The privacy issue is widely seen as an obstacle (and a legitimate one at that) for gondola installations in urban areas, especially given their proximity to people’s homes. In the past, here at the Gondola Project, we’ve discussed several solutions.
One of the more innovative approaches — the “Smart Glass” technology on the Bukit Panjang LRT (Singapore), involves installing windows with a type of glass that turn opaque when the train travels beside adjacent residential buildings.
We figured that this could be great in a gondola, someone should do it. Why don’t they?! Well, as it turns out, they do!
The Morizo gondola, built for the 2005 Expo in Aichi, Japan utilizes Smart Glass technology. The glass in the cabins turns opaque for two minutes (source 1, source 2, source 3 [Japanese]) as the systems travels over homes.
Expo 2005 Transport Map - Note: There are 2 gondola lines - 1) Morizo Gondola (Dark Green Line) runs NE and 2) Kiccoro Gondola (Light Green) runs NS
Here is the gondola system. Some nice tower designs but nothing incredibly special.
Gondola at Expo 2005 - Aichi, Japan. Image by Flickr User OPRAHHATPARTY
Until we found this… video proof of the smart glass in action!
The video is only 6 seconds but nonetheless demonstrates that many of the privacy concerns created by gondola installations can be addressed with just a bit of creative thinking.
While this may not be the ideal solution for every CPT system, the Morizo Gondola certainly demonstrates the possibilities. This may be an incredibly useful example to cite when discussing topics as sensitive as privacy.
Also: here’s another super cool video (skip to 50 seconds mark) that illustrates how a true multi-modal transport system would look like if gondolas were added to the mixture. If Google Translate is accurate, this is a video of the Limino Maglev Line that was built specifically for the Expo 2005.
For more photos of this system, please check out our Flickr galleries of the Morizo and Kiccoro gondola system.
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