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By private car, which is what most people already have, with gas at $2.50 a gallon, more than it is now, it would cost about $10 for me to drive that far with my 14mpg car. With a 30mpg car, it would cost less than $5.

If I took the Maglev, and I wanted a car at my destination, it would cost about $30 a day to rent, so a day trip would cost $20 for a round trip ticket plus $30 to rent the car, or a total of $50.

Driving, even in my Mercedes 420SEL, would be significantly cheaper and would not require terrifyingly expensive capital costs and subsidies. It would also be significantly more comfortable and pleasant, with the leather seats, my own music on the stereo, and so on. And I would have a car at my destination at no additional cost to me.

This kind of project just doesn't make any sense. If you want to blow billions, double-deck the freeways, and let all car owners take advantage of the improvements, not just the very small numbers that would ride this boondoggle.

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This kind of project just doesn't make any sense. If you want to blow billions, double-deck the freeways, and let all car owners take advantage of the improvements, not just the very small numbers that would ride this boondoggle.

I agree. Freeways are definitely the way to go.

Anyone who has ever used public transportation knows the inconvenience of driving through traffic to get to the station, finding parking (and possibly paying for it), waiting in a line to buy a ticket, waiting for the next train, getting from the station to your final destination, and scheduling your life around inconvenient train schedules.

It's incredibly noisy (the Maglev operation itself could be quiet, but you wouldn't be the only passenger on the train or waiting for it, and there would be announcements over a loud PA system), nearby passengers sneeze/cough/odorize the air you breathe, and you can't run errands or go back if you forgot something.

Public transportation is very vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and it's illegal to carry a firearm or knife on public transportation even for self-defense.