Dubai people will soon be travelling through the air in sky pods, avoiding the dread traffic and road congestion. The futuristic step took a leap forward as authorities in Dubai signed a deal with world’s leading Sky Pod developer.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Skyway Greentech Company to provide futuristic solutions to beat traffic congestion through the development of Sky Pods and, once implemented, Dubai will look nothing less than a scene from a sci-fi film.
During the World Government Summit, RTA presented two model Sky Pods, Unibike and Unicar, which received a royal review.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai along with His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai were seen inspecting the futuristic models.
The first model, the Unibike, moves on steel wheels on a hanging railway. It combines the features of a high-performance electric vehicle and sports and recreational features. It can accommodate two riders, where as the second model, the Unicar, is for longer journeys and has room for four to six seated riders. Both models can travel at speeds of 150 kmh.
“The system occupies considerably less area than conventional systems of the same capacity. It is also characterised by higher power efficiency as it uses five times less power than electric vehicles”, said His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA
The Sky Pods initiative is part of Dubai’s aim to convert 25% of total journeys into autonomous journeys on various transit means by 2030, that currently include metro, bus, tram, Sky Pods and driverless battery-powered pods.