Well, this project does discuss reality- because idealists don't live in utopias, they have to consider reality. If they do not, they aren't idealists. They're dumb hags. It has to or it cannot be done.
Since this is a massive non-profit project, encouraging public transportation can be done- or atleast in some way. But if you take a look at America, and the sheer size of its land mass- no non-profit project would be enough for it. Hell, if it were that easy- the government would've done it by now. I mean, if you think about the tax your government receives- it wouldn't even take 0.0001% to beat any non-profit fund.
As for automatic driving: yes, I do think that technology would prove to be of limited usefulness in other fields. Trains are already pretty much automatic at this point, and efficient public transportation will almost undoubtedly be done by rail. So after we abandon cars, you tell me where that technology is going.
First I'd like to say, technologies aren't considered efficient or not. Technologies have pros and cons, and each are invaluable to an immeasurable degree- and often are a support beam for even more advanced technologies. So no, you cannot, no you do not even have the right to say a technology is useless.
Also, are technologies like this, automated driving limited to cars? No they are not. These kind of technologies you refer to are pathing, reflex, and logic computing using the features cars have. The car part isn't the hard part. Computing is harder- but it has more applications than automated cars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_carThese kind of technologies could possibly lead to a far more advanced form of artificial intelligences, which would be 'useful'.
Plus 'FaZ', I consider
convenience better than 'efficiency' as a whole. If you can have both, then all the better. Its because we're human, not machines. We have to consider ourselves too.
None.