Autonomous vehicles offer an exciting future, although most people can’t envision it yet. The best way to understand how autonomous vehicles (AVs) will change the ways we go about our lives and the ways we work, is to imagine the new lifestyle models that AVs will create. These fictitious examples illustrate answers to questions about how AVs might make a difference.

How will AVs be used for commuting?

Commuting to and from work is tiresome for most people. It's unproductive time, often considered as wasted. On average, American drivers spend about 300 hours behind the wheel annually, much of it commuting time. AVs will transform commuting as we know it today. Commuting will be more productive. The savings in commuting driving time will provide additional time for work, study or leisure. Productive commuting will provide an incentive for more people to live further from where they work. It may also reduce the number of cars individually owned and reduce the use of public transportation. Here are some examples.

How would people use their own AV to commute to and from work?

AVs will be very helpful in “recovering” commuting time. People will use this recovered time for different purposes, and here is one example:

Joan and her husband Mark use their AV primarily for their long commutes to and from work. They decided to buy a more affordable home farther outside the city where they both worked, and then they purchased a new AV to use the additional commuting time more productively. They usually leave for work at 8 AM and use their 60-minute commute to have coffee and muffins while reading the morning papers on their iPads. They purchased the mobile kitchen option in their AV that provides a small coffee maker and refrigerator. They usually drop Mark off at work first and then Joan last because her company offers free AV parking. They often leave work at 6 PM and watch the news on the way home, sometimes having a glass of wine on the way. They are pleased to be able to afford a much nicer home further from the city, while not having to waste more time commuting. They have the house of their dreams for less than they would have paid for a much smaller home closer to the city.

What about shared commuting?

Shared AV commuting will replace carpooling as we know it, eliminating the need for someone to drive and provide a car. Here is an example:

Anthony shares an AV commuting vehicle with three co-workers. Autonomous Commuting Corp. provides this car for a monthly fee. They each pay $10 per day ($200 per month) for the 30-mile commute. At the cost of $0.16 per mile each, this is much less than the previous carpooling and parking expenses. The spacious AV is designed primarily for commuting with comfortable individual seating and high-speed internet. The car reliably picks them up at the same time every day. They each have their routine in the morning and the evening commutes. They read, watch videos or TV, drink their coffee, or sleep. One of them is using her time to learn a new language. If one of them works late, he or she merely requests an alternative ride from Autonomous Commuting. Autonomous Commuting uses the AV throughout the day to transport others, enabling it to provide low-cost commuting.

Will AVs replace public transit in some cases?

People who work in the city will use an autonomous ride service to get to and from work, instead of owning a car or using public transportation. They will use autonomous ride services (ARS) like the way people use Uber ridesharing today, only it will be less expensive and more convenient. Here is a potential example:

Carrie lives and works in Atlanta, but she doesn't own a car. She merely requests an ARS when she leaves for her three-mile trip to work, and it usually arrives within five minutes of when she requests it. The cost is $3, much less than it costs to take a taxi and just a bit more than the $2.50 price of MARTA, Atlanta's public transportation system. It also takes her only about five minutes to get to work, compared to the 15-25 minutes it takes by public transportation, and she doesn’t need to walk five minutes each way to the bus stop. After work, she frequently requests an AV to take her to meet friends for dinner. Overall, Carrie estimates that she spends about $125 per month for commuting and saves at least a half-hour a day compared to MARTA. For her, the benefits are obvious: it costs her $5 more per week and saves two-and-a-half hours. She estimates that she spends $200-$250 per month for all her transportation, which is only 7% of what she earns.

Will there be free AV rides?

Autonomous ride services (ARS) will become so inexpensive that sometimes rides will be free. Retail stores and restaurants will use free ARS to attract more customers. The cost of valet parking is typically $25-$35 per hour for each valet attendant, not including tips, plus the cost to rent parking spaces if needed. An ARS will cost approximately $8-$15 per customer round-trip for a typical local trip. So, the costs are reasonably similar. Initially, there will be a substantial competitive advantage for restaurants that provide a free autonomous ride service to pick up and return their customers, potentially fueling a rush to these services. Here is an example:

Sam made a dinner reservation for 7 PM on Open Table at Chez Duncan, a restaurant that provides complimentary ARS transportation to and from dinner. The app knows where he is relative to the restaurant, and offers free ARS. He clicks to accept, and the restaurant’s ARS picks him up at 6:30. Sam usually goes to restaurants that provide this complimentary service; otherwise, he pays for the ARS himself. He never drives to restaurants anymore, so that he doesn't need to worry about parking or driving after drinking. When he and his guests finish their dinners, the waiter notifies the ARS and the complimentary car will be waiting to take him home. Chez Duncan negotiated an excellent deal to provide ARS to its customers and found that its business increased 15% from more customers and increased wine sales.

Can free ARS rides be used as promotional incentives too?

Free ARS may also be an incentive to attract more customers. For example, a shopping mall may provide free ARS to attract more shoppers:

The local shopping mall provides free AV transportation on Tuesdays to attract more shoppers. It gets 1,000 more shoppers every Tuesday, and the stores in the mall each pay from $2-$20 per week to fund this promotion. The mall is working with its ARS provider to include advertising in the AVs as an additional way to pay for the service.

Will AVs be used to get to and from airports?

Yes, millions of people traveling by air need to commute to/from the airport and park there. Driving to and from the airport can be stressful. Airport parking can be costly. It can cost $15 to $30 daily. A car-service can be less expensive for longer trips, but it can cost $100-$150 each way. ARS customized for airport transportation will dramatically reduce this cost, as can be seen in this example:

Like many road warriors, Peter flies almost every week. It typically costs him $60 for airport parking, plus the cost of driving to and from the airport. A car service is $80 each way. Frequently he leaves early in the morning, arrives late at night, and he dislikes having to drive when he is tired. Now, he uses an ARS designed for travel to that airport. He provides his flight information and how much buffer time he wants, and the ARS automatically computes travel time based on traffic conditions and picks him up in the morning. When he lands, he doesn't need to do anything; the ARS monitors his flight arrival time and is there waiting for him.

Will airport shuttles use AVs?

Yes, airport hotels can use AVs to replace shuttle buses, providing more individual service at a lower cost. Here is an example:

A major hotel chain has 50 airport hotels. At each hotel, it previously used a shuttle bus that ran every 20-30 minutes, employing five drivers to provide the service. While customers appreciated the shuttle service, it was not very convenient since they had to wait until the next shuttle and had to stop at other terminals. The hotel chain replaced the shuttles with several AVs at each hotel. Now, customers have their own ride to their terminal whenever they are ready, and on top of that, it costs the hotel much less than the shuttle service. The hotel decided to purchase a small fleet of AVs identifying the hotel for advertising and promotional purposes. Although the investment in AVs had been $10 million for its 50 hotels, the return on investment was impressive, and that’s not even counting an increase in revenue from guests who now stay at their hotels instead of others.

What about those who cannot drive?

There are more than 50 million people in the United States who can’t or don’t drive. This estimate includes children, those who are disabled, and the elderly who prefer not to drive. The availability of ARS will enrich their lives and take a burden from those who now need to drive them around.

How will the elderly use AVs?

There are 16 million people older than 75 in the United States, and while many of these can drive, some of them will prefer to use their own AVs or autonomous ride services where it’s available. Here is an example:

Tom and Mary are in their late 70s. Tom drove a car until two years ago when he had a small accident. After that, they stayed home most of the time, except for when their daughter could take them to the store or the doctor. Then, their daughter convinced them to try the new ARS recently opened in their community. Now, they are out and about continually, more active than they were in many years. Mary goes shopping 4-5 times a week, before that she could only arrange to go once a week. She also takes the ARS to church activities and twice a week to knitting with her friends. Tom uses the ARS for his weekly doctor appointments, to have breakfast three times a week with friends, and for his regular Thursday night card game. On Thursday night, he typically shares an autonomous ride with two friends. Tom and Mary are so happy with the new lifestyle enabled by ARS that they convinced two friends to relocate to their community because of the availability of autonomous ride services.

What about the disable? How will it help them?

AVs will provide flexible transportation for the millions of people who are disabled. Sometimes, the ARS service will provide customized AVs for those who are disabled, or the person will own a customized AV. Here is an example:

Bart cannot walk and requires a wheelchair, which he is very capable of using alone. He was disabled in an automobile accident a decade ago. Bart has a customized AV van. Whenever he wants to go somewhere, he remotely opens the garage door, pushes a button to open the back of the vehicle, and the ramp extends to the ground. He then moves his wheelchair into position and pushes another button for it to lift him into the van. He then tells the autonomous van where he wants to go. Previously, Bart owned a van that accommodated him, but he still needed a driver to take him anywhere.

What about children? How can they possibly use AVs?

There will be some debate about the minimum age for ARS passengers. It will be reasonable for children close to driving age in their early teens to use ARS, but probably not young children. There will be ARS geared to transporting children with a uniquely controlled environment and continuous video monitoring so parents can watch their children, as seen in this example:

Jose and Brandy have three children ages 9, 12, and 14 who are all very active in sports and school activities. In a typical school week, they estimate that they have 8-12 events that their children attend. Before using ARS for their children, they felt like they ran a bus service. Now their oldest always uses the Uber ARS to get to and from sports and music practices, frequently traveling with one or two close friends. He is also very comfortable traveling alone, and he prefers it to having mom or dad drive him because that is socially embarrassing. The two youngest children frequently go together using the Apple Children’s ARS, which requires an authorized adult to be there when the kids get in and out of the car, uses biometric identification of the child, and continuously monitors the children during travel. The 12-year-old can’t wait to turn 13 to be eligible to use regular ride services, and the parents can’t wait for the youngest to become ten so she can travel alone in the Children’s ARS. The parents estimate that they save 6-8 hours each week from not having to drive the kids. They use this time for work and shopping, enabling them to spend more quality time with the children with the time saved.

Can AVs be used on medium and longer drives too?

AVs will also change the way people take long drives. Sometimes, traveling by AV even will be less expensive and more convenient than airline travel. Some people may find that it’s more cost-effective to use their AV to drive long distance. Here is an example.

Donna and Sam travel 1,500 miles every year from Boston to Miami, and then back again. They usually drive down in October and drive back in May; so, they have their car at each location. Sometimes they would fly and pay to have their car transported. Sam looked at the economics of using an AV. He said they drive the 1,500 in three days, including two overnight stops at hotels. If they used an AV, they could do the trip in a single long day, probably 24-28 hours without stopping, except to refuel and take breaks for food. They can watch movies together on the trip and sleep along on the way. They save about $500-$600, plus two days of time, and the stress of driving. The savings offset the extra cost for an AV. Sam also compared the cost of flying home for the holidays. Flying each way cost them about $750-$900, including the cost of airport parking, plus they needed to spend another $300-$500 to rent a car. Sam figured it was about the same cost to take a day and have their AV drive them back and forth for the holidays. And they could fill the car with all their holiday gifts.

Could AVs be used to transport elderly family members?

Yes, here is an example of how an AV helps in a specific situation involving an elderly family member:

Martha's mother lives 120 miles away and doesn't drive. So, to get her mother to visit, she and her husband need to drive four hours round-trip to get her and then another four hours to bring her back. This trip is especially difficult on holidays since they are already busy with their kids. Hence, they don't see her mother as frequently as they would like. Now, they have an AV, and they send it to pick up their mother. They usually put a snack in the car and set up one of her favorite movies for her to watch on the two-hour trip. It took only two visits for her mother to get comfortable with the AV, but now she loves it. On the first rip, Martha accompanied her mother in the AV. Now Martha sees her mother more frequently.

How will rental car companies use AVs?

Rental car companies will suffer from ARS replacing much of the need for rental cars. However, there may be opportunities for rental car companies to use AVs for medium-distance travel. Travel between two distant locations may be an opportunity for rental car companies, which is different from municipal ARS fleets, as is seen in this example:

A formerly successful car rental company struggled to survive in the 2020s with the growth of ARS. In 2023, it introduced an AV long-distance rental program. For less than $1 per mile, a customer could rent an AV for a minimum of $250. This program became an instant success, taking passengers away from the airlines. Boston to New York, or New York to DC or LA to San Francisco costs only $250 – door to door. Even trips from New York or Boston to Chicago were cost-effective. Frequently, the travel time was less than the flight time plus the time it took to get to and from the airport. And it was more comfortable and convenient.

Jim and Sue live in the Boston suburbs and travel to New York a few times a year for weekends. The long-distance ARS picks them up at their home on Friday afternoon and drops them at their hotel in New York in time for a late dinner. They usually have a bottle of wine on the way to get in the mood for their weekend. On Sunday after brunch, the ARS picks them up at the hotel, and they are home by late afternoon. The round-trip costs them $500, much less than the $1,000 it would cost to fly, park, and take a taxi from the airport in New York and back. Plus, it is faster and more convenient.

Will AVs be used for travel to business meetings?

Executives and managers frequently travel to business meetings in small groups. Some companies will purchase specialized AVs to transport people to and from these meetings. These AVs will lower travel costs and significantly improve productivity and convenience, as seen in this example:

Advanced Equity Investors is based in Boston, but it’s executives, and managers frequently had to travel to New York. These trips were expensive, inconvenient, and the travel time wasn’t productive. So, the company acquired three four-passenger AVs designed for business. Its executives merely schedule the vehicle for a trip to New York, and the car picks up each of the executives at home in the morning. On the trip to New York, they review their presentation and make changes as needed. Each of the business AV's has a printer so they can print the client copies before arriving. The AV drops them off directly at the client office and then goes to the nearest AV parking lot to wait. When the meeting is over, they summon the vehicle to pick them up and drive them home. The company even provides some wine and cheese in the AV for the ride back.

How can salespeople use AVs?

Many salespeople travel several days a week to visit the businesses that they serve. With AVs, they can significantly increase productivity, as seen in this example:

Brian services 400 accounts from Maine to New Jersey, and he is on the road 3-4 days a week. His company just provided him with an AV specifically designed to enable him to work while traveling from account to account. He can now do his preparation and follow-up work instead of driving, allowing him to be more productive. He estimates that he can visit 25%-30% more accounts each week, and he is not fatigued from driving, especially in traffic. His sales have increased significantly, and the company has gotten a fantastic return on its investment in three AVs for its salespeople. And since he can do his administrative work while riding to clients, he can travel an extra day a week, increasing his commissions.

Will AVs be used to promote business?

Some businesses will offer their clients free AV travel to meetings as a convenience to promote their activities. Here is an example:

The Estate Planning law firm does estate planning and wills for wealthy clients. It acquired two luxury AVs to use for its clients. When it schedules a meeting with its clients, it offers to have them picked up and taken to the office using one of these AVs. The clients love it. They feel very special and don't need to drive or find a place to park. Its clients tell all their friends, and business is up 30% since they started providing this service. It also saves the Estate Planning partners from having to travel to their clients, so that they can be more productive.

Will AVs be used for home delivery?

Package and food delivery will be revolutionized with the advent of AVs specialized for delivery. Food delivery will benefit more than package delivery.

Will pizza be delivered by autonomous delivery vehicles?

Pizza delivery will be one of the first new opportunities for autonomous home delivery. There are 70,000 pizzerias in the United States, most of which offer delivery. More than 1 billion pizzas are delivered every year in the United States. There are 16,000 Pizza Hut locations and 13,000 Dominos locations. Let’s use Dominos as our fictitious example:

Dominos was one of the first to use AV delivery vehicles for pizza delivery. Marco orders pizza at least twice a week from Dominos. His friends Max and Becky are visiting, and he ordered two pizzas from his Dominos app. They had never ordered pizza from an AV delivery vehicle, so they were intrigued by how it works. About 20 minutes later, the app notified him that the delivery was 3 minutes away from his apartment. (He set the notification time for 3 minutes because that’s how long it took him to go downstairs.) He confirmed the delivery, and the app sent him the “pizza passcode." They all went downstairs to see the process. The unique little Dominos Delivery vehicle pulled up at the front door, the compartment with his pizza flashed, and he entered the pizza passcode. The door opened to the heated storage tray, he removed the two pizzas, and they went back upstairs to their apartment. "It saves me $6 for delivery between the lower delivery charge and a tip. Makes the pizza 30% cheaper!" Marco told them.

What about other meal delivery?

Food delivery is not limited to pizzas. Higher-end restaurants will also offer more home delivery. Some meal delivery services are doing this already with drivers, but it becomes more cost-effective with AV delivery, as can be seen in this example.

Chuck and Amy regularly order meals from about a dozen local restaurants that offer AV delivery for free. Today, they had another couple over for dinner. They talked about the different restaurant options and picked a restaurant, went online to the menu, and ordered on their account. Then, they had cocktails, and in about 40 minutes they got a notice that their meals were waiting outside. They just went out their front door, put in their account code, and removed their meals from the warming draws. The frozen desserts were in the cooler. They prefer the convenience of dining at home more often without having to cook. They figure that they save 25%-35% on the cost of eating out because there is no delivery charge, they don't have to pay a tip to a waiter, and there is no markup on wine with dinner.

Can AVs help manage traffic at major events?

Massive parking lots and incredible traffic jams are taken for granted at major events such as concerts, football games, major golf tournaments, and other sporting events. AVs may provide some solutions to these problems and make these events more attractive to attend in person. Let's take a big football game for instance:

The NFL team introduced an AV program for its games to alleviate congestion and frustration. It uses several different types of autonomous transportation. Individuals with their own AVs are dropped off in an exclusive drop-off zone, and then their cars drive away to an off-site parking area. After the game, the AVs return on a rotating schedule to pick up passengers. ARS passenger vans bring groups of 5-8 fans from their homes to the game together. They can mingle and have drinks on the way and after the game since nobody is driving. They rent the ARS passenger vans for the day and use the same van each way. And the driver doesn't need to get frustrated by the traffic. These vehicles also drop off and return on a rotating basis. Finally, conventional ARS vehicles drop off and pick up passengers from the game at a lower cost than parking fees. The vehicle drops them off and then goes to pick up a new group of passengers for the game. There is some wait time for these rides, but there is a lower price for those who agree to wait longer. This program significantly reduced congestion, eliminated the frustration of driving in traffic, and increased the interest in attendance. The ARS companies dispatch the AVs in groups to have sufficient vehicles for the event. Some go from one major event to another around the region.