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I don't think it's stupid -- I think it's the basis of every subway system in the world. There are, however, lots of issues that would make this a very difficu

I don't think it's stupid -- I think it's the basis of every subway system in the world. There are, however, lots of issues that would make this a very difficult project. First thing, and I think the largest issue, is that it's an "all or nothing" system. Until all of the infrastructure was in place, the 'cars' would be crippled relative to our current vehicles. Almost all large society changes have an organic method of adoption or they don't gain any momentum. So until you've 'paved' rural Texas, no one who has ever considered visiting rural Texas will ever buy one. Worse still is that you'd probably have to bulldoze existing roads for the tracks (at least in cities where space is tight). If you could overcome that obstacle, I feel the other issues would be easy (like how to pay for such a system, getting people to buy the cars, etc). It would be an interesting solution, somewhere between mass transit and autos, but a tough sell to everyone. Notice I didn't say impossible :-)

asdflkj 19y ago
A great point, but it is perhaps already economically viable on a small scale, if done correctly. Consider a place like Manhattan. Getting around in a car is already extremely impractical. Because it's easy to suspend a rail in the air, compared to a traditional road, it could be built right over the existing infrastructure. Population density is high, so you don't have to build very much of it before it becomes convenient. And few people in Manhattan would care that they can't get to rural Texas in their sky-car. Now, if you supply electricity through that rail, it makes the cars much easier and cheaper to make. They would also be much lighter, which means the rail itself doesn't have to be as strong and so can be cheaper to build. And they would be more compact, which means people won't pay as much for a parking space. Can somebody give me half a billion dollars, I have an idea for a startup...
- Caligula 19y ago
  More like 20 billion. Light rail is rediculously expensive to build.

asdflkj 19y ago

A great point, but it is perhaps already economically viable on a small scale, if done correctly. Consider a place like Manhattan. Getting around in a car is already extremely impractical. Because it's easy to suspend a rail in the air, compared to a traditional road, it could be built right over the existing infrastructure. Population density is high, so you don't have to build very much of it before it becomes convenient. And few people in Manhattan would care that they can't get to rural Texas in their sky-car. Now, if you supply electricity through that rail, it makes the cars much easier and cheaper to make. They would also be much lighter, which means the rail itself doesn't have to be as strong and so can be cheaper to build. And they would be more compact, which means people won't pay as much for a parking space. Can somebody give me half a billion dollars, I have an idea for a startup...

Caligula 19y ago
More like 20 billion. Light rail is rediculously expensive to build.