A Christchurch company aims to revolutionise how we travel around cities by offering a transport option that glides above the congested roads and queues of traffic.
For the last five years, Whoosh has been working on its innovative transportation technology inside its Christchurch lab, and says its first installation will be in Queenstown, "very soon".
Whoosh chief executive Dr Chris Allington said the gondola-like cable cars combine the best of ride-hailing services with elements of the urban gondola industry to create a "unique and revolutionary elevated transportation system".
"Using the Whoosh App, riders can hail or pre-book an autonomous electric vehicle that speeds along an elevated guideway to their nearest station. Once on board, passengers can quietly glide to their chosen destination on a nonstop ride with 360-degree views.
"This is truly revolutionary for how we travel. Whoosh has been getting a lot of positive interest from transportation planners, executives, and investors around the world. We’ve largely kept it under wraps, selectively sharing it first-hand with key industry leaders, early adopters, and project developers.
"We have been in stealth mode working diligently on the technology and quietly collecting and integrating market feedback and insights. After years of development, we’re very excited to be able to present the technology to everyone."
Holmes Group, a diverse engineering firm based in Hornby, is behind Whoosh.
"Part of the early buzz has been around how unique Whoosh is. At first glance it resembles a gondola, but it’s quite different. Whoosh uses a lightweight guideway that has fixed cables, not moving ones like gondolas," Allington said.
"Our vehicles cruise along the guideway, driving themselves fully autonomously and only travelling when needed. The vehicles can bypass stations so they take riders directly to where they want to go without stopping unnecessarily.
"The system is low cost, simple to install and easy to expand, allowing the network to grow as demand increases. Whoosh has big economic benefits, it’s a fraction of the cost of other transport options like light rail, it is cheaper than building huge new roadways to cope with increased traffic demands, and it scales as demand grows."
Allington said the Whoosh system could be installed along existing roads without disrupting or impacting current travel options. The system has small regularly spaced stations located at ground level or directly connected to buildings and hotels, making them convenient for riders to access.
"We designed Whoosh from the ground up to seamless fit within existing urban environments and to work in conjunction with existing travel options."
The vehicles also have very low energy consumption, using 50 per cent less energy compared to road based EVs because they travel continuously during each trip.
"This is New Zealand-developed technology and we have very strong support from local business and the government, it’s really helped us to accelerate project planning locally. We will start work on the first Whoosh installation at Remarkables Park in Queenstown very soon.
"Whoosh is transport for the future. We want to create a new path for people to travel on here and around the world."
