With a Cable Car, Makassar Is Free of Traffic Jams
CELEBESONLINE (Makassar):
http://www.celebesonline.com/2014/11/29/pakai-kereta-gantung-makassar-bebas-macet/
The Faculty of Engineering at Hasanuddin University (Unhas) and the Austrian company Doppelmayr conducted an academic study on the use of cable cars in Makassar as a metropolitan city. The discussion, which took place in the Faculty of Engineering’s conference room at Unhas, was attended by 20 PhDs in the fields of transportation, mechanical engineering, architecture, and electrical engineering.
The focused discussion was led by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Unhas, Dr.-Ing. Wahyu H. Piarah. According to Wahyu, the use of these cable cars does not damage a city’s historical structure, and the natural beauty of Makassar’s streets can be seen from the air. In addition, the discussion was also attended by the Secretary General of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI), Dr. Isran Ramli. Representing Austria, Dr. Markus Hagspiel led the delegation from Doppelmayr—the company that installed cable cars in Singapore.
According to Markus, a cable car system can transport 10,000 passengers per hour—equivalent to 2,000 private vehicles or 100 large buses. Thus, a single cable car system can reduce traffic congestion without harming the environment, ultimately contributing to an eco-green city.
The discussion revealed several key points, including that cable cars require almost no land. This means very little land is needed, eliminating the need for road widening—a process that involves increasingly expensive land acquisition costs in Makassar. Cable cars can also serve as “link connections” to complement existing transportation networks, such as routes from hospitals to shopping centers, connections between university campuses, and so on. Additionally, the system requires minimal energy since it runs on electricity, and the cable car cabins’ roofs utilize solar energy for supplementary power. Based on Markus’s experience, energy consumption is only 0.1 kWh per person per kilometer—equivalent to using a hair dryer for five minutes.
The cable cars are also equipped with air conditioning and Wi-Fi, supporting Makassar’s vision as a Smart City. As for the cable car’s speed, it is 30 km/h and can still operate even when winds reach up to 100 km/h.
During the discussion, the topic of safety was briefly raised; however, based on existing experience, the cables can last for 15 years and have a safety factor of 4. By comparison, the safety factor for airplanes is 2. In general, cable cars can traverse all types of terrain, from forested areas to highly densely populated cities such as London in the UK and Singapore. Participants in the discussion also proposed the creation of a “ring road” in the skies above Makassar.
With a cable car system in place, it is almost certain that both domestic and international tourists will visit Makassar—traveling from Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport to the city center, or from Karebosi and the University of Hasanuddin (Unhas) campus all the way to Gowa and Takalar. It would also be possible to preserve the city’s natural beauty and keep it pristine.