The Imminent Decline of Short Haul Aviation"Bleed the short-haul capacity out of the system, freeing the airports to do what they do best: handle long-distance trips." Louis A. Turpen, Greater Toronto Airports Authority October 14th & 21st, 2002 - There are times when seminal events occur that irrevocably affect transportation trends. The events of this past year certainly can be categorized this way. In the airline industry, the jet airliner of the early 1960's ushered in the era of affordable air travel. Twenty years later, a whole new market emerged when new commuter airlines like Southwest Airlines restructured operating economics to lower the cost of air travel enabling commuters to travel further and more frequently. This new market not only required affordable tickets, but also a fast and convenient way to load and off-load air travelers. When Air Canada and CP Rail conducted a High Speed Rail study 10 years ago, we knew that frequent business travelers did not arrive at the airport 45 minutes before departure. More frequently, they arrived at the airport terminal between 20 and 30 minutes prior to departure and some, in as little as 10 minutes. Quick air terminal processing was the key to maintaining a growing air travel market. At the time, airlines were introducing electronic ticketing that would enable passengers to bypass the ticket counter allowing them to go directly to the gate. Making air travel more convenient was the key to maintaining a growing demand for air travel. Today, those efforts have been dashed by the need to increase air travel security. Gone are the days when air passengers can expect to get to the airport only minutes before departure and still catch their flight. Air travel has become less convenient and will remain so. Increased airport screenings and terrorist threats have forced travelers to think more favorably toward alternatives to air travel, particularly High Speed Rail for short haul markets (less than 500 miles). It is all but inevitable that several High Speed Rail corridors will soon be launched. California is going to the polls in November of 2004 to approve a $10 billion bond to build a TGV system linking San Francisco to Los Angeles. Florida will likely go ahead with some form of High Speed Rail or Maglev system. What is striking is that neither the Governor of California or Florida were staunch advocates of High Speed Rail, but were persuaded to pursue these projects by growing public support. Even the popular press is moving to back this initiative. The New York Times in "Putting Rail Back on Track" (July 15, 2002) included its support for the creation of a strong modal alternative to air travel in short haul markets. They reasoned that in addition to security concerns, congestion delays are moving thousands of air travelers to switch to high speed ground transport. Even airport authorities are supporting plans to switch short haul air travelers to this travel mode. Arguing that runways and air terminals are becoming too congested, Louis A. Turpen, the chief executive of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority believes that High Speed Rail can, "Bleed the short-haul capacity out of the system, freeing the airports to do what they do best: handle long-distance trips." In Europe, short haul travel markets have increasingly been relegated to HSR rather than air travel. Even journalist Lance Morrow of Time Magazine weighed in with a short article advocating a return to rail. But it is the opinion of Magplane that significant improvements in high speed ground transport are available through maglev technology that will make this mode of travel not only faster but more convenient and economical. This Time Magazine article will be highlighted in our next web story. Epilogue:"The key factor in urban living is not distance but travel time." In a timely reminder, New York Times published an interesting article (Commuters to Washington Are Buying in Baltimore- Oct. 6, 2002) on how commuter rail between Washington and Baltimore is allowing Washington D.C. workers to live in Baltimore. One commuter reaffirmed the above principle espoused by Arturo Soria when she described the advantages of commuter rail transport. "We're still an hour away from work, but now it's 50 miles instead of 10 miles." |