Design of Stops and Berthings

assenger stops should be where the passengers are! The vehicles should come to the travelers; the travelers should not be required to move along in stairways, escalators and elevators, nor walk along endless corridors, to get to where the vehicles are. Since our urban areas are built in such a manner that people usually travel on the ground (i.e. along the streets) to get from one point to another, thatīs where most stops should be. Nor should a beam conveyance system make a larger encroachment into existing environments than necessary. Thus, passenger platforms should not be up in the air, where they oftentimes throw their shadows on the neighborhood, and, rightly, are considered "unsightly".	On this page, we will deal with: 1. Independent stops; Terminology. 2. Different categories of stops 3. Stations in Roundabouts and Similar Places 4. Stops in connection to other kinds of traffic 5. Stops in shopping malls, department stores and apartment houses 6. Stops in the streets 7. Sloping beams 8. Transport possibilities for industries and warehouses

2. Different Categories of stops

Figure 2:1 Figure 2:2 Figure 2:1 shows a combination of stops from categories 3, 5, 6 and 7. In this illustration, the traffic moves from left to right. Thru-traffic keeps going on the main (topmost) beam, while stopping cars enter any suitable sidetrack. Empty cars arriving enter track 1. Cars with arriving passengers enter track 2. If there are remaining passengers in the car, the car will depart on track 4. Empty cars not immediately needed will depart using track 4. Cars with departing passengers leave using track 5. The car pool at track 6 is for use at other stops down the line, which (maybe temporarily) do not have place for a big enough car pool.

n figure 2:2 above one can imagine different tracks being used for different purposes, as well as having the passenger cars using different berths according to their destinations, in the same manner as bus terminals function. The traffic moves from left to right, with thru-traffic using the topmost beam in the figure. Some beams can for instance be used for loading/unloading of motorcars and/or freight, requiring beam cars that can twist their loads sideways. Such beamcars would allow, for instance, loading of motor cars from the sides.

Figure 3:1

Crossings between different routes are natural places for stops. If the beam-crossing takes the shape of a roundabout, it takes some planning to get a good arrangement of stops. Figure 3:1 shows a crossing which is not a complete roundabout. The stops have been put close to one another (indicated by the red beams marked "S"). The drawbacks are 2: The beam cars have no possibilities to turn left, and the stops are in 2 levels, which might be perceived as a drawback for som passengers. Figure 3:2 shows a real roundabout with stops for all travel directions (the red beams indicated by "S"). Now we have solved one of the problems above.

Figure 3:2

But we can do better! For the price of increased complexity, we can make a roundabout in 2 planes, as is shown in figure 3:3. The through traffic moves here through the upper roundabout (i.e. the one highest from the ground), while traffic which has to stop in the crossing shunts to the lower roundabout. From the travelers' point of view, all cars will stop at the same platform (the ring "S" indicated by red). Figure 3:3. One problem that could occur is that the stopping cars would be in each other's way. This could be solved by yet another roundabout, concentric with the first one, but with smaller or larger diameter. These roundabouts are connected to each other with beams at about 45 degrees angle, as illustrated in figure 6. The cars could then use these angled beams as berths, using the same model as in figure 2. The beamcars would arrive at the outer roundabout and enter a free 45 degree-beam in the right half of the roundabout (those beams indicated by red in figure 3:4). In order to get out after leaving or picking up passengers or freight, the car must drive through one of the beams in the left half of the roundabout (indicated by red) and out from the stop area by way of the outer (red) roundabout. Consequently, as we can see, most problems can be solved. Figure 3:4.

4. Stops in connection to other kinds of traffic.

The beam-carried traffic must have closest possible access to other kinds of traffic. This means: Parking for private motorcars close by Stops at bus terminals Beams on railway platforms Beams inside arrival and departure halls at airports Stops at ferry places. The great advantage with beam-carried traffic in this context is that one, at least with the smallest cars, can reach practically everywhere.	With a beam above a railway platform as in figure 4:2, it will be very easy for passengers to switch transportation. With a beam along a sidewalk, one can easily switch between a taxicab and a beam car (figure 4:1). There is something missing, though, in figures 7 and 8. What is needed is some safety device that ensure that the cabins donīt land on top of people or on other gears. This has been provided for in the FlyWay® system! For airports, beam traffic could really be a boon to comfort and speed. There is nothing stopping beams to be mounted inside the arrival and departure halls, only a few steps from the checkin counters or the passport control, respectively. For interior flights, one could have beams in tunnels under the tarmac right up to the waiting aircrafts (figure 9).	Figure 4:1

Figure 4:2
Figure 4:3

Figure 4:4	Figure 4:5

5. Stops in shopping malls, department stores and apartment houses.

he smoothness of the beam system makes it possible to have traffic indoors, in places such as shopping malls, department stores and the like. One can even but beams in the ceilings of apartment houses and hotels. That would make it quite convenient for tenants, but the main reason for doing this would be if adjoining, parallel streets were too narrow or crowded to harbor beams.	Figure 5:1

igure 5:1 shows a birds-eye view of what it could be like. Suppose that all streets between numbers 2 and 9 inclusive have to kept free from beams, for one reason or another, then one could travel upwards from the seashore street between streets 3 and 4, as shown in the picture (let's hope that the people living in those houses are heavy sleepers!). In the crossing street labeled A

one has decided that the beam traffic should go at street level (maybe the reason is that the beams would be in the way of some planted trees otherwise). This makes it on the other hand possible to have beam-crossings in separate planes, such as in the streets 1 and 3. Regarding those houses between streets 3 and 4; what could be more convenient than taking the elevator in the house where you live, to the floor where a hired taxicab is waiting to take you out on the town.

And better still, when you arrive home late at night and don't have to walk those dark streets in the rain?! The entrance holes in the walls open and close automatically; they are never open except when a car is passing through. They could be fenced-off on the inside to prevent accidents, and thus become as safe as an elevator.

6. Stops in the streets.

lazas, squares and open places close to other transportation sites, such as railway stations, should have beamcar stations with many parallel berths. But trying to fit this solution into an ordinary street might be awkward, as can be seen in figure 6:1. A one-way station with parallel beams would occupy the whole width of a 4-lane street. The best solution for inner-city streets would probably be to have 2 beams for each direction. For narrow streets with one-way beam traffic, this would mean 2 beams in total. For 2-way traffic we would have 4 beams, as shown in the illustration at right (figure 6:2, where the yellow rectangles indicate stops of the kind briefly described further down; the chapter about safety). There should be many small stops instead of a few bigger stations, they should be as close together as is practicable, and each stop should have its own entry and exit. The reasons for this are: Figure 6:1 There usually is no place for bigger stops in the streets. Many dispersed stops reduces the average walking distance to the nearest stop. Many stops are necessary in order for many vehicles to stop at the same time in a small area. It takes a couple of minutes for people to get in and out of the cars. The stops need (of course!) to be on separate but parallel beams, so as not to impede passing cars. Each stop needs its own entry and exit beams, so that stopping cars wonīt be in each otherīs way.

Figure 6:2

7. Sloping Beams.

Figure 7:1

he idea of having stops at streetlevel has been further developed in figure 7:2. A reserved beam for stopping (green) runs at streetlevel along the street, parallel to the beam for through traffic (black) higher up. At reasonably even intervals, the lower beam is accessed by descending beams (blue) and the upper beam by ascending beams (red).

Figure 7:2

8. Transport possibilities for industries and warehouses

s we said in the beginning of this web-page, one could (and should) use this transportation facility to haul freight of all kinds, preferably at times with low traffic flow, such as during the night. Industries, warehouses and stores are but a few of all those who could have great use of this service. A typical indoor terminus for this traffic could well use several floors in a big building, as illustrated in figure 8:1. If a beam-carried transport network of this kind is implemented on a big scale, there would be a need for several thousand cars. To conserve space, the garages and parking areas for those cars, should preferably be in several floors like this.

Figure 8:1

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