"PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that the number of vehicles on the road will be reduced by 99%, estimating that the fleet will fall from 245 million to just 2.4 million vehicles."
This isn't remotely close to possible. While it is technically true that cars spend most of their time sitting idle, the demand for transportation is lumpy. A huge percentage of the population works, sleeps, shops, and eats at approximately the same time. That means that with only 2.4 million cars available for use at any one time, the US economy would almost completely shut down. If the majority of those were Uber cars, surge pricing would be in effect most nomral hours....literally only the reviled "1%" could afford to go to work or do anything else from sunrise to sunset.
You are thinking of one person per car per commute. And also cars only. As a simple example lets say you commute 30 miles to work and it costs $10. Shortly after your journey starts the car can say: "Would you accept a 3 minute longer journey in return for a discount of $3?" Instant on-demand car pooling as it picks up someone else.
Similarly the car can take you to some point 3 miles away, you switch to a larger car ("bus"), get within a few miles of your destination where another car takes you to you final destination. The wait times can be very small, and again you'll have a financial incentive (discount) or can pay full whack for a completely private experience. The time and places where there are the highest demands on transport are the ones where self driving vehicles and financial incentives will be most effective.
Deliveries will become way cheaper too. Instead of each place managing their own delivery as currently happens, a delivery company can pick up things from multiple unrelated places. Suddenly there is no need for businesses like fast food to all be in high traffic areas.
Unless financially constrained, most people will not ride the bus to wherever they are going, today or in the future. Autonomous cars are real. The idea that humans will change their attitudes or behaviors because of them is not. Individuals will still own cars, they will just be autonomous. Car ownership may go down somewhat, but not by 99% or anywhere close to it.
I'm not sure about that. Humans adjust pretty well and relatively quickly to changes when the incentives are right. Where I live I see people from many walks of life use buses or other forms or public transport without trepidation. Sure, it's possible that people will never travel in a 'normal' car with complete strangers, but if that's the case I'm sure we'll find ways to make 'cars' more amenable to co-traveling so that the significant advantages will be worth the slight inconvenience of traveling in one vehicle with strangers.
Not a bus in the current sense, but a self driving vehicle that takes more passengers at once. ie not on set schedules or routes.
Everyone will have the ability to make decisions based on price for each journey. Want to spend more for privacy and luxury? No problem. Happy to spend way less and take a few minutes more? No problem.
I have no idea what they were thinking. What I do know, however, is that there are more than 2.4 million people in the US expected to be at work or school between 8-9am. Using your example, there are few people that can afford $50 to and from work ($100/day - $2,000 per month for those on a 5 day work week - around the cost of leasing a very high end Mercedes).
This isn't remotely close to possible. While it is technically true that cars spend most of their time sitting idle, the demand for transportation is lumpy. A huge percentage of the population works, sleeps, shops, and eats at approximately the same time. That means that with only 2.4 million cars available for use at any one time, the US economy would almost completely shut down. If the majority of those were Uber cars, surge pricing would be in effect most nomral hours....literally only the reviled "1%" could afford to go to work or do anything else from sunrise to sunset.