Elon Musk’s The Boring Company is going to submit a bid to fund, develop, and operate a high-speed transit system in Chicago. The decision comes in response to the local government’s request for proposals from applicants who are interested in designing, building, financing, operating, and maintaining a transit system that connects Chicago O’Hare Airport to the city’s downtown area, delivering passengers between the two points in 20 minutes or less

It didn’t take long for Musk to jump at the opportunity to announce plans for a bid. That’s not surprising considering that projects like this are one of the reasons why The Boring Company was started in the first place. For those who don’t know its history, The Boring Company aims to build “fast to dig, low-cost tunnels” with the goal of solving “the problem of soul-destroying traffic” through a “large network of tunnels many levels deep below cities. These are the same words on the company’s website.

It is interesting that Musk resisted the urge to characterize the company’s bid as a “Hyperloop,” opting instead to refer to it as a “high-speed loop.” He also didn’t say if the proposal will feature an underground system or one that’s above ground. Musk did confirm that electric pods will be part of the proposal, though he added that rails may or may not be part of the proposal.

The importance of this bid should not be understated. Chicago is in need of a high-speed transit system that can cut down the travel time from O’Hare airport to the downtown area and vice versa. The travel time between those two locations currently takes up to 40 to 45 minutes. The goal of this project is to cut travel time down in half to around 20 minutes or less and services commuters “at least every 15 minutes for the majority of the day.” The city also wants the project to offer cheaper fares to its commuters, a lot of whom pay roughly $60 for a taxi ride and about $40 for Uber rides between the two locations.

The Boring Company has until January 24, 2018, to submit its bid for the future project.

References

Read more about Hyperloop One.

Read more about The Boring Company.

Read more about Elon Musk.