The other day I wrote about how Toronto’s streetcars were like shooting chickadees with cannonballs. In terms of speed, the streetcars were designed to operate at speeds far in excess of what was possible in an urban environment.
So how does CPT stack up on our Cannonball Index (that doesn’t exist, by the way, but wouldn’t it be great if it did)? Pretty well, in fact.
Cable-Propelled Transit maxes out at around 40 km/hr and most are built with a maximum speed of around 27 – 35 km/hr. Doesn’t sound too impressive, does it? Remember, though, these vehicles actually travel at that speed. None of this built to go 100 but actually goes 10 nonsense.
Of course we have to factor in the time required for the vehicle to stop and allow passengers to alight and board but that time is offset by three major factors:
First, terminal time. Because CPT is almost always fully automated, terminal time (the time a vehicle idles at its two terminal stations) is statistically irrelevant.
Second, drivers’ breaks. Again, because CPT is typically fully automated with driverless vehicles no time and speed loss occurs due to bathroom breaks.
Third, crawl speed. In the case of aerial-supported Gondola systems, vehicles don’t stop at stations. Instead, they are slowed down to what is known as “crawl speed” or “creep speed”. Vehicles move through the stations at a speed of less than a meter per second allowing passengers to safely board and alight. For those with accessibility issues, the vehicles can be stopped entirely for safe loading. Crawl speed doesn’t have a dramatic impact on overall average speed, but it does increase it somewhat.
So next time you’re riding a streetcar in Toronto . . . please, think of the chickadees.
Please, think of me?
Creative Commons image by spaceamoeba
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