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Old 02-28-2014, 04:31 PM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,590 posts, read 14,744,667 times
Reputation: 15333

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Commuter rail from the Fort to Pueblo and Denver to Eagle Co. is a pipe dream. Not gonna happen. Not even by 2030. By that time, driverless cars should be picking up in use. Once they become the mainstream, the carrying capacity of our existing highways will nearly double because we idiot humans won't be behind the wheel. That'll take demand for commuter rail down to nothing, making it an even dumber investment than it already is.
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Old 02-28-2014, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Pueblo - Colorado's Second City
12,259 posts, read 24,350,175 times
Reputation: 4395
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertgoodman View Post
Like everything it depends on where you want to go.

If you are going to DT Denver for just about anything you would be better off taking the train.

If you are going to Parker you would probably be better off taking your SUV than taking a train DT than taking a bus to Parker.
Right so if I go to downtown Denver it would work. Maybe even a Bronco game. Just depends how long it will take with the stops along the way and when it leaves. But if I go anywhere else then it will be better to just take my suv. In the end I think the mass transit idea, while sounds cool, would only be a novelty and used part of the time.
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Old 02-28-2014, 04:33 PM
 
Location: Pueblo - Colorado's Second City
12,259 posts, read 24,350,175 times
Reputation: 4395
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluescreen73 View Post
Commuter rail from the Fort to Pueblo and Denver to Eagle Co. is a pipe dream. Not gonna happen. Not even by 2030. By that time, driverless cars should be picking up in use. Once they become the mainstream, the carrying capacity of our existing highways will nearly double because we idiot humans won't be behind the wheel. That'll take demand for commuter rail down to nothing, making it an even dumber investment than it already is.
Agreed. I know I want a driverless car as soon as its affordable.
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Old 02-28-2014, 05:01 PM
 
459 posts, read 804,009 times
Reputation: 731
Quote:
Originally Posted by Josseppie View Post
Right so if I go to downtown Denver it would work. Maybe even a Bronco game. Just depends how long it will take with the stops along the way and when it leaves. But if I go anywhere else then it will be better to just take my suv. In the end I think the mass transit idea, while sounds cool, would only be a novelty and used part of the time.
It's a novelty in the same sense that an airplane is a novelty that you only use it part of the time.

For some trips a train is the best mode, for some trips an airplane is the best mode, for some trips a car is the best mode, for some trips mass transit is the best mode, for some trips a bike is the best mode, and for some trips walking is the best mode.

It's matching the distance, destination, and reason with the best mode. If that metric makes sense for a train given the travel patterns for a corridor (numerous studies have shown it will on the front range) then you should have a train there.
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Old 02-28-2014, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Pueblo - Colorado's Second City
12,259 posts, read 24,350,175 times
Reputation: 4395
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertgoodman View Post
It's a novelty in the same sense that an airplane is a novelty that you only use it part of the time.

For some trips a train is the best mode, for some trips an airplane is the best mode, for some trips a car is the best mode, for some trips mass transit is the best mode, for some trips a bike is the best mode, and for some trips walking is the best mode.

It's matching the distance, destination, and reason with the best mode. If that metric makes sense for a train given the travel patterns for a corridor (numerous studies have shown it will on the front range) then you should have a train there.
I am not against having a train for the front range in the end i am just not sure how much it will get used. Especially once we get driverless cars.
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Old 02-28-2014, 05:11 PM
 
Location: Colorado
2,483 posts, read 4,349,860 times
Reputation: 2685
This is why I don't understand it when people express doubts about my telecommuting career as if its an unsustainable lifestyle (5+ years into it now).
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Old 02-28-2014, 05:18 PM
 
2,491 posts, read 2,663,807 times
Reputation: 3388
Quote:
Originally Posted by Josseppie View Post
That would take much longer then driving my SUV to Denver and going right from my house to the destination. Plus it leaves when I want it to leave and gets to where I want to go. What is my incentive to take public transportation?
DUI avoidance? Go to Denver for a game or concert and not worry about DUI.

"driving my SUV", what about the 33% of the population without a car?

What about when gas is $10/gallon?

What about planning for the future?
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Old 02-28-2014, 05:26 PM
 
Location: Pueblo - Colorado's Second City
12,259 posts, read 24,350,175 times
Reputation: 4395
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddyline View Post
DUI avoidance? Go to Denver for a game or concert and not worry about DUI.
This would be worth it until we have the driverless car. Even now would only depend on how long it took to get there and how soon I had to leave before or after the event.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddyline View Post
"driving my SUV", what about the 33% of the population without a car?
There are 254 million cars in the Unted States. Yes some people do not have a car and for them I can see the benefit.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddyline View Post
What about when gas is $10/gallon?

What about planning for the future?
I am thinking of the future. Fossil fuels are on their way out and we will have driverless cars that will make rapid transit even less attractive for the majority of Americans.

Here is the latest news that explains why fossil fuels are on their way out.

The first Tesla I ever saw was stripped down to the chassis, a bare-metal incarnation of the company’s flagship electric Roadster on display at an event in Silicon Valley. Without the need for an internal combustion engine, the two-seater’s petite frame was dominated by a huge battery. My first thought: “This looks like a giant cell phone on wheels.”

As it turns out, I was more right than I realized.

This week, years after that first sighting, Tesla announced plans for what it calls the “Gigafactory,” a 10-million-square-foot plant for making car batteries. The company hopes that the sheer scale of the operation, combined with the inventiveness of its engineers, will bring battery prices down far enough to finally bring its electric cars into the mainstream.

The link: Why Apple Could Win Big With Tesla's Giant New Battery Factory | Wired Business | Wired.com
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Old 02-28-2014, 05:33 PM
 
459 posts, read 804,009 times
Reputation: 731
Quote:
Originally Posted by Josseppie View Post
I am not against having a train for the front range in the end i am just not sure how much it will get used. Especially once we get driverless cars.
Getting a little off topic but assuming all technological and all legal hurdles of driverless cars have been overcome they still will not be a panacea. Driverless cars are still subject to the same laws of economics and physics which place very real limitations on adoption, utilization, and throughput.

Driverless cars have the potential to improve quite a few things, but there's a tendency by advocates to overstate the potential of something like that. As far as I am concerned they are not really changing the distance and destinations where a train begins to make more sense than a car. Driver-less cars may make a better case for replacing car shares, traditional taxis, some bus routes, trips to rural areas, and some other trips/modes. However, medium distance urban/suburban to urban trips are better served by a train from the simple fact that trains take up less space per person, and where space is at a premium that is vital.
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Old 02-28-2014, 05:35 PM
 
2,491 posts, read 2,663,807 times
Reputation: 3388
Quote:
Originally Posted by Josseppie View Post
That would take much longer then driving my SUV to Denver and going right from my house to the destination. Plus it leaves when I want it to leave and gets to where I want to go. What is my incentive to take public transportation?
DUI avoidance? Go to Denver for a game or concert and not worry about DUI.

"driving my SUV", what about the 33% of the population without a car?

What about when gas is $10/gallon?

What about planning for the future?
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