Cost is a factor too. I'd love to take Amtrak from Los Angeles to the Bay Area, a trip I make a couple times a year. But the current Amtrak service is incredib

Cost is a factor too. I'd love to take Amtrak from Los Angeles to the Bay Area, a trip I make a couple times a year. But the current Amtrak service is incredibly slow and inconvenient in both timing and destination. I just can't justify it, as much as I'd like to. So I usually drive, occasionally fly. High speed rail (in 2099 or whenever they actually finish it) would be a nice choice. But if it's several times the cost of driving, not including the car I'd have to rent at the other end anyway, it will be a lot less appealing. The drive isn't that long, and even HSR won't be that much shorter. I'd be a lot more likely to take HSR to Las Vegas, weirdly. There I don't need a car at the other end.