tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post7678343806697754691..comments2023-10-08T04:12:46.273-05:00Comments on The Political Environment: Is Government Interested In Hearing From The Public About Transportation Planning?James Rowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10203270946492159686noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-44911541807286851572008-06-29T10:45:00.000-05:002008-06-29T10:45:00.000-05:00All of a sudden, Detroit seems to have gotten reli...All of a sudden, Detroit seems to have gotten religion. Now, it looks like we will have electric cars before we know it. As soon as 2010, some say. So we will still be doing lots of driving, as individuals and family units. Oil companies presumably will find demand from airlines and the emerging markets of India and China, though I do not know why these latter would not go electric also. <BR/><BR/>So where does that leave rail? Still facing an extremely individualistic ideological ethic that says cars are the way to go. Will flying finally become so expensive that high-speed passenger rail becomes unavoidably practical? That seems one possibility.<BR/><BR/>Also, I do not hear about electric trucks. If we don't have adequate freight rail -- and our infrastructure is continuing to deteriorate all the time -- presumably we will be relying ever more on trucks. How will they be fueled? How much pollution will they continue to contribute to environment? I don't know, but the terms of the debate do seem to have very suddenly shifted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com