Otis Hovair Transit Systems is a type of

hovertrain A hovertrain is a type of high-speed train that replaces conventional steel wheels with hovercraft lift pads, and the conventional railway bed with a paved road-like surface, known as the ''track'' or ''guideway''. The concept aims to eliminate ...

used in low-speed

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small-scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks ...

applications. Traditional people mover systems used wheeled vehicles propelled by electric motors or cable traction. The Hovair replaces the wheels with a

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

lift pad. The aim is to reduce guideway complexity and vehicle maintenance. Another benefit is the system's ability to move in all directions, including sideways. The Hovair is the only hovertrain system to be used in commercial service.

History

Originally developed at

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

as an

automated guideway transit An automated guideway transit (AGT) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more dri ...

system, GM was forced to divest the design as part of an anti-trust ruling. The design eventually ended up at Otis Elevator who replaced its

linear motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor (electric), rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. ...

with a cable pull and sold the resulting design for people mover installations all over the world. The first installation was the Duke Hospital PRT in 1979, followed by the Harbour Island People Mover opened in 1985. Otis successfully marketed the system through the 1980s and into the 1990s, but faced increasing competition from conventional systems. In 1996, Otis formed a joint venture called Poma-Otis Transportation Systems with the French company

Poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peo ...

to promote these products. The partnership has since been dissolved, and it appears Otis is no longer involved in promoting the technology. However it is still marketed as one of the Minimetro products sold by Poma & Leitner Group. The latest installation, the Cairo Airport People Mover, opened on May 15, 2012.

Current operators

* Cincinnati Airport People Mover * ExpressTram at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport * Getty Center Tram * Minneapolis–St. Paul Airport Trams * Zurich Airport Skymetro *

Cairo International Airport Cairo International Airport (; ''Maṭār El Qāhira El Dawli'') is the principal international airport of Cairo and the largest and busiest airport in Egypt. It serves as the primary hub for Egyptair and Nile Air as well as several other a ...

Sun City (South Africa) Sun City is a luxury resort and casino, situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It is located between the Elands River and the Pilanesberg, built on the land of Bakubung Village (known as Ledig) about 140 km (90 miles) north ...

"Skytrain" (opened 1986), single track with bypass ramp, two stations, two trains of three vehicles

Former operators

* Duke University Medical Center Patient Rapid Transit * Harbour Island People Mover * Narita Airport Terminal 2 Shuttle System * U-Bahn Serfaus

References

External links

Metro TramNarita International Airport official websiteSkymetro de Poma otis.
Airport infrastructure manufacturers Airport people mover systems {{PAGENAME

History

Current operators

Former operators

See also

References

External links