Some of the PDMLer are car enthusiasts, so, I thought some people might
enjoy this interesting car concept.
Someone sent me a photograph of the experimental taxi in the Soviet Union
circa 1964:
https://pikabu.ru/story/taksi_sssr_1964_g_5589293
The interesting thing that it could fit a bassinet-stroller
(non-collapsible) or a refrigerator (!) - as in: you can bring home the
one that you just bought at a store.
It had a [then] futuristic design, and most of its parts were from other
contemporary mass-manufactured vehicle(s). ("Moskvich 408", primarily)
One can see some safety concerns, but back then the amount of car traffic
was rather small. Even in the US, the car safety started gaining some
consideration only in mid-to late 50s, but US DoT and NTSB were not
formed until 1966 and 1967, respectively, and the first mandatory federal
safety standard for motor vehicles was not established until 1966.
This morning, I was watching a news bite on self-driving taxis from Waymo
(Ex-Google-car) - in AZ. So, I thought that despite the technology,
the idea of a practical taxi, where you can stroll in with your baby,
has not been implemented.
Yes, there are wheel-chair-accessible vans, but those are very specialized
services. And there are foldable strollers that can fit in a small trunk,
that some PDMLers who live on that small island call "boot".
I am guessing that one of the reasons why the idea of accommodating
strollers in the car is that young families with small babies do not
constitute the most financially-striving part of the population.
(And, of course, these days, you want to strap your baby in a car seat,
which, in the realm of taxis is a big grey zone: taxis do not provide car
seats, and in some localities, you are not *required* to use a car seat in
a taxi. In both cases - I guess mostly for the same reason: such families
are not frequent cab riders.)
For comparison, I know that Uber offers "Uber Car Seat (aka uberFAMILY)
option for its uberX vehicles, but AFAIK, that is limited to NYC,
Washington DC, Philadelphia and Orlando (and it costs $10 extra).
Even in pedestrian-friendly Boston and SF that is not an option.
Lyft does that only in NYC.
Those facts support my hypothesis that taxi/ride-sharing services do not
see much of profit in catering to [young] families with small kids/babies.
Igor
PS. We are way pass the time we used a stroller, - so, I am looking at
the problem, so to say, "from the academic point of view".
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