Airspace is increasingly emerging as a relevant dimension for urban mobility. Urban cable cars, a prime example of airborne modes, have already succeeded in emerging and developing countries, supplementing conventional public transit. However, aerial cable cars are less prevalent in industrialized nations, and integration with high-quality transit in such countries requires careful consideration. Therefore, this study identifies impacts, challenges, and stakeholders associated with cable cars, determines common challenges, and suggests appropriate use cases. An online consensus-based two-wave expert survey involving 63 high-caliber participants from engineering and consulting companies, public authorities, transit agencies, research institutions and cable car manufacturers yielded more than 4,700 answers. Key findings from consolidated expert knowledge indicated that cable cars could effectively supplement transit in industrialized countries. Positive impacts include connectivity to transit, reliability owing to minimal road-level competition, direct connections over obstacles, and being an attractive transit option. Negative impacts include privacy concerns, property ownership interference, limited access to adjacent sites along routes owing to aerial routing, lower capacity compared with conventional transit, and knowledge gaps. Handling passenger transfers between cable cars and other transit modes owing to height differences and passenger volumes poses service challenges. Transparent communication with stakeholders is crucial for project acceptance. Municipalities, operators/planners, politicians, and manufacturers are key stakeholders. Cable cars are considered a suitable aerial transit mode, with accessibility and safety levels similar to those of traditional transit modes. High demand is anticipated, especially when bridging barriers. In conclusion, cable cars can complement transit and this study provides valuable consensus-proven planning guidance for policy makers and practitioners.
Flesser et al. (Mon,) studied this question.