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SkyTran will change the lives of average commuters in several very important, and very positive, ways.
They will have more time to spend on things they enjoy doing.
Currently, most people spend several hours a week in traffic: going to and from work, running errands, going shopping, going out to eat or to a movie, etc. Every minute of those hours is wasted time, time people would rather spend doing something else. (Taxi drivers who get paid by the minute probably don't mind, but everyone else does.)
SkyTran would allow people to spend at least 80% of those wasted minutes on things they actually want to do: more working, more shopping, more time at a restaurant or at a movie, etc.
With a robust SkyTran network, people would be able to go wherever they want without waiting in traffic and end up no more than a 5-minute walk from wherever they want to go. Compare that distance to the distance many people have to walk after parking far away from their destination, for example, or the distance most people have to walk to get to the nearest subway station or light-rail stop.
They will be able to live quite easily without a car.
Many people who live in big cities enjoy not needing a car to get around, but in the suburbs or rural America, it just doesn't work. Most places you want to go are too far to walk; often there aren't even sidewalks to accomodate walking. For example, most suburban homes are more than a 20-minute walk (about 1 mile) from the nearest grocery store, to say nothing of their jobs, schools, churches, movie theaters, or restaurants.
However, most people in America like living in the suburbs. Taxes and cost of living are usually lower than in the city, the schools tend to be better, and companies are increasingly relocating to the suburbs. For sixty years, America's infrastructure has been built more and more around the suburban lifestyle. SkyTran is much more compatible with the suburban lifestyle than conventional mass transit (buses, trains, light rail, etc.) is. It involves no long waits at off-peak hours; it runs 24x7; and it's much cheaper to build. Many two-car families can become one-car families. New housing developments may choose a "transit village" layout: relatively dense developments surrounded by undeveloped land, with some stores and services in walking distance and quick transportation to shopping malls and the city by SkyTran.
SkyTran will let people live comfortably even in the suburbs without owning a car. The now-unthinkable will become practical.
They will be able to live far away from where they work and still commute quickly and easily.
Most people live over 15 miles (or a 5-hour walk) from where they work. They effectively have no choice but to own and drive a car. Their cars give them freedom and flexibility, but also cost them thousands of dollars a year in insurance, gas, regular maintainence (oil changes, tune-ups, tires), and irregular maintainence (accidents, major parts breaking down). Not to mention the time they lose in traffic, which is literally priceless. We repeat: SkyTran will allow them to live where they currently live, but without the need to pay for or maintain a car.
They will be healthier.
America is one of the most obese nations in the world, not just because of "super-sized" junk food meals, but because of our cars. Commuting by car provides very little exercise. Most Americans spend most of their time sitting down -- at work, at school, at home, or in the car. People who use mass transit are four times more likely to get the recommended amount of exercise each day, and people in other industrialized nations with lower rates of car ownership tend to be healthier. SkyTran solves the long-distance commuting problem. Most of us don't live close enough to our job or school for bicycles or walking to be an attractive alternative. However, traveling most of the distance at 100 MPH non-stop on SkyTran and then walking 5 to 10 minutes to the station in a city like Los Angeles or biking a few miles to a station in the suburbs, will be a much healthier lifestyle. Exchanging stressful driving in traffic for a more productive and relaxing SkyTran trip with some exercise on both ends will mean better physical fitness and fewer health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
They will have more time to spend on things they enjoy doing.
Currently, most people spend several hours a week in traffic: going to and from work, running errands, going shopping, going out to eat or to a movie, etc. Every minute of those hours is wasted time, time people would rather spend doing something else. (Taxi drivers who get paid by the minute probably don't mind, but everyone else does.)
SkyTran would allow people to spend at least 80% of those wasted minutes on things they actually want to do: more working, more shopping, more time at a restaurant or at a movie, etc.
With a robust SkyTran network, people would be able to go wherever they want without waiting in traffic and end up no more than a 5-minute walk from wherever they want to go. Compare that distance to the distance many people have to walk after parking far away from their destination, for example, or the distance most people have to walk to get to the nearest subway station or light-rail stop.
They will be able to live quite easily without a car.
Many people who live in big cities enjoy not needing a car to get around, but in the suburbs or rural America, it just doesn't work. Most places you want to go are too far to walk; often there aren't even sidewalks to accomodate walking. For example, most suburban homes are more than a 20-minute walk (about 1 mile) from the nearest grocery store, to say nothing of their jobs, schools, churches, movie theaters, or restaurants.
However, most people in America like living in the suburbs. Taxes and cost of living are usually lower than in the city, the schools tend to be better, and companies are increasingly relocating to the suburbs. For sixty years, America's infrastructure has been built more and more around the suburban lifestyle. SkyTran is much more compatible with the suburban lifestyle than conventional mass transit (buses, trains, light rail, etc.) is. It involves no long waits at off-peak hours; it runs 24x7; and it's much cheaper to build. Many two-car families can become one-car families. New housing developments may choose a "transit village" layout: relatively dense developments surrounded by undeveloped land, with some stores and services in walking distance and quick transportation to shopping malls and the city by SkyTran.
SkyTran will let people live comfortably even in the suburbs without owning a car. The now-unthinkable will become practical.
They will be able to live far away from where they work and still commute quickly and easily.
Most people live over 15 miles (or a 5-hour walk) from where they work. They effectively have no choice but to own and drive a car. Their cars give them freedom and flexibility, but also cost them thousands of dollars a year in insurance, gas, regular maintainence (oil changes, tune-ups, tires), and irregular maintainence (accidents, major parts breaking down). Not to mention the time they lose in traffic, which is literally priceless. We repeat: SkyTran will allow them to live where they currently live, but without the need to pay for or maintain a car.
They will be healthier.
America is one of the most obese nations in the world, not just because of "super-sized" junk food meals, but because of our cars. Commuting by car provides very little exercise. Most Americans spend most of their time sitting down -- at work, at school, at home, or in the car. People who use mass transit are four times more likely to get the recommended amount of exercise each day, and people in other industrialized nations with lower rates of car ownership tend to be healthier. SkyTran solves the long-distance commuting problem. Most of us don't live close enough to our job or school for bicycles or walking to be an attractive alternative. However, traveling most of the distance at 100 MPH non-stop on SkyTran and then walking 5 to 10 minutes to the station in a city like Los Angeles or biking a few miles to a station in the suburbs, will be a much healthier lifestyle. Exchanging stressful driving in traffic for a more productive and relaxing SkyTran trip with some exercise on both ends will mean better physical fitness and fewer health problems like diabetes and heart disease.