Autonomous vehicles, planes and high speed rail

[Ribbles]

Traffic would be a lot smoother. I don’t think I’d be entirely comfortable riding in a self-driving car unless all the other cars were self-driving, too. No computer will be able to anticipate the stupidity of some human drivers, and that starts with understanding unwritten rules of the road, like staying away from beaters. If someone is middle-aged and spent their whole life making choices that resulted in them driving a 30-year-old dented Cavalier, they’re more likely to be dangerous. The same goes for monster trucks – many of those drivers seem to be blissfully unaware that their vehicles take much longer to stop and they tailgate anyway. Would the software know to move over a lane? Maybe that will be a patch.

Haha – “Dad, can you pick me up?”
“Sorry sweetie, maybe later. My car is updating.”

[FlyerInHi]

There 3 million truck drivers in USA.

Even if fully autonomous doesn’t happen for decades, we should at least use tech to force drivers to keep distances and not bunch up on the road. I’m ok with coercion in that way.

[spdrun]

… or to follow each other closely in “platoons” under precise automated control. Closer following means less air resistance for the rear vehicles.

[FlyerInHi]

So Hong Kong is getting a new train and a new bridge.
We can’t even mantain our infrastructure in NYC

Fake news until it’s real.

[FlyerInHi]

This is what a second rate city has in China. We suck at public transport.

[FlyerInHi]

Virgin rail to Las Vegas. Ha! Pie in the sky. I’ll beleive it when I see it.

Panama and Mexico will have it before we do.

[spdrun]

I’ve ridden Brightline in Florida, same company as is planning to do rail to Vegas. Clean trains, good service. What kills it for me is the fucking security theater — they have airport-style boarding where you have to pay more money to board early, and either way, you have to wait in line and have some dumb mouthbreather riffle through your bag before you’re allowed into the station waiting area.

Part of the benefit of taking the train is that you can literally arrive 5 minutes before the train leaves — their system is literally combines the worst aspects of rail and air travel. The Coaster trains in CA and Boston-DC Amtrak basically get it right. Walk onto the platform from the street or station, board, pick a seat, and take the trip. No nonsense designed to make cowards feel better that they’re “protected.”

NYC has boarding lines for some trains, but at least there’s no security theater and the lines themselves are easily circumvented (use the lower level for boarding at Penn if you’re ever there).

[FlyerInHi]

I know that this is “propaganda”. However china is opening new highways and new highspeed rail lines weekly.

And we can’t get a lousy line from Victorville to Vegas where it’s all desert.

[The-Shoveler]

You seriously still think California HSR will get done?

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=The-Shoveler]You seriously still think California HSR will get done?[/quote]

It will not get done. Sad!

I’m sad because since a young age I have aspired to tech and innovation. I want to live in bright lights, big city where things are sleek and high tech.

Look at the awesome light show in Shenzhen. Imagine a high tech city of autonomous vehicles and no petrol pollution, no noise from autos.

[barnaby33]

HSR probably won’t get done and it’s not that sad at all. We have an immediate problem of not even having enough functional regular rail in this country. Upgrading out existing rail networks needs to have a higher priority than the fantasy of tech workers and vacationers easily able to get from La to Vegas or SF to LA.

Second if you are going to dream of a shiny future for human transport, why not build out hyperloop. Now that has sizzle and probably ultimately at lower cost.
Josh

[FlyerInHi]

The truth is that rail system in the Anglo world is total rubbish. Many obvious reasons for that.
Here’s how Britain’s system is crumbling:

Yes hyperloop would be awesome too…. but we won’t have it either. My bet is that the UAE, China, even perhaps México will get it first.

BTW, under the current system, it’s not possible to prioritize upgrading systems nationwide. Each transportation authority is separate and have different funding sources. You can’t transfer California HSR money to New York.

[FlyerInHi]

Man, China is building a new HSR line just for the Winter Olympics. As a skier, I would love to ride HSR to the central plaza of a ski resort and walk to my hotel.
I hope the Chinese build sleep modern resorts and not imitation log cabins or pastiche versions of European resorts.

Just for fun, I looked up the resort. It’s not much right now but I’m sure it’ll become a theme park. I hope they don’t go Swiss chalet or German village.
I hope a famous architect will reimagine the mountain resort and create something new and fresh. I’m sure the resort will be very successful.
http://wapen.secretgardenresorts.com/introduction/13-Hotel_Overview

[Myriad]

Also this article from WSJ.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-china-flexes-its-political-muscle-to-expand-power-overseas-11546890449?mod=hp_lead_pos5

In order to get political leverage in Malaysia, China basically cut a deal to gloss over the stolen funds in 1MDB. $16B for the East Coast Rail Link for an estimated cost of $7.25B, to cover $4.78 billion of 1MDB debt.

Also this:
“At a meeting the next day, Sun Lijun, then head of China’s domestic-security force, confirmed that China’s government was surveilling the Journal (aka WSJ) in Hong Kong at Malaysia’s request, including “full scale residence/office/device tapping, computer/phone/web data retrieval, and full operational surveillance,” according to a Malaysian summary of that meeting.”

[Myriad]

I’m all for rail when it makes sense. China is lucky in the sense that their timing was good for HSR. They had the capital, the right available technology and the population density to support such a system. However, for the large majority of Chinese, the rail is very expensive – it’s great for relatively wealthy city workers and foreigners.

The CA HSR between LA and SF is a colossal waste of money – if it is ever completed, it would be a huge financial drain on CA state resources. The only way it will be economically feasible is when a new technology system is fully developed (Hyperloop). Yes, most roads are funded via sales tax, and so could the HSR, but the ridership data behind it is overly optimistic. People are just not going to pay the prices on the rail, especially with a 3 or more people – It’ll be cheaper to drive.
CA is better off spending the money on regional rail and intermodal transport. Such as SF-Stockton/Sacramento/Fresno. LA-SD/Bakersfield/Palmdale/LV. Why? Because commuters will use these routes every day as opposed to the once in a while travelers between LA and SF (and competing with air travel for the same passengers.)

I’m more optimistic on South Florida. The distances are way shorter, the population density substantially higher (for relative distance), and it’s regional.

[Author]

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