LA Times' technology blogger Jon Healy takes a look at Elon Musk's Hyperloop, and after careful analysis, decides he'd bet on a proven, high-speed technology - the same one that inspired Musk to do an all-nighter to draft plans for an alternative.
Healy admits to "rooting for [Elon Musk] on this one. He is, after all, one of the most constructively disruptive entrepreneurs of our time, having founded or co-founded revolutionary approaches to online payments (PayPal), space transportation (SpaceX) and the auto industry (Tesla Motors)." [He also could have added SolarCity].
Yet if I had to pick a horse in this race, I'd bet on California finishing the oft-delayed high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco before a single section of Hyperloop gets built.
Healy concludes that "(t)he best way to gauge how accurate his calculations are is to seek bidders for a real-world prototype. And for now, at least, Hyperloop is nowhere close to the real world." But, on a positive note, he adds that "it is closer than teleportation".
Readers of Scientific American might just be inspired to work on (if not bid) on such a prototype. Online associate editor for environment and energy, David Biello, calls the draft "a clever kludge of ideas that have been floating around since the 19th century—all designed to take people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 35 minutes."
Well, maybe not. In her August 14 blog, “Hyperloop”: Not Quite Shovel-Ready, Streetsblog's Angie Schmitt notes that "(n)etwork blogger James Sinclair at Stop and Move, ("Hyperloop proposal: Bad joke or attempt to sabotage California HSR project?"), points out that the Hyperloop — widely reported as a 30-minute connection between San Francisco and L.A. — wouldn’t come close to one city. It would terminate in Sylmar, about an hour’s Metrolink ride from L.A. That wasn’t the only problem. The plan includes no actual solution for spanning the San Francisco Bay, Sinclair writes."
Yet even stalwart proponents of the embattled California High Speed Rail project find good things to say about Musk's proposal. After pointing out numerous flaws in the draft, California High Speed Rail Blogger Robert Cruickshank writes "that's not to say the Hyperloop shouldn’t be explored or even built. I didn’t like it when critics attacked HSR merely because it was new to California and I won’t attack the Hyperloop, even if its cost assumptions are not realistic."
FULL STORY: Wishing for Hyperloop, betting on high-speed rail
Hyperloop One Hails its 'Kitty Hawk' Moment in the Nevada Desert
PBS kicks off its new science and technology series with a look at just what happened in the desert with MIT's Hyperloop team. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien likens the week's events more to the "glider moment" preceding Kitty Hawk.
Hyperloop = Hyperlame?
Last week we looked at the dangers of focusing on transportation fantasies. But alas, entrepreneur Elon Musk's vision for a "fifth form" of transportation is here and we just can't help ourselves.
The Hyperloop’s Prospects Dim
The media is coming around to the idea that the hyperloop is not a near-term solution for the country’s transportation woes. It’s too little, too obvious, too late.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research