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Orlando Transit


Jernigan

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On 8/21/2017 at 1:01 PM, metal93 said:

Electric Lymmo buses? That's nice to hear but I hope they have some redesign in the works - make the Lymmo buses less "bus-like" and make them resemble trams/modern streetcars.

Back in the 90's the downtown Lymmo busses looked like old fashioned trolleys or streetcars.

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On 8/29/2017 at 2:50 PM, jrs2 said:

those buses like in Vancouver and other cities with the swinging arms up top connecting to electric cables, like LRT, are they fully electric?  And if so, would that work in downtown or is there not enough space and/or are the aesthetics just not doable for hanging electric lines over Magnolia, Livingston, etc.?

I think these new busses they're looking at have onboard batteries. The articles that I have read said that LYNX was testing different models for a number of things, including charging times. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Probably an even bigger pipe dream (HA! I'm funny) than Maglev, but Orlando/Miami was named a HyperLoop Top Ten in the world.

 

http://www.wesh.com/article/hyperloop-names-orlando-miami-route-as-winner-of-global-challenge/12242417

List of winners:

  1. Toronto to Montreal
  2. Bengaluru-Chennai
  3. Mumbai-Chennai
  4. Mexico City-Guadalajara
  5. Edinburgh-London
  6. Gasgow-Liverpool
  7. Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh
  8. Miami-Orlando
  9. Cheyenne-Denver-Pueblo
  10. Dallas-Laredo-Houston
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22 hours ago, HankStrong said:

Probably an even bigger pipe dream (HA! I'm funny) than Maglev, but Orlando/Miami was named a HyperLoop Top Ten in the world.

 

http://www.wesh.com/article/hyperloop-names-orlando-miami-route-as-winner-of-global-challenge/12242417

List of winners:

  1. Toronto to Montreal
  2. Bengaluru-Chennai
  3. Mumbai-Chennai
  4. Mexico City-Guadalajara
  5. Edinburgh-London
  6. Gasgow-Liverpool
  7. Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh
  8. Miami-Orlando
  9. Cheyenne-Denver-Pueblo
  10. Dallas-Laredo-Houston

which exactly is the pipe dream, the feasibility of Hyperloop technology in general, compared to Maglev, or, the fact that Orlando-Miami is in the top ten? 

I personally think that the technology aside, there's nothing pipe dream about the Miami route being in the top 8.  Here's why:  As we know, HSR was to have it's second leg from Orlando to Miami; Brightline has it's initial leg Orlando to Miami.  So, there is a track record of two systems (one u/c) of the viability of that route.  So, based on this, I also believe Orlando-Miami as a route should trump at least two of the routes ahead of it.  They've already given the reasons for Orlando-Miami viability and they were enough to move Brightline forward.

As for Hyperloop's viability compared to Maglev, just look at the company and people backing them; it's more viable.

Is Hyperloop viable in and of itself?  I have no idea because I don't know about the track record of that technology.

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29 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

which exactly is the pipe dream, the feasibility of Hyperloop technology in general, compared to Maglev, or, the fact that Orlando-Miami is in the top ten? 

I personally think that the technology aside, there's nothing pipe dream about the Miami route being in the top 8.  Here's why:  As we know, HSR was to have it's second leg from Orlando to Miami; Brightline has it's initial leg Orlando to Miami.  So, there is a track record of two systems (one u/c) of the viability of that route.  So, based on this, I also believe Orlando-Miami as a route should trump at least two of the routes ahead of it.  They've already given the reasons for Orlando-Miami viability and they were enough to move Brightline forward.

As for Hyperloop's viability compared to Maglev, just look at the company and people backing them; it's more viable.

Is Hyperloop viable in and of itself?  I have no idea because I don't know about the track record of that technology.

First, I'm a huge fan of Elon.  There is that concern that he's secretly Lex Luthor in disguise, but that's mostly too many comic books and movies where the billionaire with amazing dreams for the masses winds up actually being the villain instead.

The pipe dream comment was made for the joke of you being in a pipe for the entire route.

 

There is nothing pipe dream about a route between the major cities in Florida.  Orlando to Miami being the biggest piece of that.  I think ultimately that Miami to Atlanta should be an extremely high priority path of travel for ANY form of super speed tech.  Especially, if you can add the ports of Tampa and Jax into that route.  Orlando just happens to be in the sweet spot in the middle, but Miami, Tampa, and Jax (and by extension to each other) to Atlanta in all the variations would be a huge deal.

Hyperloop (Elon Musk's idea and hype machine with Shervin Pishevar & Rob Lloyd's work) vs. American Maglev (Tony Morris)?  Ha!  That's a no-brainer.  You've got a guy that randomly farts an idea one night at the pub for a giant boring machine company and it begins to be a reality by the next week.  On the other hand you have a guy that bids and promises major projects and has yet to even have more than 3 test sites since 1994, 2 of which don't function (ODU is a massive mess) and 1 hasn't had a posted progress update on anything after a test sales ride a few years ago.  Not a single announced project has come to reality.

I think the tech is completely viable.  Whether it becomes a reality or not has yet to be seen, but I think that depends a lot on people wanting to ride in a bank tube.  Also if the speeds are really close to the announced info. 

They have said they will have 3 fully functional, real world systems up and running by 2021.  We should know the answer in 4 years, I suppose.

 

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Exactly what Hank said. Orlando to Miami and/or Tampa is key because of some of the largest southern ports that handle goods from Panama canal plus cruise terminals and airports. Needs to connect to Atlanta for Hartsfield and largest transportation hub in the Southeast. 

The interesting thing to me though was the route they showed on their website. Instead of the usual route we have seen along the coast or turnpike, they chose to go up the middle of the state following US 27 corridor west of Lake Okeechobee and up the Lake Wales Ridge to I-4 Disney area. This is rather interesting to me, but makes a lot of sense. The area is underserved by other modes of transportation, is further away from the coast so would be less prone to sea level change or hurricanes, can connect to other areas of the state such as Tampa Bay and Fort Myers area, and could potentially add more stops for central Florida or Disney/Theme Park/I-drive area.  We could have both Brightline AND the Hyperloop, and they could serve different purposes. 

Hyperloop Route.jpg

Edited by dcluley98
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There's been something of a consensus for a while among the environmental community that inland Florida (particularly north of the Wekiva Parkway and south of the Polk Porkway) is the line in the sand where they'll say "NO MORE" after watching the coastal areas destroyed, particularly since 1999. 

I haven't paid attention to the details yet (I've learned Tallahassee is a lost cause and now concentrate on what we can save locally). If it's a good idea, more power to it. Just don't expect it to be easy to get approval though without a tussle, especially if it becomes a political football in 2018, particularly in the Democratic primary (so far, 3 left of center potential candidates and one moderate with John Morgan being a wild card other than his signature issue.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Richard Branson invested significant capital in Hyperloop One and now it will be Virgin Hyperloop One with his backing and he will have a seat on the company's board.  They said his stake is less than 50% but did not disclose the amount. 
https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/12/richard-branson-and-virgin-join-forces-with-hyperloop-one/

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/business/virgin-richard-branson-hyperloop-one.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2017/10/12/virgin-hyperloop-one-richard-branson-elon-musk/#7909a3853905

"Investment numbers were not disclosed, but CNBC reports that the $85 million round the company raised in September includes the Virgin money, bringing the total amount invested in the company since 2014 to $245 million."

This seems to suggest that routes in England to be initial build, as he was quoted on the London to Edinburgh route. I think it also bodes quite well for Orlando-Miami route, as his Necker Island home is in the Caribbean, and the closest route to that is MIAMI!

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  • 3 weeks later...

OEP has hired a consultant specifically to work on transit issues. Buddy Dyer notes transit is his prime emphasis on running for a fifth term. Bill Sublette  mentioned a dedicated funding source for Lynx in his announcement for OC mayor.

It seems as though we're approaching critical mass on transit. It's happened a couple of times since the '80's but we've never been able to sustain the momentum. (Remember the pink roof on the old downtown bus station?) Here's hoping for progress.

http://blog.orlandoedc.com/blog/the-partnership-hires-consultant-to-lead-alliance-for-regional-transportation

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On 10/31/2017 at 9:52 PM, spenser1058 said:

OEP has hired a consultant specifically to work on transit issues. Buddy Dyer notes transit is his prime emphasis on running for a fifth term. Bill Sublette  mentioned a dedicated funding source for Lynx in his announcement for OC mayor.

It seems as though we're approaching critical mass on transit. It's happened a couple of times since the '80's but we've never been able to sustain the momentum. (Remember the pink roof on the old downtown bus station?) Here's hoping for progress.

http://blog.orlandoedc.com/blog/the-partnership-hires-consultant-to-lead-alliance-for-regional-transportation

I think we may actually see a dedicated funding source for our local transit within the next four years.  Here's to hoping that SunRail and Lynx come under one roof to streamline Central Florida transit when FDOT stops funding / running it.

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  • 4 months later...

I think the solution is a dedicated funding source. We've been dancing around it forever but there are folks on both sides of the aisle supporting it (Bill Sublette and Jake Stuart for the Republicans; Buddy Dyer and Jerry Demings among the Democrats.)

To push it over the top and decide which tax would be affected, he's right that it's time for the grassroots to speak up. Given that the Ax the Tax crowd is leaderless at the moment with the death of Doug Guetzloe, this is probably the best time in years to start a discussion before an opportunist like Randy Ross rushes in to kill it.

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  • 2 months later...
45 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

I thought that Virgin decided to pursue a route somewhere else first.  But they are talking in that article as though the Orlando to Miami route is a priority.  The HTT proposal for Orlando to Tampa I don't know.  Maybe that route only has legs if the Orlando to Miami route gets built first.

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7 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

I thought that Virgin decided to pursue a route somewhere else first.  But they are talking in that article as though the Orlando to Miami route is a priority.  The HTT proposal for Orlando to Tampa I don't know.  Maybe that route only has legs if the Orlando to Miami route gets built first.

I know, I'm hopelessly confused about all these supposed routes and players. I guess I'll just wait until someone actually does something.

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