This reminds me a lot of the book by Bruno Latour: "Aramis, or The Love of Technology", which was about a French government-sponsored light rail project called "Aramis" (Really a revolutionary public transport concept), where each car would route itself to it's destination independently, coupled to the cars in front and behind electronically, rather than physically. Of course, continual political interference scuppered the whole thing before they could get it to work (a challenge with the technology of the day), and the whole thing drifted on and on for decades without really taking off. Now, of course, the whole thing would be much easier, and the technology behind self-driving cars might actually make it a reality.