On Mon, Feb 28, 2000 at 04:09:22PM -0800, john grigg wrote:
> I truly dream about owning a Moller aircar. I want to be FREE to go where I
> want, compared to how things are now.
Ahem: freedom to travel is less important than the ability to travel to
freedom.
That is to say: if you get in a car or a plane or a ship or a train today
you are prone to invasive policing. From the near-anonymity of the rail
ticket (paid cash, no searches, no hassle other than being expected to
produce a ticket on demand by a ticket inspector) to the body-searches
you get at airports and the external traffic cops you get on the highways
demanding that you piss in a bottle, it's merely a matter of degree.
Yes, the skycar is cool -- but I'd rather have a system with no travel
permits and no coercion and no more policing or monitoring than whatever
minimum is necessary.
> airline ticket prices or LONG drives in a car. Just as alot of young people
> now can't imagine a world without the internet, I bet twenty years from now
> many won't be able to imagine things without an aircar in just about every
> garage.
NB: I've seen the fuel consumption for the Moller skycar and I am _not_
impressed. Assuming the fuel costs as much as for a domestic car here in
the UK, it would cost me £120 to fly my skycar from here (Edinburgh) to
London -- compared to the £30-60 cost of a budget airline, £50-70 cost of
fuel for a car, £30-50 cost of a railway ticket, and £20-30 cost of a coach
ticket. It may make sense in the USA -- big empty skies and cheap fuel --
but there are places where it'd be more trouble than it's worth.
What I want -- here in the UK -- is a means of surface transport that's as
energy-efficient as a bicycle (read: equivalent gasoline mileage measured
in thousands of miles per gallon), but safer, faster, protected from the
elements, uses a motor instead of a human being for power, and is just
as convenient (i.e. no expensive licensing requirements, can be stored
indoors or parked anywhere, just hop on and ride). Add high-speed public
transport hubs within a half-hour's journey (300mph TGV's maintained
to Dutch standards for preference), and the ability to buy a ticket for
cash without any sort of intrusive surveillance or advanced booking, plus
optional private cabins if you're willing to pay extra, and I'll be happy.
-- Charlie
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:04:21 MDT