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Implications of SkyTran

This site looks at the likely effects of the new SkyTran transportation system invented by aerospace engineer Doug Malewicki and currently under development by Unimodal Inc. Other "Personal Rapid Transit" (PRT) systems have been in use since the 1970's, but SkyTran is the most radical version of a new generation of PRT systems. Tiny 100-MPH cars automatically guided on magnetic levitation (maglev) tracks above the traffic, going directly to your destination without needing to drive -- this will change all our lives in this century as much as cars and freeways did to our grandparents in the last. SkyTranSummary

Inventions shape our lives. Electricity, cars, computers and the Internet have changed where people live, how business operates and even family life and the global environment. Inventor Douglas Malewicki's proposed SkyTran system has the potential to be another of these world-changing inventions. Traveling non-stop quickly above the streets, even at rush hour, will be a dream come true for people who live in crowded cities like Manhattan or Hong Kong, or harried long-distance commuters. However, as with other revolutionary inventions, it may take us decades to see SkyTran's full impact.

For instance, if you remove the traffic jams, parking hassles, and inadequate public transportation, then dense cities may regain their historic allure for the rich and middle class; providing pleasant, perhaps car-free enclaves; yet with every kind of sophisticated service just minutes away. With tax bases rising and their problems like crime and poor schools important again to people who can make sure they get fixed, cities will become even more desirable and draw more people.... As commuting miles per gallon go from 20->200 MPG equivalent, and energy-efficient cities become the focus of growth, serious problems like global warming and America's oil addiction will start to look more solvable. (Here's hoping!)

Businesses should find cities dramatically more attractive, too, and change how they operate. Employees of a company physically distributed over a city will perceive a single "virtual office" linked by a SkyTran "elevator". If consultants and vendor shipments can be on-site in minutes, businesses can radically out-source, keeping only core functions in-house. Individuals too - why spend hours cooking or washing clothes, when any business in the city delivers to your apartment lobby or corner convenience store in minutes? Routine activities, both business and personal, will be replaced by efficient specialized services. A common measure of the degree of civilization, "having a complex division of labor", will leap upward. Dense cities, no longer choked with traffic and pollution, will become efficient production centers as well as desirable places to live.

Suburban life will change as well. Parents won't spend hours in traffic away from their families. SkyTran cars are computer controlled and mechanically locked into their guideways - so commuters can work, relax or chat on the phone while traveling with no risk of an accident. Tiny pollution-free 200-MPG cars high in the air, supported by inexpensive utility poles every thirty feet, will also have a trivial environmental impact compared with current roads and automobiles.

Rural areas too will be transformed - by visitors and packages traveling long distances rapidly without a driver. Imagine how same-day online shopping will change life on remote farms! Children with special needs or abilities will be able to reach a suitable school 50 miles away safely and efficiently, instead of struggling in a local classroom or spending hours on buses. Before his boat reaches port, a fisherman will sell his catch on eBay to ten distant restaurants, who can serve it hours later.

This wiki is a forum for informed speculation about the probable social, economic, environmental, and other effects of a proposal we believe will be revolutionary, and evaluating possible responses to its opportunities and risks from multiple perspectives. Too often new technology is promoted uncritically or opposed by reflex; if neither is to your taste, read on!

If you are unfamiliar with the basic SkyTran concept, please visit its official site , and also the inventor's site for discussions of the technical aspects. Then if you have ideas and opinions to share, please come back and contribute! Take a look at the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software. Please create a user page (see the icons at the top right of the page); so people know who contributed what and can respond.


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Note: This site was rescued from aggressive spammers who rendered it unusable for over a month. Sadly, the only way to avoid pages being destroyed at the rate of several a day was to limit editing to approved people. If you are a human being with ideas about this invention (give a few details of how you learned about it etc., please), just contact my gmail account -- howie dot goodell and I'll plug you in. Cheers! --HowieGoodell 20:14, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

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