Inter-city Travel

In many parts of the U.S., individuals' intercity travel options are severely limited. Driving and flying -- the two most readily available options -- are stressful, unreliable, and (despite being heavily taxpayer-subsidized) not affordable for many citizens. While we have a national rail system, many large cities lucky enough to even have active stations only see departures in the middle of the night and trains can be subject to the whims of the freight companies who own most of the tracks. Intercity bus service has been subject to ruthless, hostile stereotyping, preventing many Americans from even considering utilizing it. Even in heavily populated corridors (such as the Northeast, California, and the Pacific Northwest), our existing intercity transportation infrastructure does not come close to matching what many other developed countries have already constructed, let alone what we are capable of creating.  

Modern intercity transportation must be fast, frequent, and reliable. For example, high speed rail beats flying in many corridors worldwide, directly improving regional mobility for millions of individuals and indirectly improving long-distance mobility by freeing up space at airports. Across the country, many projects to modernize regional intercity rail corridors, such as California's High Speed Rail, the Northeast Corridor's Gateway Program, Texas's Central Railway, and Florida's Brightline, are planned or under construction. While there are numerous ways to pay for such large-scale projects, we are okay with any financial approach that ensures a project achieves its full potential. In addition to corridor upgrades, we recognize the importance of our existing long-distance train system and, in cooperation with the many communities these trains provide lifelines for, will work to improve and expand it. We also aim to build upon recent improvements to intercity bus service in many parts of the country, ensuring that the system is no longer neglected and serves as a mainstream transportation option for all citizens. Additionally, we support transportation research that could facilitate faster, more reliable travel than is possible today. We encourage our leaders at all levels of government to anticipate and, to the extent beneficial, integrate technological improvements stemming from researchers' efforts as they proceed with their projects.