Okay, no one bought into California’s 250 mph bullet train fantasy. How about a 140 mph bus costing $100 billion, +/- . . . ?

Photo above - "I see dead people. They talk to me. But they don't know they're dead yet. They're about to get on a 140 mph bus travelling through an earthquake zone". Screen shot courtesy of the 1999 film "The Sixth Sense".

Imagine the bragging rights. California would be the first place in the world to have dozens of 140 mph buses running up and down the entire length of the state. (see link below).

Apparently, these buses are needed because a 500 mph Delta flight from SF to LA at $157 round trip is too fast, and too affordable. Stop laughing . . . you can’t make this stuff up. Except the project cost. Nobody at Caltrans will go on the record to predict what this fiasco could cost. But since the LA to Vegas train went from it's $33 billion original estimate to $220 billion in 2 shakes of a lamb's tail, I’m putting $100 billion on the table for the fastest bus science fiction has ever conceived. Tell me why I’m wrong . . .

Why so expensive? Because the bullet bus is a politician's re-election dream. High paying union construction jobs. Well paid bus pilots, copilots, and cabin attendants. TSA officers to check riders in. Land purchases from well-connected friends of politicians, at who knows what prices.

The only thing about this thrill ride I'm not sure about is who will actually manufacture the buses themselves. Probably not some US company. America doesn’t even make it’s own bullet trains – those come from China. How could buses travelling 140 mph ever be engineered and made in Detroit? If the world's fastest buses come from China, will the final cost include 50% to 100% import tariffs? Ooof . . . ! In any case, I'm thinking of buying shares of stock in BYD ("Build Your Dream") - now China's largest vehicle maker.

Caltrans and the politicians who oversee this agency want to reassure everyone the 250 mph train to Vegas is NOT dead yet. And the 140-mph bus route won’t replace it. The buses would run from SF to LA. but not to Vegas. So the total cost of everything could jump well beyond $300 billion. Is HALF A TRILLION dollars too outlandish? Certainly not. But for that to happen we'd need Federal subsidies approved by a democrat president and a democrat congress. An election result which seems almost inevitable at this stage.

My final question: what sort of airbags and lap belts will the Department of Transportation mandate for a 140-mph bus? And will that bus need to be 100% EV to avoid a fireball and mushroom cloud if it hits something? Like a stalled bus 1 mile ahead? You’d need 20 seconds to bring super bus to a complete stop. . ., around 3,000 feet . . . as long as it wasn’t raining. And don't get me started about some deer crossing the road . . .

I’m just sayin’ . . .

California's latest transit fantasy: A bus from SF to LA that could hit 140 mph

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/california-s-latest-transit-fantasy-a-bus-from-sf-to-la-that-could-hit-140-mph/ar-AA23FAAW?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=6a140f58f2ad407da0c03e8be31c34c2&ei=23