inflector’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Merging Public and Private Transport

  I don't agree that trains are a solution. They use far more energy than alternatives.

  A better approach is to merge the best of our automobile highway system with the best of public transport. We can build a new infrastructure that will save 90% of the energy we now use in transportation and still provide the suburbs and rural areas where train/public transport options are not practical.

  We don't need trains we need replacements for cars that won't crash, that can go 200 to 300 mph in an energy efficient manner, that we can drive from our house, that don't require our attention for most of the trip so we can work or relax, that park themselves automatically, that allow a mix of privately owned vehicles and public vehicles, that can supplant much of our trucking traffic, that integrates metropolitan transit systems with long-distance systems without stations, that requires no waiting and no slowdowns as traffic nears capacity, that can be serviced easily without taking capacity offline, that uses far less land than the highways, that cannot derail or crash, and that can be implemented for lower costs than a modern two-lane highway, among other benefits.

  If we do this right, it can also automate and replace much of our truck traffic as well.

  The technology for this exists today. We could also design such a system so that it would be upgradeable to new technology as it comes out.

  In short, we need to replace our highway system with a 21st century merging of trains and the automobile.

  Finally, we need a standardized infrastructure so that many manufacturers can build the parts, track, systems, vehicles, etc. This will limit the fighting among manufacturers as to which is the "best" technology. These sorts of fights derail most efforts.

  If we do this right we can revitalize our rust belt cities as we gear up to build this infrastructure.

  Here is an animation that shows one advanced idea , Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) that solves many different problems, especially if it is extended to include high-speed intercity and interstate travel:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9tAXdFOhzM&feature=re ...

  There are quite a few things that need to be changed for energy efficiency but this video shows a radical departure from our current train orientation which is little changed from the mid-1980s. Trains weigh too much.On A candidate finally discusses public transit ... at a random lunch posted 1 year, 6 months ago 30 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  New Infrastructure

  I agree with the premise but we need to advance the infrastructure concepts to the 21st century.

  Rail as it was designed in 1850 is really obsolete.

  What we need is a new infrastructure that supports both public and private vehicles and that uses the energy efficiency of rails metal on metal and reduced frontal profile for lower drag and that allows completely automatic driving so we save tens of thousands of lives each year. We also need to reduce the mass that needs to be accelerated and decelerated by reducing the size of the cars themselves. Think PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) adapted for both short and long-haul use.

  There is no reason we shouldn't be able to go vertical as well to carry the equivalent of a 10 lane highway in the footprint of a single lane.

  Further, we should have constant speed highways to completely avoid all congestion. The technology is  relatively easy for this.

  The technology to do this has been around for 20 years or more.

  - CurtisOn The next generation of infrastructure should help more Americans go carless posted 1 year, 8 months ago 14 Responses