[ubernostrum]

Never underestimate the ability of "very conservative" people, who hate tax-funded infrastructure, to nonetheless be heavy users of that infrastructure.

Remember, even Ayn Rand accepted payments from entitlement programs she hated.

[rayiner]

It's not a question of liberal versus conservative. The main value of HSR is allowing people to rapidly move between city centers for business or pleasure. How often do people in Bakersfield need to go to LA or SF?

[mahyarm]

If the HSR is fast enough, it might induce a long distance commuter community in bakersfield as it induces demand. So it's hard to say.

It's kind of like the joke that it's cheaper to live in vegas and fly every day to work in SF than to live in SF.

[dragonwriter]

> How often do people in Bakersfield need to go to LA or SF?

When I lived I Fresno, people in my household needed to go to somewhere in the LA or SF area (mostly the latter) more frequently than we needed to go to LA when we lived in the SF Bay Area.

[tehabe]

As someone else noted in this discussion, the train doesn't just stop in LA, Bakersfield, and San Francisco. Journeys between other cities on the route are also important.