Texas cities consider renewable-powered aerial gondolas for future transit

Oct 31

Jack Aylmer Energy Correspondent

By Jack Aylmer (Energy Correspondent), Zachary Hill (Video Editor), Ali Caldwell (Motion Graphics Designer)

A new mode of urban transit may eventually glide across the Texas skyline, as several cities explore the potential of electric gondolas powered by renewable energy. However, these potential projects have drawn criticism, with some questioning the costs, commuter value and the reliability of similar endeavors in the past.

Swyft Cities, the company that implements the proposed aerial system dubbed Whoosh, aims to bring zero-emission cable cars to Texas. The company touts benefits such as quick installation times, flexible nonstop routes and a reduced environmental footprint.

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Google originally showcased this transportation infrastructure, before the team developing it left the tech giant to commercialize the product.

According to Swyft Cities, the Whoosh system could be built in months. It also said it offers a faster timeline than many other conventional mass transit projects.

The gondolas are modeled after on-demand services like Uber and would run continuously. They would also have the ability to take flexible routes by navigating an elevated guideway.

The company claims its gondolas require only about one-sixth of the power used by typical buses or rail. It also claims a one-hour ride uses the same amount of energy as a 10-minute shower.

“Whoosh provides the ’perfect Uber’ – fast, on-demand, nonstop trips with a great view. Vehicles are waiting for you at stations, instead of the other way around,” Jeral Poskey, CEO of Swyft Cities, said. “Whoosh can connect places across North Texas in new ways that will get you there quickly and conveniently, enabling you to glide over street traffic with zero emissions.”

Several Texas cities, including Arlington, Dallas, Frisco, DeSoto and Plano in the northern part of the state, and Sugar Land in the Southeast, have expressed interest.

Meanwhile, local critics cite high costs and question its feasibility. They point to the Las Colinas monorail outside Irving, Texas, which eventually ceased operations in 2020.

Although Whoosh hasn’t launched in any U.S. city, Swyft Cities’ engineering partners are moving forward with a pilot project in Queenstown, New Zealand. That project is expected to go live by 2027.

Tags: carbon emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, Renewable energy, Texas, Uber, zero-emissions

[Jack]

ELECTRIC SKY GONDOLAS COULD BE COMING TO TEXAS-

WITH SEVERAL CITIES IN THE STATE EXPRESSING INTEREST IN THE TECHNOLOGY.

BUT CRITICS SAY THESE PROJECTS WOULD BE TOO COSTLY AND NOTE SIMILAR ENDEAVORS HAVE FAILED IN THE PAST.

SWFYT CITIES IS THE COMPANY LOOKING TO PROVIDE AERIAL CABLE CARS POWERED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY TO THE LONESTAR STATE.

DUBBED WHOOSH, THIS TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE WAS ORIGINALLY SHOWCASED BY GOOGLE-

BEFORE THE TEAM DEVELOPING IT LEFT THE TECH GIANT TO COMMERCIALIZE THE PRODUCT.

SWFYT CITIES CLAIMS THEIR ZERO-EMISSIONS WHOOSH SYSTEM CAN BE BUILT IN MONTHS, MUCH FASTER THAN INSTALLING MANY OTHER MODES OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

THEY WOULD RUN ON DEMAND, LIKE UBER, AND CONTINUOUSLY, WITH ABILITY TO TAKE FLEXIBLE NON-STOP ROUTES BY NAVIGATING AN ELEVATED GUIDEWAY-

PURPORTEDLY HELPING TO REDUCE TRAVEL TIMES FOR LOCALS, WHILE BEING TWICE AS EFFICIENT AS E-VS.

THE COMPANY SAYS THE CABLE CARS USE ROUGHLY ONE-SIXTH THE ENERGY OF A U.S. BUS OR RAIL SYSTEM-

AND A ONE-HOUR RIDE REQUIRES ROUGHLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF ENERGY AS HAVING A 10-MINUTE SHOWER.

TEXAS CITIES INCLUDING ARLINGTON, DALLAS, SUGAR LAND, FRISCO, DESOTO, AND PLANO ARE ALL EXPLORING ADOPTING SKY GONDOLAS.

HOWEVER, SOME LOCALS DON’T THINK THE TECH IS WORTH THE MILLIONS IN CITY FUNDS THAT WILL BE REQUIRED TO INSTALL IT-

AND POINT TO THE MONORAIL SYSTEM IN LAS COLINAS THAT CEASED OPERATIONS IN 20-20 AS A COMPARABLE PROJECT THAT DIDN’T PAN OUT.

THE WHOOSH SYSTEM HAS STILL YET TO BE TESTED OUT IN ANY U.S. CITY-

BUT IN QUEENSLAND, NEW ZEALAND A PILOT PROJECT WITH SWFYT CITIES IS UNDERWAY, EXPECTED TO GET UP AND RUNNING BY 20-27.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NEW MODES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSPORTATION, AND THEIR POTENTIAL PITFALLS, DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP AND SIGN UP FOR ALERTS FROM ME – JACK AYLMER.