Gondola Monorail Could Ease Mexico City Traffic

Mexico City is considering a novel transit idea: two-person gondolas gliding along an aerial track. The costs of such a system may be far lower than extending the subway system.

1 minute read

December 5, 2015, 1:00 PM PST

By Philip Rojc @PhilipRojc


Famous Mexico City traffic

rutlo / Flickr

Despite very high transit ridership, Mexico City's streets are still clogged. In response, "the city's science, technology and innovation department, known as Seciti, on Nov. 26 unveiled a prototype of an aerial transportation system that would float over the sea of cars, potholes and street protests that regularly disrupt life in the enormous metropolis."

"The solution is a kind of elevated monorail, with gondolas that run on a horizontal track, and it could really help unload the city's crowded streets, officials say. A 5km (3 mile) line could move 37 million people a year—and up to 200 million if it were extended another 10 km. For perspective, the busiest subway line transports around 290 million passengers a year." And it's not a cable car system; individual gondolas will propel themselves.

While it's still just an idea, the upside is low costs: "officials estimate the price tag for a kilometer of line would be between $9 million and $19 million, compared with $190 million for a kilometer of subway."

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