#1: "We need some publicity. Maybe we can ride Hyperloop's hype coattails."
#2: "Yeah, we could simulate it and talk about the results in technical sounding but vague terms that we can't be meaningfully challenged on. But what do think will get more publicity, saying it will work or that it won't? There's plenty of latitude in the specs for us to end up with either."
#1: "That it will, of course. We want our customers to think they'll be validated by our software, not shot down. But make sure you provide a little advice so it's clear that we add value. And also hedge a bit so that just in case Hyperloop is a technical disaster, we don't look terrible."
#2: "Sounds good. I'll call Bloomberg and see if they have any spots available for vacuous puff pieces."
I'm under the distinct impression that the decision if the Hyperloop is built is less about technical details and more about project cost.
It's not like the engineers working with Elon Musk are taking a break from designing rockets - oh wait - The engineers at spaceX build rockets that go into orbit.
And freedom. If you commute with a hyperloop, can you stop by the grocery store on the way home? Not easily.
But beyond cost and freedom, there is practicality. For a while I wanted to take the bus to work, but it would take 4 hours to get there (including 10 miles walking) and only 30-40 minutes in a car. They would provide a bus to make it only 30-40 minutes if there were enough people like me to take the bus, but how do they know? They never asked.
Here are the directions the government-sponsored online tool gave me for how to commute to work (miles rounded up):
03:04AM - start walk 8 miles from home address,
05:59AM - arrive at bus stop,
06:01AM - start first leg of bus trip,
06:15AM - stop first leg of bus trip,
06:17AM - start second leg of bus trip,
06:38AM - stop first leg of bus trip,
06:38AM - start walk 2 miles from stop,
07:09AM - arrive at work
I could do that if I had a collapsible bike and could shower and change at work, but I can't (and won't).
One of the things I read about high speed city to city travel is related to commuting, not just business travel. But yes, I was changing the subject to public transportation, which I think is a serious problem in the U.S.
Would you really let that impact your decision as to whether to use a Scooter to get to work? It's too cliché to mention all of those people die going to work using other methods of transport.
I ride a Motorcycle because I enjoy it. However, there are many Londoners who use one primarily for commuting. It takes around 40 minutes on the tube to get to Central London from where I live, plus the wait time for a tube and the issue of whether you can actually get on it when one arrives.
I can do the same journey I can do in 20-25 minutes by motorbike. Because I can filter (lane split) the journey time is much more consistent than in a car and contributes less to congestion and has less impact on the environment.
While the level of safety will never be the same its quite clear that its a reasonable trade off. Especially if you live further from a tube station than I do.
As a former motorcycle rider: That doesn't work in the US (or at least not in Dallas, TX).
For one, drivers are pretty hostile to bike or motorcycle riders.
For another, look around on your commute. How many 2m tall vehicles are blocking your vision of the road and hurting your situational awareness?
Now imagine that a solid 70% of the vehicles on the road are 2m tall or more, most of those with blacked out window tint. That's Dallas, TX.
Not to mention that only something like 1 in 50 vehicles would probably qualify as compact. Most of the time you have large sedans, SUVs and trucks to share your lane with.
In the actual city (as opposed to the suburbs) you also have a large contingency of selfish, reckless drivers. Wether it's:
* People traveling 30MPH in a 40MPH zone in the left lane
* Sitting stopped for an extra minute when the signal turns green to chat at the driver next to them
* Turning in front of other vehicles across multiple lanes of traffic
* Aggressive Tailgating
* "Clipping" lane-changes
It's a different world. The average road speed is 45MPH+. I can't imagine going even an entire month lane-splitting in Dallas and not ending up in the hospital.
It would be great to speak to you 'offline', I think it would be really interesting to compare experiences.
A few points which I hope you might find interesting. London taxies are pretty tall (6ft easily) and there is no chance of being able to see over a London bus! It is a fairly common thing to think of Europeans countries as driving tiny, economical cars. However that isn't nearly as applicable in London as elsewhere in the UK and much of the rest of Europe.
The congestion charge for driving into central London is prohibitively expensive such that only those people who can afford it, driving almost SUV sized range rovers, or those who make a living from it driving vans, taxis or buses do it.
Our cities and road networks have evolved around streets and roads dating back to Roman times. They are rarely straight, often narrow and heavily congested. We have no concept of jaywalking and our pedestrian population universally appears to have a death wish.
The quality of driving in the UK in general is reasonably high, though I find it more variable in London possibly due to the number of foreign drivers.
Driver attitude to motorcyclists is interesting. Generally most allow us to get on with it, some are actively helpful and a small percentage attempt to stop you getting through. The last group generally don't succeed for long, even if I do have to get a little creative!
That being said, the average speed of traffic through rush hour London is 12mph so it's easy to see why skipping to the front of a few queues makes a big difference!
Do you seriously think that Musk 1) needs some cheap "publicity", or 2) he didn't do quite a bit of simulations before releasing the very first whitepaper?
Again, this guy is sending rockets to space - and back. He has a couple of thousand rocket scientists and physicists at his disposal. Ansys is just getting to conclusions they have achieved long ago.
> Do you seriously think that Musk 1) needs some cheap "publicity", or 2) he didn't do quite a bit of simulations before releasing the very first whitepaper?
#2: "Yeah, we could simulate it and talk about the results in technical sounding but vague terms that we can't be meaningfully challenged on. But what do think will get more publicity, saying it will work or that it won't? There's plenty of latitude in the specs for us to end up with either."
#1: "That it will, of course. We want our customers to think they'll be validated by our software, not shot down. But make sure you provide a little advice so it's clear that we add value. And also hedge a bit so that just in case Hyperloop is a technical disaster, we don't look terrible."
#2: "Sounds good. I'll call Bloomberg and see if they have any spots available for vacuous puff pieces."
#1: "Was that a vacuum joke?"