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Dec 22, 2015
Thoughts

Thoughts for another year up in the air

We can’t believe it’s almost the end of 2015. It’s been a good year for urban gondolas as public transit. We at the Gondola Project thank all the members of the community who contribute regularly, helping to keep this site current and correct. Learning is a lifelong activity. For those stuck in hellish holiday traffic,...

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Dec 21, 2015
Thoughts

The Grandmother Test

I recently met someone who disapproves of this whole Urban Gondola concept – which is fine, you’re entitled to your own opinion. He said it’s hard enough to get his grandmother to ride the subway (because she finds it terrifying), let alone a gondola. According to The Grandmother Test (yeah, it should be called that)...

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Dec 18, 2015
Public Engagement & Community Outreach, Public Transit

Would Fun Transit Stimulate Ridership?

A couple of years back, Volkswagen came up with a brilliant viral marketing campaign known as The Fun Theory. The basic idea being that “fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better” (their words, not mine). The shorthand for the theory was the very public transformation of a subway stairwell into...

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Dec 17, 2015
Thoughts

Is Public Transit Merely a Means of Mobility?

Post by Charlotte Boffetti. Undoubtedly, one of the primary reasons for building subways, streetcars, and cable cars is to improve urban mobility. These systems are designed to transport passengers from one destination to another. And in the minds of many transit planners and engineers, this unfortunately tends to be the sole motivation – however, I...

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Dec 16, 2015
Public Transit, Thoughts

How Not to Build an Urban Cable Car: Mississippi Aerial River Transit

Last week, Baton Rouge become the latest American city to announce plans to explore an urban gondola. This adds to the growing list of US cities such as San Diego, Seattle, Buffalo, Georgetown (Washington DC), and Staten Island (New York) who are actively considering/planning a Cable Propelled Transit system. In typical fashion, the public reacted with...

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Dec 15, 2015
Cable Transit Industry, Doppelmayr, Public Transit, Safety

Ropeway Redux: Highlights From Doppelmayr’s Comprehensive Magazine

Earlier this year, Doppelmayr Urban Solutions produced an attractively art directed brochure-cum-magazine called Ropeways in the urban environment. It compiles the many benefits of cable cars (or ropeways as they’re called in the industry) as urban transportation. The following is a summary of the magazine’s main points. The content is very useful for anyone looking...

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Dec 11, 2015
Weekly Roundup

RECENT ROUNDUP: THE LATEST URBAN CABLE CAR NEWS

Naulcapan City Ropeway Construction Halted With funds running short, construction of the urban gondola in Naucalpan, Mexico is on pause. Already 60% complete, it was to be completed in 2016, the second-longest in the world, and serve 120,000 inhabitants. More. While We’re in the Neighbourhood (Puebla Cable Cars Coming Late) Another urban ropeway under construction...

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Dec 10, 2015
Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week: Yangtze Cable Car

#chongqing #vscocam #vsco #vison #ropeway #yangziriver A photo posted by @elohim_s on Dec 7, 2015 at 8:54am PST

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Dec 08, 2015
Maokong Taipei, Public Transit, Questions, Singapore Cable Car

How to Price Your Urban Cable Car

It’s hard to blame officials in some cities for treating the fare structure of new public transport line as an afterthought. It’s not sexy stuff. However, for urban cable cars, the failure to put the time and energy to develop a proper fare model may ultimately hinder the project’s success. Whether your envisioned CPT line...

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Dec 04, 2015
Design Considerations, Fatzer, Lessons, Technology

“Rope Is Just Rope, Isn’t It?” (Fatzer’s Surprisingly Different Stabilo® Rope)

Wondering whether choice of rope really matters? Look at it this way: If you were responsible for building a tram in your city, wouldn’t you want to know all you could about the track? Awhile back, the Gondola Project posted an article about the often-overlooked issue of the weight-bearing cable or “rope” is it’s known...

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