 |
Why Families Don't Ride Trains (or airplanes)
Author: mook
Date: 01-17-2015 - 12:04
Why do people drive long distances (like Bay Area to LA) when they could fly in an hour (OK, 3-4 including airport hassle time and driving to/from)? Why would they STILL drive even if a convenient HSR system were available? Simple: out of pocket cost (not including value of time, because if you're going to drive long distance time has basically zero cash value).
Recent trip to Disneyland. Rented a decent-sized vehicle for the 4 of us so there would be space for people AND luggage (small cars need not apply). Gas mileage was abysmal ( about 20) compared to our normal cars (30ish). Yes, it was 8 hours each way droning along I-5. But we had the car available for running around the area, too, which was helpful.
Total rental and gas cost: about $650. Unless you get the bargain-basement, buy-a-month-ahead Internet prices that are totally restricted, you can't fly 4 people and luggage for a week between N and S Calif for that. Maybe 2. Plus, of course, renting a car there or arranging shuttles (the latter locking you in to food (outside the park) that's within walking distance). And yes, we did buy a local shuttle pass ($12 for all of us for the whole time there) which helped with the shoe leather and shin splints after a day chasing Mickey - ART is a good deal.
Would HSR be any better? I doubt it. Even if fares would be competitive with Southwest's lowest restricted fares (unlikely - more likely competitive with normal SWA fares), there's the question of where the station is - as long as it's downtown SF/SJ (heck even Sac) to downtown LA it's really only serving the business crowd not the families that are going elsewhere in the Basin (needs to reach ARTIC to be relevant for that). And the airport does have a decent long-term parking lot (or private long-term lots nearby) which the train stations don't now and still won't with HSR - you say I'm supposed to haul 2 adults, 2 kids, and all their luggage on transit to get to the station (ROFLMAO!!!)?
Bottom line: if your group is larger than 2 adults, and the trip is within a day's driving distance (8-10 hours - up to 12, maybe, with stops), neither air nor rail travel makes sense unless the trip itself is the attraction (cruise train, Starlight, etc.) and your budget is relatively unlimited. Sorry, I do have a budget and for this kind of trip it's for the park and family fun, not transportation no matter how fast. Fast enough (a day's drive) is good enough.
As noted in some other threads, the key benefit provided by a medium-long distance HSR line isn't faster service between the endpoints, though that is important. It's the vastly improved service to the major points in between. Leave the SF-LA express run to Musk's Hyperloops (if anybody can survive the ride). But Musk will never be able to serve Fresno as a practical matter - you need high-speed conventional trains for that. I still think that, with decent airport stations, and especially if through baggage security can be handled in some way, HSR will eat United Express' lunch for the short hops to major hubs.
Sure were a lot of people on I-5 doing the same thing as me ...
Recent trip to Disneyland. Rented a decent-sized vehicle for the 4 of us so there would be space for people AND luggage (small cars need not apply). Gas mileage was abysmal ( about 20) compared to our normal cars (30ish). Yes, it was 8 hours each way droning along I-5. But we had the car available for running around the area, too, which was helpful.
Total rental and gas cost: about $650. Unless you get the bargain-basement, buy-a-month-ahead Internet prices that are totally restricted, you can't fly 4 people and luggage for a week between N and S Calif for that. Maybe 2. Plus, of course, renting a car there or arranging shuttles (the latter locking you in to food (outside the park) that's within walking distance). And yes, we did buy a local shuttle pass ($12 for all of us for the whole time there) which helped with the shoe leather and shin splints after a day chasing Mickey - ART is a good deal.
Would HSR be any better? I doubt it. Even if fares would be competitive with Southwest's lowest restricted fares (unlikely - more likely competitive with normal SWA fares), there's the question of where the station is - as long as it's downtown SF/SJ (heck even Sac) to downtown LA it's really only serving the business crowd not the families that are going elsewhere in the Basin (needs to reach ARTIC to be relevant for that). And the airport does have a decent long-term parking lot (or private long-term lots nearby) which the train stations don't now and still won't with HSR - you say I'm supposed to haul 2 adults, 2 kids, and all their luggage on transit to get to the station (ROFLMAO!!!)?
Bottom line: if your group is larger than 2 adults, and the trip is within a day's driving distance (8-10 hours - up to 12, maybe, with stops), neither air nor rail travel makes sense unless the trip itself is the attraction (cruise train, Starlight, etc.) and your budget is relatively unlimited. Sorry, I do have a budget and for this kind of trip it's for the park and family fun, not transportation no matter how fast. Fast enough (a day's drive) is good enough.
As noted in some other threads, the key benefit provided by a medium-long distance HSR line isn't faster service between the endpoints, though that is important. It's the vastly improved service to the major points in between. Leave the SF-LA express run to Musk's Hyperloops (if anybody can survive the ride). But Musk will never be able to serve Fresno as a practical matter - you need high-speed conventional trains for that. I still think that, with decent airport stations, and especially if through baggage security can be handled in some way, HSR will eat United Express' lunch for the short hops to major hubs.
Sure were a lot of people on I-5 doing the same thing as me ...
Why Families Don't Ride Trains (or airplanes)