LA’s working hard to solve its sizeable traffic snarls, and alternative transportation has made a comeback as a result. In
2008, LA County passed measure R, a half-cent sales tax designed to finance new transportation projects. The measure
was created by MoveLA, a broad coalition formed to fix LA’s mobility and pollution problems. Next year its sequel, Measure R2, could be an even bigger gamechanger, especially if it’s barred from funding asphalt. In addition to new roads, LA is excavating tunnels for an extension to its relatively new light rail service, in this case, an extension that brings rails back to an area that’s been “freeway locked” since 1955.
Over in the private sector, Hyperloop is building a prototype of a high-speed rail system that’s a cross between Amtrak and the pneumatic tube system your drive-thru bank used in the 1980s. If it works (and the vision behind it comes from Elon Musk, who has proven his ability to boil oceans already), the entire airline route from Los Angeles to San Francisco could be replaced with one tube. The trains would travel at speeds up to 760 mph— far faster than commercial airliners.
Things are moving swiftly at Tesloop, where they’re ferrying passengers from West LA to Las Vegas in Teslas, charging
just $85 for a one way ticket. How do they do it? By taking advantage of Tesla’s supercharger stations free of cost. Will it scale? You can ask the company’s 16-year-old founder at #NewCoLA, November 9-10. And if you’re going, check out sessions by these NewCos helping to redefine travel and transportation:
Hyperloop — Changing the Future of Transportation
Syncromatics — Next Generation Public Transportation Technologies
Tesloop — Autonomous Electric Cars & City to City Transportation— Zero to Self-Driving in 2.9 years
Google — Science and Storytelling: Inspiring the next generation of technologists
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