Thursday, August 02, 2018

People Are So Dumb

Nobody (except specialists) who writes about transit has ever even taken a bus.


Currently, even during non-rush hour, it can take 26 minutes by car to drive eight miles from downtown San Jose to Apple's new spaceship campus in Cupertino. It can be double that, or one full hour, to go that same distance by bus.

How do you get across Silicon Valley faster and smarter?

The answer could be a hyperloop - a vehicle powered by electric propulsion inside a low-pressure tube at speeds up to 670 miles an hour - about as fast as a commercial jetliner. The potential benefit came up at Cupertino's city council meeting.

Forget everything else about this "idea." Consider accelerating to 670 mph (or anything close) and then braking back to zero over 10 miles.

Anyway, as I said, hyperloop now means anything in one of Elon's fantasy tunnels. They aren't going to go that fast. They also won't be able to carry enough people (or cars on a sled or whatever).