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San Francisco, 4:02 PM
Wed Dec 2
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/27/09
To actually do it right, we'd have to build new rail right-of-way, and I strongly doubt that the taxpayers are going to want to pony up that kind of cash. We won't even pay to maintain the highway infrastructure we already have....
Obama's heart is in the right place, but there are two big problems with his vision: $13 billion is chump change, nowhere near enough money. He can't actually make money available for anything, Congress controls the money.
-Kle.
11/27/09
11/28/09
Right.
How do you explain away the fact that $13 billion isn't nearly enough to even start a serious high-speed rail system?
That money was a feel-good palliative, not a constructive effort.
Get back to me when we have an actual functioning high-speed (real high-speed, not Acela) passenger rail system that's running at a profit. Then maybe I'll believe you.
As for Measure R, that's not high-speed rail, that's local mass transit. Big difference.
-Kle.
11/26/09
Try three hours. a friend of mine took the train from Vancouver, Washington to LA. he was 6 hours late because of the constant stops for that same reason.
i really really really want efficient train travel in the states. i mean really, for how large this country is, and we still have to rely on our cars to cover vast distances!? Air travel is so prohibitively expensive to make it a viable option for regular travel, unless you're in an emergency, or it's on the company dime. There is no alternative. Busses take about a decade to get anywhere...
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
i'm right off the yellow line in nopo (where all the cool kids live), i love how i can jump on at my house and get off right in front of Powells and Living Room Theaters. best!
11/26/09
Irrational prejudice against technology is not limited to the USA.
11/26/09
* Amtrak's purpose, at least as Congress sess it, is spreading pork, not transporting passengers. That needs to be addressed before anything else.
* The FRA does its own thing, which means that trains must be custom-designed for the US market, and we must therefore pay the entire cost of development. Solution: replace all US-only standards with the EU's.
* The Buy America Act requires that vehicles purchased with federal funds be made in the US. Hence any supplier of trains needs to build a factory solely for their US contracts, and the price we pay reflects that. The direct costs probably aren't anywhere near as high as the indirect costs; some companies *cough*Cubic*cough* attempt to win business by suing any agency that doesn't award the contract to them, and BAA is great for frivolous lawsuits.
* After solving all of the above, grade separation is mandatory for high-speed rail, and dedicated track is at least strongly recommended.
If you think that Congress has any interest in solving the first three problems, you do not understand the purpose of the "stimulus".
11/26/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/28/09
BTW, Denver has found a lot of success with its Light Rail system from the southern suburbs to Downtown. There is talk about expanding it to our neighborhood west of Denver. We go Downtown about once a month for a concert or show or some such and would definitely use it on a regular basis.
11/29/09
The wife and I have been talking since I moved back from FL about moving out west, most likely to Cali now that she works for Anthem and could easily transfer. I am afraid I move to slow to implement that in any reasonable amount of time.
11/26/09
more like 2 and half days.
from the earth to the moon (center to center) is 238857 miles. if you're going 4000 miles an hour through a vacuum, you'd be there in 59.7 hours.
11/26/09
11/26/09
That money will go to waste. One thing I learned while living 20 years in the US is that Americans are crazy about cars and hardly anyone likes trains or buses. Public transportation in most large cities I've been to is a joke.
Unless and until the government forces a significant raise in gas prices, people will still cling to their love for cars, meaning that any public transportation system will hardly be economically viable.
11/26/09
11/26/09
"especially here in southern California"
How well I know... I lived in Orange County (Irvine, actually) for some 12 years.
11/26/09
If they're marketed right, they have hope even in America. We can only hope...
11/26/09
11/26/09
In the United States specifically, the bus and train systems as a whole should be combined into one government run universal transportation network. It would provide two methods of transportation; multiple ways of boarding or perhaps some sort of yearly bus pass subscription system since people will be using the system regularly; top of the line vehicles, energy efficient buses & trains, high speed trains that can shuttle passengers cross country as fast as is safe; buses that connect with all the places commuters need to go.
This is what I'd personally like to see in the future. We'd cut gas emissions & deadly accidents caused by drivers and aircraft by more than half and most importantly, give people the kind of near-instant access to the United States that they've always wanted. Imagine being able to hop on a mag-lev style shuttle, swiping your $50 a month train pass and being in California or Florida or Virginia or Oregon within an hour or four (depending on starting location, of course). If these sorts of society applicable things got more government money instead of wars or weapons and useless stuff, we'd be that much closer to a true technologically advanced future where society, you know, WORKS. It'd be awesome.
I'm tired of car culture. I don't think that cars will ever go out of style of course--especially in the US, but we've come to a point where we need to make commuting quicker and more accessible to everyone, not just people who have a car. We need to kick fossil fuels and get smart about commuting. Oh God I sound like Al Gore. Cars are fun and useful for getting you where you need to go, but I think they should eventually become more like bikes. Just a way for you to get from point A to point B. Slick, comfortable, accessible public transportation needs to be the norm.
...which gives me another idea. Car racks/booths on trains, anyone?
11/07/09
BTW, can we fix this image system? It's really annoying to browse photos with. #ecology
11/07/09
11/06/09
I want in. #ecology
11/06/09
And that's how the Mayans will be proven right... #ecology
11/06/09
11/06/09
11/06/09
11/06/09
11/07/09
11/06/09
11/06/09
I remember watching a video of a solar-powered plane in flight (probably posted on io9 a while ago... :P) It was amazing how absolutely silent it was while slicing through the air. The whole idea of solar-powered flight seems so dreamy and surreal -- not entirely practical, perhaps (at least at this early stage!) but beautiful and wonderful nonetheless. #ecology
11/06/09
11/06/09
(My apologies to IO9. I'm starting to talk like my step son) #ecology
11/06/09