Transit Ideas

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Readers: start from the bottom.

It would create thousands, if not millions, of jobs while being built.

It will fundamentally change the trucking industry. If I were graduating from high school and thinking about being a trucker I would be concerned there may be very few trucking jobs 25 years from now.

The main concern I have with automating the highways is what it will do to our wilderness areas. I live in Massachusetts and getting to ski areas in northern New England is a pain. If we automated this then how many more people would build vacation homes in the sides of mountains which they visit two weeks out of the year? There was a development planned for, I think, Moosehead Lake a while back before the Great Recession. This is much more likely to be built if people do not have to drive there.

We need to be concerned about the negative impacts an automated highway will have. We need to have foresight as to what automating the commute will do in terms of the eventual job loss and the environmental impact during and once it is built.

At this time, I believe the benefits of automating the commute significantly out way the negatives.

Mike

On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 11:19 AM, John Hawker wrote:

   Why would it create jobs? I/m the guy who makes a bee line for the
   last manned booth at automated toll booths on toll ways.

   Automation is what takes jobs away.

   Truck driver jobs etc.

   Thousands of jobs lost.

   Automation is why Companies have record profit at a time of record unemployment.

   High tech - my field of work, really can destroy thousands of jobs -
   bean counters or accountants love it.

   John

   On 20 November 2011 07:43, tj mclaughlin wrote:
   >
   >   good positive thinking for improving things

   > On Nov 19, 2011, at 7:30 PM, Mike Cavedon wrote:
   >
   > Automating the highways would create many jobs, including high-tech ones.
   >
   > On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 7:27 PM, Eli Gottlieb  wrote:
   >>
   >> Honest to God, this sounds more like a high-tech startup than an Occupy
   >> Boston working group.

   >> On Nov 19, 2011, at 7:26 PM, Mike Cavedon wrote:
   >>
   >> Hi OB,
   >>
   >> Two of America's greater needs are a reduction in our dependency on oil
   >> and a WPA type jobs program. Both can be accomplished by automating the
   >> highways. Automating the highways will reduce our dependence on foreign oil,
   >> reduce green house gas emissions, reduce the stress of the daily commute,
   >> make us more productive, and create thousands, if not millions, of jobs
   >> right here in America.
   >>
   >> One way to do this would be to first start with the commuter rail. Create
   >> an elevated, automated, electrified, individualized commuter rail above the
   >> existing commuter rail. From what we learn by doing this we can then
   >> automate the subway system and finally the highways themselves.
   >>
   >> Automating the highways should be this generations Apollo program.
   >>
   >> If anyone would like to help create and be part of an energy work group
   >> where the automated highway would be its long term focus then let's do it.
   >>
   >> Mike