That's a fair point, but I don't think that technology is at a point where we should be banking on it as the next big thing to connect the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. Mind you, I'm not sold on the hyperloop either. I just wish we'd spend the money for a proper rail connection like so many other jurisdictions already do. It's like the transit situation here, I think
@archited is the one who said it. Locally, LRT is the transit solution that makes sense here. The "next generation" could very well be something else, whether it be self driving vehicles or another technology we haven't conceived of yet. If we scale it up provincially, I think we need something in the interim while self driving technology commercializes and matures. Perhaps it'll become the norm later on, or perhaps something else will. But we need something now nonetheless.
If this hyperloop can really go ahead with private financing, great. If it flops and investors lose their money, cool. I'm ok with it because the province isn't an investor, and the company has provided a timeline that's relatively short-term. It doesn't mean we'll have hyperloop in a few years, but we'll certainly have an idea of how honest this company is with their promises. And if we get our answer that it's a failure, and self-driving technology isn't close to a point where it can replace a mass-transit service in this corridor, I truly hope that this hyperloop concept revitalizes the conversation of completing a rail connection in this corridor. I'm not against self-driving vehicles by any means, I just don't want to neglect infrastructure investment because there's a possibility of something different being used in the future.
