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ALPERN AT LARGE - As one of the former leading advocates of our California High-Speed Rail, and as one of those who recognize we got duped with a huge bait-and-switch for a project sucking critical tax dollars away from more worthy transportation projects (including rail lines), I really DO want some form of high-speed rail to work in our state.
But first we have to admit that the way we prioritize, fund, and operate public transportation is just terrible. If a form of transportation is not cost-effective, if it’s not convenient, if it’s an inherent money loser, and/or if it’s a magnet for crime and homelessness…
…then it will fail.
And while I am aware that telecommuting, Uber/Lyft, and changing transportation and economic trends have changed things in amazing, unlooked-for ways…
…I still am a supporter of public transportation.
That said, some things need to be privatized, but with need public oversight.
At this time, I don’t see a lot of Indian/Native-American casinos going belly-up financially—they’re operated tough as nails, demand a lot from their workers, and run like profit-oriented businesses that smile on the outside to their customers while being steel-eyed on the inside.
Enter the CA-High Speed Rail initiative, which is so chock-full of poor and dishonest planning and operations that it’s really hard for anyone to be an apologist and support it (and remember, please, that yours truly fought very hard to get it past the finish line with respect to its initial approval).
The Brightline West High-Speed Rail Project is run by an intercity passenger high-speed rail service company. The project is slated to connect Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in two hours and 10 minutes.
That’s reported to be twice as fast as an average drive time, and it’s based on being faster than a CAR, and not a PLANE as was the original election/political lie that the CA-HSR supporters promoted.
I can’t help but wonder, however, if the Brightline West project, currently budgeted as $12 billion but without a true Los Angeles terminus (Rancho Cucamonga isn’t too close to Union Station!) would get constructed and operate better if certain regions of California, and/or certain cars, were operated by Native American tribes for…
GAMBLING!
Entertainment, slots, cards, and everything else we see in Indian casinos would be accessible in the right regions of a given rail line, and/or in the right cars, so that the costs of operations and upgrades would be more easily realized than with tax dollars only.
Furthermore, the connections between Californian airports and cities to the future CA-HSR central rail hub would be much more cost-effective than the money-losing flights (such as from LAX to Bakersfield, or from Fresno to LAX).
This concept would certainly require changes to California’s gambling laws, but a private-public partnership with successful Native American tribes would allow for both greater operational flexibility (and PROFITABILITY!) as well as improved safety and security measures.
So we DID gamble and lose with respect to the California High-Speed Rail Project, but we could pull victory from defeat and turn our collective frowns upside down with respect to the north-south CA-HSR and Las Vegas-Southern California trains.
High-Speed Rail…how about high-speed fun, and with high-speed profitability to successful Native American operators in our Golden State?
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
