A fleet of 100 self-driving pod cars are set to appear on the streets of the English town of Milton Keynes by 2015.
"Driverless cars which are controlled by a smartphone app are being launched in England for the first time," reports Chris Pleasance. "While the vehicles will initially be given a separate lane from pedestrains, government ministers are so impressed by the technology that the lanes will eventually be removed."
According to Pleasance, the pods will operate between the city's main train station and its commercial heart a mile away. A trip is expected to cost £2.
"David Willetts, the minster for higher education at the business department, is backing the scheme after trying a Google driverless car is California last year," adds Pleasance. "He has labelled that scheme a 'science fiction future' and thinks that people will come to view conventional cars as a huge waste of time."
FULL STORY: Welcome to our 'science fiction future'
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research