From mobile devices to urban planning, space is always at a premium. Ever-smaller devices like smartwatches are able to do infinitely more than the average home PC of a decade ago, while developers are stacking compacted living quarters higher and higher into the sky. Minuscule gadgetry has existed for centuries; the very idea of vertical...
In our never-ending quest to bring you the best and most unique transport stories, we were recently informed by a colleague of a curious transit system in Malaysia named the Malacca Monorail. Being true transit geeks (and huge fans of the Simpsons), we had no choice but to personally visit it ourselves. This 1.6km, 2...
In case you haven’t heard by now, Elon Musk — billionaire investor and founder/CEO of Tesla Motors, PayPal and SpaceX — unveiled plans for an ultra-fast, air-cushioned, solar powered transport tube system called the Hyperloop. After reading a couple of articles, I’ve compiled some major stats: Tube Capacity: 28 people Max Speed: 1220km/h Average Speed:...
This is a guest post by Scott Lane. As gas prices keep escalating, many people are turning away from cars as their primary mode of transportation. For a growing minority of us it is a combination of cars, bikes and buses. For those that like exercise and need to make the first and last leg...
When a city plan is planning a new transit infrastructure project, a lot of time is often spent deliberating over which technology should be implemented. This discussion generally floats back and for between bus and rail (and more recently, sometimes even CPT). For many cash-strapped cities looking for quick wins and cost-effective mass transit solutions,...
The Bamboo Railway or “Norry” in Battambang, Cambodia is truly a testament to human ingenuity and creativity. In this part of the world, where resources are scarce and government run train service is untimely and unreliable, this informal form of transit is an inexpensive and convenient mobility option for many. For this simple (yet highly...
Last week at the TED 2011 conference, Google unveiled their self-driving car. And while an interview and test drive with CBS news was both fun and informative to watch, the issue of the technology’s impact on public transit was never addressed. If the self-driving car becomes a reality in the next, say, 20 years, one...
Gondola Project reader Sean sent me a link to the above image. It dates from the 1950’s and comes from Vancouver’s regional transit authority, Translink, and was plucked from their archives. Even 60 years ago transit authorities recognized the need for grade-separation and rights-of-way for transit: “freeing the limited street space for commercial vehicles and...
Nowaday’s, it’s easy to be partisan. In fact, it might even be a requirement. The Light Rail boys have LightRailNow. The bicycle crew’s got Probicycle. Bus Rapid Transit has the National BRT Institute. High Speed Rail has the AHSRA. The PRT posse’s got Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit. Trolley Bus fans have these guys. Paratransit’s...
David asks: PRT is getting some buzz lately what with Heathrow’s system going live soon and Masdar in the works. Do you know of any systems or engineering solutions that allow overhead gondolas to work the same way? IE: Swap to a different cable at a junction? Is CPT PRT-able? Swapping to a different cable...