With the increase in the environmental pollution, it is high time we start reducing the use of automobiles that run with the help of fossil fuels. This change has been recently brought at the London Heathrow Airport, where diesel buses are being rapidly replaced with driver-less electric vehicles.
These new electric vehicles are being used to transport passengers from the terminal to the parking area. The electric pods are claimed to be faster and quieter as compared to the traditional diesel buses that were used earlier. These electric pods have been manufactured by ULTra PRT and have been serving the passengers at the airport from April 2011. Two diesel buses have already been replaced by twenty two new electric vehicles. After the arrival of the electric pods, carrying passenger to and fro has become easier. Earlier, the buses had to make at least 200 trips daily but with the new vehicles traveling has become less hectic. These pods have a separate route and they do not disturb the traffic in the parking area. The distance from the terminal to the parking area is about 1.2 miles and the pod covers the distance in around 5 to 6 minutes. In total, the vehicles carry around 800 people everyday. This facility has really helped the passengers to travel easily.
The electric pods have lots of other attractive features that make it far more superior than the buses. The speed of the pods is about 25 miles per hour and it can carry 4 to 6 people with their luggage. It has the capacity to function even in bad weather and is a very low-maintenance vehicle. As the vehicle is unmanned, it is provided with a touchscreen where passengers need to feed in their destinations. The pod has the capacity of traveling to multiple destinations, so all the travelers can enter their own destinations and the electric vehicle efficiently drops each passenger. For the ease of the travelers, the pod has also been provided with a recorded voice that announces the name of the approaching destination.
The company feels that such a vehicle has a great future in places like offices or other densely populated areas. The installation cost per mile is between $7 to $15 million. The vehicle is totally worth its cost because it is a lot more efficient than any other modes of transport. It also helps in reducing the pollution, thereby saving the environment.
Via: DigitalTrends
