Tel Aviv Is Testing A Futuristic 'Sky Car' System

Alyson PennJun 25, 2014, 22:30 IST

Tel Aviv will introduce a network of sky-high cars by 2016, BBC reports. If successful, the prototype will become the basis for a larger, commercial transit system.

The 500-meter loop of hovercraft rail is a collaboration between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and California-based company skyTran. It will be constructed on IAI's Tel Aviv campus.

Image courtesy of: www.skytran.usskyTran Cityscape rendering

The system will include computer-controlled, two-person hover cars gliding along elevated railways through magnetic levitation (maglev) technology.

According to The Telegraph, this will be the most substantial trial of skyTran to date. And although the cars in the test will only go 43 miles per hour, they are capable of "much higher speeds."

Image courtesy of: www.skytran.usInside the car

Silicon Valley-based skyTran's mission is to "transport passengers in a safe, green, and economical manner," intending to "revolutionize public transportation and, with it, urban and suburban commuting."

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Individual tickets for the Tel Aviv system will be about $5 per rider, which locals and visitors can book through their smartphones.

Image courtesy of: www.skytran.usskyTran above traffic rendering

If the prototype succeeds, skyTran says the network be implemented throughout 125 miles of urban and suburban landscape of central Israel.

They plan to build more routes in France, India, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Tel Aviv Is Testing A Futuristic 'Sky Car' System