You might have a point with buses. Not sure though. Except maybe the degrees of freedom can be reduced by programming a specific route.
As for indie, it may be not worth it even if it was perfect. Might be too much of a pain to do all the stopping you want.
In the North. Cal Bay Area, we already have BART (Bay-Area-Rail-Transport). An electric train system, that operates, mostly without drivers. The human attendants are still needed, though, in case people get rowdy or sleep for the entire route and take up limited space.
I have been told that the BARTs don’t even touch the track while in motion. They somehow float above the rail during that period. Maybe that’s the dreaded Third Rail we are warned NEVER to touch.