There is a massive tide of voter discontent building. Next November, these commissars will be tossed and their plans too.

For instance, there are any number of reports that the HSR Authority has projected 100M riders per year on this conveyance. Based on what evidence? Or is does this Agency claim the right to use crystal balls? Certainly they have not taken Broadband into consideration for their use models.

Broadband is going to change the way America does business, and travels. The full impact of this technology is yet to be felt; however, it will be disruptive, and will reduce the need for people to travel as they have in the past.

For instance, as high quality, low cost, videoconferencing systems are employed by businesses, the need for Business-to-Business travel will be greatly reduced. Someone wanting a face-to-face with a client, or customer, will do so from his/her PC, using software now available, and high-speed links that are quickly coming into place around the country.

Cultural sites and events(museums, art centers, performing arts events) can now be viewed online. Broadband will provide the platform by which content providers will create online content that will reduce the need to actually travel just to see a museum, or art collection. More people will be able to visit these sites/events, without actually travelling, via Broadband.

Person-to-person visits also can be reduced with these same video links. Cellphones and other mobile computing devices will be capable of two-way video transmissions.

So, why does California need a State government operated, taxpayer-funded HSR? Who will actually use it? Who will pay for it? It’s certainly clear that the passenger projections were based on the vision of the world where Broadband’s impact had not been considered. How can anyone really trust the HSR predictions, when the models ignored Broadband technologies being used throughout California, and the rest of the country?

Without embracing broadband as an alternative to travel (meaning it will have a negative impact on any projections of future travel in the US), it is difficult to believe anything that the HSR Authority produces in terms of ridership projections.

The state is billions of dollars in the red, the feds trillions.

So let’s buy ourselves a fancy new train set!