The Chinese Have a Phrase for It
A new trend in Chinese is to turn an active verb into a passive verb–usually with a sinister context–by prefixing the character “bei” (pronounced “bay”). For example, bloggers who have been censored will say they’ve been bei huh-shyeh, or “harmonized”–a reference to the Chinese government’s efforts to create a “harmonious society.” This new, and formerly […]
LaHood: Amtrak Makes Money
Speaking in Indiana last week, Secretary of Immobility Ray LaHood said Amtrak’s success shows that American should build high-speed rail. “Amtrak is doing very well,” claimed LaHood. “They’re making money, that wasn’t true a few years ago.” This led BoydGroup, an aviation consulting firm, to say, “This guy is lost in space.” BoydGroup points out […]
$590 Million to Increase Speeds by 2.7 MPH
Secretary of Immobility Ray LaHood proudly announced Saturday that the BNSF Railway has agreed to increase Portland-Seattle train speeds from their current average of 53.4 mph to 56.1 mph, saving just 10 minutes (3 hours 30 minutes reduced to 3 hours 20 minutes) over the 187-mile trip. This, said LaHood, is “part of the President’s […]
Giving and Taking Away
When Wisconsin and Ohio elected governors who promised to cancel high-speed rail, Secretary LaHood took their money away before the governors-elect even took office. But when Florida’s governor cancelled that state’s high-speed rail, LaHood gave local governments a week to see if they could form a consortium able to take on the project. Why didn’t […]
Intercounty Connector Opens
Maryland’s Intercounty Connector opens for traffic today, either one day or 41 years late depending on how you count. The toll road connects Montgomery and Prince George County in the suburbs of Washington, DC, an area that has grown by more than 75 percent since the road was first planned in the 1960s. Click to […]
The Anti-Driverless Car Movement Strikes Back
“Hands-free driving. Cars that park themselves. An unmanned car driven by a search engine company. We’ve seen that movie. It ends with robots harvesting our bodies for energy.” Some men get a testosterone thrill from having their hands on the wheel of a car, or so they tell the Antiplanner. I just remind them that, […]
Sticking It to Your Employer
Many people seem to think that high-speed rail won’t work in Florida but still makes sense in the Boston-to-Washington corridor. For example, in a commentary on Governor Scott’s decision to cancel the Florida high-speed train, Michael Barone writes in the Washington Examiner, “I have written rather extensively about the foolishness of most high-speed rail projects. […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #5
It is bumper-to-bumper traffic in the tunnel under the Hudson River, but it appears the bus will arrive on-time — 10:35 am — at Penn Station, or even a few minutes early. Scheduled at 4 hours and 20 minutes, this trip is about 95 minutes longer, but $131 less expensive, than Amtrak’s Acela.
It’s Dead Again
Florida Governor Rick Scott killed the Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail project, seven years after the state previously killed it once before. Scott cited three reasons for killing it: the potential for cost overruns, overly optimistic ridership projections, and the fact that, if the project turned out to be a dud and the state shut it down […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #4
Still in Maryland, not yet halfway to New York, the bus gets off the freeway — for a weigh station? Yes, we pass through the station along with the trucks. It only adds a minute or two to the journey, but . . . why? I’ve never seen buses have to stop at weigh stations […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #3
The old model bus system (such as Greyhound) would run a bus from New York to Washington, stopping at perhaps Newark, Trenton, Philadelphia, WIlmington, and Baltimore along the way. Most bus stations were downtown, so each stop required lengthy trips through traffic to and from the station. In contrast, the new model bus system (Megabus, […]
Liveblogging the Megabus #2
The I-95 corridor is supposed to be heavily congested, and it is no wonder. Here we have the most densely populated corridor in the U.S. and it is served by a freeway that is mostly just six lanes. Moreover, the lanes are distinctly narrower than freeway lanes that I am used to in the West […]
