Do Americans Support the Construction of Bullet Trains in the Country?
92% of Americans Support High-Speed Rail
Americans want private companies to build bullet train lines and for government to step aside.
High Speed Rail America Club recently surveyed 118 people on their opinion on high-speed rail in America. Participants in the study were tracked through Facebook, ranging from the ages of 13–85. Those included in the study happened to be from all the ranges of political, social, ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds. Only US based IP addresses were counted in the final report.
According to the study, an overwhelming 92% of participants support the introduction of high-speed rail in the United States. In a previous poll conducted by HSRAC’s predecessor in 2013, 98% of participants supported high-speed rail. The 2013 study however, was mainly conducted in an educational institution; many participants were under the age of 25 with some college education. Notwithstanding, the vast majority of Americans support high-speed rail and this is a clear indicator that another mode of transportation is desired in the country.
The next question in the study asked participants whether they would be prefer high-speed rail services be run by private companies or by the government. 64% of Americans preferred that high-speed rail should be run by private companies. Out of all the questions in the study, this one posed the most surprising fact and the clearest distinction of how high-speed rail projects should be funded and operated within the country. Critics may respond that the recent Amtrak crash would be to blame for the shift towards private companies. However, the 2013 poll taken among students revealed the exact same sentiment, with 64% again supporting that high-speed rail services should be run by private companies. The example of how Japan’s services are run by private companies, and America’s is run by government funded Amtrak, was given.
Currently, there are two projects being completed by private companies to build high-speed rail: Texas Central Railway and All Aboard Florida (although, it claims to technically be “higher-speed rail”).
The final question asked participants where they attributed most of the blame for the decline of America’s rail infrastructure. Out of the 4 given choices, participants revealed that a vast amount of the blame belongs to elected officials:47% blame politicians, 24% blame the American people themselves, 19% blame airline companies, and 10% blame Amtrak. Since Amtrak is a company whose “shareholders” are the House and Senate of the US Congress, it can be seen why Amtrak carries the least amount of blame.
As an aside from the poll, HSRAC must note that ultimately, people elect politicians and choose to fly on planes rather than ride trains. It is uncommon for poll conductors to insert “right or wrong” answers; as an organization supporting modern infrastructure however, we withhold a right to interject some opinion and a form of a solution. It is in the best interests of the citizens of the United States of America to loudly voice out their support for high-speed rail if that is their will. For companies within potential population corridors where high-speed rail can be self-sustaining, profit-wise, this can be seen as an opportunity to start on researching the creation of high-speed rail in that area. The verdict: most Americans support privatized high-speed rail infrastructure in the US.
Learn more about the past, present and future of America’s railroads by watching the acclaimed documentary, The American Train.
Poll Conducted May 18, 2015 to May 27, 2015
Originally published at www.linkedin.com and www.hsrac.com
