Quote:
Originally Posted by ChargerCarl
Biggest obstacle is:
1) Extremely high unit costs
2) Only like 3 viable corridors (Coastal California, NEC, Texas?)
3) Lack of transit in destination cities. Even SF and LA have shitty transit.
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There are other "viable corridors" if people were more accepting of the whole idea:
- LA to Las Vegas
- SF to Sacramento
- Portland--Seattle--Vancouver
- Gulf Coast (Houston--New Orleans--Mobile--Orlando)
- Charlotte--Greensboro--Raleigh-Durham
- St. Louis--Chcago--Milwaukee--Minneapolis
Off the top of my head.
As for SF's "shitty transit"--this is such a tiresome subject but SF Muni gets from anywhere to anywhere in the city without having to walk more than 2 blocks and without having to wait more than 15 minutes on most routes. That's not bad. What's getting worse about the system is the riders: Crime, crowding, interruptions for everything from "protests" to breakdowns. But it functions. On the other hand, for those lucky enough to afford it, Uber or Lyft can now get you almost anywhere in the city for under $10 (usually $6 to $8 in the "west of Twin Peaks quadrant of interest to most out-of-towners). I have lived car-free in SF for over a decade and don't want a car--it works well enough for that which isn't so common in the US. Using a combination of Muni to go some places, especially downtown, and Uber when I'm in a hurry, works just fine. And I think that's how most people use transit even in relatively transit dense NYC.
I don't think someone arriving in SF by rail would find themselves wishing they had a car at all (and if they do, there's, ZipCar). Parking is such a nightmare, no one with any sense visiting the city would want a car.