ENDLESS CONGESTION is considered normal by American transportation planners and engineers! In reality, the fact that we have endless congestion conditions all over America after spending trillions of dollars on transport proves our transport policies and investments are no longer working, and have become a huge waste of public money. At this point, the more we spend on highways and aviation, the worse both systems get.
Transportation planners have no solutions to offer up, and nothing planned on the horizon that will even put a dent in the massive congestion problem nationwide (other than high speed rail). Amazingly, they actually say more roads will solve this! This is all they have to offer, even after evidence proves every road expansion in America has led to MORE CONGESTION!
Los Angeles has spent the most money of all cities in America expanding their freeways again and again over the years to "solve" the growing congestion problem. Today, Los Angeles has the worst congestion in the entire world!
This is a serious situation as our Congress continues to pour hundreds of billions of public dollars each year into a system that has proven over and over to make congestion worse. At the same time, Congress is NOT funding proven systems that actually do fix the problem (high speed rail).
The nation's transportation policies need to be radically changed to actually SOLVE congestion for real, and provide fast, efficient mobility to Americans. Its time to invest big in high speed rail - all across America.
HIGHWAY EXPANSIONS - Proven to increase and grow congestion New study
HIGH SPEED RAIL - Proven to deliver extremely high capacity congestion-free transport
HIGHWAYS
VS.
FAST TRAINS
Rush Hour
4,000 people per hour
20,000 people per hour
(at 8 miles per hour)
(at 200 miles per hour)
Click both videos at the same time for side-by-side comparison
"The American transportation system is a mess because we left out the most important piece... High Speed Rail!"
"The average American motorist will spend 6 months of their life waiting for red lights to change, and over 5 years of life stuck in traffic." -Time Magazine
New Research: Congestion has become a national public health issue -New York Times
Inefficient transportation - constant delays across America
Dangerous transportation - 43,000 killed, millions injured every year
"A single high speed train line can carry the equivalent passengers of a 10 lane freeway"
US transportation paralysis - every city, every day
Fast, efficient mobility - every train, every day
"Road and airport congestion cost America over $156 billion per year in wasted time and fuel"
Driving peaked in America in 2007
Thousands of miles of delays and waste daily
Endless, costly delays - every airport, every day
AIRPLANES
VS.
FAST TRAINS
Winter Travel
Click both videos at the same time for side-by-side comparison
High speed rail adds the 'missing middle' mode of transport
As the nation contemplates a major infrastructure investment, its important to look at the complete transportation system of America at all scales, and trip distances. Our new chart showcases this new thinking for national transportation planning!
An integral part of a complete system, high speed rail can carry enormous capacity! A single HSR line transports up to 20,000 people per hour (more than a 10-lane freeway + 2 airports), without delays or congestion. The addition of HSR to America's transportation mix would remake it into a complete system. HSR fills the middle range of passenger trips in the 100-1,500 mile range, while shifting aviation to its most efficient range of passenger trips of 1,000 miles or longer, and cars covering their most efficient range under 100 miles.
High capacity, efficient transportation
Japan, Nozomi 500
Japan, Tsubame express
Click to view map
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