Julia sends along a link to a chairlift system in Montafon, Austria. So what do we make of it?
A quick look at some of the things that makes suspended urban transit work (or not): The Aerobus Aerobus: Self-propelled suspended urban transit Inventor: Gerhard Mueller First installation: 1970, Schmerikon, Switzerland Distance between Aerobus tower spans: 0.6km Distance between Peak2Peak gondola tower span: 3.0km Only major installation: 1975, BUGA Mannheim, Germany Months in service: 6...
A few highlights from around the world of Urban Gondola Transit and Cable Propelled Transit: Maclean’s Magazine gives a quick write-up about the Complexo do Alemao Teleférico. Interestingly, we finally learn what the system price was: $74-million (presumably USD). That gives a per kilometer cost of roughly $22-million, which is fairly impressive considering it will...
So apparently last week the port wine-producing city of Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal is the latest city in the world to open an urban gondola transit system. Similar to the Complexo do Alemao Teleférico in Rio de Janeiro, this one opened without a peep from the English-speaking world. As such, we know virtually...
To start with Part 1, click here. Aesthetically, the Sentosa Island Gondola is a tale of two systems. It’s schizophrenic in its physicality, towing the line between stark utilitarianism and modern, urban chic. Never however, do those two aspects converge effectively. It’s as though there are two halves to its personality, and neither ever seem...
The Sentosa Island Gondola is one of the world’s oldest urban gondola transit systems. Commonly referred to as the Sentosa Island Cable Car (it’s an MDG gondola), the system is utterly normal in most respects but was a pioneer in two very important ways: It was the first system to ever span a major port/harbour and;...
These are a few of the more intriguing tidbits I learned about New Zealand while in Wellington to attend the New Zealand Planning Institute’s annual conference. Most of the lessons were learned via heresay, gossip, first-hand observation and rumour, so take them for what they’re worth. Time hasn’t permitted me to double-check any of the...
A quick look at some of the things that will make future urban mobility work (or not): Reinventing the Automobile – Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century: First self-propelled vehicle: 1769, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot First gasoline-fuelled vehicle: 1885, Karl Benz Number of vehicles in US today: 850 million Number of times vehicles would circle planet...
When you first drive through Mount Victoria Tunnel in Wellington, New Zealand it’s impossible to miss the fact that a whole lot of people are honking their horns for absolutely no apparent reason. But there is, in fact, a very good reason for this display that’s led to the Mount Vic becoming known locally as...
That’s what rail transit advocate Tim Mollison of the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group said about a proposal to bring the Aerobus to the Kitchener-Waterloo region in Ontario, Canada. “Gondolas are for ski hills.” Now, listen. Just because you’re an advocate of one thing doesn’t mean you need to be ignorant about another thing. In fact,...