- Last week,Virgin Hyperloop unveiled its vision for the future hyperloop experience.
- The newly-released concept video takes the viewer step-by-step through a hyperloop journey, from arriving at the portal to boarding the pod.
โDesigning a new mode of transportation from scratch is both an opportunity and a responsibility,โ said Sara Luchian, Virgin Hyperloopโs Director of Passenger Experience and one of the first people to ride the hyperloop in November. โHyperloop technology โ and what it enables โ is paradigm-shifting. It follows that the passenger experience should be nothing short of extraordinary.โ
Far from a dystopian future where dark colors, stark lighting, and screens abound, Virgin Hyperloopโs counter narrative is a more optimistic view of the future: a greener, smoother, safer, and more pleasant mass transit experience.
A key pillar of Virgin Hyperloopโs passenger experience is accessibility, ensuring that this new form of transportation will expand opportunities for the masses. While ticket prices will vary depending on the exact route, a recent study in Ohio found that hyperloop fares would be more akin to the cost of driving, rather than flying.
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โItโs simple. If itโs not affordable, people wonโt use it,โ said Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop. โDaily high-speed transport is currently not feasible for most people, but we want to change that notion. Imagine being able to commute between cities that are currently hours apart in minutes โ and the endless possibilities that opens up.โ
On demand and direct to destination, the hyperloop system would be able to transport thousands of passengers per hour, despite the fact that each vehicle carries up to 28 passengers. This high throughput is achieved by convoying, where vehicles are able to travel behind one another in the tube within milliseconds, controlled by Virgin Hyperloopโs machine intelligence software.
Following their successful passenger testing, Virgin Hyperloop is currently paving the way for the regulation and certification of hyperloop systems around the world. The company aims to achieve safety certification by 2025, with commercial operations โ such as those depicted in this video โ beginning in 2030.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal