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Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: bing101 on November 09, 2015, 10:54:50 AM

Title: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: bing101 on November 09, 2015, 10:54:50 AM
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/11/07/future-cities-ban-driving-says-atari-founder-bushnell/75401772/


https://soundcloud.com/usatodaytech/in-20-years-it-will-be-illegal-to-drive-in-cities-atari-founder-nolan-bushnell


Well This is going to take some time to think about.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: The Nature Boy on November 09, 2015, 11:17:41 AM
Whenever I'm in Boston or DC (the two cities I visit most), I dump my car in the suburbs and take public transit around. I wouldn't be opposed to this.

You would also have to greatly improve public transit for this to be a reality though.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: Brandon on November 09, 2015, 11:31:00 AM
Given his track record with Atari, I sincerely doubt it.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: ET21 on November 09, 2015, 04:55:35 PM
Give me a flying car then  :D
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: empirestate on November 09, 2015, 05:37:18 PM
As is often the case with this type of prediction, the idea itself isn't off-base at all, but the time frame certainly is. Twenty years is much too soon for this to come true, but there's no reason to doubt it will eventually come to pass.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: GCrites on November 11, 2015, 08:02:12 PM
Quote from: Brandon on November 09, 2015, 11:31:00 AM
Given his track record with Atari, I sincerely doubt it.

He sold it way before The Crash. The Crash of 1983 happened while Warner Brothers owned the company. Then the Tramiel brothers owned it until selling it to Hasbro in 1998.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: formulanone on November 11, 2015, 08:25:46 PM
Quote from: Brandon on November 09, 2015, 11:31:00 AM
Given his track record with Atari, I sincerely doubt it.

Given his track record after Atari, I doubt anything he has to say.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: Scott5114 on November 12, 2015, 02:27:47 AM
I don't think a full-on ban of motor vehicle traffic is realistic. There are too many times when a car is necessary, even in an urban environment like NYC, to outright ban it. A more likely scenario is more widespread application of heavy penalties like London's congestion charge that will encourage citizens to avoid car use whenever possible.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: empirestate on November 12, 2015, 11:00:40 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 12, 2015, 02:27:47 AM
I don't think a full-on ban of motor vehicle traffic is realistic. There are too many times when a car is necessary, even in an urban environment like NYC, to outright ban it. A more likely scenario is more widespread application of heavy penalties like London's congestion charge that will encourage citizens to avoid car use whenever possible.

Did he suggest that? The quote I saw was only about banning operator-driven vehicles, but I didn't listen to the full podcast.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: kurumi on November 12, 2015, 11:18:54 AM
After driving is banned, cars will be buried in a New Mexico landfill (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial_(video_game)).
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: jeffandnicole on November 12, 2015, 11:43:00 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 12, 2015, 02:27:47 AM
I don't think a full-on ban of motor vehicle traffic is realistic. There are too many times when a car is necessary, even in an urban environment like NYC, to outright ban it. A more likely scenario is more widespread application of heavy penalties like London's congestion charge that will encourage citizens to avoid car use whenever possible.

Or when someone lives in the city.  Are they going to build massive parking garages outside the city for the tens or hundreds of thousands of cars people within the city own?
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: empirestate on November 12, 2015, 02:04:28 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on November 12, 2015, 11:43:00 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 12, 2015, 02:27:47 AM
I don't think a full-on ban of motor vehicle traffic is realistic. There are too many times when a car is necessary, even in an urban environment like NYC, to outright ban it. A more likely scenario is more widespread application of heavy penalties like London's congestion charge that will encourage citizens to avoid car use whenever possible.

Or when someone lives in the city.  Are they going to build massive parking garages outside the city for the tens or hundreds of thousands of cars people within the city own?

No, those people would still be taking them into town; they just wouldn't be driving them there. The cars will be driving themselves there, according to the prediction.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: Buffaboy on November 12, 2015, 06:46:23 PM
You learn something new every day: the guy who founded Atari also founded Chuck-E-Cheese's. Wow.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: Brandon on November 13, 2015, 07:31:59 AM
Quote from: Buffaboy on November 12, 2015, 06:46:23 PM
You learn something new every day: the guy who founded Atari also founded Chuck-E-Cheese's. Wow.

I had the displeasure of going to a Chuck-E-Cheese a few years ago.  Friend's kid wanted to go.  It's a pale shadow of what Showbiz Pizza was before the merger.  Every flipping game was one of those ticket dispensing things.  No real arcade games to speak of.  The only bright spot was the skeeball.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: Rothman on November 13, 2015, 09:58:26 AM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on November 09, 2015, 11:17:41 AM
Whenever I'm in Boston or DC (the two cities I visit most), I dump my car in the suburbs and take public transit around. I wouldn't be opposed to this.

You would also have to greatly improve public transit for this to be a reality though.

Parking at Alewife and taking the Red Line in used to be a deal due to cheap parking and T fares.  Now that parking at Alewife + the fares (for my family of 4) are comparable to just driving into where I want to go and paying for a garage, that's what I do.  It's really too bad.  I'd prefer to do the public transit route, but the economic incentive just isn't there any more.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: GCrites on November 13, 2015, 10:12:01 AM
Quote from: Brandon on November 13, 2015, 07:31:59 AM
Quote from: Buffaboy on November 12, 2015, 06:46:23 PM
You learn something new every day: the guy who founded Atari also founded Chuck-E-Cheese's. Wow.

I had the displeasure of going to a Chuck-E-Cheese a few years ago.  Friend's kid wanted to go.  It's a pale shadow of what Showbiz Pizza was before the merger.  Every flipping game was one of those ticket dispensing things.  No real arcade games to speak of.  The only bright spot was the skeeball.

Arcade cabs are for adults now. Kids love those redemption machines. They can play some Skee-ball then walk off with a Charmander plush or something.
Title: Re: Future cities will ban driving, says Atari founder Bushnell
Post by: vdeane on November 13, 2015, 12:48:20 PM
I preferred Discovery Zone.