Posts Tagged: Urban Gondolas

09
Oct

2010

Weekly Roundup

A few major developments this week in the world of Urban Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit (the first three are particularly exciting!)…



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Weekly Roundup
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27
Sep

2010

Magic Highway USA

Watch the following excerpt from this 1958 episode of Disneyland TV and contemplate it for a few minutes:

Now ask yourself: How many of these inventions and innovations did the narrator virtually guarantee we’d see in our lifetimes?

And how many of them – more than a half a century later – have been realized?

I’ll admit to being drawn to conceptual future travel technologies like any transit geek (the Chinese Tunnel Bus™ for example), but I try to couch those curiosities with a thick dose of reality and practicality.

People might accuse me of being a gadgetbahn aficionado, but I think my interest in Cable Propelled Transit and Urban Gondolas is based on empirical skepticism not fantastical ideology.

It’s that practicality and skepticism – I think – that draws people to cable and gondolas. Not only are they cost-effective and robust, there exists enough examples of the technology to make a compelling argument.



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Just For Fun / Oddities
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25
Sep

2010

Weekly Roundup

This week there’s been a slew of stories about Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Cable Propelled Transit (CPT):



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Weekly Roundup
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24
Sep

2010

Urban Gondolas Are Flexible (And That Might Be A Problem)

As I’ve argued in the past, Urban Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) are not niche technologies.

Sure, cable can be used in niche settings, but the sheer variety of settings and environments cable can be adapted to prevents it from being a niche technology.

A technology that can adapt to dozens of niche settings is not a niche technology, it’s a flexible technology. And while on the surface that appears to be a quality, it might just works against the technology.

Something that is flexible, after all, is often also confusing. And confusion gets in the way of sales.



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23
Sep

2010

Hot & Cold

A common question: Can gondolas be heated and/or air conditioned?

It’s a logical question. As gondolas find more usage in the urban environment, heating and air conditioning is going to become more and more standard.

Current urban applications haven’t required cooling and heating systems for the simple reason that most people aren’t in the vehicles long enough for it to be a necessity (as most urban cable transit lines are no more than a few kilometers in length).

This is going to change in the future and the industry has only recently caught up with the problem.

The problem is basic, but has major implications: Gondolas (typically) are not connected to any power source, so where then do they draw their power from?

The typical answer lies in a combination of batteries and solar panels. Problem was, solar panels used to be very expensive and batteries not so very long-lived. It’s hard to pitch yourself as an eco-friendly technology when you’re replacing (and throwing out) a fleet of batteries every year. Not only is it hard on the image, it’s hard on the pocket book as well.

As solar panels have dropped in cost while battery lifespan has increased (and continues to), so too has the cable industry’s ability to use on-board batteries to power all sorts of electronic vehicle systems; heating and cooling included.

The timing couldn’t be better. Given the industry’s recent push into the urban market, air conditioning and heating was bound to present a problem. Without longer battery lifespans (or an entirely different technological solution), the industry could have seen their efforts severely hampered.

This feature is still a rarity amongst cable systems (not withstanding new cable car systems that tend to include third rail electricity transmission), but is one that will see increased uptake in the future.



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Uncategorized
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21
Sep

2010

The Cologne Rheinseilbahn

The Cologne (Köln) Rheinseilbahn

The Cologne (Köln) Rheinseilbahn. Image by Stephen Burch.

Given last week’s dedication to the new Rheinseilbahn in Koblenz, a reader of The Gondola Project drew my attention to another Rheinseilbahn.

This one, located in Cologne, Germany also crosses the Rhine River and – like the one in Koblenz – was built as a supplement to the annual BUGA horticultural fair.

Unlike the Koblenz system, however, the Cologne Rheinseilbahn was built in 1957!!!

According to the system’s wikipedia entry, the Cologne Rheinseilbahn is less than 1 km in length, carried 14 million people between 1957 and 2004 without accident, and now carries roughly 300,000 people per year. It is considered to be Cologne’s safest means of transport.

Now, yes, this must be taken with a grain of salt. It is, after all, a wikipedia entry. There is no reference for who feels that it’s Cologne’s safest means of transport. Further, the system doesn’t transport any where near as many people as a bus or LRT system would during a given year.

According to the official Kölner Seilbahn website, the system only runs from 10 am to 6 pm, from April 1st to November 1st. That basically means the system carries 300,000 people per year while operating just 8 out of 24 hours a day, 7 out of 12 months of the year.

Yet even with these low ridership figures, a near perfect safety record is something to admire and contemplate. Cologne’s public transit network is, after all, multi-modal. It combines light rail, bus, commuter rail, water ferries, bike trails and (of course) the private automobile. That a 53 year old BDG tourist-based gondola should be considered the safest of all is worthy of consideration.

(Note: I say “near perfect safety record” because the wikipedia entry doesn’t address safety issues post-2004. It is entirely possible that the system has maintained it’s perfect record since 2004, but without that information, it’s impossible to say.)

I hesitate to hold up the Cologne system as any sort of standard-bearer. There is too little research and information available in English for me to make any sort of qualitative judgement about it. At the same time, I think it’s a system that could lead to some interesting insights.

So…

If anyone out there has ridden this system; has more information on it; or can just generally help expand our understanding of it, please contribute in the comments below.



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Cologne Rheinseilbahn
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20
Sep

2010

The Engineer’s Dilemma

An engineer or planner is likely to argue about statistics and numbers. This can do that, this can’t do that. This will do that, this won’t do that. Problem is, most people aren’t engineers or planners.

Most people don’t have time for numbers and statistics. And who can really blame them?

We live in a time of information overload. No time to check and double-check what one person says against what another person says. At the end of the day, whomever has the better story, wins.

Does it matter that Bus Rapid Transit can do most of the same things that Light Rail Transit can do, but for a lower cost? No. Why? Because people don’t like buses. Or at least, that’s the story they’re told.

Does it matter that crime rates across the western world have been steadily decreasing since the mid-1970’s? No. Why? Because people believe our cities are dens of iniquity swarming with rapists, muggers and murderers and the only way to prevent that is to build bigger and more costly jails. Or at least, that’s the story they’re told.

Does it matter that planes and public transit are overwhelmingly safer than the private automobile? No. Why? Because people like to think that because they’re in control of their own car, they are somehow in control of their own fate. Or at least that’s the story they’re told.

Transit planners, transit engineers and the cable transit industry can argue numbers and statistics all they want, but it probably won’t do a whole lot of anything. After all, lying with numbers is easy and there are no shortage of individuals willing to manipulate those numbers to serve their own end.

That’s not to suggest you should stoop to those levels. Just because lying with numbers is easy, doesn’t mean it’s right. Instead, it’s to suggest that your (sound and ethical) numbers should be evidence in support of a greater narrative. Narratives win people over, numbers don’t. If your narrative catches people’s attention, then you’ve got your numbers to back you up.

Use your numbers as reinforcements, not your primary means of attack.



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