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Oh, you're right, that's no fun. Your idea is MUCH better... I mean, those dangling pods have already been tested out in amusement parks and ski resorts all over the world, so I'm sure people will be lining up to ride the Skytram. And then when things go a little wonky, as things inevitably do, like one of the propulsion units crapping out, so that all the dangling pods behind them get stuck until the Rescue Rangers show up, nobody will be upset because they'll all be like "Whee, just like Disneyland!"
Personally, I just can't get past the mental image of a hook breaking, or a ring, and the pod dropping, and squashing a group of school children below, who were innocently waiting for a crossing guard to give them the signal to cross the half empty street, now that all the pod people are busy hooking up.
Your previous experience and mental imagery is getting in your way rather than helping. The swaying motion of suspended pods is not intrinsic to something being suspended. Swaying is created by using a single suspension point (I've ridden my share of ski lifts) or not having significant distance between suspension points, or by suspending from something like wire rope, which has its own flexibility. I'm in agreement that such stuff would be ridiculous.
Pods getting stuck and tying up the traffic would not happen for three reasons
1. Propulsion pods for the overhead would be completely standard (highly engineered) designs and OWNED by the entity that was in charge of the track. That entity would shop all maintenance, eliminating Uncle Joe from messing it up with tinkering.
2. Each of those would have an automatic diagnostic run before being allowed to access the tram. If the diagnostic indicated a problem, that pod would not be allowed on the track.
3. If a pod stalled on the track, the following pods would be programmed to push it to the next access point, where it would be taken off-system. Alternately, the emergency propulsion system would power it, as described below.
With the pods and propulsion units eliminated from the equation, that leaves the track itself. If the track is damaged, then pods are automatically re-routed to surface streets to avoid that one section. The pods on the section at the time of damage would have no track power and go into emergency mode, where the internal power unit used for street level running would power the overhead propulsion unit at a minimal level, using a completely separate smaller electric motor and wheels. Pods beyond the break would creep forward, those behind it go backward.
A key to this is that the system is both "smart" and has redundancy.
Too many greens are property of the Democrat political machine, which means they will never stand up to unions.
Finally, someone got that it wasn't about the individual workers.
The costs in all forms were known before the strikes.
If someone throws a single piece of trash out the window, pay a big fine. A refinery fire? Oh no, the pollution, lets pay off everyone including those that weren't around but came up for the event, you know, to visit friends, cough cough cough.
Are there alternatives to BART or any mass transit system? Of course, there are cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and who knows, maybe an Elio or two thrown in for good measure.
Strange though, how much hand wringing and doomsday predictions there are because of the pollution cars generate until something like this happens, where the amount of added pollution can be calculated one way or another, yet no big deal.
The union called for the strike, they had options to get what they wanted too. The strikes ended because the workers were a few days away from a massive reaction to them that would have resulted in a lot of them being unemployed. Because they had options, their union like any other business (because don't kid yourself, it is a business) would have to pay significant fines for causing the conditions that led to the pollution. Greed caused that pollution, not some idea of not having enough money to buy food.
In the overall scheme of things did that amount of pollution matter? If the answer is no, then by golly lets stop crying about other pollution sources too.
As for those tubes ala Tesla's deal, there is even a better way, especially for the Bay Area. Catapults. They put the rider in one and shoot them over the Bay, aimed directly at their office window. Maybe they make it, maybe they don't. Either way, less pollution. _)
The BART union is despised by many, if not most, Bay Area people...who are the most liberal in the US...due to their propensity to hold transit riders hostage each and every time their contract comes up. So they're not particularly well-liked by many liberals in the area, even those who are otherwise pro-union (myself included).
Oh those poor BART workers who "average" quite a bit over $100,000 per year. Their union is flush with money. A union is a business like any other. They should be held accountable like any other.
I just don't understand, why they don't have a long term contract instead of doing this every year. I don't understand how union minds work but I guess there must be something about it otherwise it would have gone long time ago.
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