'via Blog this'
MegaBus is expanding. Awesome. I haven't ridden MegaBus (even in Europe), but friends on the East Coast and Chicago love the option.
One has to assume that there is a nationwide build-out plan. So either New Orleans itself will become a hub... or (like all other transportation carriers) they will base their hub in Houston (or Dallas). Which is sad.
The lack of a central hub creates a struggle for the whole state. New Orleans lost all of its flight hubs; New Orleans Amtrak trains aren't priority; and Louisiana has built so many interstates just to bypass New Orleans, that we can't keep maintenance.
Now the private sector is choosing Texas and Georgia over New Orleans. Airlines have left; MegaBus has put us on hold; and the Greyhound Express service will seemingly hub in Texas and Atlanta as well.
Our nations infrastructure has natural hubs, and New Orleans is one of those hubs. But unfortunately we live in a bubble and our own state policy doesn't support this hub. We have an internal fight between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Baton Rouge tries to 'steal' this from New Orleans every chance it gets. We argue about relocating the New Orleans airport closer to Baton Rouge; we built Interstate 12 to completely bypass New Orleans; and we support regional rail through Baton Rouge (even though it involves several new basin crossings and has no realistic connection past Baton Rouge). All of these things makes infrastructure investment more expensive. Thus, nothing gets done.
I'm a Baton Rouge citizen. I support Baton Rouge. Which is exactly why I support New Orleans. Ever since 1718, water, air, and land transportation have centered in New Orleans. Trying to change that will only hurt Southern Louisiana. If we strengthen New Orleans as our regional city, we all benefit. Transportation hubs are one of the main factors this state needs to reevaluate.
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