Hacker News Reader

To this point I wonder how full autonomy will impact this. A truck that drives itself and doesn't have to stop (besides to charge) will easily make the case for a freight or autonomous lane on highways where the vehicles don't go above a certain speed (67mph or 100kph). I don't really care if it takes me 10 hours to go 500 miles if I watch a movie, go to sleep, an wake up in front of my hotel.

View on HN

Freight should be done more by rail. It’s way more efficient to ship by rail, and easier to electrify. Our heavy usage of semi trucks is partially due to the hidden subsidy that semi trucks get via road maintenance, where semi trucks don’t pay anywhere near enough gas tax to offset the damage they do. EV trucks will be worse.

Generally speaking, the solution for car troubles is to reduce the scope that cars and trucks are used to solve transit problems. Road damage due to semi trucks? Build more freight rail! Inner city congestion? Add a subway! Long commutes? Build more housing, and if that doesn’t work add dedicated commuter rails. Too much air traffic? Offset local flights onto high speed rail to free up room for long distance flights.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com