Floating out of our traffic mess

Fort Worth Star Telegram ^ | Wed, Sep. 08, 2004 | Kevin C. Coates

[Willie Green]

During rush hour recently in Shanghai, China, I traveled 19 miles in 7½ minutes. I wasn't flying, exactly. I was aboard a high-speed magnetic-levitation transportation system.

Now I can't help but ponder more efficient ways of moving people into, between, within and around our cities -- especially when I'm stuck in traffic.

Let's face it: American transportation problems result from our love of private automobile ownership and the government policies that enable our oil addiction. Driving cars in cities is like using a pair of pliers to bang a nail into a wall -- the wrong tool for the job. It is analogous to entering the lobby of a high-rise and waiting for an elevator that only one person at a time can ride because everyone wants his or her private space.

Subways and light-rail systems, typical U.S. alternatives, are basically 19th-century technologies. As wheels meet tracks over years of use, these systems wear out. They are slow, bouncy, expensive to maintain and prone to frequent breakdowns. Mostly manually operated, they require high labor costs.

Maglevs float -- propelled and supported by electromagnetic waves. They're not free of maintenance, but logic dictates that by eliminating sources of friction from traditional propulsion and braking, much higher system reliability and fewer repairs will result.

[Willie Green]

I take it you are a government contractor for construction projects?

Nope. My career is in private sector manufacturing, not construction.

Private sector would probably get things built cheaper, better,

That's why such government funded projects are usually contracted out to the private sector through solicitation of competitive bids.