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Dubai has taken steps to add an entirely new transport concept to the city.
The Sky Pods – which will travel alongside the Dubai Metro – will be able to transport two to five people around set routes around the city.
The futuristic urban mobility scheme was signed off yesterday, between the UK’s BeemCar Ltd and the Roads and Transport Authority.
The system works on steel wheels that move on suspended rails. It will move quicker than the metro, and due to its much smaller need for tracks (over a traditional train, for example) can go places it cannot.
.@rta_dubai signs an agreement with BeemCar Ltd; one of the biggest developers of sky pods in the world. According to the agreement, the company will develop sky pods; a futuristic urban mobility system in Dubai, characterized by speed, safety & the efficient use of resources. pic.twitter.com/f6KABHdWHy
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 26, 2020
There are two versions of the sky pod currently in development.
The Unibike is set to travel at a maximum speed of 150-kilometres per hour, and will carry around 20,000 people per hour. The second model can travel distances of 200-kilometres, and carr up to 50,000 riders per hour.
Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the RTA, said that signing the deal was significant:
“The signing of the agreement is part of RTA’s efforts to deploy autonomous transit means in line with the Dubai Self-Driving Transport Strategy aimed at diverting 25 percent of total mobility journeys in Dubai to autonomous transit means by 2030.”
“The move corresponds to RTA’s efforts to enhance the integration of mass transit modes, and offer a solution to the first and last-mile challenge; which helps riders reach their final destinations,” he said.
There is no word when these Sky Pods will begin appearing over the city, however we’d expect prototypes to start being tested by 2022.
