High speed rail (HSR) may not be the best means to moving people quickly from San Francisco to Los Angeles–it looks like a 20th century solution to a 21st century problem. I’ve written written about how electric vehicles will diminish the projected GHG emission reductions, and may be an effective alternative. Now comes a Chinese-designed super bus
that can use the same I-5 lanes simultaneously with cars. (See the video in the link above.) The Dutch have developed a high-speed electric bus that also can use I-5 at little added cost.
And now comes word that the auction of greenhouse gas (GHG) allowances by the State fell well below forecasts. Due to how HSR is funded out of that allowance fund, HSR’s share will fall by 98% to $2.5 million. Given that the state still has not attracted any private investment, which is a necessity to make this go, it may be time to rethink solutions.
Economics Outside the Cube 
HSR looks for private funding but other similar projects are facing obstacles
Will US high-speed rail projects ever leave the station?
https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/high-speed-rail-private-investors/824187/
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has turned its attention to private investment in the absence of federal funding. It entered a co-development agreement last week with a consortium of high-speed rail, infrastructure and investment firms in hopes of attracting outside investors.
The group will spend the next six months “identifying viable strategies” to fund construction beyond the current 119-mile Merced to Bakersfield, California, initial phase. The $25 million agreement comes with an initial term of 30 months.
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California is now finally considering high speed busses as a preferred alternative, along the lines of what I proposed in 2015.
California considers high-speed buses
Buses traveling at 120 mph on dedicated freeway lanes would connect San Francisco and Los Angeles in just over three hours, a California Department of Transportation research report estimates.
https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/california-high-speed-bus/821340/
https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/preliminary-investigations/pi-0399-bus-pi-r1-1-a11y-1.pdf
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Can California high-speed rail survive without federal funds?https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/california-high-speed-rail-survive-without-federal-funds/749836/
While the California High-Speed Rail Authority looks for a path forward, some believe additional state or private funding will be hard to find.
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The California Cap & Trade Auction sold only 11% of its available allowances. This could undermine near term funding for the HSR: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-climate-change-challenges-20160614-snap-story.html
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