Why Surface-Level Smart Public Transit Beats Tunnels and Air Taxis for Dense Cities

Major breakthrough by @BoringCompany! https://t.co/pErVTCDLLV

— gorklon rust (@elonmusk) May 13, 2025

Why Surface-Level Smart Public Transit Beats Tunnels and Air Taxis for Dense Cities

In the race to solve urban mobility challenges, it's tempting to dream big: underground tunnels whizzing people beneath traffic, or air taxis zipping across the skyline. These futuristic visions dominate headlines, promising to "disrupt" how we move in cities. But let’s be clear—if the goal is to maximize traveler density per mile in already densely populated areas, the most efficient, scalable, and humane solution isn’t below or above—it’s right in front of us.

Surface-level smart public transportation is the answer.

The Tunnel Mirage

Elon Musk's tunnel concept, The Boring Company, proposes underground highways to bypass urban congestion. But beyond the significant engineering challenges and costs, there's a hidden toll: psychological discomfort. Being underground, often in confined vehicles with no natural light or orientation, is disorienting and stressful. Not everyone will choose that daily.

Moreover, tunnels are point-to-point, inflexible systems. Adding new stops or changing routes is almost impossible once infrastructure is built. And let’s not forget: underground spaces are inaccessible in emergencies, costly to maintain, and environmentally dubious when compared to surface alternatives.

Air Taxis: Fantasy in the Sky

Air taxis make for great science fiction and VC decks. But they come with loud noise, high energy use, intense safety requirements, and limited carrying capacity. The technology might mature, but it’s unlikely to ever serve more than a niche of high-income travelers.

Even if they become silent, safe, and semi-affordable, air space is limited, and the urban sky simply can’t scale to the density of footpaths, let alone roads or rail lines. They might be part of the mix, but they won't carry the bulk of a city's travelers.

The Smart Surface Revolution

What works is what already works—buses, trains, and taxis—but with a layer of intelligence.

Imagine a city where trains, buses, and last-mile shuttles (or even ride-hailing cabs) are seamlessly connected in a digital ecosystem. A traveler books a journey from Point A to Point B on one app, and behind the scenes, the system calculates the most efficient combo of transport modes. Your train, your connecting bus, your final mile tuk-tuk—all aware of each other’s location, capacity, and timing. No wait times. No gaps in the journey.

This is multi-modal transport, unified through AI and real-time data.

It offers:

• High traveler density per mile at low marginal cost.

• Psychological comfort—open skies, familiar environments, human scale.

• Rapid scalability—you don’t need to dig or fly, just coordinate better.

• Inclusivity—everyone, not just the wealthy, can afford and access it.

Conclusion: Futuristic Doesn’t Mean Floating

Cities don’t need to float in the sky or tunnel like moles to be efficient. The best systems are those that align with human behavior, economic reality, and existing infrastructure.

Yes, explore air taxis and tunnel tech. But don’t lose sight of the real future: a surface-level, intelligent, connected public transit network that feels as smooth as flying, without leaving the ground.

Urban mobility doesn’t need to reinvent physics—it just needs to talk to itself.

Why Surface-Level Smart Public Transit Beats Tunnels and Air Taxis for Dense Cities https://t.co/lakP9pHCXO

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) May 13, 2025

13: Trade War

Larry Summers Says 'It's Very Clear' Who Blinked On U.S.-China Trade War “We had said that we were determined to impose these policies for an indefinite period,” Summers said. “China didn’t make any consequential or significant change in its policies.” ........ “Look, sometimes it’s good to blink when you make a mistake, it’s usually best to correct it and retreat, even if it’s a little bit embarrassing,” he said. ......... Monday’s deal was welcomed by the markets, prompting the U.S. dollar to jump. .......... In a White House press conference, Trump told reporters he expects to possibly speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping by the end of the week. ....... “There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars,” he said, according to CNN. “Bullying or hegemonism only leads to self-isolation.”

How Trump's chaotic trade war has evolved February 1 - Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China, demanding they curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States. .......... April 9 - Trump pauses for 90 days most of his country-specific tariffs that kicked in less than 24 hours earlier following an upheaval in financial markets that erased trillions of dollars from bourses around the world. ........ April 13 - The U.S. administration grants exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China. ........ May 12 - The U.S. and China agree to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs. Under the 90-day truce, the U.S. will cut the extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145%, while China's duties on U.S. imports will be slashed to 10% from 125%. ........ May 13 - The U.S. cuts the low value "de minimis" tariff on China shipments, reducing duties for items valued at up to $800 to 54% from 120%.

Trump and tariffs: The art of backpedaling
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Donald Trump's Approval Margin Swings 11 Points in 2 Weeks shows the president's approval rating at 52 percent versus a 46 percent disapproval rating.......... in a time span of two weeks, Trump's net approval rating has shifted from a 5 percent deficit to a 6 percent gain. ........ 40 percent of U.S. adults approve of the president's handling of the economy and jobs versus a 51 percent disapproval rating. .......... Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday, addressing his tariff policies: "IN JUST THREE MONTHS, TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS (and therefore, record numbers of JOBS!) HAVE BEEN POURING INTO THE USA. THIS IS BECAUSE OF MY TARIFF POLICY, and our great November 5th Election WIN! The very STUPID Democrats are doing everything within their power to disparage what is happening. They are totally unhinged, and have lost all levels of Confidence. It is a financial REVOLUTION, and they are being Crushed. MAGA!!!"

Trump Has a Clear Path to Stay in Office Past 2029
Scientists Can Now 3D Print Tissues Directly Inside the Body—No Surgery Needed A new bioprinter uses ultrasound to print tissues, biosensors, and medication depots deep in the body. ......... Our bodies are constantly breaking down. Over time, their built-in repair mechanisms also fail. Knee cartilage grinds away. Hip joints no longer support weight. Treatments for breast cancer and other health issues require removal by surgery. Because the body can’t regenerate those tissues, reconstruction using biomaterials is often the only way.

India’s Attack on Pakistan Was a Strategic Flop by Hasan Ali Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that he was willing to find a solution to the longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan. “I will work with you both to see if, after a ‘thousand years,’ a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,” he posted on his Truth Social platform—no doubt to the consternation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has treated the status of the territory as a settled issue. ........ For the last decade, military conflicts between the two countries have proceeded according to expectations. In the simplest possible terms, they go something like this: Pakistan, being the smaller of the two countries by every conceivable metric, can give as good as it gets to its Eastern neighbor, provided that the engagement is short and defensive. For India to assert its dominance as the larger military power, however, the conflict must progress to a full-blown war. In such a scenario, where Pakistan faces an existential threat, or believes that its territory is about to be overrun, it may decide to “go nuclear”—even at the risk of self-destruction. ......... Both sides have claimed victory—just like they did in 2019, when the Pakistani Airforce responded to an Indian bombing raid in northwestern Pakistan by capturing an Indian pilot. ........ By the time a US-brokered ceasefire was reached on May 10, it was clear that the status quo was still in place. Over three days of intense fighting, neither side was able to land a decisive blow. .......... The calculation seems to be that as India’s economy flourishes and Pakistan’s recedes, the former will be able to spend much more on defense than the latter. Ergo, a time will eventually come when India is able to subdue Pakistan even in these short-term engagements. When that happens, New Delhi will get the signal to expand its military ambitions with the eventual aim of annexing the part of Kashmir under Pakistani control—indeed, in March, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar claimed that India is “waiting for the return of the stolen parts of Kashmir.” To prevent Pakistan from using nuclear weapons in such a scenario, New Delhi will rely on international pressure from countries that are too heavily invested in the country to countenance such destruction. .......... So one-sided was the result of the aerial battle that Le Monde described it as having exposed “the weaknesses of the Indian Airforce.” The fact that Pakistan was able to down these jets using Chinese weapons is an added cause of concern for the government in New Delhi, which has long considered Beijing a rival and an antagonist. ........... There have been other failures too. The Indian offensive has managed to rehabilitate the Pakistan Army in the eyes of a public that has spent the last several years questioning its role in politics. As The Nation has previously reported, by pitting itself against the country’s most popular political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, and by imprisoning its leader, the charismatic populist Imran Khan, the Pakistan army has rapidly hemorrhaged support. In the aftermath of the Pakistani counteroffensive, however, every major city in Pakistan has erupted with rallies in support of the armed forces. In other words, Pakistan is more united as a result of Indian action, and the military better equipped to consolidate its grip on power. ............... But perhaps most significant of all, the conflict has brought the dispute over Kashmir back into the spotlight, something Pakistan has wanted and failed to achieve for decades. ........... with the emergence of India as an economic powerhouse, the dispute has receded from international attention. That changed overnight, with the region suddenly catching the eye of America’s self-proclaimed dealmaker-in-chief.