79% of Travelers Would Prefer High-Speed Rail Travel Over Air Travel (brainwash, politicians)
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We are herded through like cattle.
We are packed in like sardines.
We are treated like naughty children on a school bus by the flight attendants.
We are searched and frisked by security.
It has become impossible to reach a domestic destination within 8 hours if there is more than one connection.
The price of flying, with all the added expenses, is outrageous!
Again and Again people give the logic that if Trains were profitable, private corporation will run it. Rail network is a service to our country, its people and will save billions of our dollars going to Arab countries in buying oil from them and sacrificing lives of our troops. Private company will not send man on moon or win second world war for USA. private company will outsource jobs to India and fill our market shelves with China made products. Do you like that? Is private companiy profiteering the sole reason to deny people of USA an efficient high speed rail network. We have to develop an efficient train network to reduce our monthly gas bills for using our cars. It is high time people have an option for going from suburbs to city center by train/tram/bus and also between cities. A high speed triangle network between Dallas-Houston-Austin-San Antonio for example will save lot of money and time.
We've gone over this issue in great detail in around a dozen threads in recent years and the truth is, no, gas taxes and user fees (such as car registrations) do not fund road maintained much less new road construction. They pay for 40%-60% of the maintenance costs depending on the state and the rest ends up coming out of either state general funds or Federal subsidies.
The gas tax and registration fees would have to more then double in most cases if users were simply to pay for road maintenance without subsidies.
Highway1
programs derive most of their funding from user fees, which are
special taxes and charges incurred by vehicle operators in relation to their use of
roads. Governments dedicate most highway user fee revenue to highway spend-
ing ($85 billion out of $107 billion collected in 2004) and also devote a share
to transit ($11 billion in 2004). Fuel taxes generate most highway user fee rev-
enue (64 percent of the total in 2004); other user fee revenues are from vehicle
registration fees, excise taxes on truck sales, and tolls.
Do you have something that says otherwise such as total expenditures vs revenues?, this is indicating those using the roads are already subsidizing the buses and other mass transit.
Projected Cost: $1.02 Billion
Major Funding:
$667 million from public gas tax
$250 million from Federal Economic Stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 2009)
And no, north east corridor is not the only one "different". San Francisco-LA-San Diego, Dallas-Austin/Houston make as much sense. High Speed Rail is about connecting major cities, just like airlines. No? Heck, Taiwan as a nation has a population barely more than Dallas, Austin and Houston combined and has a high speed rail system in place. But somehow, America is the only country that can't afford or do it?
What are you talking about?
Taiwan is 245 miles long and 89 miles wide. Their population is roughly 23 million.
Texas is 790 miles long and 773 miles wide. Their population is roughly 25 million.
To simplify, you could fit several Taiwans in Texas. And at more or less the same population, Taiwan has massive population density while Texas does not.
Should we move on to California?
No, there is no debate at all. Just you and a mindless soliloquy.
Taiwan is 245 miles long and 89 miles wide. Their population is roughly 23 million.
Texas is 790 miles long and 773 miles wide. Their population is roughly 25 million.
To simplify, you could fit several Taiwans in Texas. And at more or less the same population, Taiwan has massive population density while Texas does not.
Should we move on to California?
No, there is no debate at all. Just you and a mindless soliloquy.
Dallas metro area and Houston metro area themselves are about 13-14 million people. Add Austin to the mix and you're close. And why do you assume Taiwan's high speed rail would be covering 100% of the population?
Quote:
Originally Posted by geos
Can we start with making regular speed more reliable and available?
Reliability is pretty good for Amtrak services on Amtrak owned infrastructure. So, the effort will have to be to make sure we don't have a hotchpotch of conflicting interests, and yes availability.
Dallas metro area and Houston metro area themselves are about 13-14 million people. Add Austin to the mix and you're close. And why do you assume Taiwan's high speed rail would be covering 100% of the population?
Reliability is pretty good for Amtrak services on Amtrak owned infrastructure. So, the effort will have to be to make sure we don't have a hotchpotch of conflicting interests, and yes availability.
Actually could be better , us regular commuters have to yield to Amtrak trains during peak which i think is unfair....
At this time our highway infrastructure is in need of rebuilding and enhancement. Federal fuel tax is collected at a rate of 18.4 cents per gallon on gas, and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel. Nearly 1/3 of that already goes to subsidize mass transit. Seems mass transit users are unwilling to pay their own way, and politicians will do anything to buy votes. If the money collected from highway users was spend on, say...highways, maybe we wouldn't have to use "stimulus" funds to keep them up.
What are the actual operating costs of HSR, and what would ticket fees have to be to make it a break-even proposition? It shouldn't be that hard to calcluate that. If HSR can not operate at a cost user's are willing to bear, it should be DOA. Past mass transit projects have been money pits that non-users end up supporting. Enough of that!
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