The Cost of Tubular Travel and Our Environment
Thomas Lunarde
COM/156 Version 7
4/27/14
Mark Hassenstab

The Cost of Tubular Travel and Our Environment People work hard throughout the year and ponder their next vacation of where they are going and how they are going to get there. With that in mind, they also worry about the expense. Is the weather going to cooperate? Is their luggage going to arrive? Have you ever been sitting at the bank drive through, watching people submitting their transactions by way of pneumatic tubes? Imagine being inside that pod travelling at 800 miles per hour with no worries of the above-mentioned. Why not alleviate travel concerns and climb aboard the tubular travel system? Even though the initial cost of development, construction, permits and approvals needed will have a hefty price tag for this mass transportation system. In the long run, it will provide the people of the world what better for our environment, faster, safer, and less expensive way to travel is.
Tubular Travel Overview * While the elements of the earth continue to diminish year after year from natural and more so man made creations, it is time to prepare ourselves for the repercussions, if we chose to do nothing. Reversing our thought processes by way of Tubular Travel, will help conserve our environment and provide better protection for travelers of the world. With the air turbulence getting worse when traveling by plane, we can prevent future tragedies by creating Tubular Travel. With tubular travel being enclosed, will also prevent future tragedies from derailing while traveling by train or subway. Mr. Vance further explains: * Inside the tubes, the pods would be mounted on thin skis made out of Inconel, a product Magnets on the skis, plus an electromagnetic pulse, would give the pod its initial thrust; regenerating motors along the route would keep the pod moving. With warm air inside the tubes and high tailwinds, the pods could travel at a high rate of speeds. The pod can go just below the speed of sound relative to the air. * While protecting ourselves and the elements of the earth, another great feature is “The Pods may also ferry vehicles as well." Mr. Ashlee Vance, Bloomberg Business Week in Palo Alto, Calif. With this feature, you will not have to worry about transporting around when you get to your final destination. * The Expense of it All * Other challenges to consider are the costs of construction and the possible problems with land rights. * Linking cities from San Francisco to Los Angeles could be built for $6 billion for passenger only travel and $10 billion for passengers and vehicles. Another consideration is California's $70 billion high-speed train that has been knocked by Musk and others as too expensive, slow and impractical. Musk thinks the Tubular Travel would avoid many of the land issues due to elevation. The tubes would, for the most part, follow I-5, the dreary but direct freeway between L.A. and San Francisco. Farmers would not have swaths of their land blocked by train tracks. Mr. Ashlee Vance, Bloomberg Business Week in Palo Alto, Calif. * Property owners may be upset at the fact that this new transportation system may infringe on their land. * Traveling Time and cost efficiencies. * People that travel long distance want to get where they are going in a timely fashion without problems along the way such as weather or equipment problems. When traveling by tube you can travel with no worries of the current weather conditions at hand. * How would you like something that can never crash, is immune to weather, it goes three or four times faster than the bullet train, "It goes an average speed of twice what an aircraft would do.. And it would cost you much less than an air ticket or any other mode of transport. Mr. Ashlee Vance, Bloomberg Business Week, of Palo Alto, Calif. * While operating machinery, there will always be preventative maintenance. There will be quite a long list of scenarios that someone will need to conquer before allowing humans to use it. What if an earthquake were to occur or just natural ground settling? No one has mentioned an automated laser level leveling system for the exterior pads that the bracing rests on which elevates the travel tube off of the ground. That to me would be considered a crucial safety measure to be added, before discussing how much a ticket to travel would cost. * Musk pledges would be less than 9% of the cost of the proposed passenger-only high speed rail system between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Pylons at 30m intervals would support the steel tubes, which would minimize costs associated with footprint and construction area on the ground, according to Musk. The capsules will be guided directly on the inner surface of the tube via the use of air bearings and suspension the need for costly tracks would be eliminated and it would create a smooth ride, he says. Wynne, Alexandra. New Civil Engineer (Aug 22, 2013). * There are many more cost savings that would apply to Tubular travel versus the conventional ways of travel. For instance, there is no fuel pricing to consider or fleet equipment costs to endure. * Elon Musk contributor to the tubular travel system says that connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles (through a proposed $20-fare, 35-minute ride) with the system would cost about $7billion, or a tenth of the projected cost of California’s beleaguered high-speed rail system meant to connect those cities- and could be built in less than a decade. Bunger, Mark. Industry Week (Aug 16, 2013). * The government and the private companies wanting to develop this way of travel should work by way of collaboration, as it would do nothing but expedite the process before it becomes too late. * The positive and negative aspects of developing Tubular Travel * With the development of anything, there are always positive things to identify. In this particular case, the first and foremost identification would be the protection of human lives by preventing traveling disasters. The security of our current environment must be placed as the number one priority throughout the entire world today. With the elements of the earth diminishing daily, this way of travel will provide immediate care to the earth and not to mention the air that we breathe. * Another positive aspect of this development would be the job creations and conversion of current employment. We would need customer service representatives at current locations as well as many new locations that would be created to confirm passenger travel itinerary. There would be a need for maintenance service technicians throughout the existing points of travel and between points of travel, performing preventative maintenance issues. Utility companies would provide service to power issues in their sector of the country. With the new development of this system, would create thousands of new jobs. * There are a lot of negative aspects of creating Tubular Travel, as well. Way of transporting people will require a lot of capital. “The development of this monstrosity just from San Francisco to Las Angels is reported at the at the $7 billion dollar mark.” Bunger, Mark. Industry Week (Aug 16, 2013). Along with people taking risk of presenting new great ideas comes the wrath of the criticisms or the nay Sayers. “The USA Today article was listing mundane reasons of why it will not work like "you'd have to slow down for turns" and "the towers would have to be made safe.” Bunger, Mark Industry Week (Aug 16, 2013). * Who wants this running through their property? Would a payoff or a monthly fee suffice for the intrusion? There are a lot of negative aspects to consider with the creation of anything. If we think about all the inventions and creations made by man there is always a positive and negative side of the creation. * As our world continues to change, we as consumers need to change with it. Air travel has served us well throughout the years but with the world's climate changing, we need to protect ourselves, along with protecting the environment in which we live. Even though the initial cost of development, construction, permits and approval needed will hold a hefty price tag for this mass transportation system. In the long run, it will provide the people of the world with what is better for our environment, faster, safer and less expensive way to travel. You decide! * * * * * * * * * * *

References

Bunger, Mark. Industry Week (Aug 16, 2013). Bunger, M. (2013). Totally tubular! Elon musk's radical new vision for transportation. Industry Week, Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1426802935?

accountid=458

Wynne, Alexandra. New Civil Engineer (Aug 22, 2013).

US Hyper loop aims to challenge high speed rail

Ashlee Vance is a technology writer for Bloomberg BusinessWeek in Palo Alto, Calif. Elon Musk Explains the Hyper loop, the Solar-Powered High-Speed Future of Inter-City Transportation By Ashlee Vance August 12, 2013 *

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