cooker

No, as I said above I think it is a reasonable prediction, but not in 5 years. Maybe in 10. And since you ask, no, I think they may supplement or partially replace trucks but not elminate them. They might be used for short haul delivery of small packages or maybe one-off items like fast food orders in the city, or "last mile" delivery for rural trucks.

Walter S

Virtually never. A truck or car etc. has to be quite creative to block my bicycle. Even in rush hour gridlock I keep moving 99% of the time on my bike.

Walter S

I prefer to think of it as peace-and-nature lover rather than a hater.

tandempower

I just meant that some people are prejudiced against robots from a POV of viewing them as competition against human, i.e. taking jobs away from humans. I'm not defending them because I love or hate them; just pointing out that I sense sometimes that people harbor negativity toward robots because of this feeling of job-encroachment. I don't think many people feel this way toward established technologies like dishwashers, atm's, etc. but with new technologies, they often look at the human work the technology is replacing and then project anti-competition feelings onto the technology. So currently things like self-driving cars and other drones are being subject to hate that has been put onto other job-competitors in the past, such as automated phone systems and self-checkout systems.

badger1

You might think that, but you would be wrong. I don't have any 'feelings' about robots one way or the other. They are machines, just as are bicycles, cars, aircraft, etc.

Nor am I a Luddite -- far, far, from it.

My opinion in response to the question at hand has nothing to do with such things. It has to do with the fact that I am a dedicated cyclist. Dedicated cycle lanes, and indeed MUPs (a different but somewhat related thing) are a very good thing in my view.

Dedicated cycle lanes are for bicycles, which I define as being human-powered. That excludes, rightly in my opinion, 'powered' machines, such as e-bikes (electric mopeds) and drone things and FedEx delivery trucks etc., along with other nuisances (in cycle lanes) such as pedestrians, dogs on leashes, mopeds, runners, bladers, boarders, etc.

Simple. The existence of dedicated cycle lanes in an urban setting increases my ability, and the ability of other cyclists, to move freely through the cityscape. Clutter, whether human or mechanical, is an impediment to that ability. I, like most cyclists I know, do not wish to share those lanes with non-cyclists or with Robbie Robots.

tandempower

I view MUPs as non-motorized paths that should exclude all but the quietest motors. I feel like we have to respect pedestrians/runners, skating, etc. because those are non-motorized and sidewalks with seams are a cruel sentence for anyone using wheels to roll. So I would agree with you about motorized drones staying off MUPs, except maybe in special cases where a residential area would be built car-free so people could get deliveries at home, i.e. because no other route was available to their house (I know a rare case, if any such homes exist at all yet; but hopefully this will be more of an issue in the future).

Ok, I understand your issue now; but what if delivery drones were required to use the MV lane and only allowed to move aside to let traffic pass if they were within sufficient clearance of bike lane traffic, e.g. 20 ft., and only if they were first able to sync with the speed of the last cyclist they passed? So, if a drone passes you and you're going, say, 20mph, then the drone has to go at least 20 when it enters the bike lane 20ft in front of you. Then, it should return to the left side of the line as soon as possible.

cooker

No, I asked if they block your lane or right of way,

ironwood

Isn't "rush hour gridlock" an oxymoron. I'm beginning to hear it being referred to as "the evening crawl".

PdalPowr

I don't concur with your diagnosis.
It is perfectly sane to be bugged by inefficiency.
You seem well enough to me.
Take two bike rides and call me in the morning.

Rollfast

I don't allow unattended deliveries...not likely.


Besides that, I'm sure there will be other drones to steal your packages.

cooker

Once all sales are by Amazon and delivered by drone, all houses will have secure receiving ports that Amazon drones will dock with.

Roody

I'm with you on this one. Delivery drones have no right to be in bike lanes or on MUPs.

I don't think that's the way it will go, however. I think delivery drones will be nearly the size of the panel trucks they will replace, and they will be assigned to the same lanes as other motorized traffic. At least I hope so!

Roody

My house won't!

tandempower

I would also prefer to keep the bike lane clear, but I would like to see more small, relatively slow-moving vehicles because they would be very efficient. Speed requires weight for stability and safety and there's really no need for most local-traffic to have speed capacity over 30mph. So as far as I'm concerned they can split the right wide lane into two or three extra bike-width lanes and only allow drones in the narrow lanes to the left of the bike lane, but I would like to see small, slow drones carrying packages because it would more efficient in several ways and the technology is there to remove the 150lbs of human body weight from the delivery of a 20lb package.

Don't get me wrong, I love humans and support their existence but I don't think you can force human-powered deliveries by restricting drone development. Rather than send delivery agents out on bikes, which would be the healthy way to deliver packages, they will continue to send them in cars and trucks, which wastes everything from fuel to asphalt to land to health to human free time.

I-Like-To-Bike

Is that your 5 year, 10 year, or probably never prediction?

Walter S

Unfortunately there's some disagreement but I'm 1000% with you on this one!!!

badger1

Yep.

I-Like-To-Bike

I predict that in the next 5 years anybody who understands the difference between an imaginary scenario and reality has no need to be concerned about delivery drones (i.e driverless vehicles) occupying MUPs, bike lanes or any traffic lanes for that matter.

350htrr

I actually agree with that...

cooker

Not even if Amazon installs it for you, for free?

cooker

Did we not already do the lesson on hyperbole? I'm sorry, I should have told you there would be a test.

I-Like-To-Bike

Aren't you the fellow who nags/criticizes other posters for not sticking to the OP gameplan of limiting the discussion to 5 year predictions?

cooker

Generally, yes, but I'm not rigid about it.

I do, in fact expect either Amazon or various third parties to come up with creative solutions for secure delivery, since, like it or not, online shopping and home delivery is going to continue to grow. Initially perhaps it will be lock boxes or lockable chutes that only the delivery guy will have the code for, and then later (more than five years away) some kind of portal a robot can transfer a package to, although of course Roody can opt out.

jon c. 

I'd agree with that. There will be driverless vehicles in traffic lanes, but there's no need to be concerned about it.

Isolation

I predict that in 5 years' time, ILTB will be just as negative and dismissive about any efforts to make the world a better place as he is now.