Supporters of subsidies to Amtrak and mass transit often say that, due to the lack of such subsidies, Americans have been “forced to drive.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg experienced this earlier this week when his flight was cancelled and he was “forced to drive from Washington DC to New York.” If only the nation had spent billions of dollars subsidizing intercity passenger trains between DC and New York, he wouldn’t have been forced to drive.
Why didn’t Buttigieg take the train? Photo by Fan Railer.
Wait a minute: the nation has spent billions of dollars subsidizing passenger trains between DC and New York. So why was Buttigieg forced to drive? For that matter, why was he flying if Amtrak’s high-speed Acela is so good?
After all, he sings the praises for Amtrak whenever he gets the chance. Could it be that he is too important to ride the train? Could it be that he supports Amtrak so he can drive on less congested roads?
“Buttigieg is advising airlines to meet their flight schedules and hire more customer-service workers. He said that if they do not meet these requirements by the Fourth of July weekend, the department could enforce fines on the airlines.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flight-cancellations-transportation-secretary-buttigieg/
“The weather is good. The plane is at the gate. The flight crew is ready. But flights are still getting delayed and even canceled.
Pilot shortages are part of the problem, but now, a shortage of air traffic controllers has travelers facing a new disruption at the airport.”
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/air-traffic-controller-shortage/
Finger-pointing is not a solution.
“Every transportation decision is a climate decision, whether we acknowledge it or not,” Pete “Mayo” Buttigieg
From today’s WSJ …
“We would be flying more today if we thought the entire system could handle it,” United Chief Executive Scott Kirby said last week. “We’ve had days at Newark where it’s a perfect, clear, blue-sky day but the air traffic control is staffed at 50% and so capacity is cut by 50%.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/air-travel-this-summer-is-expensive-messyand-booming-11656248403?st=nckua57qqyjlxki&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
My first thought was ‘he should have taken Jet bus.’ But then, no. He would have returned to the office with 20 ideas on how to regulate, tax, unionize, green, and stifle innovation on intercity buses.
One positive trend we’ve seen is the U.S.:
In accidents, people inside cars have suffered a declining number of deaths, while people in accidents outside cars are suffering an increasing number of deaths. Source is USDOT:
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/docs/fhwasa21065.pdf , page 7.
As the paper states, this is because cars are getting larger and larger (and thus safer for the occupants).
While the second half (increasing deaths outside cars) at first seems bad, those deaths should also begin to decline in coming years, with fewer people outside cars and more driving cars as the safest way to get around. Cars will continue to get larger and safer – a brighter future for everyone!
Electric vehicles weigh more and that has implications for safety – CNN
Why heavier is better — but only for those inside
It’s a matter of simple physics.
When two moving objects hit one another, the heavier one will tend to carry on in more or less the direction it was going. The lighter one, on the other hand, will change direction abruptly. Even if that lighter vehicle doesn’t get smashed in, that jarring deflection is bad for the people inside. Meanwhile, for the people in the heavier vehicle that just punches its way through, that extra weight can be a lifesaver.
Electric vehicles weigh more than similar gasoline-powered models. The Ford F-150 Lightning will weigh about 1,600 pounds more than a similar gas-powered F-150 truck. Similarly, the electric Volvo XC40 Recharge weighs about 1,000 pounds more than a gas-powered Volvo XC40.
CapitalistRoader, One benefit I haven’t seen often discussed with larger and heavier cars – if somone’s on a bike or walking and hit by one these huge electric trucks, they are more likely to be killed instantly rather than a long, lingering recovery from injury.
This fast, merciful death spares suffering on the victim’s part, their loved ones, and of course spares extra expense for our already overtaxed medical system.
The true dangerous ‘innovation’ of modern vehicles is not extra weight but tactile-less, multi-window touch screen control panels.
TCS, if the touch screens are making cars more dangerous, we just need to make the cars bigger and heavier to compensate. Safety first.