this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2023
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[–] [email protected] 293 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Hyperloop was invented to try to kill light rail. It succeeded at killing Maryland's new venture and Illinois'. Neither were built because Hyperloop promised bullshit. Elon hates public transport.

[–] [email protected] 95 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Elon's main thing is selling cars, of course he actively opposes whatever would let people not buy a car.

[–] Madison420 30 points 1 year ago (2 children)

He says the only public transit he would support is individual capsules running in a tunnel.

Essentially literal echo chambers where you never have to interact with anyone who might expand your horizons.

[–] madcaesar 11 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I'm as liberal as it gets, but public transit that mimics private cars would absolutely be a game changer.

I don't want to have to interact with others using public transit. It's not the time nor place to "expand your horizons".

High speed rail with private cubes wouid absolutely get people using public transport.

No matter what everyone liberal / green / progressive claims, the main drawback of public transport is the public part. Listening to others bullshit and smells just sucks compared to the privacy of your own car.

[–] AA5B 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Everyone wastes effort arguing about the scale at which different strategies can succeed, losing sight of the need for answers at every scale. I’m tired of people saying rail will never work because people also live in lower population areas, and now I don’t want to hear that car-like transit won’t work because people also live in cities. We need both. We need options for cities and suburbs and towns, and even rural areas, and they won’t be the same answer

[–] madcaesar 1 points 1 year ago

Absolutely.

I personally feel that you can push people to public transit via 2 methods.

  1. You make non public transit transportation very expensive

  2. You make public transportation actually better than driving yourself.

Option 1,you'll have resistance all the way, plus it kind of sucks that in 2023, for all the effort the working class has made we're being asked to pack in while the rich will continue to use personal transportation. They'll get all the benefits while we are making the sacrifice.

Option 2, would be the best because you tax the rich HARD to build public transport with private compartments. Push the cost to the rich and reward the working class, not the other way around.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m as liberal as it gets, but public transit that mimics private cars would absolutely be a game changer.

I don't see any contradiction. That's an extremely liberal thing to say.

[–] madcaesar 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's just that some people shit on cars, as though being in your own space / smell / music isn't infinitely better than being packed in with a bunch of people.

We can't get change and adoption if the option you are offering is objectively worse.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

some people shit on cars, as though being in your own space / smell / music isn’t infinitely better than being packed in with a bunch of people.

That's obviously not the reason people dislike cars. Mostly, they suck for everyone outside cars. Secondly, they suck for everyone, since they are a wasteful use of limited resources, including carbon budgets.

The second argument can also be made about pods on rails; it's much more inefficient than regular trains.

I get your point ("public transit that mimics private cars would absolutely be a game changer") and agree to it. The question is how much is that worth. Are we willing to pay the opportunity cost?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hey man no one wants it as is now. Public transport with personal space is totally possible. As it is, it's engineered to be cheap and space efficient for maximum passengers in minimum space, to maximise revenue. It doesn't have to be that way!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The problem is that PRT systems are never as good as proper rail. Show me a full scale system way out in the desert running simulated rush hour operations and maybe I'll consider it. Otherwise let's not waste our cash. No one with tour attitude would take transit under any circumstances anyways so there's no point appealing to them.

[–] Madison420 1 points 1 year ago

Sure, it just happens to be the most expensive option and thus least likely to actually get funded and he created a company specifically to derail (pun absolutely intended) public transit plans.

It's never the time or place until it is. I can almost guarantee 90% of your friends are likely just the weirdos that decided to start a conversation.

100% but that's another reason it's the worst option.

Yes the worst part of public transport is it being public..... You don't want public transport, you want private transport you don't have to think about or pay for.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yep. And if our ultra-capitalism system didn't turn masses to homelessness and the middle class to tired/poor; public transit could have been dope 😕🤔. They could have really made it amazing 😍🤩. But the ruling class cares more about.... other stuff.

I mean I imagine celebrates, super wealthy 🤑 people, gov Officials , cops and ETC, I imagine they don't ride the tubes / trains / subways ?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

"Eww, peasants" ~Elon probably

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago

He didn't even invent it.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

guy who sells cars spreads FUD about competition to cars

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Wait, what did Hyperloop kill in MD? It looks like the proposed route was from DC to Baltimore underneath MD 295 – we already have Amtrak and MARC serving that corridor.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Hyperloop is against high speed rail, which is for transport between cities.

Light rail is nicer trams so meant for transport within cities.

[–] stewsters 2 points 1 year ago

It's worth pointing out that a pneumatic railway was not invented by him, we already tried 150 years ago and couldn't get it to scale up then either.

Remember the tunnel in Ghost Busters 2?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit

[–] AA5B -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think you’re giving the guy too much credit for being conniving. Is there actual evidence?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

He admitted it to the person writing his memoirs iirc