stupidly dangerous)

Though you are correct a bus is slow, done right they are faster than walking.