You can classify urban Cable Propelled Transit systems in three ways: The first category are those lines that are integrated into public transit systems. These may be used by tourists, but tourists are not the target market; local weekday commuters are. The Portland Aerial Tram, Roosevelt Island Tram, Medellin Metrocable, Perugia MiniMetro and Caracas Metrocable,...
We can use ski lifts as transit!?! That’s a Eureka Moment and one that’s been happening to the urban transit community for the last 10 years. It’s big, it’s profound and it’s exciting. It’s also unwieldily and awkward because too much has been left uncovered and left unsaid. There are too many questions, too many...
How you define a problem determines how you solve it. Most transit agencies, planners and governments tend to define an urban public transit problem as a decision between Roads and Rails: Should we use buses, light rail/streetcars or subways? It’s no surprise then when buses, light rail/streetcars or subways are the end result. That’s what...
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably noticed something problematic about the Caracas Metrocable: The stations are enormous. We’re not talking about just “big” here. We’re talking about “big enough for Cirque du Soleil to perform in.” This is because the stations themselves are not really stations at all. Whut? Exactly. In actuality, the Caracas...
The above image was created by Andrew Burleson over at Neohouston.com. It’s a conceptual/theoretical CPT line he designed for a poorly-serviced area of Houston. Conceptual transit lines are a cottage industry for the transit enthusiast and hobbyist. They’re wonderful and exciting and they’re everywhere. I think every major city has a few people who do...
Like the Medellin Metrocable, the Caracas Metrocable is a MDG system, the most basic of aerial Cable Propelled Transit technologies. It is fully-integrated into the local Metro system, has a maximum operating speed of 18 km/hr, a capacity of 3,000 pphpd and is 1.8 km long. Vehicles can carry 8 sitters and 2 standees. The...
The Caracas Metrocable, Introduction Imitation, they say, is the greatest form of flattery. And if that’s the case, then Caracas is clearly smitten with Medellin. Inspired by Medellin’s incredibly positive experience with Cable Propelled Transit, Venezuela has embarked on their own CPT campaign, beginning first in the capital city of Caracas. Like Medellin, Caracas exists...
One of the little-considered, but no less useful value-added features of Cable Propelled Transit is the ease with which headways, speed and capacity may be adjusted. Throughout any given day, capacity and headway (and to a lesser extent, speed) needs on a specific transit line will fluctuate. That’s why we have terms such as “Crush...
My absolute, all-time favorite aerial cable technology is a little-known configuration called The Funitel. The technology was originally created by Lift Engineering, Inc. an American company (that mercifully no longer exists) with one of the worst safety records in the industry. While the concept behind the Funitel was ingenious, the engineering wasn’t. It wasn’t until...