Buses aren't cheap to acquire or run, and the dual obstacles to expanding mass transit of operator cost and off-peak operating inefficiency would both be addressed by a podcar system, so I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. Compared to the cost of roads, costs do not seem all that outrageous, and I think the economics look better and better as the cost of energy rises, at least for some of the versions that are out there.
Joel At 11:42 AM 9/21/08 -0700, you wrote: >On Wed, 9/17/08, Andy Goodell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >"We don't need new infrastructure and we don't need expensive new >systems.. So far ocean liners, locomotives, dirigibles, airplanes, and >personal cars have all seen their peak moments and are proving to be oney >sinks that only cost more as time goes on. To fantasize that podcars are >any different seems a bit irrational to me. It was neat to >get the information, but I still strongly favor on the side of >relocalization rather than creating new ways to get around that require >such an investment and enormous system to be functional. > >I agree with Andy. > >I for one don't find anything sustainable about spending $20-$30 million >or so to build the type of "personal rapid transit" podcare system that >was being hawked at the conference, particularly when you multiply that >figure by hundreds of other cities across the U.S. that are the size of >Ithaca or larger and hence would have the same type of system. > >And who will build these systems? Certainly not local companies, but >rather some big multinational corporation, and probably not one with the >high-paying design, engineering and skilled production jobs located here >in the US. > >Also the reality of demographics and systems costs - both construction and >operating costs - require minimum residential development densities of >15-20 dwellings per acre, which would be 3-4 times the existing densities >in Ithaca city proper, and 6-10 times the existing residential densities >in the Town of Ithaca, Village of Cayuga Heights, Ellis Hollow, Lansing >and other suburban paradises. > >Given the responses to previous posts by me on the subject of residential >densities, I don't see THAT happening in Ithaca and Tompkins County. > >Of course if Ithaca and the hundreds of other similar size cities in the >country were to evolve into denser, more compact communities, we could >pretty much eliminate the need for cars and the need completely for podcar >systems and their costs, since almost all residents would be within easy >walking distance of about any place they need or want to go to, and we >could have a bus system schedule that provides for pick-ups every 10-15 >minutes, not every hour or two. > > >George Frantz > >--- > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, >please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > >RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >[email protected] >http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
