Buying Railroad Rights-of-Way

The article by Zane estimates (based on a projected population increase) that “the average speed on our highways will decline from the current 35 m.p.h. to 19 m.p.h.”

This does not surprise the commuter who creeps to work while listening to his valves warp. What he doesn’t understand is why the “love affair with the automobile” myth is perpetuated in designs for the future. Why don’t the manufacturers quit this baloney? We don’t need speed. We don’t need something that falls down if you bump it with your elbow.

A tough bubble the size of a golf cart, padded and insulated, with a top speed of 30 m.p.h. would need only a tiny engine or an electric one, and would solve the problems of smog, parking, energy and congestion. But intercity and vacation trips? Drive your bubble onto a transport able to whisk you there at 300 m.p.h. in perfect safety.

CARLETON H. RALSTON

Los Angeles