HISTORY Modern Cable Propelled Transit started in Caracas, Venezuela with the Mount Avila Gondola. This system was originally built in the middle of the last century to carry people from Caracas to the top of Mount Avila where the luxurious Hotel Humboldt had been built. Political and economic strife caused the government to leave for...
A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of urban gondolas, cable cars and cable propelled transit: After breaking ground in 2010, North America’s newest bottom-supported cable car, the BART to OAK (aka: BART to Oakland International Airport Automated Guideway Transit), will finally open on Saturday. Trains will arrive every...
A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of cable cars, urban gondolas, and cable propelled transit: The Mariche Metrocable in Caracas, Venezuela is officially inaugurated. A neighbourhood blog in Seattle suggests using urban gondolas as a solution to the local “Montlake Mess” transport problem. Politicians in London...
Last week we told you about the soon-to-be-opened Mariche Metrocable in Caracas, Venezuela. As we mentioned, the system would be Caracas’s second public transit urban gondola system and the first known system to implement an express line. We’ve since gathered more details: Apparently, the line that is about to open is only the express line....
A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of cable cars, urban gondolas, and cable propelled transit: In Caracas, Venezuela, Latin America’s largest barrio, Petare, is to benefit from upcoming investments in cable car transit systems. Should this occur, Caracas will become only the second Latin American city...
A quick look at some of the highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit: Here’s something I never – and I mean never – thought I’d be obligated to include in a Weekly Roundup: A Gibraltar area ape took a harrowing cable car ride and found himself stranded onto a...
If Caracas can use ski lifts as public transit what are the chances they could do something even more bizarre to ease one’s daily commute? Plenty apparently. Carlos Ocariz, mayor of the Caracas municipality of Sucre, has deployed 120 mimes into Venezuela’s most congested city. The mimes are tasked with taming the city’s notorious traffic and...
The above map is the Caracas Metro System. Metro de Caracas, of course, is one of the few transit systems in the world to utilize a Cable Propelled Transit (they call it the Metrocable) system. Look closely at the map and you’ll see all the other CPT lines Metro de Caracas has planned. All eight of...
It’s only a matter of time before someone builds an urban gondola or Cable Propelled Transit system in your world. It’s only a matter of when, where and whose first. I know this because I read dozens of documents and reports from amateurs and professionals alike, answer a fair bit of email and listen to...
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...