Smart cities need smart transit for a smart future
Picture a world where the streets of cities and suburbs are free of cars.
Sounds like science fiction? It’s not — it’s Transit X.
Transit X is rethinking transportation.
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Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.
Transit X is a safe, sustainable, low-cost mass transit alternative with the potential to replace cars, buses, trains, trucks, and even short flights as the travel method of choice.
We’re gearing up for our first demonstration in Boston, Massachusetts, which will be ready in 2018.
Rethinking mass transit
Cars remain the dominant mode of transportation, yet billions of people suffer from the negative impact of our cars and roadways: long commutes, costly infrastructure, carbon emissions, air pollution, and crashes. We call this “Roads Disease” — and we all suffer from it.
Transit X is a cure for Roads Disease.
The exciting thing is — cities are taking action. Across the country, cities and towns are migrating towards “smart city” initiatives in an effort to update their infrastructure with smarter, safer, more eco-friendly and economic ways to structure their transportation systems. This is further bolstered by the private sector paying diligent attention to the opportunities with the Smart City momentum. Transit X will help push our transportation into a new era through private financing for Smart City infrastructure without having to depend on public financing.
Many assume that it looks like an evolution of the system we already have: ridesharing, electric vehicles, and self-driving cars have all become media darlings of the venture capital world.
But what if the real answer is more radical than that? What if, instead of just modifying our existing modes of transportation, there was a way to fundamentally redesign the way we get from point A to point B?
The Transit X Factor
Transit X is a completely new approach to transportation that combines the convenience of personal cars, the capacity of trains, the speed of flying, and the sustainability of bicycles.
With Transit X, passengers travel in pods suspended from a narrow track. Pods carry up to five passengers. Special pods carry wheelchairs and freight. Tracks run alongside existing roads and highways, so Transit X is minimally disruptive to cities’ existing infrastructure.
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Passengers board at stops that are more convenient than subway stations or bus stops. Simply enter your destination via smartphone or kiosk, then climb aboard. Once you board your pod, it takes off, flying above the cars on the road and carrying you nonstop to your destination.
Transit X is:
Green
Transit X is 100% solar powered, carbon free and zero emissions. Solar panels on the track provide the energy to power electric pods.
Fast
Transit X pods travel non stop at 45 mph (72 km/h) along main roads and 135 mph (217 km/h) along highways.
Seamless
Transit X pods are quiet and smooth. Transit X fits seamlessly into cities. Tracks can be installed along roads, highways, and railways. Installation is fast and not disruptive to neighborhoods.
Safe
Transit X is incredibly safe — similar to the safety of commercial airlines and orders of magnitude safer than cars — even autonomous cars.
Economical
Transit X is economical for individuals and municipalities alike. Transit X arranges private financing for projects — and does not require public financing. Passenger fares are affordable — comparable to existing mass transit.
Our next destination: a city near you
To date, the Transit X team has met with representatives from more than 100 cities around the world who have expressed interest in Transit X.
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When we pitch municipalities, a common reaction is: “So you’re proposing to solve our congestion, pollution, and parking issues, and you’ll privately finance it? Yes, we are very interested!”
It’s the strength of our value proposition that has enabled us to build a sales pipeline of $100 billion in projects — with minimal marketing or sales costs. Now, we need to build the demonstration.
Why we will win
Cost: Low cost to government and passengers alike. Privately funded with high margins
Convenience: Provides last-mile, car-like convenience to both cities and suburbs. Fast, nonstop travel.
Compactness: Fits above existing streets, highways, and railways
Carbon-free: 100% electric and pollution-free to minimize environmental impact
Capacity: The high capacity to replace mass transit and serve the smallest towns to the largest cities in the world.
Consistency: Dependable and resilient service that eliminates possible disruptions.
Coverage: Low-cost and scalable to serve all areas equitably.
Competitive barriers: Extremely high barriers to entry. A natural monopoly.
Crash-free: Extremely high levels of safety due to automation, redundant systems, and grade separation. 100,000 times safer than cars.
Partnership with Altran
Transit X is proud to be partnering with Altran to bring our system to life. Altran is a global engineering firm that has designed, built, and operated automated transit and high-speed rail systems around the world. The Altran team has spent hundreds of hours reviewing our design, and they are confident they can certify, build, and operate Transit X.
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Meet the Founder and CEO
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Mike is an entrepreneur, designer, and engineer who started building robots at the age of 12. He graduated from the Sloan School of Management, and from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His experience spans software, web applications, consumer products, user interface, networks, robotics, and transportation.
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How will we use this funding?
The next step is to show a full-size pod and track. Many potential customers need to see a demonstration before proceeding with air rights. The notion of crowd funding the development of a new mass transit system may sound impossible — but it's not. The incredible process that we've made so far shows how we can go a long way with a small amount.
We made a full-size mockup last year, and a carbon-fiber pod and short track will cost us about $100,000. We have a fully engineered design and quotes from our suppliers.
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Within 4 months from the end of our fund raising campaign, we will demonstrate a full-size Transit X pod operating on a track. It’s going to be awesome!
The demonstration is an important step towards a full safety-certified system and first pilot. That will take about $10M and 12 to 18 months to complete. A demonstration system will help us close more agreements with municipalities for air rights. These agreements become valuable currency to raise additional funding for the certified system.
When you buy a Transit X Pass, you are investing in the future of our planet that will improve the quality of life for billions. Transit X is a viable solution to help us solve the serious challenges that we face. Governments and large companies are pursuing solutions along the status quo, and venture investments shy away from startups requiring large physical infrastructure.
When I show people what Transit X is doing, they say "That makes so much sense." and "How can I help?". Buying a Transit X pass will fund a revolution in transportation that will help create a better world.
Happy Mass Transit!
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Mike Stanley, CEO, Transit X
Main video produced by Ecodeo
