Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasonhouse
How fast do these things go? How many people per hour can they carry? I'm having trouble finding the 'specs' for such systems.
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Well, it all depends on the specific technology and the application.
The usual rule of thumb max capacity for a quad chairlift is 2,400 uphill skiers per hour. So, that's 2,400 people per hour in one direction. Gondolas (on the account of having a larger capacity cabin - 6 to 8 passengers, but often with slightly larger gaps between cars) can pus 3,000 skiers per hour.
A big Aerial Tramway, such as the
new one at Jackson Hole, has a much lower capacity but can scale much more challenging terrain and offers a much longer ride - base to summit, 2+ miles in distance and 4,300 feet of vertical - in just 9 minutes. Still, with 9 minute headways on a double-jigback tram like that with two 100 passenger cars, your uphill capacity is just 650 skiers per hour.
As far as urban applications for aerial trams and gondolas, I'd think you'd need a challenge that matches the technology. What these kind of systems have in terms of efficiency is lost with simplicity - there's a reason ski lifts go from bottom to top with no stops in between - because stops are complicated, as are turns.
That's not to say it can't be done, as there are lots of cable propelled people movers and whatnot - but almost all are limited to relatively simple operations, which in turn can maximize the advantages of the technology's simplicity (full automation, reliability, etc).