Hasta La Ideas

A bill introduced to Congress last week intends to allocate $205 billion over the next five years to build a high-speed rail line that would connect Chicago and Atlanta, Portland and Vancouver, and San Francisco and Los Angeles, drastically reducing the country’s number of air travelers and providing a formidable commuting plan for those living and working between the cities. These routes would also diminish both the nation’s collective carbon footprint and the number of yearly automobile-related deaths. But, the plan to introduce 220mph trains on both coasts is just one part of a larger initiative to overhaul transportation in the US. Wired’s Aarian Marshall writes, “For many in policymaking circles, the pandemic is a tabula rasa, a moment to rethink the status quo of transportation and development dominated by the car. Why not more bike lanes? Why not more scooters? Why not high-speed rail?” Read more there.