Vision to revolutionise Tauranga transport

Tauranga's Cameron Road could one day be served by a system of elevated roadside cabs called Skycabs. Photo/file

The promoters of a network of overhead driverless cabs are due to put their ideas to the Tauranga City Council today.

Called SkyCabs, the vision on the company's website described how panoramic views unfolded from eight-seater cabs that hung below a narrow beam, eight to 10 metres above city pavements.

It looked similar to a monorail system but instead of cabs travelling on top of the beam, they hung under the beam and could operate 24-hours-a-day.

''Its small footprint and small beam is designed to travel down narrow roads and in architecturally and archaeologically sensitive areas ... it can be designed to blend into the existing built environment,'' SkyCabs' website said.

Passengers were picked up close to home and delivered to destinations at speeds of up to 80km/h.

Auckland architect Hugh Chapman came up with the concept and design, with patents granted in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the United States.

''The initial feasibility of the concept and design has been verified by professional consultants and industrial companies,'' the website said.

SkyCabs' mission was to design quality, low-impact elevated passenger transport solutions that were environmentally sustainable.

Potential passenger capacity for each line was 4800 seats per hour per direction, or 9600 per hour with half of the passengers seated.

Stations would be served by fast lifts and stairs and located above carparks in shopping centres, above small shops and along main roads.

Waiting times of one to four minutes made timetables unnecessary. The website said trips would take half the time of other modes of public transport and cars during peak hours.

SkyCabs were described as being easy to build into a streetscape, with less land acquisition required for right of way and lower costs than bus rapid transit, light rail, rail, and monorails.

''Single occupant rides are not expected to be prohibitively loss making.''

Driven by electricity, the cabs were described as whisper quiet with a small footprint at ground level and in the air. They were ''visually unobtrusive'' and ''casts a small shadow''.

It said that where a city's population was too small to support highly expensive systems, SkyCabs gave mobility and delivered passengers to ''dispersed destinations''.

The concept was due to be outlined to the council's transport committee.