It’s no secret that The Boring Company is bringing their hyperloop to Los Angeles. Some don’t necessarily think this is a great idea, considering the potential for earthquakes, but let’s assume someone has done their research. What we haven’t had information on is where this tunnel might go. Until now, that is. The Boring Company has announced that they are planning to dig a tunnel that will take riders to Dodger Stadium. This high-speed electric transportation network will be called the Dugout Loop. The Boring Company is still in the midst of deciding where to build the system’s departure point and considering three neighborhoods in particular: Los Feliz, East Hollywood, and Rampart Village.
The cost of a ticket will only be $1. Which definitely seems a bit low, considering how much it’s going to cost to build the system itself. While I think that’s a great price from a consumer perspective, I don’t think it’s necessarily realistic, nor sustainable in the long run. These costs will have to be subsidized somehow, and by whom I’m not really sure. Otherwise, the system is going to lose money and it will come out of The Boring Company’s pocket. The LA plans include fixed departure times, and the ride is estimated to take only 4 minutes. Passengers can walk, drive or bike to the departure point and then ride of the systems 8 or 16-passenger pods to the stadium.
The electric pods are capable of traveling at 125 to 150 miles per hour. Once you arrive at your destination, the pods will either return to the original pick up to get more passengers, or stay at the arrival point and take more passengers back. Much like any kind of transportation system. Compared to The Boring Company’s plans for LAX and Chicago O’Hare, the Dugout Loop is much smaller in scale. It’s just a one-tunnel system designed with around 100 pods meant to ferry 1,400 people (or 2.5 percent of the stadium’s capacity) per event.
All of this is great, but it could take the company a year or more to secure all the permits that it needs in order to start digging. That’s a long time from a private sector perspective. But in the world of government, that is nothing. It might take even longer because the system will be built under a public right-of-way. Reports suggest that land owned or leased by the company could speed this up, but I’m not convinced of that fact.
The good news is that the project has found a powerful ally in Mayor Eric Garcetti, who seems very welcoming when it comes to alternative modes of transportation that could help ease LA’s notorious traffic issue. It probably helps that The Boring Company will bear the entire cost of building the system. After securing all the permits they need, Musk and his team will then spend around 14 months to finish building the Dugout Loop.
Let’s continue to dig tunnels underneath an already unstable land mass, shall we?