I recently read an article the other day about the Los Angeles Public Transportation System - it went something along the lines of, "Public transport in LA is horrible, and needs to be fixed". Yes, very informative indeed. I think at this point the citizens of LA have either decided that Public Transport needs to be fixed immediately or that public transport is unnecessary, and that driving cars is sufficient. But for one of the largest cities in the world, with one of the largest tourist revenues, to not have an adequate public transportation system is absolutely ludicrous. Bangkok, Jakarta, and Tokyo all have larger populations, just as large of a city, and are still able to implement at least a basic, rudimentary Transit System. LA doesn't even have that. The worst part isn't even that LA doesn't have a transit system, but that the city doesn't even seem to be trying. There have been talks about developing a new metro system, but due to budget issues, those plans continue to be pushed further back and don't seem to be happening anytime soon. For one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, the lack of accessible public transportation is highly disappointing.

Ok, ok so LA has a bad public transit system, but it's never had a good transit system, so why get mad now? Well, I recently read a report about a new, green public transit concept in Beijing. A virtual double decker bus that will ride literally on top of the current freeway system. Huh? Yeah, I was confused too. Imagine a double decker train, with the entire first level hollowed out, so that previous traffic can still continue. They're calling it a "straddling bus".

To top all that, the entire bus (or train, or whatever you want to call it) will run on only electric and solar energy, will be able to hit speeds upwards of 60 km/hr, and will be able to carry approximately 1200 to 1400 passengers. And that's not even my favorite part. How long will the entire thing take to develop? 1 YEAR!! Los Angeles couldn't even produce a blueprint for a standard bus system in one corner of one part of town in one year, yet alone develop a brand-new, paradigm-shifting system such as the one that Beijing will shortly be implementing.