tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post3982802312848320513..comments2023-10-30T09:03:07.163-07:00Comments on California High Speed Rail Blog: HSR Denial Alive And Well In San DiegoRobert Cruickshankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06906581839066570472noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-27441880559899822112009-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:002009-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:00Anon, HSR lives on city-to-city travel. The correc...Anon, HSR lives on city-to-city travel. The correct base of comparison is the sizes of the cities served, not the national population. So we should compare LA and the Bay Area to Paris and London, not California to France and England.<BR/><BR/>The TGV serves only the minority of France that lives in the largest metro areas - Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Strasbourg, and eventually Toulouse. CAHSR will not serve all of California, but will hit most metro areas even with the starter line. This is far better than the LGV Sud-Est, whose largest intermediate city has 30,000 people. France may have 60 million people, but ultimately only the 11 million who live in Paris metro, the 1.7 million who live in Lyon metro, and so on count. This is favorable to California, where LA metro has 17.7 million people, and the Bay Area 7.2.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-21682425448401146262009-02-22T00:33:00.000-08:002009-02-22T00:33:00.000-08:00What "facts" is the SDUT ignoring here? The fact ...What "facts" is the SDUT ignoring here? The fact that CAHSR is predicting annual ridership of ~90 MM annual trips, which is equal equal to the TGV-Eurostar system, from a population base less than half of what that network serves? A prediction is not a "fact," and this prediction seems a bit questionable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-13741306341098172132009-02-20T17:46:00.000-08:002009-02-20T17:46:00.000-08:00@Alon LevyCar ownership and car use are different ...@Alon Levy<BR/>Car ownership and car use are different things. The Swiss have both the highest car ownership and highest rail ridership in Europe. The UK has both a lower car ownership than France and lower train ridership.<BR/>In France we have, from time to time, a very good way to roughly evaluate the number of car owners who use the train: when SNCF employees go on strike. Normally, the Lyon-Paris autoroute is rather fluid and fast. When trains are reduced to minimum service, the six lanes of the highway are full and the nearer you get to Paris the slower you move. When you reach the Porte d'Italie you find yourself in a sea of cars moving at 2km/h, when moving at all.<BR/>This may explain why no-one in France complains about their tax euros being spent on railways they never use. They know how pleasant driving can be when the TGV empties the highways and what a torture it is on a trainless day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-66692903104731358982009-02-20T14:26:00.000-08:002009-02-20T14:26:00.000-08:00Anon, in most developed countries, rail carriers r...Anon, in most developed countries, rail carriers report their share of the air/rail market. When SNCF says it has 90% of the Paris/Lyon market, it makes it clear that it carries 9 times as many people as the airliners, not 9 times as many as all non-rail modes of transportation together.<BR/><BR/>This is important, because air/rail shares are very predictable based on distance, since air and rail both compete on time. The total share of air and rail versus cars is more complex, and depends on other factors, such car ownership levels, the amount of congestion, and the type of trip involved. Cars compete on flexibility, which is a more intractable animal.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-51159290089437178672009-02-20T13:06:00.000-08:002009-02-20T13:06:00.000-08:00AFAIK, the "117 million" number was just the extre...AFAIK, the "117 million" number was just the extreme upper tail number that came out of a very wide range of sensitivity checks. Obviously this range of sensitivity checks also included numbers below 90 million.<BR/><BR/>I don't think CHSRA ever presented 117 million as a central forecast of ridership; rather, I think the Derail and/or Reason guys just grabbed it and ran with it, misrepresenting it as a central forecast (shocking to hear, I know). I would love to see an official press release or statement from CHSRA that presents 117 million as their central ridership forecast. My guess is that no such thing exists, and that "117 million is the central forecast of ridership" was totally fabricated by Derail or Reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-74295768740046885822009-02-20T09:46:00.000-08:002009-02-20T09:46:00.000-08:00The UT has lost more readership than any big city ...The UT has lost more readership than any big city daily in the country. The reason is because no paper in the country is more out of touch with it's readership than the San Diego Union Tribune. It's editorial staff is a throw back to the conservative movement of the 60s. Nobody in this town takes them serious anymore.BBinnsandiegohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02496343232974588494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-25273821211830783922009-02-20T07:58:00.000-08:002009-02-20T07:58:00.000-08:00It seems to me like Amtrak's statistic for their m...It seems to me like Amtrak's statistic for their market share between Washington and NY is pretty worthless since it doesn't include car and bus trips. . . the biggest mode of transportation for that route.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-11895041518682494522009-02-20T00:34:00.000-08:002009-02-20T00:34:00.000-08:00The UT is short on staff and struggles to provide ...The UT is short on staff and struggles to provide original content. With staffing levels so low, no one is really available to scrutize or fact check what their collegues are providing.Brandon in Californiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14796810137823230737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-76880714189456544582009-02-19T23:30:00.000-08:002009-02-19T23:30:00.000-08:00So or they ignorant of the facts? Are they unable ...So or they ignorant of the facts? Are they unable to grasp the big pitcure? Or are they just pure anti hsr and pushing an agenda? Or, are they just pandering in order to sell papers? Isn't it time to send some letters to the editor...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-67704279878759561252009-02-19T23:27:00.000-08:002009-02-19T23:27:00.000-08:00It sounds like San Diegans have pulled the plug on...It sounds like San Diegans have pulled the plug on the Tribune.Spokkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03244298044953214810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-56772734824050713392009-02-19T23:11:00.000-08:002009-02-19T23:11:00.000-08:00^^^ My point... the UT has less credibility each w...^^^ My point... the UT has less credibility each week. What writers and editors they have that have resumes... have left. What's left is a demorialized staff that probably only betters the City of San Diego staff in overall morale. No one is left to do fact checks or scrutinize articles.Brandon in Californiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14796810137823230737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-50184560808642504152009-02-19T23:06:00.000-08:002009-02-19T23:06:00.000-08:00I don't want to defend the UT; however, keep in mi...I don't want to defend the UT; however, keep in mind that the organization is struggling mightely in this new internet world. They've raised their cover cost from 50 cents to 75 cents, cut staff editors and writers, increased proportion of AP or UP articles, and lost readership. <BR/><BR/>UT ownership has put the paper up for sale, and there have been no interested buyers. And, the LA Times did a feature on a competitor - a recent online news startup - b/c they are publishing indepth quality articles and scopping the UT left and right.<BR/><BR/>Myself, my Sunday ritual use to include reading the paper. Four years ago I purchased the UT. After a little while I augmented the UT with the LA Times. Soon, I dropped the UT altogether. <BR/><BR/>My prediction... the UT will fold by the end of hte year. And, the LA Times or OC register will expand coverage. I've already noticed an increase in SD coverage in the LA Times over the past 2 years.Brandon in Californiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14796810137823230737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-82065614069765009332009-02-19T22:40:00.000-08:002009-02-19T22:40:00.000-08:00There has beens just as one of the comments points...There has beens just as one of the comments points out. We have our "own" deniers right here in NorCal and they live in MenloPark and Im sure all here that search the news can see they are also still at it and are starting on round 2 after licking there Nov4 <BR/>They back with the all the negetive HSR lies in local papers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com