There are a plethora of congestion-busting ideas floating around, especially with regards to city transport - but nothing quite like the recently announced CarTube.
Thought up by Lars Hesselgren, Director of Research at PLP Architecture, and his research team, the new CarTube aims to channel large amounts of city traffic underground and out of the way of pedestrians and cyclists.
Although it is currently just an idea, the concept is quite simple and essentially a mixture of a classic underground system and a factory conveyor belt. If CarTube was to go ahead, motorists would be able to head underground via a motorway slip road or city-based tunnel, pick their spot on a continuously moving conveyor belt and seamlessly be transported to their location.
This system is said to be much quicker than a conventional underground train system, with a journey time from Heathrow Airport to the City of London taking just 14 minutes – whereas it would conventionally take around 34 minutes.
One of the biggest perks of the CarTube is safety and reliability. With cars being locked in place on a conveyor belt, at two metres apart, traffic delays and human-error accidents would no longer be an issue.
CarTube would also offer multi-storey car park-esque functionality, allowing motorists to leave their car and have it returned to them later via an automated valet service.
The main obstacle for CarTube is that cars using the system would need to be electric and internet-enabled to allow for full integration. The UK has vowed for all cars to be zero-emission electric vehicles by the year 2050.
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