The number one tech segment written about in 2017 must have been 'autonomous cars'. So much hype, articles and predictions for the future. Therefore, when the chance occurred to actually try one; I couldn't hesitate.
Background
A week ago (on the 24 January 2018) the bus company Nobina started the first test in Scandinavia for autonomous buses on public roads to be used by the public. The two buses are running along a 2 km long street in the Stockholm suburb Kista. This is actually the high tech suburb of Stockholm. The bus is for example running along Ericsson's Head Office.
The buses (model EZ10) are from the French company EasyMile and has capacity of 12 people and a max speed of 40 km/h. However, the ones in beta test in Stockholm are (currently) limited to 20 km/h.
The ride
Recorded a short video from the (smooth and slow) ride.
The future
Will buses (and cars) like this take over in the traffic? And what is the effect for the real estate market? Large questions. I'm sure there will be a large portion of those within 10 years. Especially long haul trucks and buses. However, it always takes longer than one predicts. Furthermore, I don't think there will be less cars in the streets (probably more if its very convenient). However, there will be less parked cars along the streets. Maybe on long term investment could be to purchase parking garages and in the future reuse those for offices/resi...
Further reading
A few links for further reading. About the buses in Stockholm, 5th Wall on the subject, Curbed article, Joe and finally Verge (it's 2018, where are the cars?).