What are other examples of aerial transit in the United States and urban areas?

Forms of aerial transit technology have been available and utilized for the last 100 years. Modern applications have seen the evolution of aerial transit technology as a feasible mode of urban rapid transit. There are a number of aerial transit systems operating throughout the world and dozens currently being studied in the United States.

Aerial transit systems in urban areas include the London system, which was built for the 2012 Summer Olympics. This system is 0.6 miles long and has a capacity of 2,500 people per hour per direction. In 2016, the Mexicable opened as Mexico City’s first commuter aerial rapid transit system to connect hillside neighborhoods with the city’s urban core. The system is three miles long with seven stops, accommodating a daily ridership of around 29,000 passengers. Mexicable added a new line in 2021.

Other commuter aerial rapid transit systems in the United States include the Roosevelt Island Tramway, which was the first commuter aerial rapid transit system in North America when it opened in 1976. It spans the East River and connects Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and moves more than 2.5 million commuters annually. The Portland Aerial Tram is an aerial tramway in Portland, Oregon, carrying close to 1.5 million commuters between the city’s South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) campus. Both systems tie into the larger municipal public transit networks, much as LA ART is proposed to connect to Metro’s regional transit system.

Closer to Los Angeles, a long-standing tourism attraction for Southern California provides park access and a unique visitor experience.  The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway spans approximately 2.5 miles and an approximate 6,000-foot elevation change up Chino Canyon, with a rotating tram cabin that takes visitors to and from the Mount San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness Area. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway opened in 1963, but was authorized originally in 1945 when state legislation established the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority, which operates the tram.