Subdude Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 The Lone Star state has a radical plan to develop futuristic transportation—but the most radical part is a handover of $50 million taxpayer dollars to a think tank. While the media debates whether President Barack Obama's signature high-speed rail initiative has yielded any results, Texas is moving forward with its own plan. Texas Central Railway plans to build a 200-mile-per-hour bullet train between Dallas and Houston, modeled after (and with the support of) Japanese rail. Under this plan, the Texas Central Railway company would build a rail line entirely with private money. The company is already working with the Federal Railroad Administration and the Texas Department of Transportation on an environmental impact statement, which is also being prepared with private money. While the plan has not yet settled on a preferred route, its backers say that the Texas Central Railway line will stick to existing rights of way wherever possible. With private funders picking up the tab for high-speed rail in Texas, what is a Texas Department of Transportation to do? Well, the state is looking instead into jetpacks, hover cars, and roadways paved with solar panels—and funding a think tank that looks a lot like a lobbyist giveaway. According to a report in the Texas Tribune, TxDOT officials will ask the state for $50 million over two years to fund research initiatives on futuristic methods of transportation. The report draws on a presentation assembled by the Texas Transportation Commission that highlights maglev trains, a networked street grid, and an elevated freight shuttle as R&D projects worth Texas taxpayer dollars. Outrageously, this $50 million won't even put Texans in actual jetpacks any time soon. In the medium term, it will establish a "a test bed capability and initiate project experiments and tests, coordinated with the universities"—for things like solar-panel runways, autonomous cars, and other "disruptive technology or solutions." http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/08/texas-wants-to-use-public-funds-to-develop-hovercars-and-jetpacks/375884/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Investing in the future. I don't see what's wrong with TXDOT taking the initiative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 What a joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Oh my god.....TxDOT investing in something other than highway expansion??? *Gasp* Well they better hurry because Back to the Future said we would have flying cars by next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Why don't they pour that 50 million into a think tank for realistic public transportation? This isn't the 50's, and we won't be the Jetsons in 30 years. There is existing technology that could put any other public transportation into the stone age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Hear that? It's the sound of 50 million dollar bills flushed down a toilet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I swear it's like these monkeys do everything possible to avoid real spending of areas of which could actually benefit that isn't highways! I mean I love future tech, but just driving down to work every morning I wouldn't ever trust someone with a flying car much less one that is on the ground. Flying cars.....oh yes a must! Autonomous Cars, Electric Vehicles, High Speed Rail, Commuter Rail, Maglev, Repairing our bridges and existing infrastructure.........pfft who cares about that stuff lol. I mean flying cars has been a pipe dream for almost 60 years......oh wait. That's right Baby Boomers still run the show...oh. That makes sense now >.> If they want a cool pipe dream to chase after, maybe they should chase thats ACTUALLY a pipe dream like that cool tech that was mentioned like a year ago about those high speed pipe travel that actually could exist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 You guys need to understand just how little 50 million is to TXDOT. They don't find the roads we use here in Houston, they find the highways, and it takes BILLIONS of dollars to create a highway. Katy Freeway was between 6-7 billion, the 290 project will probably be around 3 billion. 50 million is chump change and has almost no affect on freeway construction. Sure this could be used to build roads somewhere but this is TXDOT investing in our future. You can't just build roads and highways forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Oh I'm just looking at the big picture lol. 50 mil for any government especially in Texas is chump change! If this is money going into some research groups or even assisting small start ups who are working on this kind of tech then fine, but I mean come on this is TxDOT lol. We complain about these guys all the time who seem to never change at all and then all the sudden they make this knee jerk reaction and do this. I mean it's a pretty huge leap to go from highway highway highway highway highway FLYING CARS highway highway highway. I always appreciate it when gov. invests in science and tech, but I don't know I just don't buy it. There is so much more info that is needed to really back the investment they are putting this money into. I mean it's one thing to say "we have a goal of flying cars. lets go and do that" with no dollar figure on it. I mean what if JFK talked about his goal of going to the moon and said in that speech 'oh yeah and we are dropping immediately 50 mil just because'. It's just silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 TXDOT doesn't have money they wanted to hand over maintenance of many roads to localities and turn others to gravel but that was shot down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I had to check the date this thread was started to make sure it wasn't April 1st. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
democide Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Let's focus on developing flying Metro rail or buses. Everyone's wish for a successful public transit system will then become a reality. You can have loud speakers installed in the train that would say "Houston, the MetroRail has landed .... on (destination name)" at every stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparrow Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Maybe they'll consider PRT radical enough to study alongside jet packs and hovercraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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