The market for people transport is huge. Imagine the cost of all apartments in manhattan @ $3000/sq foot. Now imagine the cost of the same apartments built in upstate new york @ $250/sq foot.
A transit provider who can get people from a house in a rural area to manhattan in 15 mins can pocket that difference, which is huuuuge.
> Imagine the cost of all apartments in manhattan @ $3000/sq foot.
Does such a thing exist? A tiny bathroom is 25sq feet - or $75000. That just seems too much.
Zillow lists studio apartments in Manhattan for $3000-$5000/month. They also list apartments in New Jersey for $250/month just 30 miles away (1 hour drive to Manhattan according to maps). At that distance we don't need fancy hyperloop, we just need good higher speed rail service easially done with existing technology. (I have no idea how the apartments compare other than price - likely the Manhattan ones are much nicer for the same amount of space and the New Jersey neighborhood may be unsafe)
A transit provider who can get people from a house in a rural area to manhattan in 15 mins can pocket that difference, which is huuuuge.