[kyle19125]

Heaven forbid anything progressive emerge from Governor Ricky's governorship.

High-speed rail would have been profitable, state report says | TBO.com

[chopchop0]

Right. So what would people who took rail between those cities do when they finally arrived? .since we know that Florida is a pedestrian paradise

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Right. So what would people who took rail between those cities do when they finally arrived? .since we know that Florida is a pedestrian paradise

The same thing people do when they arrive at an airport at one of those cities?

Rental cars, taxis, busses, friends .... potential link to light rail and trolley services available in many cities, especially in South Florida? Not to mention, the expansion of said services justified by potential increased demand and ridership?


Rick Scott played politics on this one. Florida lost out. Pure and simple.

[rnc2mbfl]

You have got to be kidding!!!???? From the article....

When making his decision a year ago, Scott relied heavily on a January 2011 Reason Foundation policy brief, whose project director Robert Poole Jr. served on Scott's gubernatorial transition team.

So, Scott made his decision heavily based on findings from a study that was directed by a member of his transition team? This is the sort of "thorough" research he did into the viability of the train?

I also have to laugh at the name: "Reason Foundation". HA! That's a good one.

Lest one forgets, killing this project also meant killing untold thousands of good jobs that would have been created by the project. When will these right wingers learn that you don't cut your way to health? The dirty little secret is that we are cutting our way to wealth preservation for the rich. That's all that cuts really do. Everyone else suffers. I'll bet my last dollar that was the real "Reason" behind the decision. Let's not invest in our future because that will expose the fact that we have a revenue problem (keep reducing taxes on the rich) much more than we have a spending problem.

(notice that I said "much more" than we have a spending problem....this was not a statement to suggest that we don't have any spending problems. I am just asserting that the revenue problem we are facing is MUCH larger)

[gypsychic]

No point in arguing this - what's done is done.

I am still hoping for some better mass transit, but we didn't really need the bullet train (although I was in favor of it for the jobs, etc.)

[boxus]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

The same thing people do when they arrive at an airport at one of those cities?

Rental cars, taxis, busses, friends .... potential link to light rail and trolley services available in many cities, especially in South Florida? Not to mention, the expansion of said services justified by potential increased demand and ridership?


Rick Scott played politics on this one. Florida lost out. Pure and simple.

Ok, for a perosn living here, it will not make financial sense to take the high speed rail as they will still need to negotiate transportation issues at thier desitnation (say from Miami to Orlando). Why would someone fork over money for the train, then fork over money for a rental car or other trans needs? It would make much more sense just to drive your own car, or rent one and drive.

For people flying in, the same logic still applies in most cases, why would someone fork over even more money than what it takes to jsut rent a car and cover all their transportation needs?

Most US cities are just not laid out well for mass transit. The cities in the US were built around a car culture, the layout is as such that they expect people to commute by cars, even the buses have to stop in the middle of the street to load and off load passengers.

This is a case of was it the egg or the chicken; mass tranit projects first, or city design first?

[City Guy997S]

Bullet train was another potential waste of taxpayer's money. Want two examples: TRI-RAIL and AMTRAK!

Even with high gas prices both rely on govt subsidies to keep their operations afloat. Tri-Rail is closer to capacity in recent years but certainly isn't as popular as the train systems in NY/Boston for commuters.

[FlyMIA]

This would have been a HUGE HUGE WASTE OF MONEY. See:
The Northeast corridor has the highest passenger volume of any Amtrak route, greatly enhancing efficiency. The corridor's high-speed Acela Express made a profit of about $41 per passenger. The more heavily utilized Northeast Regional lost almost $5 per passenger.

Read more: Amtrak Loses $32 Per Passenger - Business Insider

So yes the Acella between DC-PHL-NYC-BOS four cities connected by a megapolis all with great to good public transit is bascially the only train line in the US that makes money. Yet you guys really think a train between Miami-Orlando-Tampa makes sense? Who is going to ride this thing? I know I most likely wouldnt. I guess it could be decent for people wanting to go to Orlando for a weekend and the theme parks would have shuttle buses taking them to the resorts. Besides for that demographic who else would use it. It is a waste of public funding. Metrorail in Miami was suppose to be great too.

Now if the $2 billion were given to these three cities for public transit improvments, something Miami especially needs that would make sense. But rail in the US does not work, at least not until oil prices get even higher. Besides for the Boswash megapolis it just a waste. The only other high speed rail I could see work well would be LA-Vegas. I do not beleive this study for a second.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by boxus

Ok, for a perosn living here, it will not make financial sense to take the high speed rail as they will still need to negotiate transportation issues at thier desitnation (say from Miami to Orlando). Why would someone fork over money for the train, then fork over money for a rental car or other trans needs? It would make much more sense just to drive your own car, or rent one and drive.

Why would navigating a bus or trolley system be any less cumbersome than a train system?

Originally Posted by boxus

For people flying in, the same logic still applies in most cases, why would someone fork over even more money than what it takes to jsut rent a car and cover all their transportation needs?

Yesterday I filled my tank for $3.85/gallon. There's no reason to believe those prices are going anywhere but up in the decades to come. A drive from Tampa to West Palm Beach is now more expensive than an Amtrack ticket ($58/roundtrip). I-95 through south FLorida is just about "maxed out" in terms of expansion opportunities.

And, regional air service between cities in Florida is a major hassle.

Originally Posted by boxus

Most US cities are just not laid out well for mass transit. The cities in the US were built around a car culture, the layout is as such that they expect people to commute by cars, even the buses have to stop in the middle of the street to load and off load passengers.

This is a case of was it the egg or the chicken; mass tranit projects first, or city design first?

We have to deal with the fact that mass transit projects will have to adapt to the car-centric culture of American cities. A major high speed rail line would spur development of intermodal mass transit, because it would create additional demand.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

Bullet train was another potential waste of taxpayer's money. Want two examples: TRI-RAIL and AMTRAK!

Tri-Rail is a failure IMO because of the location of the track. The eastern seaboard of Florida is serviced by two tracks. Tri-Rail runs on the western track, away from the city centers of the coastal cities.

There have been talks to increase the number of stations for Tri-Rail and moving it to the eastern tracks. I for one would definitely use Tri-Rail for trips to Lauderdale, Miami, etc. if it was simply run better and more user friendly.