I am decidedly against the City of Toronto’s decision to purchase almost 2 billion one-and-a-quarter billion dollars worth of new streetcars/light rail. And my problem with the decision has absolutely nothing to do with my position on CPT. I recognize that CPT is not a technology for all environs and I recognize that streetcar technology has...
I’d like to congratulate Andrew Burleson, Dean Hall and David Morris over at neoHOUSTON for their Cable Propelled Challenge. The challenge was a quick and dirty design competition to see where neoHOUSTON’S readers would install a CPT system. Given the short turn-around time, it was impressive to see a half-dozen quality submissions. Congratulations to Danny...
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...
A thought experiment: In the very near future, a global network of engineers, planners, scientists and policy-makers develop the most advanced form of public transit the world’s ever known. It runs solely on renewable resources. It carries tens of thousands of people. It doesn’t stop at intermediary stations. The vehicles themselves are 100% recyclable. It...
Over at The City Fix, Megan McConville has a great piece on cable transit called Up, Up and Away in a Cable Car. It’s an excellent analysis of the technology that talks extensively about the management difficulties and poor decision-making behind the Maokong Gondola in Taipei. Well worth the read and very informative for cities...
Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, He travels the fastest who travels alone. Rudyard Kipling (1890)
In the central German city of Wuppertal is a piece of transit infrastructure completely unique in the world. Translated directly, the Wuppertal Schwebebahn means “floating railway” and it’s easy to see how it received it’s name. Built in 1900, the Shwebebahn in the oldest monorail on the planet and an elegant piece of transit history...
All images courtesy of the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. Design by Johannes Geisler.
My hunch is that many people stumble onto the topic of Cable Propelled Transit (and this website) by googling the words urban and gondola or urban gondola. If not, go ahead and try it and see what you come up with. I’ll wait . . . So what did you find? Likely you came upon several...
I love skeptics. Skeptics are a necessary check and balance in our entire system. They’re also some of the most positive and exciting individuals you’ll come across. There is a difference, however, between healthy skepticism and cynicism, even though the two terms are often used interchangeably. Skeptics challenge the status quo and vet new ideas....