A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of urban gondolas, cable cars and cable propelled transit:
The Green Line (Linea Verde) in La Paz-El Alto officially opened for service yesterday. If that’s not exciting enough, President Evo Morales announced that contracts for 5 more urban cable car lines, totalling $450 million, will be signed in January 2015! A portion of profits from the three existing cable car lines will be used to build the new gondolas that would expand the system considerably.
- Europe’s largest purpose-built business district, La Defense in Paris, is once again planning to install an urban cable car, an idea that dates back to the 1990s. The proposed system would connect to Défense 1, Grande Arche de la Defense, Arena 92 and the Groues district.
- In a recent interview, the mayor of Marburg, Germany spoke about the Cable Propelled Transit (CPT) line proposed for his city. It appears that a feasibility study has already been completed, but the results have not yet been released.
- Univers-Nature, a French website dedicated to sustainability and green living, has picked up on the urban gondola movement in France. The brief article underlines the qualities that have attracted many cities to the idea of cable propelled transit — that, aside from being less expensive than a tram or subway, an urban gondola creates less of an environmental footprint and offers carbon offset advantages.
- And if your trek to work is making you feel a little down today, check out these photos of some of the most jam-packed commutes in the world. We’re not quite sure why they put up a picture of Line Red from La Paz as their main photo, other than to incite jealousy.
- Algerian online TV show Dzair took viewers on a joyride aboard the new téléphérique Oued Koriche-Bouzaréah.