The problem is that personal vehicles inevitably leads to unsustainable traffic. Now, for low traffic areas, driverless cars might be an acceptable solution. But for busy areas, the geometry of transporting 1M people in cars vs buses is simply inescapable.

This is assuming all or nothing. More likely they will co-exist.

There are good reasons to have choices. Driverless cars will make more sense if you have a lot of luggage or other cargo to schlep. Elderly people might find it easier. There will be routes that are awkward by bus.

Also driverless vans might make sense on some routes.

It will help if incentives encourage the use of whatever is more efficient.

What they seem to be designing around here is that you take a self driving car through the low density last mile and then a train through the majority of the route.

If there was traffic along the last mile then it would be a good candidate for a regularly scheduled bus route. But for many areas there isn’t really traffic and not enough trips to jusitify all the bus routes it would take to fully cover the area.

And yes this is all a result of atrocious urban planning, but as a way to fix what already exists it seems promising.