
What Elon Musk is proposing runs parallel to a train that costs $2.25 - spenrose
https://twitter.com/gin_and_tacos/status/1082434944582979586
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toomuchtodo
What the author of this tweet doesn’t mention is the reliability of the blue
line between downtown Chicago and ORD is absolute garbage. You can routinely
be stuck on a train for 45-60 minutes at a time because of technical
difficulties.

[https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/why-are-cta-
trains...](https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/why-are-cta-trains-
stopped-495110281.html)

> Responding to an open records request, the CTA said between January of 2017
> to May 2018, there were 471 disruptions of 10 minutes or longer. Of those
> 469 breakdowns, 162 were on the Blue Line. The Red Line was second with 94,
> followed by the Green with 55.

> We are running, right now, as many trains as possible, on the O’Hare branch
> of the Blue Line during the am/pm rush,” he says. “We are running as many
> trains as possible, and we are running them as closely together, as we can.”

If Boring Co can offer consistently reliable 12 minute trips that parallel the
Blue Line for $20, sign me up. Cheaper than a Lyft, but more reliable than
what the CTA can deliver.

TLDR Edgy Chicago journalist uses baseless complaints to push mediocre podcast
on Twitter and sidestep that Chicago politics and no will to fix systemic city
level financial issues are the core issue.

~~~
WheelsAtLarge
Ok, then use the money that would be used by Musk's tunnel to improve the blue
line. Musk's 1 car system is great for a few but long term it adds nothing to
solve the problem and drains money from the transits system.

Musk is a businessman and he's looking to make a buck. I applaud him for that
but he's not humanity's savior and his solutions need to be properly
evaluated.

~~~
toomuchtodo
The Boring Company isn’t asking Chicago for any money to build it (which is
great! Chicago is broke due to pension obligations and historical
graft/patronage), and will support itself off of use fees. It will be 100%
privately financed. This is no different than how the Illinois Tollway is
operated (and while the tollway is plagued with oversight, governace, and
corruption issues because Illinois, Musk can have the benefit of the doubt).

Sidenote: If the CTA is chronically underfunded, and the city is broke,
perhaps the $2.25 fare the author mentions is structurally unsustainable.

I’m not going to judge so fast and say that he’s _not_ humanity’s savior,
because I don’t see a lot of folks with his resources pushing in the right
direction like he is (despite him appearing to be on the spectrum and
occasionally a shit person). To be determined.

[https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/](https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/)

~~~
jijojv
yeah but he also overpromises and under-delivers - Thousands prepaid into his
FSD vaporware since Oct 2016 #"driver is just there for legal reasons" on
tesla.com/autopilot #ScamOfTheDecade

~~~
toomuchtodo
Sorry to hear you’re aggrieved about a preorder that hasn’t been delivered
yet.

I bought my Model S without FSD because it’s not proven yet and I’m happy to
pay a higher price in the future for it.

