America is Big!
Today fbb is going to follow No 1 and No 3 sons from Vegas to South Lake Tahoe and on to Frisco. But we neeed to realise the distances involved.
454 miles! And then on to Frisco, another 204.
It is also worth remembering (although fbb could never remember as he never knew!) that Las Vegas is very much in the middle of nowhere - in the middle of nothing much. In the UK we are used to a steady stream of picturesque villages wherever we go, but in the area where the lads (!) were travelling on days 2 and 3, there is a whole lot of this ...
... and quite a bit more of this ...
... and roads like this..jpg)
Some highways were simply packed with interest ...
... for mile after mile after mile.
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Leaving one small community called Rachel ...
... No 1 son reported that after the busy metropolis, as pictured above, came a sign that said ...
... and, quite accurately, the next building was a burger store - after 150 miles!
In fact Las Vegas started as a pit stop for the Mormons travelling from Salt Lake City to San Francisco for supplies.
It grew in importance with an American air base and splurged dramatically when Nevada made gambling into a pastime (calling it "gaming") and legislated for "six week" divorces. The result is what we see today, plonked incongruously in what is pictured above - namely not a lot!
The "City" of Tahoe is very much tourist oriented ...
... and fbb will return there tomorrow with a review of Tahoe's public transport.
Needless to say, the Mustang riders did not hang about to enjoy the buses; but, for the time being, we need now to look at a chunk of public transport that is way more interesting, even than Tahoe.
It is in San Francisco.
And here it is:-
Indeed! Whilst the UK pootles around with experimental autonomous vehicles (see below), driverless but with a driver, several cities in the USA have genuine driverless taxis available NOW, and without a driver.
While marvelling at the ludicrously expensive appendages needed to make them very safe (?), the first thing you notice is a lack of useable door handles!
You cannot open the door until you have booked your ride. 
There : open sesame!
And for this you download an app. fbb looked at the web site ...
... but it told you nothing ...
For useful information you have to download the app. fbb decided not to risk it, in case he inadvertently booked a ride and the system removed much fine gold from the fbb account!
The inside presents you with two screens which map your ride similar to a standard in-car computer jobbie as not used by fbb; nut far more sophisticated!
You can see what the on-board technology is doing as you enjoy the drive. Sons were well impressed, one suggesting that the tech was so good that he felt far safer than in any cat he might be driving.
... except how wonderful it all was.
Here is a video of a chunk of their computer controlled trajectory.
Warning: these two videos are set to "loop" so they will repeat for ever unless you stop them!
And a closer look at one of the screens.It was all so well controlled and so effective that they soon relaxed and it wasn't at all scary - hence the "head banging", for want of a better word, music.
And a closer look at one of the screens.It was all so well controlled and so effective that they soon relaxed and it wasn't at all scary - hence the "head banging", for want of a better word, music.
It does have a pretty light on the top which makes it look like a cop car!
Perhaps that's why it works so well - other motorists are especially respectful!
Which reminds fbb of a song by the late Tony Bennett. The words went something like this:-
We rode Way-mo in San Francisco,
Not on the hill, but had to go.
Ignored the little cable cars
Climbing halfway to the stars!
In the evening dark, we paid our fare
We used the app in San Francisco,
Ir was a thrill, expensive though,
To be where electronic cars
Viewed street scenes, not the stars!
And the evening ride was not a scare.
Here is the official word!
Just for the record : it cost $40 for a 20 minute journey. It would have cost $14 on an Uber driven by a person. See "China" below!
Meanwhile, In The UK
Whilst this route will interact with other vehicles, it is hardly on a par with proper public roads.
Here is what their PR says.
Solihull council have bought that hyper ugly bus with a very small seating capacity ...
... and you have to pre-book, which makes it useless in practice.
Every stop? Every of not very many!
Of course it has a driver - who doesn't drive unless anything embarrassing happens!
Meanwhile In China
There are concerns (you bet) about costs and possible revenue.
Hmmmm?
Next Mustang mini blog : Thur 3 Apr
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