Silicon Valley startup invents ‘groundbreaking’ new technology that could change the way we travel

This article was posted as an April Fool’s joke.

Silicon Valley is disrupting travel with a groundbreaking new technology that could change the way the Washington region gets around.

The app-based travel platform, Chrak, is described as “like your car, but better.” Travelers on Chrak’s “smart linear ticketed transportation experience” will be able to get from one part of the city to another far faster than they would on the highway, all without the hassle of keeping their eyes on the road.

“We really think this could be a revolution in the way people relate to their city, their country, and even the world,” said Travis Horn, 24, who founded Chrak alongside his former Harvard roommate and self-described “software ninja” Chad Stephens, 23.

Horn said he was inspired to launch Chrak after looking at his parents’ daily car commutes with a software engineer’s eye, and finding them woefully inefficient. To save on fuel and avoid traffic jams, he decided to create a transportation method with room for multiple travelers in each vehicle. In a stroke of inspiration, Chrak was born.

An added bonus: passengers won’t have to drive, allowing each Chrak car to become a “dynamic multimedia experience.” Passengers will be able to read, listen to music, watch TV shows and more, all from the convenience of their smartphones. To make it possible, Chrak will offer Wifi on each car, included with each ticket.

For those who want a break from their screens, Chrak will post colorful advertisements around each car to look at (an added bonus: those ad sales will subsidize tickets).

So how will Chrak pull off lightning-fast transportation? Horn and Stephens have a (literally) groundbreaking idea: tunnels, deep underneath city streets, that will allow each Chrak car to bypass highway traffic. The tunnels will create a subterranean network, what Horn likens to a “physical internet.”

To give Chrak cars an extra boost of speed and safety, Chrak’s tunnels will be equipped with metal tracks (for which the company is named) that will carry passengers quickly from one point to another on a set schedule.

So when will Washington see this innovative technology? Well, time will tell. Horn and Stephens are still looking for financing for the more than $10 billion project, and approvals to dig tunnels under DC’s busiest streets are still pending.

To help support that startup cost, Chrak officials estimate tickets will cost about $60 per trip — but Horn and Stephens are certain that the time passengers will save by skipping highway traffic will be well worth it.

Asked about Chrak’s similarity to another, very similar transit system available in the Washington region, Horn said earlier transit methods weren’t built with the modern consumer in mind.

“We’re in the 21st century, and my generation doesn’t just want to just take whatever transit method is available,” Horn said. “For the tech generation, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.”