> However, I don't know how you'd pay for fleet-style driving because vehicles like a big rig would be improving efficiency for dozens of vehicles, which would assume nationalized transportation control so big rig drivers don't get ripped off on gas.
You're assuming that the "drafters" cost the big rig gas (actually diesel), presumably by increasing air-resistance. They don't. Drafting reduces air-resistence for the lead vehicle too.
You can see this in car races. Two (or more) cars running close together, front-to-back, are faster than any of the cars are when running by themselves.
I don't know how much fuel drafting would save big-rigs (there's a somewhat an odd relationship between fuel used and work done in diesels) but at the very least, it doesn't cost them fuel.
I know it doesn't cost the big rig, but it doesn't save them much either (only a nominal amount from reduced tail drag as they don't form a complete air bubble), so why should they allow someone to basically metal-hump their vehicle for marginal to no benefit? For example: If it saves you $0.50 for every 5 minutes you tail a big rig, should the drafter be paying $0.25 to the truck driver?
I'm also talking about the electronic fleet, where it's controlled by computers in each vehicle. However there's also the mechanical fleet, where two (or more) vehicles actually latch on to each other, this would be great for electric cars and would also allow them to power-share. For example, 5 vehicles join together but only 2 keep their engines running but the power comes from all 5 vehicles' batteries equally.
You're assuming that the "drafters" cost the big rig gas (actually diesel), presumably by increasing air-resistance. They don't. Drafting reduces air-resistence for the lead vehicle too.
You can see this in car races. Two (or more) cars running close together, front-to-back, are faster than any of the cars are when running by themselves.
I don't know how much fuel drafting would save big-rigs (there's a somewhat an odd relationship between fuel used and work done in diesels) but at the very least, it doesn't cost them fuel.