Hardly surprising he's not giving places to people who have completely different politics to him. And he'd have to go a long way to match the parade of sycophants and clowns that Trump worked his way through.
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Mayor Pete - Transportation Secretary
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Hardly surprising he's not giving places to people who have completely different politics to him. And he'd have to go a long way to match the parade of sycophants and clowns that Trump worked his way through.
s0me0nesmind1
Lifer
Yes? It's the one exception of the closest thing we have - mostly because it was built off an already existing railway line from the 1900s. Again, you won't be able to build one today. It won't happen.
It's extremely limiting to just a select few east-coast places. I'm talking about a railway system that can get you to any (or the majority) of major cities in the US. Not a select couple on one side.
s0me0nesmind1
Lifer
Nope =/ No monthly pass. Best I could do was employer benefit of pre-tax dollars to pay for it.
I know I saved on vehicle maintenance, gas, etc... But overall I drive a beater, so it really isn't that much. Regardless, my main point is that when it comes to mass-transit vs. driving - it shouldn't be THAT close. It should be a "duh, no brainer! Mass transit is way cheaper and faster!" feel to it.
Brainonska511
Lifer
I don't believe we even need bullet trains on the NE coridoor to greatly improved travel times. Just get average travel speeds up by improving what is there. Current average speed between NY and Boston is 66 mph - get that up to 80-90, and you cut an hour off the fastest current train time.
Brainonska511
Lifer
I think that last point comes from too many seeing a government service treated like a business and a long standing policy of building neighborhoods that are not at all transit friendly and practically require driving everywhere.
Starbuck1975
Lifer
Compared to Europe, Japan and China, I would call it a failure, and why we need a considerable investment in infrastructure, Buttigieg being a great choice to lead a vision for it
Starbuck1975
Lifer
It already exists, its just managed poorly and inefficiently
I agree we need to roll back some of the laws inhibiting transit development but the idea that we could never build mass transit like that in the US is explicitly disproven by the fact that it already exists.
A nationwide rail network probably doesn’t make sense, so we shouldn’t have one. Personally I would allow Amtrak to discontinue service throughout the south and Midwest, it’s pointless.
MrSquished
Lifer
It really is embarrassing to look at the railway systems of Europe and Japan vs what we have here.
Yes, car culture is obnoxious and the only reason people don’t see how much we sacrifice for it is they’ve never seen anything different.
It never ceases to amaze me how much land we turn over for free vehicle storage in some of the most expensive land on the planet. When you say maybe we shouldn’t people freak out because they’ve only known free car storage.
MrSquished
Lifer
It's not just about time, it's about not having to drive in traffic - I'd rather sit on a bus for an hour reading, checking my phone, etc... than drive in traffic for an hour and 15 minutes any day of the week - it's about not having to find or pay for parking, which in denser cities is either terrible or very expensive, and for every full bus there is, that's 30+ cars off the road. That's a lot of cars. I haven't commuted by bus in some years, but I used to commute by bus to NYC for a bit and buses got quite comfortable around here vs when I first rode them 25+ years ago. The ride is just nice and smooth. And not everybody can afford to have a vehicle with insurance in expensive areas, but they still need to get to work.
MrSquished
Lifer
It just doesn't work like that in some of the bigger denser cities. There just literally isn't enough space for cars in the cities, nor in the approaches to the cities. Mass transit is a must have. It has to be part of any transportation solution. America has been behind probably due to the power of the fossil fuel and auto companies, that shot down mass transit options. I'm pretty sure I remember in Los Angeles back in the day they had a pretty good streetcar system going in some areas - either a fossil fuel or auto company started buying them up, and literally shut them down so people had to use cars.
Zorba
Lifer
Also need to start taxing all vehicles on the road at appropriate levels, to help pay for that infrastructure. This includes electric cars and high efficiency ICE cars.
Starbuck1975
Lifer
It can’t just be light rail, buses are critical for connecting areas underserved by rail. The problem is that in most cities, buses don’t have dedicated lanes and are unreliable in terms of schedule. The pandemic has perhaps done irreparable damage to mass transit in many cities
cytg111
Lifer
I get it.
And I think the concept of owning a car in the future is for the few, its gonna be autonomous ridesharing, like call an uber and an EV will pull up with 2-3 other passengers going the same direction. I believe Model 3 already has the bare bones of this built in in its software
Basicly your car is never parked and when it is, it can be parked far away, and called upon when needed.
But yea, I hear you, still, lets see how it works out.
Zorba
Lifer
We love paying for new shit, hate paying to maintain it.
Mr.IncrediblyBored
Lifer
No way. If anything the Midwest is the perfect location to massively expand the rail network, with something like Cleveland or Columbus as a regional hub for connecting to the east coast. There's already several trains running through many of these cities, just at shitty times of the day. The Midwest has probably a dozen cities that could be better connected with rail.
I'd be all for breaking up Amtrak. Let it operate the NEC, and start up new organizations for other regional networks.
zzyzxroad
Diamond Member
Sothern California is about the least friendly areas for public transportation but it has been improving steadily. I work from home but use our light rail metro system all the time (pre-covid) to get out to the airport. A huge benefit is instead of sitting in traffic for an hour I can read or catch up on email. I find it much more relaxing then sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.
Zorba
Lifer
Any random civil engineer or other transportation professional would have strong biases toward one form of transportation, more than likely. Not all good CEOs have direct experience. Alan Mulally didn't know shit about cars, but probably the best CEO Ford has had in 50 years.
I wouldn't have personally thought of Pete for this role, but I think he can handle it and I'm interested to see how he does with it.
ultimatebob
Lifer
Something that really doesn't compare to a modern bullet-train. When the Acela goes through my town (like most towns in coastal Connecticut), it's doing less than 100 miles an hour. It makes for a pretty long and boring trip.
Someone should let Elon Musk's Boring Company dig a bigassed tunnel under Connecticut and Southern Mass, so we can have a "real" modern bullet train that can go from New York to Boston in under 2 hours.
MrSquished
Lifer
While most of Biden's picks have relevant experience, this one stands out for not. I would have preferred one of the last two NYC DOT commissioners for example. But, if it had to go to anyone without experience, Pete seems to have the brains, ambition and ethics to do the best job possible.
ultimatebob
Lifer
Ehh... NYC DOT commissioners only seem to be good at raising tolls and fares on existing infrastructure nowadays. If you want someone who can build new and modern infrastructure, get someone from Virginia or Texas.
Zorba
Lifer
There is also the Brightline in Florida: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightline
Before the pandemic, a luxury coach line started running scheduled bus service between OKC, Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Not high speed rail, but a non-flight mass transit. It was doing really well before the pandemic, I'm sure it hasn't been since, though.
pauldun170
Diamond Member
The Job
The Secretary of Transportation shall—
(1)under the direction of the President, exercise leadership in transportation matters, including those matters affecting national defense and those matters involving national or regional emergencies;
(2)provide leadership in the development of transportation policies and programs, and make recommendations to the President and Congress for their consideration and implementation;
(3)coordinate Federal policy on intermodal transportation and initiate policies to promote efficient intermodal transportation in the United States;
(4)promote and undertake the development, collection, and dissemination of technological, statistical, economic, and other information relevant to domestic and international transportation;
(5)consult and cooperate with the Secretary of Labor in compiling information regarding the status of labor-management contracts and other labor-management problems and in promoting industrial harmony and stable employment conditions in all modes of transportation;
(6)promote and undertake research and development related to transportation, including noise abatement, with particular attention to aircraft noise, and including basic highway vehicle science;
(7)consult with the heads of other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government on the transportation requirements of the Government, including encouraging them to establish and observe policies consistent with maintaining a coordinated transportation system in procuring transportation or in operating their own transport services;
(8)consult and cooperate with State and local governments, carriers, labor, and other interested persons, including, when appropriate, holding informal public hearings; and
(9)develop and coordinate Federal policy on financing transportation infrastructure, including the provision of direct Federal credit assistance and other techniques used to leverage Federal transportation funds.
(c)The Secretary shall consider the needs—
(1)for effectiveness and safety in transportation systems; and
(2)of national defense.
(d)
(1)It is the policy of the United States to promote the construction and commercialization of high-speed ground transportation systems by—
(A)conducting economic and technological research;
(B)demonstrating advancements in high-speed ground transportation technologies;
(C)establishing a comprehensive policy for the development of such systems and the effective integration of the various high-speed ground transportation technologies; and
(D)minimizing the long-term risks of investors.
(2)It is the policy of the United States to establish in the shortest time practicable a United States designed and constructed magnetic levitation transportation technology capable of operating along Federal-aid highway rights-of-way, as part of a national transportation system of the United States.
(e)Intermodal Transportation.—
It is the policy of the United States Government to encourage and promote development of a national intermodal transportation system in the United States to move people and goods in an energy-efficient manner, provide the foundation for improved productivity growth, strengthen the Nation’s ability to compete in the global economy, and obtain the optimum yield from the Nation’s transportation resources.
The Secretary of Transportation shall—
(1)under the direction of the President, exercise leadership in transportation matters, including those matters affecting national defense and those matters involving national or regional emergencies;
(2)provide leadership in the development of transportation policies and programs, and make recommendations to the President and Congress for their consideration and implementation;
(3)coordinate Federal policy on intermodal transportation and initiate policies to promote efficient intermodal transportation in the United States;
(4)promote and undertake the development, collection, and dissemination of technological, statistical, economic, and other information relevant to domestic and international transportation;
(5)consult and cooperate with the Secretary of Labor in compiling information regarding the status of labor-management contracts and other labor-management problems and in promoting industrial harmony and stable employment conditions in all modes of transportation;
(6)promote and undertake research and development related to transportation, including noise abatement, with particular attention to aircraft noise, and including basic highway vehicle science;
(7)consult with the heads of other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government on the transportation requirements of the Government, including encouraging them to establish and observe policies consistent with maintaining a coordinated transportation system in procuring transportation or in operating their own transport services;
(8)consult and cooperate with State and local governments, carriers, labor, and other interested persons, including, when appropriate, holding informal public hearings; and
(9)develop and coordinate Federal policy on financing transportation infrastructure, including the provision of direct Federal credit assistance and other techniques used to leverage Federal transportation funds.
(c)The Secretary shall consider the needs—
(1)for effectiveness and safety in transportation systems; and
(2)of national defense.
(d)
(1)It is the policy of the United States to promote the construction and commercialization of high-speed ground transportation systems by—
(A)conducting economic and technological research;
(B)demonstrating advancements in high-speed ground transportation technologies;
(C)establishing a comprehensive policy for the development of such systems and the effective integration of the various high-speed ground transportation technologies; and
(D)minimizing the long-term risks of investors.
(2)It is the policy of the United States to establish in the shortest time practicable a United States designed and constructed magnetic levitation transportation technology capable of operating along Federal-aid highway rights-of-way, as part of a national transportation system of the United States.
(e)Intermodal Transportation.—
It is the policy of the United States Government to encourage and promote development of a national intermodal transportation system in the United States to move people and goods in an energy-efficient manner, provide the foundation for improved productivity growth, strengthen the Nation’s ability to compete in the global economy, and obtain the optimum yield from the Nation’s transportation resources.
MrSquished
Lifer
That's simply not true. They were instrumental in promoting multi-modal transportation and safety initiatives.
Why the hell would you want someone from the south where most of them think mass transit is communism.
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