Reality Shows

 

Cable Cars Is A Viable Mode of Transport

Going around the world ...  you will see cable cars and their uses. Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, and is being moved on cableways. The use of pulleys is a common element of cable transport. They are often used in mountainous areas 

In San Francisco, a cable car (usually known as a cable tram) is a type of cable railway used for mass transit in which rail cars are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed.

The Singapore Cable Car is a gondola lift providing an aerial link from Mount Faber on the main island of Singapore to the resort island of Sentosa across Keppel Harbour.

The largest rotating aerial tramway in the world is Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The tramway spans along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting riders from the desert floor to the pristine wilderness of Mt. San Jacinto State Park. Tram cars rotate slowly during the journey, offering picturesque and spectacular vistas of the rock formations and the valley floor below.

The Ngong Ping Cable Car is one of Hong Kong's premier attractions. This 5.7 km (about 3.5 miles) ride offers breathtaking views over the thick green peaks of Lantau Island and the shining South China Sea.

The Sandia Peak Tramway is an aerial tramway located adjacent to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It stretches from the northeast edge of the city to Sandia Peak on the ridge line of the Sandia Mountains and has the world's third longest single span. 

Snow Valley Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in Running Springs, California using gondola lifts for transport. It is the oldest continually operating ski resort in Southern California and is also one of four ski resorts in the San Bernardino National Forest. It has a total of 13 functioning lifts.

Why the sudden interest in cable cars? It all started when a neophyte lawmaker Robin Padilla suggested the use of aerial cable cars as a means to solve the worsening traffic woes in Manila. The suggestion was met with chuckles and jeers and despite viral socmed memes poking fun at the suggestion that aerial cable cars are for tourists and not made for mass transport, I still maintain that it can be done with careful study and planning.

Then somebody commented mass transport is the shuttling of thousands of passengers in one motion and it is not possible with cable cars as they can accommodate only four passengers. And cable cars are only used in mountainous areas.  Well, Manila is not the only city in the Philippines - Baguio or Tagaytay can make use of it if there's a chance with their own traffic anguish. San Francisco is hilly, but there's a part of SF specifically from Market St. to Castro District that is flat and the cable tram (which is for mass transport having 9.7 million people taking a ride on them each year) didn't seem to have a problem functioning in that area.

Alright, we admit that cable trams are slow. But where can you find a place in Manila that is fast-paced ... because the traffic is making it slow.

If I were the Senator or a congressman, I will not totally shut my eyes to the plan as it has its own sound basis as the previous administration has been looking into the matter as a viable alternative to solve traffic misery.

And Robin found an ally with the Dept. of Transportation as they have made already made some studies and it looks like it is feasible, especially in areas that can't be served by roads and rails.

And Latin America specifically Medellin Colombia, Mexico City, Brazil, and Guayaquil Ecuador had already demonstrated that cable car technology is a viable mode of transport connecting marginal hillside neighborhoods to the city metro system.

It is just a matter of where and when, but it is a viable means of transport but the cost needs another debate.