Driverless pods, gliding above city streets using a network of elevated guideways. This is SkyTranbut is it the future?
SkyTran wants to do away with train schedules and central stations to develop a grid system above the ground with multiple “off ramps” acting as stations where users can board pre-booked pods — a cab service for the skies.
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But Chin is concerned that systems like this only add extra infrastructure to the environment. “The construction and operation of the SkyTran infrastructure is not an inexpensive proposition considering you need to have stations that bring people up and down, and in places that don’t have enough urban density this will be too far for people to walk to and from and likely remain car dependent.”
For Sanders, however, if all goes to plan, commuters in congested cities around the world could ditch their cars and timetables and see their transportation tailored to suit their schedules — the opposite of today’s commuting trauma. “Being stuck in traffic is just the most stress-inducing, soul-crushing part of society today,” says Sanders. “We really want to make people’s lives better and elevated, high-speed transportation is the answer.”
