Free Republic

With credit markets in New York in crisis last week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent an extraordinary letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asking for $7 billion. Although the governor has since withdrawn that request, it testifies to the dire state of his budget. Yet days before penning his note, the governor told an audience at the Commonwealth Club of California not to worry about the state's budget crunch and to approve $9.95 billion in new debt on the November ballot to build a bullet train to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco: "Just because we have a problem with...

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- Backing off his pledge to sign no bills before lawmakers adopt a state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday approved legislation designed to strengthen wording of the high-speed rail bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has placed his support behind a costly high-speed rail system in California. Schwarzenegger told NBC11 he wants California to lead the way in transporting commuters across the state at near-record speeds while reducing global warming at the same time. Critics have said the state's proposed high-speed rail system is too costly and too good to be true, NBC11's Mike Luery reported. On the very spot where the Transcontinental Railroad was established nearly 140 years ago, Schwarzenegger told Luery that a less-than-three-hour trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles represents the type of progress that...

Zipping through California on a 220-mph bullet train – in just 2 1/2 hours from Los Angeles to San Francisco, it's being said – is certainly a romantic concept. They do it in Europe and in Japan, bullet train devotees say, so why not do it in California and relieve highway and airport congestion? California voters may get a chance to answer the question in November. An often-postponed $10 billion bond issue to provide initial financing for the system that would link the state's northern and southern regions through the San Joaquin Valley is finally likely to make the ballot....

State Rep. Jim McReynolds has sent a letter to the Texas Department of Transportation saying he thinks TxDOT should drop the idea of tying the Trans-Texas Corridor in with plans for routing Interstate 69 through East Texas. McReynolds says tremendous negative outcry from his constituents and other East Texas residents has made it clear to him no one wants infrastructure that massive and disruptive to the quality of life to be built, taking big swaths out of the Pineywoods countryside. "Within the past several weeks, I have personally attended every TxDOT hearing held in my district regarding this proposed corridor,"...

Eight California lawmakers are traveling overseas this week to study high-speed rail systems and other matters as the Legislature takes an 11-day spring break. Assembly members Charles Calderon, D-Whittier, Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward, Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, are on a trip to Spain sponsored by the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy. Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, and Assembly members Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, and Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, are part of a delegation visiting Japan. One reason for the trips is to study the development of high-speed rail systems in...

Topic: Globalism The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is planning on building a new super highway system called the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC). The Trans-Texas Corridor will not be just another interstate and will it will be used by more than just automobiles. It will include 10 lanes for traffic, two high speed rail tracks, four standard rail tracks, utility lines, oil pipelines, and gas pipelines. The Trans-Texas Corridor will consist of many corridors segments that are 1,200 feet wide, with each mile consuming 146 acres of land. This land is currently ranch and farm land that is being taken by...

Driving down to Austin lately has become a real trip. I-35 is usually packed for most of the 185 miles, and what used to take three or four hours now can take five or six. Flying down can take almost as long, when you figure in airline security delays, more flight delays, and the time it takes getting into and out of crowded airports. But what if it took 45 minutes to travel from the Metroplex to Austin by train or an hour to make a trip to Houston? Advocates of high-speed rail lines are floating these ideas once again...

Could high-speed rail service with a stop in the Hillsboro area be a reality by 2020? That is the goal set by the Texas High-Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation (THSRTC) following the final planning and design charrette in Fort Worth. The charrette preceded the 10th annual Transportation Summit held in Irving Tuesday through Friday, August 7-10. THSRTC board members met in Houston in May at the Continental Airlines headquarters for the first of the charrettes. Attending were eight international suppliers of high-speed rail for nine different systems in France, Germany, Korea and Spain. In addition, 14 consulting firms of varying...

We are exactly one month away from the second annual Texas Transportation Forum to be held July 18–20 in Austin at the Hilton Austin located at 500 East 4th Street, one block north of the Austin Convention Center. Local, regional and state leaders will join national experts in exploring the solutions to "Keep Texas Moving." The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Associated General Contractors of Texas, the Texas Good Roads Transportation Association, and the Texas Transportation Institute are co-hosts for the event. The keynote speaker for the opening session on July 19 will be Alan E. Pisarski, author of...

With an exploding population and aging and inadequate infrastructure, California faces questions of how best to meet its transportation needs for its long-term economic survival. To accomplish this, multiple modes of transportation - not only highways, but also rail and air - must be considered in the long-term, Ken Secor told members of the Mojave Chamber of Commerce on Thursday afternoon. One option under consideration for the movement of people is a high-speed rail system linking the state's major population centers in Los Angeles and San Francisco through the burgeoning Central Valley. The California High-Speed Rail Authority has proposed a...

PALMDALE - Despite declining support from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a questionable financial future, plans for a high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco are continuing. Area residents may have their say on issues they would like to see studied in the environmental impact report for the rail line between Los Angeles and Palmdale during a public scoping meeting on the project Thursday. Twin meetings will run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Palmdale City Council Chambers, 38300 Sierra Highway, in the Palmdale Civic Center. Studies on the Los Angeles-to-Palmdale...

SACRAMENTO - Supporters of a $40 billion high-speed rail line in California are revitalizing their decade-long battle for a 700-mile route that could help relieve the state's jammed freeways. The plan for the transit corridor has languished for years, unable to overcome weak political support and strong criticism of its hefty price tag. But last week's record-breaking run by a French TGV train that hit 357 mph has revived interest in the route that could whisk passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours. "I think this is the future for California," said Assemblywoman Fiona Ma,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to delay a public vote on a $10 billion bond issue for California's proposed high-speed rail system ­- effectively killing the ambitious project after earlier delays - is shortsighted. Given California's budget situation and the disinclination of many Californians to accept more government spending, the governor's desire is understandable. But... California has upwards of 33 million inhabitants... Freeways are jammed. Airports are crowded. Something has to be done to move around all these Californians. With an eye to just these problems, the governor wants to drop the rail bond vote, now scheduled for November 2008, because...

BEIJING - Chinese-built high-speed trains capable of speeds of up to 150 mph are to debut this weekend on runs from Shanghai to two nearby cities, a government newspaper said Friday. The trains will start operating Sunday between Shanghai and Hangzhou to the southwest and Nanjing to the west, the China Daily newspaper said, citing Railway Ministry officials. China is investing billions of dollars in modernizing and expanding its railway network to cope with fast-growing business and tourist travel driven by a booming economy. The new trains will start out operating at 100 mph while drivers get used to the...

Anger. Confusion. Concern. These were just some feelings that the majority of people in the packed Collin County Central Jury Room expressed in the three-hour-long public hearing held Tuesday night about the technically preferred alignment of the Outer Loop. About 16 people officially spoke during the public comment period of the meeting, where the court voted 4-1 to approve the technically preferred alignment. Commissioner Joe Jaynes made the motion to approve the alignment, Commissioner Phyllis Cole seconded the motion, and Commissioners Jack Hatchell and Jerry Hoagland voted to approve the alignment. County Judge Ron Harris voted against the motion. He...

The Texas Department of Transportation should submit a request for more detailed proposals within the next couple of months to work on the Interstate 69 section of the massive Trans-Texas Corridor project. Earlier this year, two teams of private investors indicated their interest in the I-69 portion by submitting requests for qualifications: Bluebonnet Infrastructure Investors and the ZAI ACS TTC-69 Team. Bluebonnet’s equity partner is Cintra, while ZAI ACS is led by Zachry American Infrastructure and ACS Infrastructure Development. Cintra-Zachry signed a comprehensive development agreement to develop TTC-35, which would go from the Dallas area to Mexico. “We shortlisted both...

SACRAMENTO - Legislation that would sidetrack a $9.95 billion high-speed rail bond measure for the second time was approved by the Legislature on Monday without debate. By votes of 33-0 in the Senate and 60-0 in the Assembly, lawmakers approved a bill by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, that would remove the measure from this November's ballot and place it on the November 2008 ballot. The action sent the bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lawmakers initially placed the bond measure on the November 2004 ballot, then decided the state faced more pressing needs and bumped the bonds back to this year's...

Senate leaders on Tuesday appointed former Sen. Quentin Kopp to the state's high-speed rail board. Kopp, an independent from San Francisco, served 12 years in the Senate before being termed out in 1998. As a legislator, he served as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and helped create the predecessor to the current rail board. Kopp, 77, served five years as a San Mateo County Superior Court judge after he left the Senate before retiring in 2004. As a retired judge, he still presides over cases through the Assigned Judges Program. He was a San Francisco supervisor for 14 years...

Depending on whom you talk to, the Trans Texas Corridor is a daring futuristic plan, the state's most ambitious ever, or it's a money machine and a destructive land grab. But for now, most of all, it's an enigma. There are no construction contracts for any of the 4,000 miles of car and truck lanes, freight and passenger rail lines and utility lines that are supposed to crisscross Texas by midcentury, just a $3.5 million deal with a private consortium to develop plans for the leg paralleling Interstate 35. And nobody knows just where the routes would go, though any...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Researchers at Purdue University are mapping a plan for the future of the nation's interstate highways. They provided details Tuesday of a vision of what a road trip might look like 40 years from now. Researchers say the plan would take drivers off the roads and put them onto the rails. High-speed passenger trains would whisk people along the interstate quicker than the cars and trucks rolling alongside. A trip from Indianapolis to Chicago could take less than an hour. "If you chose to travel by high-speed rail rather than by...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. A proposed cargo airport in northeast Pennsylvania combined with high-speed rail into the New York City area could be a self-sustaining venture bringing high-paying jobs and tremendous growth to the region, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski said. The $6 billion joint project would allow the proposed 10,000-acre cargo airport to bring goods from Asian and European markets to the United States, he said, and high-speed trains operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week would take those goods and passengers into New York City in as little as 20 minutes....

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking lawmakers to scrap a $9.95 billion high-speed rail bond measure already on the November ballot to clear the way for his massive, $222.6 billion public works program. "We could not afford the entire package of infrastructure (in the governor's plan) if we did the $10 billion for high-speed rail," state Finance Director Mike Genest said Friday. "We did not see it being affordable in a 10-year cycle." He called high-speed rail "a visionary idea (that's) kind of far in the future." Democratic supporters of high-speed rail said they would try to put...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. VICTORVILLE - With high gasoline prices forcing Inland Empire commuters to reshuffle their budgets, many are expected to welcome the concept of a super speed train propelled by electromagnets., Congress has authorized spending $45 million for maglev in the current federal transportation bill, said Bruce Aguilera, chairman of a bi-state commission overseeing the $12 billion project. Visionaries say the proposed maglev train eventually may whisk passengers the 269 miles between Anaheim and Las Vegas in 86 minutes. Under the maglev system, short for magnetic levitation, trains propelled by electromagnets would zip...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.California High Speed Rail Authority Approves Nation's First Environmental Impact Report for High-Speed Train System SACRAMENTO -- The California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) voted unanimously today in the State Capitol to approve their environmental impact report on one of the nation's largest transportation projects. "California is a giant step closer to building a 700-mile high-speed train system serving Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley and Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego," said CHSRA Chair Fran Florez. According to the environmental impact report, which affirmed...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The map seems logical. And thought of renewing an old form of travel with a modern twist is intriguing. Hop on a train in Cleveland and shoot off to places like Columbus, Detroit, Pittsburgh or Toronto at 110 mph. You'd be in Columbus, for example, in one hour and 38 minutes. It would take around four hours to get to Chicago. The idea, in various forms, has lingered for decades. But now, in part because of interest from Congress and isolated successes of similar routes across the country, train advocates are...

People will be debating the causes of the New Orleans tragedy for years to come. But one thing is already abundantly clear: For individual New Orleanians, automobility made the difference between safety and disaster. "The white people got out," an article in The New York Times declared shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit. But that isn't quite true. White families with cars got out, as did black families with cars. Families without cars, white and black, for the most part did not. Over the past century, the number of deaths due to natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and fires...

The nation's transportation system is in peril. Vehicle-miles traveled more than doubled from 1980 to 2003, going from 296 billion to 702 billion, on essentially the same roads, creating more and more congestion. Most airlines are sucking wind. Amtrak is on life support. And so last month's $286 billion federal transportation bill came to the aid of - fishermen. The bill includes $3.44 million for a tunnel under railroad tracks in Enfield that will allow anglers to get to a favorite fishing spot on the Connecticut River. It seems that rod-and-reelers used to walk across the tracks to get to...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The newly reauthorized federal transportation bill allocates $45 million for a super high-speed train connecting Las Vegas to Anaheim, a project that was first proposed over 17 years ago. "I believe the Maglev train will be the future of travel between places like Southern Nevada and Southern California," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who helped secure funding. "Airports are overburdened with the amount of short-haul flights and we must start reinvesting in train travel." Maglev (magnetic levitation) uses high-powered magnets to propel trains above an elevated track. Since there is no...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. A 300MPH super-train connecting Liverpool to London in only 58 minutes is being planned. The Maglev train - which uses magnetic power to support carriages on a guide track and propel them up to speeds of 311mph - would connect London with Glasgow, via Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh, over a 500 mile route. The UK Ultraspeed consortium behind bringing the train to Britain says Liverpool could be the first link to be established. Business leaders including the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and North West Development Agency believe the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The board charged with overseeing creation of a Florida high-speed train is still chugging along, more than half a year after voters yanked the bullet train provision from the state constitution. The High Speed Rail Authority even welcomed a new board member Friday as it elected a new chairman and extended contracts for the consultants who have carried out the planning process over the last few years. The consultants are working on the final details of a document needed to get federal approval for the first leg of...

Traveling by rail is fast, comfortable and efficient. Well, maybe it was in some bygone era. Today, Amtrak almost isn't even worth traveling by. Back in September, I took a train from San Francisco to Eugene, Ore., and I was appalled at how terrible it was. The train was three hours late, apparently because it was caught behind slow-moving freight trains somewhere near L.A. On the way up through northern California and southern Oregon, there were stretches when the train was moving so slowly I literally could have reached Eugene faster on foot. Later on, I took another train from...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Rick Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, is waiting for the day when there are four daily passenger train routes between Quincy and Chicago. Before that happens, Harnish said Congress must fully fund Amtrak. In fact, he hopes the United States makes high-speed passenger rail a priority. "We could be done with a high-speed route between Chicago and St. Louis in two or three years once we get the funding," said Harnish, who spoke at a joint meeting of the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce and the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Last year, a political group headed by Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher successfully launched a bid to pass a constitutional amendment overturning a 2000 amendment to build a bullet train in Florida. Gallagher called his group DE-rail the Bullet Train (DEBT). This month, perhaps further emboldened by the train's derailment, Gallagher announced he is a candidate for governor. A funny thing may be happening on Gallagher's run to the mansion: The derailer may find himself derailed. Indeed, two days after his announcement for governor, the Florida Elections Commission charged that...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. HAMBURG - A sophisticated German train that hovers on a magnetic field one centimetre above its track could one day run down the southern shore of the Gulf if enough interest is shown during Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's swing though the region next week. Accompanied by 16 business figures, Schroeder leaves Berlin 27 February 27 to meet Gulf leaders and lend his weight to commercial negotiations. A further 60 German businesspeople will visit the region under their own steam to be in attendance at some stops, officials say. Siemens and ThyssenKrupp which...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. A spokeswomen for the Transrapid International consortium in Berlin has confirmed that the Government of Qatar is considering to commission a feasibility study for the construction of a 800km magnetic levitation route from Bahrain via Qatar to the UAE. Observers believe that the contract for preparing the analysis may be announced during Chancellor Schroeder's visit to the Gulf at the end of February or early in March. The costs of such a huge transport project are supposed to be in the two-digit billion euros region. According to Germany's DPA press agency,...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Those who spoke during the East Texas Corridor Council's inaugural meeting Friday delivered a unified message to the more than 100 people who attended the meeting. The partnerships exemplified by the crowd who attended the meeting at the Longview Public Library will be necessary to bring higher-speed rail to this area, many of the speakers said. Former Marshall mayor and rail advocate Audrey Kariel kicked off the meeting Friday, noting the presence of representatives of Union Pacific, Amtrak and the Texas Department of Transportation. A number of elected officials and other...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Securing higher-speed rail service through East Texas is the focus of a group that will hold its inaugural meeting Friday in Longview. The East Texas Corridor Council will meet at 10 a.m. Friday in the Longview Public Library. Griff Hubbard, the Longview Amtrak station manager, said that between 125 to 150 people are expected to attend. Hubbard has been working with the group's steering committee, which has been meeting regularly since September. "(Higher-speed rail) is extremely important," Hubbard said. "Higher-speed rail is going to be a necessity for our children and...

Traffic: Can't live with it; can't live without it. That's the dilemma Dallas leaders face as they survey the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, Gov. Rick Perry's plan for a new network of highways crisscrossing the state to be built as toll roads by private companies. Dallas' interstates are choked with traffic, but if Mr. Perry diverts that traffic – especially the long-haul commercial trucks – beyond the city limits, he will siphon off the city's economic lifeblood. No wonder city leaders are squawking over preliminary maps that show the new corridor being located as far as 50 miles from Dallas' doorstep....

SACRAMENTO - It's official; the Antelope Valley will have high-speed trains whizzing through it and stopping at a Palmdale station someday, if the $35 billion rail system actually is constructed. The state's High Speed Rail Authority board voted Wednesday on the rail line's route, which will include a section through the Antelope Valley on its way from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. Palmdale officials have lobbied hard for the selection, citing the growing population of the Antelope Valley that would benefit with a quicker link to downtown Los Angeles and elsewhere. "This is great news for the Antelope Valley," said John...

Work to Begin on Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Rail Line HANGZHOU, Jan 26 Asia Pulse - China's State Development and Reform Commission has recently approved the construction of the Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev rail line. The 169.725-kilometer-long line will link up Shanghai with Hangzhou City, capital of Zhejiang Province. Construction of the line will start this year, and be completed in 2009. It is learned that the top speed of the maglev train will be 450 kilometers per hour, while the train speed in urban areas will be 200 kilometers per hour. The line will have four stations: World Expo Station, Shanghai South Station,...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Midwest group points to holiday travel problems SOUTH BEND -- On Monday, airlines were trying to comfort angry passengers. Drivers were digging their cars out of snow-covered ditches in the Midwest. And the Indiana High Speed Rail Association made its customary appeal to the federal government -- develop high-speed rail, sooner than later. The association sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta on Tuesday, suggesting the department make high-speed rail development in the Midwest "the centerpiece" of its transportation policy. Speedy trains could have lessened the blow to air...

After nine days, Scott MacLeod was ready to believe his missing luggage could be anywhere. "Oh, they could be in Atlanta. Or Costa Rica. Or Russia. Or . . ," the good-humored MacLeod said with a shrug while waiting outside Delta's baggage claim office in Buffalo Niagara International Airport. MacLeod and his wife, Rebecca, had flown into Buffalo from a business trip to Costa Rica via Houston and Atlanta, respectively, to spend the holidays with Rebecca's family in northeastern Pennsylvania. After a half-hour, the Tallahassee, Fla., couple pulled a dark green suitcase from among the several hundred unclaimed bags in...

DES MOINES -- A high-speed rail network radiating from Chicago's Union Station through nine Midwestern states could carry 13.6 million passengers annually by 2025, according to a new report. The Midwest Regional Rail System report released Tuesday confirms the viability of a 3,000-mile rail network stretching through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin, said Mark Wandro, Iowa's transportation director. Trains would travel at speeds of up to 110 m.p.h., cutting hours off trips between major cities. The study, led by Transportation Economics & Management Systems Inc., a Frederick, Md.-based consulting firm, said significantly reduced travel times,...

in California history, a state agency this week may adopt preferred routes and train-station sites for a proposed $37 billion high-speed rail system like those in Europe and Japan. Among anticipated preferences are an inland route through Riverside and San Diego counties, stations in Murrieta and Escondido, and a San Diego route that avoids Qualcomm Stadium and slants over from Interstate 15 toward downtown along Carroll Canyon Road. At a Wednesday meeting in Los Angeles, the California High-Speed Rail Authority may identify route and station locations from San Diego to San Francisco for a final environmental study for the project....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The United States faces a transportation crisis in the next 10 to 20 years - an oncoming perfect storm of declining world oil production, rising fuel prices, increased roadway congestion and accidents, more global warming from vehicle emissions and dirtier air. In 20 years, the U.S. Department of Transportation predicts truck ton-miles and auto miles will almost double. U.S. demand for oil, most of which goes for transportation, will also almost double. Most oil experts predict oil production to peak at the same time. The oil prices will rapidly climb as...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. So you decide with the family that a weekend trip up north in the state would be a fine idea. You pack out that night and then log on to Yahoo! Maps and find out, in ghastly horror, that two hours of your trip takes you onto the death highway: the dreaded Interstate 81. Great. This is where they drive too slow for you in the right lane, so you move to the left and get blown out of the way by a truck going 80 miles per hour, or you...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. A vote in Florida next week over whether to invest public money in high speed train transportation could reverberate in Tennessee in the coming years. In Florida, voters will decide whether to move forward with a $40 billion high-speed rail system that would connect the state's largest cities. A similar system is in the planning stages in California, where high-speed trains will connect San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The cost is an estimated $37 billion. Voters were to decide next week whether to fund the first leg of the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.Vote in 2000 set stage for this year's ballot initiatives on controversial issue. ORLANDO -- It is almost biblical. The 2000 high-speed rail constitutional amendment has begot at least three other proposed constitutional amendments, resulting in a present-day election debate that raises two questions: Is the high-speed rail proposal the problem? Or, is Florida's citizen initiative-based constitutional amendment process at fault? Many believe the answers to both questions may be "yes." "This system is going to cost a heck of a lot of money -- billions and billions of dollars," says Aubrey...

11 alternative transit systems presented at event Imagine zipping to Bush Intercontinental Airport from downtown in less than 10 minutes. Sound like fantasy? It isn't fantasy for travelers in Shanghai, China, who since April have been able to take a high-speed magnetic levitation train that carries them 19 miles to the airport there in eight minutes at up to 270 mph. The developer of that system made his pitch in Houston on Wednesday during the opening of a three-day forum to examine present and future transit modes. The Metropolitan Transit Authority is holding this week's Advanced Transportation Technology Forum at...