How Will California Respond to $200 a Barrel Oil?

Lots of good points in the op-ed. I'd like to focus on two of them - high-speed rail and mass transit. The latter first.

I have wondered what different people's interpretation of mass transit is. It seems for folks living in Central San Joaquin Valley cities, i.e., of course, with the exception of Stockton, Tracy, Elk Grove and Sacramento in the Sacramento Valley for example, where rail mass transit in addition to transit bus services are offered, the thinking appears to be limited to transit bus operations providing intracity transit services to the exclusion of practically all other land-based mass transit mode offerings. This is highly understandable considering bus transit service is what Central Valley residents are exposed and used to. Contrast this with intercity transit, where buses and trains are it in the land-based mass transit mode domain.

Greater use of trains is evident. They have become accepted and utilized modes of mass public travel and are becoming more and more accepted and why high-speed rail is garmering greater support, no doubt. Adding to the interest or support is the fact that gas prices are going up, up, up and don't look like they're coming down in large measure any time soon.

As long as we're thinking and talking trains, for intracity transit, true intermodality in the form of trains, buses and even taxis is what's needed. Not one over or to the exclusion of another. Trains will likely never replace buses for public intracity transit needs, but it would be nice to have alternatives to choose from, not just being limited to buses only, I believe the buses only route stymying efficient, managed growth. Need proof, look at the Los Angeles to Long Beach Metro Blue Line light rail line with weekday boardings of over 70,000 (as of FY2004) - the nation's busiest, according to "Opening the Golden Gate: Discovering Gold in Los Angeles County," by Beth Wilson for the Community Transportation Association of America's Rail magazine publication, isse #11 and beginning on page 18. A pdf of this article is available on the CTAA website accessing the Rail publication. This 14-page article speaks volumes.

Great question! Oh, I know, I know. Call on me! The right answer is, build a $100 billion dollar luxury train down the Central Valley. We certainly don't need any accurate facts right now. We can always get them later, after the voters approve. This will be the shining train on the hill that will solve all our problems. No more cars. No more planes. No more dirty air. No more greenhouse. What if the costs are open-ended. So what? It's the vision that counts. It will change all of California forever. Thank you Quentin Kopp and Rod Diridon for leading us to the promised land. Deniers beware. You don't know the right answers. You will be damned to our contempt and perdition.
And, what do I know! I live next to the tracks and therefore have no right or reason to complain.

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