When Elon Musk first proposed the hyperloop as a transportation alternative, he projected sealed tubes would hurl a pod between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 35 minutes. At the time, Musk’s vision was compared to the newly minted high-speed rail project that was projected to cover the same ground in 2.5 hours and be outmoded before it was finished.
Yesterday, in the Nevada desert the hyperloop had its first test. A sled rocketed from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 1.1 seconds propelled along a track by magnets for 300-plus yards. The company behind the test, Hyperloop One, was satisfied with the results. The Los Angeles based company is aiming to run a full-scale, full-speed hyperloop prototype through what is often described like a vacuum tube by the end of the year.
While the hyperloop system was projected by some as an alternative to high-speed rail, former California secretary of business, transportation and housing, Dale Bonner, told a Milken Institute Global Conference forum at the beginning of the month that both forms of transportation would be necessary for a burgeoning population. Saying that he heard that in 10-20 years an entire population the size of Chicago would be dropped on Los Angeles, Bonner argued all innovate transportation systems would be needed, from hyperloop to high speed rail to the sharing economy transportation systems.
Brogan BamBrogan, co-founder and chief technical officer of Hyperloop One (formerly Hyperloop Technologies), which is running with Musk’s idea, told the conference that while most people have been talking about hyperloop pods as people movers, one great advantage of hyperloop would be carrying freight.
BamBrogan noted that California had two of the busiest ports in the country. He envisions the system as energy efficient, weather proof, and non-polluting. Anyone stuck behind the slow-moving line of trucks coming from the San Pedro ports up the Long Beach Freeway spewing exhaust will appreciate BamBrogan’s vision.
But the people mover aspect also could have profound impact on other social issues, if the predictions made at the conference play out.
California’s steep cost of housing is driven, in part, by the lack of places to build. BamBrogan suggested the hyperloop could reset land values and grow suburbs 30 or more miles from the city when it only takes six minutes to commute to downtown Los Angeles’s Union Station.
Hyperloop is counting on investors to help fund the project, something that has been lacking with high-speed rail.
However, Bonner warned that re-thinking might be necessary with dramatic changes in transportation. If fewer people use cars in a shared economy, there will be fewer fees and taxes paid associated with car ownership. There would also be fewer citations issued with accompanying fines.
The Milken Global Conference panel was called Harnessing Technology for the Future of Cities. BamBrogan’s hyperloop discussion starts around minute 18.