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What if the problem with cars was not their method of propulsion? Epthinktank | European Parliament (epthinktank.eu)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Instead of just electrifying vehicles, cities should be investing in alternative methods of transportation. This article is by the Scientific Foresight Unit of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), a EU's own think tank.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Isaac Asimov decades ago imagined a future where nuclear plants provided infinite clean energy, and still people in his cities moved on foot, on large systems of conveyors.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago

The conveyors imagined by Asimov and Heinlein have got to be the dumbest things they ever thought of. I love those guys and generally they had interesting ideas but this one... wow.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

In Paris Montparnasse just after 2000, they had a speed conveyor, like at the airport but accelerating up to (IIRC) 11km/h (and decelerating at the end ofc). Wild times!

They lowered the speed as I guess too many people fell. It wasn't really intuitive as the handrail didn't accelerate at the same way so you had nothing to hold onto. I don't know what happened with the project.

It was called the TGV, Tapis Grand Vitesse mimicking the TGV for Train Grand Vitesse (the French speed trains acronym).

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

I mean, I don't think conveyors are a good solution, but it's telling that someone so long ago already rejected cars as a viable transportation method.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago

In Paris Montparnasse they had a speed conveyor, like at the airport but accelerating up to (IIRC) 11km/h (and decelerating at the end ofc). Wild times!

They lowered the speed as I guess too many people fell. It wasn't really intuitive as the handrail didn't accelerate at the same way so you had nothing to hold onto.