High Speed ... on a Bus?

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

He is the author of "Online Travel" (2000) and "Business Travel: When It's Your Money" (2004), the first step-by-step guide specifically written for small business and self-employed professional travelers. He was also the co-author of the annual "Best Travel Deals" series from Consumers Union.

Perkins' advice for business travelers is featured on MyBusinessTravel.com, a website devoted to helping small business and self-employed professional travelers find the best value for their travel dollars.

Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

Perkins' travel expertise has led to frequent television appearances, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "This Week with David Brinkley," "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN, and numerous local TV and radio stations.

Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Perkins lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife.

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The latest promo on high-speed ground travel is about a high-speed bus. I kid you not. Some promoters in the Netherlands are developing an electric Superbus they say can cruise at 250 kph (156 mph). Powered by batteries, it can do those speeds only on dedicated, relatively straight and flat roadbeds, but it can navigate regular highways and city roads at conventional speeds. The current proposal is to build a system connecting Abu Dhabi with Dubai.

Is this for real? It’s hard to tell. Certainly, automotive vehicles can maintain those speeds on conventional highways—if you don’t believe it, just take a quick spin on an Autobahn, drive 80 mph in the slow lane, and watch the cars in the fast lane pass you as if you were standing still. Presumably, appropriate intercity high-speed roadways can be built for less than comparable rail rights of way. But the vehicle shown on the Superbus site hasn’t yet made the target speed and is a long way from “shovel ready.” Whether Superbus ever comes to fruition is anybody’s guess; the idea is intriguing, but don’t bet on riding it anytime soon.

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(Photo: Shutterstock/Stephen Mcsweeny)

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