h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

" ... and here I am in Texas yet."

"Issues of speed and comfort can be especially significant given the scale of some of the distances involved."

Amen. I would also add safety to the list, with air travel having a significant advantage over cars and probably buses.

I live near Houston, Texas, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city of El Paso, Texas is about as far from Houston as Venice, Italy is from London. El Paso is actually about as close to Los Angeles (that's on the Pacific Ocean ) as to Houston.

I don't consider train travel a realistic option in this part of the country, and buses are only marginally better given the distances to ... anywhere. Thankfully we have Southwest Airlines who routinely offers flights to many locations for ~$100 or even less. OK, its sort of "bus like" in that you'll probably stop a couple of times on the way to LA, but hopefully not change planes. It does not surprise me that Southwest never lost money after the 9/11 attacks, when all the "major airlines" were lined up for government handouts ... and then going bankrupt anyway.