Economic Considerations
Magplane's flexibility and
service to an increased passenger base will result in "induced
demand". Trips that heretofore were not considered because of time,
distance, and cost can now be feasible. People can live at
considerable distance from their jobs and still commute in a
reasonable time, for reasonable cost.
The ability to collapse
distances separating the major metropolitan regions of heavily
urbanized corridors such as Southern California and the Northeast
Corridor in the United States can radically alter travel patterns as
more commuters become accustomed to traveling beyond the limited
confines of the metropolis.
The capacity limits for the
Magplane Commuter Service will resemble the subway systems of North
America. With single intercity vehicles, the estimated hourly
capacity is 10,000 passengers in one direction, and with three
linked vehicles, three times higher. Using linked Intracity
vehicles, capacities equal to any of the major world metro systems
can be achieved.
In studies performed for the US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
(High Speed Ground Transportation for America, 1997), the operating
and maintenance cost for an intercity maglev system in California
was estimated to be 6.6 cents per revenue passenger mile. Factors
such as level of service, traffic volume, route length,
passenger-miles per train-mile, load factor, passenger-miles per
gross ton-mile, passenger-miles per train-hour, and average trip
length influence the operating costs of maglev service. Other
corridor operating and maintenance cost estimates in the FRA study
hovered between 10 and 13 cents a mile.Click
here to view larger image.
These US FRA cost models
were predicated on an intercity maglev service that emulated a labor
intensive intercity railroad service, complete with reservations
systems, baggage handling, catering services and other station
facility costs, including on board personnel such as attendants,
conductors and engineers. Popular cost effective regional airlines
routinely operate in markets where operating costs fall below 10
cents per passenger mile. For example, Southwest Airlines offered a
discount fare of $36 one-way between Los Angeles and Oakland in
December of 1999, a flight distance of about 350 miles, representing
a per passenger mile revenue of about 10 cents.
To eliminate unnecessary costs, the designers of the Magplane
Commuter Service for the Interactive Megalopolis will build a cost
effective long distance mass transit intracity service without
reservations systems and baggage handling and catering services.
Automated Magplane vehicles with one attendant per vehicle will
reduce labor costs significantly. The Magplane Commuting Service
will be designed to achieve a revenue passenger operating and
maintenance cost below five cents a mile, permitting a per passenger
operating cost of no more than $10 between Boston and New York City,
$4 between New York City and Philadelphia, or $6 between Los Angeles
and San Diego. The ability to recoup capital costs is facilitated by
the high capacity of the Magplane Commuter Service coupled with low
operating costs, by distributing the capital payback charge over a
greater number of induced passengers.
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