Step forward today’s candidate for least likely development hero of the week. It’s the cable car. Traffic in some of the big cities of the developing world is unimaginably awful, with two or three hour commutes to work absolutely normal. And the poorest, living in new, informal settlements on the edges of cities often have the longest journeys. But building mass transport systems like metros or trams is expensive, and takes years. Luckily a quicker solution is at hand. Last week it was reported that Brazil’s government are planning to build cable cars to connect the sprawling favelas to the centre of Rio. They are following in the footsteps of Colombia, where the cable car in the city of Medellin is estimated to have cut commuting times for those living in far flung urban settlements from over two hours to as little as 40 minutes. Cable cars are, apparently, easier to build than other mass-transport systems. They can float over inhospitable, steep, rocky or muddy terrain. And cutting commuting times from hours to minutes changes lives.
Cable cars – for life, not just for skiing?
