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We need something a little more flexible than rail, a little more rigid than current roads. That said, we need rail more than anything because.
- We know it works and how it works.
- Is a solution we can do tomorrow if we actually wanted to.
- Was a solution till modern cars decided to throw all that out the window.
Self-driving cars on a semi-rigid road system is either going to be the solution that is in the middle for everyone, or something we just completely abandon and we try our best to make modern rail happen.
I'm a big supporter of more rail, but I'm not completely against car-train hybrids. I just would like something better than what we're currently dealing with.
I’m not completely against car-train hybrids
Do you mean like people-movers, trams, or bus-rapid-transit?
What are all these amazing technologies Musky hasn't invented yet?!
Yeah I can’t wait for him to invent the train.
Didn’t he somehow get involved in the high speed train that’s supposed to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco? (That they’ve been talking about for 30+ years.)
Yeah that’s them. I know there’s likely a better then more specific than mass transit and less specific than say GLR, trams, etc…
Bikes on trains should do it. The train gets you within a few miles, the last part can be done with your bike. All the efficiency of a train for long distance, all the flexibility for short distance.
With pedal assisted cargo bikes people can even haul a surprising amount of stuff. People here are already using those pedal assist bucket bikes for getting toddlers to school.
Imagine you can rent bike at train station and put them back at the train station. In Luxembourg we can rent bike for 19€ a year.
Yeah but that one day when the bike rack is empty except the one with a flat tire haunts you the whole year though.
It is a good thing for occasional use IMO, if I go to work every day I prefer the "safety" of having my own bike (I'm 198 too :-)
Yeah I agree with you some time I had to walk.
And as long as everything you need fits in a backpack that works great. And most people still but a car for the cases where it doesn't work, and if you have a car anyway, why not use it more.
But those bikes in docks and the scooters do work great.
Rent the car too.. here we have rental car by hour.
Depends on the cargo.
Doubt many train passengers would like it if people delay the train because they have so much cargo they need to unload and bring to their rented car.
True, maybe it is time to rethink things completely. Some time ago the SNCF was doing some wagon dropping. Letting a wagon with fret in some stations
Bc cars consume the space needed for people.
You can store most bicycles on trains, where I'm from people have fold-up bicycles that will fit under a seat even just for last-mile transport. Cargo bikes won't fit on a train though, they'll block aisles and standing room. I doubt hauling a whole-ass train car just for bicycles is cost effective.
It's cost effective when you take the same amount of cars off the road and factor in what those cars would have contributed to
- road maintenance
- road congestion (mental health)
- environment
They are very common where I live. They are designed so that people can sit there if no bike is using the space. And usually they are bikes. Still not enough space for a cargo bike, but more than enough for a normal one.
That seems a classic chicken-and-egg issue. There is no room for cargo bikes because it's not cost effective. That means people can't easily take their children and stuff anywhere except with a car. Because everybody uses the car, the train cars are not cost effective.
There is this kind of bike rack in most regional trains in France.
They are generally not really usable at rush hour unfortunately but the rest of the time traveling with a bike on the train is quite pleasant.
I grew up in a small rural village separated by a small stream. To get across, we'd employ all manner of clever tricks - jumping across with a tire swing, old mattresses, dead animals, you name it.
I guess what I'm saying is: how about using a large catapult as a flexible alternative, with the option to launch dead animals at any naysayers?
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