James Jan-Feb 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 82
batteries recharge at stations in thirty-second increments or at the end
of the line in ten minutes. In sum,
trackless trams can match light
rail’s speed, capacity, and reliability.
What’s more, trackless trams
outmatch light rail in terms of cost,
integration, and flexibility.
The most recent use case of
trackless trams is in Perth, Australia.
That trackless tram system costs
about $10 to $14 million per mile.
Working with the upper bound, implementing a trackless tram system
for the proposed two-mile eastside
Beltline extension would cost approximately $30 million dollars. The
current projection for rail (almost
guaranteed to be low) is a whopping
$230 million dollars. That nets out to
a savings of $200 million for a superior product. True, right-of-way will
need to be surfaced, (preferably with
recycled material), but even including that investment the total cost
will not approach that of light rail.
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Next, integrating trackless trams
into the Beltline will be significantly
easier than building out a new rail
system. According to Peter Newman,
Professor of Sustainability at Curtin
University, “it can take years to lay
rail tracks, causing major disruption
to local economies.” To state the obvious: that is a serious concern. The
Beltline is a major economic driver of
jobs and investment. Reducing it to a
construction zone is, to put it lightly, ill-advised. Instead, leadership
should look to trackless trams which,
with the proper right of way, can be
in place and operational in wee.
Finally, trackless tram systems are highly flexible, taking the
guesswork out of transit investment.
Demographic shifts defy predictions? Move the trams. Consumer
preferences change? Alter the routes.
Major sporting event? Add capacity.
In sum, trackless trams have the
speed/capacity, ride quality, and
land development potential of light
rail without the exorbitated cost,
economic disruption, and finality. In
the words of Professor Newman this
new technology “will end the need
for new light rail.”
And so, how to proceed? It is simple. Explore the other options. Test
out an autonomous shuttle. Research
trackless trams. Start a conversation. Unfortunately to date, Beltline
rail proponents have done nothing
but dig in their heels. That is not a
reasonable or responsible position
to take when investing over $200
million of taxpayer dollars.
The evidence is clear: Light rail is
a poor investment. Thankfully, Atlantans are starting to grapple with the
reality; the leadership of Georgia’s
capital city should too.
Eric Tanenblatt is the global chair of public policy
& regulation at Dentons and the leader of the firm’s
global autonomous vehicle practice.
Crawford Schneider is a third year law student at
the University of Pennsylvania and a former member of Dentons global autonomous vehicle practice.