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Introduction Background BiWay Technical
Effects on Existing Industries
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For further information please contact Jim Buick
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Congestion
Pollution
Collisions
Ego and Status Symbols
Roads would still be used for local traffic, loads not suitable for the small vehicles and for conventional cars. Traffic volumes in residential areas not used as through routes should stay the same. City centres will have much less traffic. Main routes and roads used as 'rat-runs' will have greatly reduced traffic flows. This will greatly reduce their maintenance needs.
The urban and suburban environments will be enormously improved by the introduction of this system. These are zero emissions vehicles. They will be silent in towns at 40mph, and outside, where high speeds are used, will emit only the noise made by their passing through the air. Generation of the electric power needed to drive them will create pollutants but these, due to greater efficiencies, are less than those emitted by motor vehicles and more easily treated. There will also be a big saving in the energy used in the building and repairing roads. Overall, total transport related CO2 emissions could drop by perhaps one third.
When fully implemented, this concept should take something like 80% of traffic off the roads reducing road traffic collisions by about 95% (If there is nothing to hit you can't hit it). Because human beings will not be in control, on-track collisions should be able to be designed out. Being elevated, it also will be no hazard to ground level wildlife and the track could be netted to prevent bird strikes.
There may be a need for substitute ego boosters and outlets for aggression for those drivers whose cars don't just serve as transport. Having vehicles of different standards will help. The British are not alone in being infatuated with their cars. Creating a chic and cult image for this system is likely to be a greater problem than any of the technical ones. However, it is probably essential, if the system is to take off before the draconian measures that will eventually be necessary to tame the motor car, force this or something similar upon us.
