As someone that lives on the east coast when I read about this, the very 1st thought in my mind was Did I miss something? When did CA become flush with money?
Our metro in the VA/MD/DC area is not underused per se, but it is poorly managed. Example: Obama's inauguration. They actually went into the red!?!?!
East coast also has Easy Pass, and they too are bleeding money.
If you want to insure a tax shelter, let the govt run it!
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Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree
At a time when our schools our floundering because of painful, but needed cuts - our state has decided that a high speed rail project linking San Francisco to Los Angeles to San Diego is a good idea.
It will cost roughly 60 billion dollars.
It takes about an hour to fly to San Francisco between LAX and SF.
Rail will take about 3 hours.
Driving takes about 6 1/2 or 7.
Will there be jobs? Sure. I am never against jobs. I am against projects that use taxpayer dollars and lack common sense when our state is nearly broke.
Having lived in CA for most of my life and going to San Francisco a handful of times, I cannot think of one time when I would decide that taking rail would be a good option. If I did, I would still rent a car when I got to my destination.
The least congested part of the highway system is the I-5, which is the middle part of the state.
So what does this project do? How is it helpful?
Our metro system in the Los Angeles area is woefully underused. High Speed Rail will be a big cost, lower than anticipated use transportation system.
I have traveled Amtrak up the coast and into Washington. Beautiful. Long trip, lots of scenery. Worthwhile. We could have driven it with less cost, but we were hoping to slow down and enjoy the ride.
Most of us just want to get to our destination either quickly - or for the least cost. Or both.
