@pluralistic two unintended consequences of the move towards electric vehicles is that they are at their best on short journeys, not travelling transcontinental.
And they are also at their best at speeds under 40 miles an hour, becoming very greedy over 60.

Both of these factors will help modal shift to mass transit across longer distances and should help to reduce average traffic speeds.

@brianary @peterbrown @pluralistic Then weigh-in in favor of CA's HSR project when billionaire-owned papers like the NYT run hit-pieces or someone uses the word "boondoggle" to describe it (nobody uses "boondoggle". That word came down as a requirement in a memo because some rich-fogey thinks they know better).

Help us keep the air clear and get the HSR built and people like me will help by raising our voices when the CA project is complete to continue extending the rails north towards Seattle.

@arandmoor @brianary @peterbrown @pluralistic

AIUI HSR in California is in no small part bogged down by NIMBY/anti-growth types.

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-build-nothing-country

https://www.railway-technology.com/features/will-california-ever-get-its-high-speed-rail/

@arandmoor @brianary @peterbrown @pluralistic

Same kind of thinking keeps other sensible transit things from happening. In my own backyard, e.g., the North-Station/South-Station connector which would make Boston a proper transit hub instead of a bifurcated one.

@celeduc @arandmoor @brianary @peterbrown @pluralistic

Over on BSky, as the NYC congestion pricing got suspended, someone called for the elimination of franchised car dealers, as they sabotage anything not helping them out. (And their light-R districts need to be swung D.)

Monopoly concerns aside, I very much understand that POV.