Subways are unanimously recognised as the most efficient means of urban public transport. They are 3D separated from the alternative traffic, making them safer and faster. However, this comes with some downsides:
- It requires a huge investment that most of the cities cannot afford.
- Its implementation takes many years and hinders the alternative traffic and activities in the neighbourhood.
- After being put in use, the first-mile-last-mile trips significantly increase the overall trip time and aggravate traffic congestion around subway stations.
- During pandemics, subways are very efficient ways of spreading germs and viruses.
Our benchmark for this case study is the most recently opened Tube line in London—the Elizabeth Line. It cost 18.25 billion, has a total length of 73 miles, took 13.5 years to build, and no passenger was transported until after the ribbon was cut. The glow around the purple line on the map represents the concentration of people travelling towards and from the subway stations, as well as the area where traffic was severely hindered during construction.
For the same amount of money, 18.25 billion, Nymbel can build 1825 miles of infrastructure, out of which 875 miles would be enough to cover entire London’s public transportation needs and decongest the road traffic so to transition from the most congested capital in the world the most decongested one. The network can be configured to best suit communities’ needs. This example starts with some 20-miles-long radial tracks that link park-and-rides at the outskirts to the city centre, connected through concentric ring tracks surrounding the centre and placed at 1/4 mile apart. The largest ring track in this example has a diameter of 20 miles.
Wherever you are throughout the network there’s always a station at no more than 10 minutes-walk. You can board in any station and the system will take you to your final destination anywhere within the network, on the optimal route, without a single intermediary stop, and without having to worry about a thing.
Traffic on ring tracks unfolds at an average of 40-60 mph and on radial tracks at 60-80 mph.
Instead of forcing people to travel the first-mile-last-mile, concentrating people around the stations, Nymbel shortens the unwanted/unneeded distance to a quarter dispersing them. Nymbel stations are designed so that people-in don’t intersect with people-out. This characteristic in conjunction with the fact that the single occupancy PODs are automatically disinfected after every trip, using the embedded UVC lights in the POD’s ceiling, makes it safe to use the system even during pandemics.
As soon as a one-mile-long sector installation is completed it can be connected to the existing network and put into use straight away. A team of 6 people can install a 2-way mile of Nymbel infrastructure within a month, without hindering significantly the alternative traffic.
The remaining 950 miles could be used to solve traffic congestion in two or three adjacent cities and interconnect them.
t’s worth keeping in mind that a Nymbel’s lane width is 1.4 m, but it has the same capacity as a two-lane-one-way road, totalising 7.2 m. A 2-way track measures 2.8 m and has the same capacity as a 4-lane-2-way road.