In France, what vehicle transports over 700 million passengers per year, in complete safety, and with a low environmental and urban impact? Aerial rope transportation!
This transportation method is astonishingly quiet, uses little energy, is low maintenance, and is both economical and eco-friendly. Support towers for lines are positioned every 100 or 200 meters, making the system non-intrusive in most landscapes. The systems are affordable, running at 5 - 7 million euros per kilometer -- compared to 18.5 million euros for a bus line, or 25 - 50 million euros for a tramway.
"Mountain Planet-SAM is host to the leading players in the aerial ropeway industry. We are convinced that this gentle means of transportation, which is the aerial equivalent of the underground system and has already demonstrated its success in Brazil, Columbia, Turkey, Russia and Egypt, will be key to development of transportation in future “smart cities”. The Grenelle Environment Forum states that "aerial rope transportation must be encouraged". However, in France, it remains marginal. We therefore invite policy makers to come and find out about the advantages of this excellent transportation system during Mountain Planet-SAM on 23-25 April 2014 in Grenoble", states Catherine Calmels, Managing Director for Alpexpo who organizes the trade show.
Sources : OITAF (International Organization for Transportation by Rope), Ski Areas of France