21–30 of 64 posts
Waaaay too many moving parts if you ask me. I have an alternative idea: Electric monowheels(or kick scooters): -Not fixed-route. -Barely any maintenance. -Even the non-exploding ones cost as much as (subsidized) public transport over their lifetime. -Same speed as this moving sidewalk and bicycles - could potentially share the bike lanes with the latter. Two major disadvantages though are weight and usability in bad…
I visit Toronto quite often. They have a moving sidewalk (conveyor system) in Terminal 3 when you arrive and disembark from your plane. The video of the moving sidewalk they link looks to be the one I'm referring to and if you look at the date it's from 2009. That's probably the last year it was in operation. In the last 2-3 years (and I'm there at least once a month) the moving sidewalks have maintenance signs on th…
There was a fast (10 kph) moving sidewalk in the Paris metro station "Montparnasse" for 12 years or so. It never worked out. You can't easily step on it; for years they had to have employees helping people stepping on the fast lane without falling down. And the thing broke down all the time, it was barely available half the time. Finally they replaced it with a good old fashioned 4 kph moving sidewalk. Faster isn't a…
Robert A. Heinlein wrote a short story in 1940, "The Roads Must Roll", featuring long-distance, high-speed moving roads, not just sidewalks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roads_Must_Roll
Doesn't pass physics or business tests. Yeah, bat-shit-crazy fits this. But, hey, NY Mag needed to fill some much needed space to generate clicks. Mission accomplished.
And that's because buses are THE WORST form of transportation imaginable. Anything is better than a bus. Buses have never been the opposite of obsolete. They were always a step backwards. Trolleys with dedicated lanes make sense. When travelling distances of less than 30 miles, buses are for people who hate themselves.