Cable Cars See Increased Usage As Transit In Developing World

Low-cost, high capacity urban gondolas and cable cars are being successfully used as public transit and tools of urban revitalization in Colombia, Algeria and other parts of the developing world.

1 minute read

April 11, 2010, 9:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Megan McConville writes: "Metrocable was designed to reach some of the least developed suburban areas of Medellín, poor barrios on the hills surrounding the city that cannot be reached by conventional public transit. Opened in 2006, Metrocable was intended to connect the inhabitants of these barrios to the rest of the city. It has succeeded in easing their commutes and has also helped revitalize some of the areas it passes through. 'People in Santo Domingo [one of the barrios] used to say that they weren't part of Medellin,' says a cable car engineer. 'They had to take three separate buses to get to it. But now they feel that they are involved in the city.'"

Thanks to Steven Dale

Wednesday, April 7, 2010 in www.TheCityFix.com

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