How do they expect to make money as a private enterprise if these are the numbers they propose?
Public transportation is supposed to lose money, not make it, hence the "public" part. It's paid for by tax dollars, because it is impossible for private companies to make money from it.
Even the private rail systems around the world are largely subsidized pubicly during construction, with only operations being privatized.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_con...]
These days, the major expense of building a mass transit system is just buying property. And in cities, these properties are going to be already developed.
Right now, there are individual buildings in US cities that cost over $1billion, so grade-separated ground rail is not going to happen for cheap. That only leaves tunneling, which also isn't cheap.
⇒ what Tesla describes here is not a test track, or at least shouldn’t be.
What? No! Public as in "open to the public". At least in the German equivalent "Öffentlicher Nahverkehr" thats exactly what it says ("öffentlich" = "open to the public").
Systems like the MTR[0] also show that it is indeed possible to have a public transportation system that is directly profitable at scale.
All tranport systems are available for use by the general public.
Also, the MTR infrastructure is government subsidized.
They aren't proposing these numbers with any more context than the article, (This is a pilot running alongside existing infrastructure) so I'm really unsure about what you are asking?
[1] https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/06/for-1-billion...
Like, I'd be incredibly impressed if they pull it off - I'm just dubious.
Official docs actually say "A train every two and a half minutes at peak time through central London ... trains accommodating up to 1,500 passengers"
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/
So it looks like no. It will actually take crossrail 5 minutes or more to exceed that daily capacity of Dugout loop.
I was always wondering about people running to get the next metro.
The Victoria line has been quite successfully running 36 trains per hour (100 second headway) at peak times for the past year. Peak = about 3 hours each in the morning and evening.
The number of passengers it’ll transport is like two sections in the stadium. This is a publicity stunt.
How is that not solving a problem? Isn't this the purpose of undergrounds/metros?
But, we should try and be considerate when we define “problem”. LA has no shortage of serious transportation problems. This solves exactly none of them. Outside of Startupland, a problem is usually something that gets acknowledged before you find it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/
If this system can be built more quickly and at much lower cost than traditional transit systems, then it could well be very successful.
I'm imagining something like in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Perhaps as you're traveling through the tunnel there are adverts playing along the walls as you go or perhaps even just the "windows" of the "skates".
I'd guess: retail areas at the station, higher travel class with expensive tickets, local transport, parking, advertisements, internet access (maybe on a longer loop).
So VERY guess work but if it was 10x under the same generous assumptions this is ~$45mil/year revenue
What are cost... - $15m for 5% interest on $300m debt? - $15m for running cost and maintenance?
Then a $15m buffer, would not be a margin bad margin for infrastructure if he can start building a bunch of these. Maybe cheaper rides to grow the concept..
Also, the article only says the project is privately funded, fares could be subsidized?
Elon needs to distract people from Tesla's and his legal trouble.
From some key statements;
> The fares are not finalized but will cost around $1.
> it could be possible to increase ridership per game to 2,800 per game
> Between games and events Dugout Loop would transport 250,000 people per year.
>The Boring Company. This project will be 100% privately funded and will require zero taxpayer dollars.
Say we assume full capacity, 2 events a day and travel both ways. With these metrics the annual revenue is: $4,588,000.
There's no way that covers the investment. So what else is happening to make this financially viable? maybe private car use of the loop lift at a premium? stadium co-funding to promote events?
Question 2:
2 of the image look like single line tracks. Are they assuming as its a stadium that all traffic will go one way, then the other later? 2 tunnels? There must be something about this...
...Anyway never been to a city where the underground/metro isnt a great way to get around so keen to see this space develope.