Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Ad Nauseam

A Swedish Transit Agency Cuts Through the Autonomous Car Hype

You can thank Västtrafik, a Swedish transit agency, for this great ad that spoofs driverless car hype.

The ad uses car commercial cliches -- tight shots of a sleek exterior, an overbearing soundtrack -- to express a point that doesn't get made often enough: We already have the technology to address a lot of the problems that self-driving cars purport to solve.

Buses may lack the novelty and sheen of autonomous technology, but they have advantages that a four-door sedan never will -- namely, the efficiency of moving more people in less space. And they work fine right now, not in five, ten, or 20 years. We should see buses held up as the elegant transportation solution they are more often.

Hat tip: The Verge

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

In NYC, Unlicensed Drivers Comprise One-Quarter Of Street Fatalities: Data

Unlicensed drivers are linked to fatal crashes much more often now than pre-pandemic

January 13, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines Need Exercise

Every hour in a car increases the risk of obesity by 6 percent, while walking a kilometer lowers it 5 percent.

January 13, 2026

Opinion: Stop Asking If People Want to Ride Bikes

"We shouldn’t be aiming to nudge a few percentage points in public opinion. Our goal should be to make freedom of mobility so compelling that people demand it."

January 13, 2026

When the Government Says You’re ‘Weaponizing’ Your Car

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers have been brutalizing and killing people who they perceive as threats. Is mass automobility multiplying their pretext to do it?

January 12, 2026

Should Monday’s Headlines Carry a Carrot or a Stick?

Human beings generally don't like being forced to do anything, so Grist wonders whether policies like car bans could actually be counterproductive?

January 12, 2026

Chicago Explores Black Perspectives on Public Transit

"We're not going to fix decades of inequitable investment in one year, and things like the high-frequency bus network and the Red Line Extension are really important, but the work isn't done."

January 9, 2026
See all posts