At what headway will SkyTrans vehicles travel?
Headway is how close behind other vehicles a vehicle can travel. Of course, the most efficient headway for any transportation system is zero, which means that vehicles would be right behind one another — like train cars in a train. Zero headway makes maximum use of space — every part of the guideway is being used. It is also most efficient because vehicles can take advantage of the slipstream of the vehicle in front of it – greatly reducing overall aerodynamic drag. Unlike train cars that are mechanically linked, independent vehicles like cars and PRT vehicles can only safely go as close together as the drivers can reliably stop them. Many of SkyTran’s design features are optimized for low headway, because that is the key to how many passengers per hour a line can carry. For example, floating cars on a magnetic field instead of wheels and switching them at destination and direction-changing ramps with electromagnets instead of mechanical switches makes it safe for one vehicle to swit
