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This a great way of framing what his tunnels can do. There is only so much capacity in a tunnel, but unlike current train systems, with automatic vehicles you c

This a great way of framing what his tunnels can do. There is only so much capacity in a tunnel, but unlike current train systems, with automatic vehicles you can mix high density people movers (buses) with lower density (cars). If the the tunnel gets close to full then the high density vehicle get priority. Or maybe who ever pays most gets to go. That way you can get more resources to build more tunnels more quickly. A bus full of people should be able to out spend a single vehicle almost all the time. Since supporting individual transport options over a certain size and speed seem to be politically impossible in urban America at the moment, promoting his system as mass transit instead of a brand new concept of mixed transit is a great idea. Cargo can/will also go in these tunnels, but I guess at the moment politicians can't/won't support transportation improvement for trucks.

hammock 9y ago
What makes you say current train systems can't mix high and low density vehicles?
- njarboe 9y ago
  Some trains have different classes of travel but not many urban subways systems do (I don't know of any. India?). Also, current train systems are not usually designed for individual vehicles to exit and enter the track system. And I don't think any train systems allow vehicles that can also run on the road system.
  - hammock 9y ago
    His "tunnel" is a train, the cars/vehicles are modules on it. In that sense, it's no different than multimodal transportation widely is use here in the US. A so-called multimodal container can be taken off of a container ship in port, put into a train, delivered to another station where it is put of to an 18 wheeler truck bed , and finally delivered to wherever it is going. And vice versa. Also there are subways that run on roads, the Muni in San Francisco is one example.
    - njarboe 9y ago
      I would think there is a bit of a difference when the vehicle can convert from a car to a train by just merging into an existing stream of traffic in seconds. Multi model is nothing like that. Unloading a ship to a train takes days and unloading a train to trucks is also a full day activity. "subways that run on roads". Not sure what you mean here. Underground tunnels that have trains that have rubber tires instead of tracks like the Paris RER? Or trolley cars on rails that come out of the underground(the subway) and then run on the surface (a trolley). The closest I've seen to the Musk idea is in Seattle where the buses go underground in downtown, but can go on the road network everywhere else.

hammock 9y ago

What makes you say current train systems can't mix high and low density vehicles?

njarboe 9y ago
Some trains have different classes of travel but not many urban subways systems do (I don't know of any. India?). Also, current train systems are not usually designed for individual vehicles to exit and enter the track system. And I don't think any train systems allow vehicles that can also run on the road system.
- hammock 9y ago
  His "tunnel" is a train, the cars/vehicles are modules on it. In that sense, it's no different than multimodal transportation widely is use here in the US. A so-called multimodal container can be taken off of a container ship in port, put into a train, delivered to another station where it is put of to an 18 wheeler truck bed , and finally delivered to wherever it is going. And vice versa. Also there are subways that run on roads, the Muni in San Francisco is one example.
  - njarboe 9y ago
    I would think there is a bit of a difference when the vehicle can convert from a car to a train by just merging into an existing stream of traffic in seconds. Multi model is nothing like that. Unloading a ship to a train takes days and unloading a train to trucks is also a full day activity. "subways that run on roads". Not sure what you mean here. Underground tunnels that have trains that have rubber tires instead of tracks like the Paris RER? Or trolley cars on rails that come out of the underground(the subway) and then run on the surface (a trolley). The closest I've seen to the Musk idea is in Seattle where the buses go underground in downtown, but can go on the road network everywhere else.