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Author	Topic: Public Transportation ... for Your Car?	Post a Reply Back to Topics

BurntOrange Champion Author Austin Posts:8,733 Points:1,583,990 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:01:41 AM Ignore BurntOrange Report Abuse Anwar Farooq has some out-there ideas, the product of his background as an electrical engineer, before he ever became a high school math teacher in Los Angeles... His most recent patented invention, though, tops them all in eyebrow-raising ambition. Farooq has been designing his own transit system, a scheme that looks both futuristic and antiquated, one that would try to eliminate traffic congestion from our highways while still accommodating the car. He has invented, in essence, a train-ferry. For car commuters. The Rapid Commute system, as he calls it, would enable long-distance car commuters to hop aboard a train instead – while still bringing their personal vehicles with them. Drivers already similarly use ferries to cross waterways. So why not deploy the same concept, ... Visit Atlantic Cities for full article

BurntOrange

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Austin

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Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:01:41 AM

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Anwar Farooq has some out-there ideas, the product of his background as an electrical engineer, before he ever became a high school math teacher in Los Angeles...

His most recent patented invention, though, tops them all in eyebrow-raising ambition. Farooq has been designing his own transit system, a scheme that looks both futuristic and antiquated, one that would try to eliminate traffic congestion from our highways while still accommodating the car. He has invented, in essence, a train-ferry. For car commuters.

The Rapid Commute system, as he calls it, would enable long-distance car commuters to hop aboard a train instead – while still bringing their personal vehicles with them. Drivers already similarly use ferries to cross waterways. So why not deploy the same concept, ...
Visit Atlantic Cities for full article

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Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,014 Points:1,113,395 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Jan 28, 2013 10:41:39 AM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse Decades ago, it took only a little over an hour to commute from Victorville into LA.... now it is double that... and a perfect choice for using train/cars
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,014 Points:1,113,395 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Jan 28, 2013 10:39:40 AM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse And it would be a good choice for those commuting from the high desert or distant portions of Riverside County....
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,014 Points:1,113,395 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Jan 28, 2013 10:37:31 AM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse Still it would be nice to see this plan developed.... for long commuters as well as very long trips... here in the US
DanMtz Champion Author Oakland Posts:3,360 Points:1,244,300 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Jan 25, 2013 10:34:58 AM Ignore DanMtz Report Abuse Yeah, that's pretty out there.
TruthMatters Champion Author New Jersey Posts:2,520 Points:534,735 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Jan 25, 2013 9:03:35 AM Ignore TruthMatters Report Abuse What happens if your car breaks down while parked on the train? Now you've got to pay return fare just to get your disabled vehicle home so it can be repaired.
blupupher Champion Author Houston Posts:3,555 Points:749,020 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Jan 25, 2013 8:46:04 AM Ignore blupupher Report Abuse good concept but not practical.
Anty57 Veteran Author Montreal Posts:267 Points:490,430 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 3:54:18 PM Ignore Anty57 Report Abuse not bad!
fuel2use Champion Author Seattle Posts:3,493 Points:734,300 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 3:52:24 PM Ignore fuel2use Report Abuse Good idea, but tracks keep disappearing.
highdesertman Champion Author Albuquerque Posts:2,484 Points:1,718,080 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 3:49:11 PM Ignore highdesertman Report Abuse Amtrak's AutoTrain from near Washington, DC to Florida is one of their most popular long-distance trains. The concept might work for commuters but the key will be a short loading/unloading time for the cars.
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,014 Points:1,113,395 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 3:02:08 PM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse Actually, the concept has been used for about 50 years in Europe. The only thing that might be different in the method of loading and off-loading...
MadFueler All-Star Author Winston-Salem Posts:928 Points:173,485 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 1:04:30 PM Ignore MadFueler Report Abuse It may work, it may not, but it's at least worth looking at. I can think of several scenarios as to why an urban commuter would want his car: for instance, going to the grocery store after work, traveling after work in the opposite direction of home, staying late, etc. - and it's not that much more expensive than parking in those dense, highly populated areas. (Of course, you'd have to have a high enough income to afford that to begin with.)
schatzila Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:4,954 Points:1,017,595 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 12:25:14 PM Ignore schatzila Report Abuse Great idea.
07skydriver Champion Author Ohio Posts:3,266 Points:984,080 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 11:50:51 AM Ignore 07skydriver Report Abuse Nice for cross country travel but for a daily commute it doesn't seem very practicle.
BurntOrange Champion Author Austin Posts:8,733 Points:1,583,990 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 11:26:04 AM Ignore BurntOrange Report Abuse Skunk63 wrote: "Nice theory. But it won't ever work." --------------------------------------------- Same thing they told Thomas Edison
BobBG All-Star Author Albany Posts:822 Points:811,725 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 11:19:16 AM Ignore BobBG Report Abuse It has potential.
humblepie Champion Author Toledo Posts:34,271 Points:2,372,345 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 9:35:29 AM Ignore humblepie Report Abuse try selling that idea
Skunk63 Champion Author Phoenix Posts:2,559 Points:559,310 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 9:26:53 AM Ignore Skunk63 Report Abuse Nice theory. But it won't ever work.
beachd8 All-Star Author Orange County Posts:759 Points:116,510 Joined:Oct 2012	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 9:04:42 AM Ignore beachd8 Report Abuse I know people who might be interested in this for the commute between Riverside / San Bernardino County and OC. How long would loading & disembarking take? The project will never happen if TSA gets involved. Why do people need their cars at work? Some of us have jobs that require personal cars be available because we leave the office during the day. Also, public transit is often many miles away from work, leaving people stranded for the last 5 to 10 miles.
wamster Champion Author Houston Posts:4,261 Points:695,905 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:54:37 AM Ignore wamster Report Abuse I like the idea.
angel4me Champion Author San Jose Posts:2,814 Points:796,045 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:47:38 AM Ignore angel4me Report Abuse interesting......
jbhubbell Rookie Author Alabama Posts:83 Points:33,755 Joined:Jan 2013	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:42:09 AM Ignore jbhubbell Report Abuse There is no way that would ever save time or money unless the freeway was closed and by then the car train has already gone out of business.
AVKZ All-Star Author Kalamazoo Posts:851 Points:295,000 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:34:33 AM Ignore AVKZ Report Abuse Price could be an issue.
MrGasKGB Veteran Author St. Louis Posts:390 Points:145,825 Joined:Dec 2012	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:30:38 AM Ignore MrGasKGB Report Abuse I'm Ready. "All Aboard!"
mastermariner Champion Author Texas Posts:4,249 Points:494,800 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:29:55 AM Ignore mastermariner Report Abuse Interesting,
Buck_on_Bass Champion Author Tennessee Posts:7,579 Points:1,457,035 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:27:50 AM Ignore Buck_on_Bass Report Abuse One unknown is the loading and unloading. Would transportation allow the drive on, drive off like a ferry without chaining the vehicles to the rail car? What about the track provisions at each end to allow a quick loading and unloading without having a lot of time spent in switching a long set of cars into shorter groups for unloading? It's is an interesting concept. Perhaps we could see someone try and experiment with a 20 car train set with a single level to start seeing what the issues may be.
ddor All-Star Author Michigan Posts:986 Points:239,795 Joined:Aug 2012	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:25:57 AM Ignore ddor Report Abuse Ok
alex395 Champion Author Louisville Posts:2,050 Points:276,710 Joined:Jan 2007	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:25:24 AM Ignore alex395 Report Abuse Assumption being that you need your car when you get to work. That would be because.....
lcleveland Champion Author San Antonio Posts:2,666 Points:652,025 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:21:52 AM Ignore lcleveland Report Abuse sounds good what price???
GingoutMD Champion Author Maryland Posts:3,495 Points:713,305 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:21:04 AM Ignore GingoutMD Report Abuse I used a system like this called the "Auto Train" back in the 1970's to get from Washington DC to Florida. Not sure it will work for short hauls as the on-load and off-load process was time consuming.
52MPG Champion Author Dayton Posts:7,267 Points:1,742,680 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:16:23 AM Ignore 52MPG Report Abuse Sounds like a good idea to me.
BIGALRPH Veteran Author St. Louis Posts:418 Points:147,615 Joined:Nov 2012	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:12:05 AM Ignore BIGALRPH Report Abuse I would try it.
W4YAH Champion Author Florida Posts:1,153 Points:233,795 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:09:37 AM Ignore W4YAH Report Abuse Cool idea!!
SSwathwood All-Star Author Denver Posts:549 Points:778,045 Joined:Nov 2009	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:04:51 AM Ignore SSwathwood Report Abuse Interesting, but does the on loading and off loading take to long?
amoshins Champion Author Trenton Posts:2,200 Points:642,620 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jan 24, 2013 8:03:51 AM Ignore amoshins Report Abuse Cool - the only other public transportation for the car I can remember is having Amtrak take you & your car to Florida..Not sure if they still offer that service.