@Bane That's a fair point, but none of the cities I've lived in have had good enough transit that going car-free was practical. Not to mention the problem of how to evacuate if there's a natural disaster.
@MxBirdnose If you live near work, you'll probably pay more, but if you don't own a car it'll balance out. An average payment for a used car seems to be around $500/month. Say I got a cheaper one but then added insurance and upkeep, it'd be ~$600. In my area (suburb kinda far out from Washington D.C.), a 1 bed/1 bath apartment costs ~$1800/month. If I moved to an area where many tech employers are, it'd be around ~$2050/month. So, even after adding $150/month of bus or Metro fees, it'd be cheaper to live close to work as long as I don't own a car.
It's actually not a bad idea, perhaps not as a serious mode of transportation but it think it'd be a great thing for sightseeing, going over area's at your own speed and leisure whilst getting a nice view. It'd be great in a Zoo, Museum or something like an immersive theme park ride.
Tom Scott's videos are always interesting but have a certain down to earth quality about them. Then to top it off, he comes across as genuinely thoughtful, considering others and being aware that his own actions have the ability to cause others to act without his say-so. As usual, he's a likeable person making likeable videos. Well done on another great one, Tom.
I love how it has no regard for this concept we usually call “inertia” Don’t worry about slamming into the person going half your speed at 60 kilometers per hour, I’m sure both the pods will be fine, and I promise you won’t break your neck from the sudden impact. This is 1 dimensional GTA just have fun
No! walking is one of your main competitors, Shweeb! and it's got you hard beat with overtaking alone! Why draw attention to the possibility of just walking to wherever the Shweeb station is?
This would actually be very good for a hybrid ride/transport system for amusement parks. It would serve as a decent enough means of getting from one section of the park to another while being fun and providing decent views of the park. And parks are already in the business of managing and maintaining similar equipment. It would be awful for cities, but amusement parks could actually benefit from this oddball implementation.
@xxxtensioncord There are plenty of other rider-controlled attractions that work just fine and don't have that problem. You just have to time the releases, so that people don't bump into each other much.
Yes, but it takes longer and is limited to certain design requirements of foot paths, whereas this would be more for riding over sections of the park that would work well for footpaths, or driving around park features to show them off in a more integrated and interesting way. This would be more of a hybrid ride/single person transit, like gondolas between park sections, but able to move much faster with more curves more like a pedal powered roller coaster.
@xxxtensioncord On this note, I'm curious how hard the proposed physical impact on slower pods would be when faster pods ram into them. Would Granny be okay if someone ran into her pod?
I could see this working well at nature tourism destinations. It could allow visitors to transition through sections of a nature area quickly and easily without disturbing local wildlife while feeling fun and exciting. Add in some stops for guided tours of sections of the park and it all starts to come together quite nicely.
@Дмитрий П. Folks in Africa wouldn't want to spend the money constructing the monorail railway when they could just pave a road and use it for bicycles, motorbikes, golf carts, and the occasional automobile. The road would be less money and have more uses.
Look, its a monorail Doesnt matter how cheap it would be, its a linear line. Its like bike but now its hanging and you could get stuck in traffic. At best it would be like a sliding hanger
@Abi Gail monorails, gondolas, elevated tram ways === price. price and price. you can put this (steel rails + cabin at 1/10 of any high tech) it's like "i do not need a bicycle cause we have car", yes, sure... you do not need but some people in Africa/Arabs/India do want to have cheap bicycles
@Abi Gail monorails, gondolas and elevated tram ways all have higher construction costs and running costs, for a cheap local wildlife exploring solution these could fill that gap
i have a great idea: perhaps you could invert the rail so there are less points of failure, and enlargen the pod so many people can fit in at once, and then of course to address the whole issue of moving it, a powered pod at the front could pull the others behind it! oh.. wait.
i mean it may fail as a public transport system, but it could be a big thing for an amusement park ride, and theres nothing wrong with having those. Getting families out of the house doing things together is a great idea especially in this day and age where staying home playing games or streaming seems to be the "in thing". Need more amusement parks, and more innovative ideas like this that also have a minimal amount of actual exercise and effort
@Mister Dayne Oh my gosh that gave me an idea! Remember the Tom Scott video of the aerial bucket way? When they decommission it, they should put a modified Schweeb where the people going down assist the people going up. It's brilliant!
It could be a simple way of getting from A to B between points in a massive wooded area or something. Rather than wandering through nature, why not get there 12 times faster and glide through the trees, slalom style
Family ones need multiple race tracks, like the kids RC cars. Like four parallels to race each other. Except I'm not sure how corners would work, as the shoulders will be wildly different in length.
@Eoin Doyle Have them run partially electric so that there is never more than a small speed difference between pods, when they collide the rear pod should only be going maybe 5mph faster than the front one. being able to form trains on the fly but still run individually as needed is by far the best unique feature here, something that cannot be accomplished with cars, bikes, or actual trains. since everything is moving together, there should never be a rush hour/traffic jam situation unless the system is malfunctioning.
Fun fact: both the train and the bicycle, the two things techbros hate, are the result of decades of incremental progress, not "one radical idea." Fixing our transit problems comes by building what works and incrementing upon it, not looking for the magic bullet that will save everyone.
@Udi Shomer For larger cities, yes. But for smaller cities, towns and villages, liquid fueled cars are the only practical option. You're not going to get on your ebike and ride it 100km at 25km/h. Especially if your ebike battery can only do about 50km range anyway. I have an electric car, and I have just upgraded my bike to an ebike... And while these are great for my smaller trips, and have saved thousands of dollars in fuel, they're not a one-size-fits-all solution.
@Zynel cars are the most inefficient form of ground transport, both in terms of cost per km/mile, and in term of externalities (pollution, noise, danger to other road users, co2 emissions, use of public space). Buses, Metro systems, trams, bicycles, e-bikes, trains and walking are all much more efficient.
I had the opportunity to go on the shweeb once, but didn't know about this history! I'm glad they turned it into an amusement ride though, it was quite a lot of fun to control the speed of your own coaster
I've been on this as a kid. It's really fun! I remember thinking it probably wouldn't work as a transit system, even though it would be a really fun way to get around!
@Alucard maybe Elon could buy the Schweeb and waterproof it and provide it as an unsolicited craft for underwater rescue and insinuate that actual professional rescuers are pedophiles when he doesn't get his way for something he wasn't asked to participate in
It's so cool seeing him go somewhere and doing something I have done before. Its actually a lot of fun. Its like a roller-coaster and its not hard to pedal at all. Much easier than a bike.
idk why but the parts where Tom is zooming around as the camera follows him and he's speaking is so funny to me, he's just nonchalantly telling us information as he zooms round in a floating bicycle
I feel like this would work at places like a ski-resort or some kind of large park, I feel like that would be a really cool ride atop the trees, like zip-lining but with more control I suppose and maybe a little more comfortable.
I think they would be great for holiday complexes (like centre parcs) great views, protected from weather and other traffic, plus not having to worry about taking your own bikes finding parking and locking them securely.
The biggest problem about this being in the hands of public, especially if the things are made to push each other, is that people ahead might get lazy and pedal less, expecting those behind to push them.
@PhysicsGamer it's just small problem and it's solvable. like trains work (they also can not "hit each other"), same here: some electrofield -> if cab in 5 metres from another -> it triggers brakes. the question is price: if you do it "perfect" how much cheaper it will than monorails or other solutions.
There's also the rather glaringly unsolved problem of what happens if you slam into someone at speed. Bike collisions can _hurt_ and this thing is meant to go faster than most people on bikes...
This definitely has potential... as an amusement park ride, it just needs something to enforce a minimum speed. My idea would be to have two stations, start station at the top and end station at the bottom, with an elevator system to shift pods back up to the top. Gravity can do most of the work, in cases where there is up hills or long horizontal sections, just install a few electromagnets to force them forwards and install an air pressure break at the end so riders are forced to slow down.
I think a system along these lines that allowed someone to use their bicycle in it would be a good way to connect bike lanes and paths across difficult areas
It might have a possibility as a small transit system on something of similar size to a college campus, but you'd need a way to put a bunch of people in one car, along the single cab rides. I think this is one of those things that's fun to think about but not terribly practical
I went on what was probably the original version of the Shweeb back in 2008. It was heaps of fun as a ride, but with all the good will in the world, it was never going to work as a mass transit system.
I like the idea of shared effort (assuming it works in practice), but I think the biggest downside of this as a mode of transport - other than the obvious infrastructure and cost issues you mentioned - is that there's no room for even a small amount of luggage. Where are you supposed to put your bag - on top of you?
This could be really cool in big facilities that have multiple separated facilities (ex colleges), in the rain especially. And as noted, Google’s campuses or Apples giant dome place, definitely a cool idea.
@Marten different cultures sadly, and if it prevented even one fatal accident a year it'd be worth it with how much people try to get over on businesses and government
@Axion I agree that the whole traffic situation needs to be taken into consideration. But that's definitely possible. Here in The Netherlands we quite a few university campuses where thousands of students cycle on any given day and site traffic is extremely minimal and mostly seperated and at slow speeds. Risks for cyclists is very minimal, while throughput is huge and the costs for the university are also very low.
Hmm, Still doubt it. Like Tom said in the video: it doesn't really have any benefits over a regular bike path. In theory it might go a bit faster than a bike, but not by a whole lot (modern e-bikes can go 40 km/h) and I doubt it will be beneficial when you count the time you need to get to a station, wait for a pod, get on and off, etc
Now I'm wondering if you could do this the other way, and make a transport system that's like a log flume ride at an amusement park, but with paddleboats.
So it's a bike that's really expensive to operate, has a set route it can operate on, is not easy to exit in an emergency, can't overtake and can't go up prolonged inclines. Perfect.
@P00p00face1234 Yes but the idea is that dedicated bike infrastructure while increasing safety would also be cheaper to build and maintain and would be just more accessible to everyone.
@P00p00face1234 If a city has actual infrastructure for biking - i.e. Dedicated bike lanes which are physically separated from traffic - on the other hand...
This reminds me of a thing in an amusement park in Finland. It's like a pedal roller coaster that goes around the whole park, but there are no uphills or downhills, and you can get on and off at multiple spots. Not really a transit system, more for taking in the view.
Thats so cool to see you in NZ I hope you have had an awesome trip here! plenty for you to see and enjoy I'm sure! I hope we Kiwis treated you well! Ive been to that park but didnt try the sweeb but did do the Jetboat and the sky dive both good fun! All the best for 2023!!
2:47 recently I went to Sweden and I noticed that every single road we drove on had a dedicated bike lane off to the side. as a brit, it made me jealous. over here we share the road with them, which makes it quite unsafe for them, and to try increasing bike usage, bike lanes just get painted onto roads which eats up road space, and then add to that that cars park on top of those lanes and it makes no difference if there is a bike lane or not.
I feel like this would be cool for like sight seeing safari type situations. Like a protected wildlife preserve you can have rails of these for people to peddle around in and look at the sights. would be safer for sightseers and animals as it would elevate them from the ground unlike a car. Of course overtaking is still an issue
Have to be highly elevated so that the animals can't reach it. Trying to pedal away with little human noodle legs won't cut it when an elephant decides to reach up and investigate the cab.
thats actually a super nice thing for bigger companies! you could use this even indoor. u just need like switches to your specific workplace. just 2 rules - 1. everyone has to drive it back himself at the end. and 2. just people who brought one can also ride it back.
This looks incredibly fun. Being an amusement park ride feels like the proper niche for this. Especially if you had it over some place that has a nice view.
@Vitor de Lima The thing about this sort of project is that as you fix the problems with it, in short order you end up with either a bike or a train. Maybe a gondela/cable car if you intend to use it in certain Very specific niches.
Near where I grew up there is a small theme park that has a small, two person per car, pedal monorail. It's geared down a long way so it's very slow, but suitable for children. It goes out over some of the theme park and then returns.
@Mileyard Gigahertz But that's where slow and quick lanes would come in. Setting up a combined 4 lane (2 quick & 2 slow - 1 of each going in both directions) rail would even allow you to swerve people into the other lane if something breaks down somewhere on a track. Just have contingencies mostly. It's nice and fun to talk to about biking - but if nobody is going to do it, this is the next best thing we can reliably PUSH on people. Being rural sucks when you get neither though of course too!
What a cool idea, for many applications like college and university Campuses or rainy climates when people want to go a short distance and not wait for the bus.. I would work for this company.
Appreciate how Tom mentions that this is actually a terrible idea for public transit. As an amusement part ride, it does look fun though. I do have doubts about anyone being able to ride one considering you need to both use feet to petal and be able to fit in the pod itself.
Honestly i think this could work if its installed in places where you need to traverse between cliffs and mountains. A bike lane would be impractical in there because you would need to spiral upwards and downwards but with this you could make a straight line system between them.
@M M 1. Bike lanes keep bikes safe from cars. 2. As for not worrying about maintenance, a normal utility bike needs literally 0 (not exaggerated) maintanance (except for flat tires) so there's nothing to worry about. With the Shweeb however, since a single broken unit causes the entire line to jam, you need to worry about the maintenance of every single unit on the line. Not being able to overtake makes other unit's failure YOUR problem too. Not so for bikes. 3. As for worrying about the weather when riding a bicycle, well, as my mom used to say, you're not made of sugar, you won't melt in the rain :) 4. The 'not worrying about your bike being stolen' is a fair point, altough I would worry a Shweeb would become target of vandalism, since it'd be relatively easy to disable the entire line
@velox Keeps riders safe from cars, protects riders from inclement weather and poor road conditions, and allows riders to not have to worry about maintenance or their bike breaking down (tires, gears, etc) or their bike being stolen. I think university campuses would be a great place for something like this. My biggest concern is how safe is it from someone actively trying to open it from the inside in a dangerous place and conversely how easy is it for someone to exit in the case of an emergency?
reminds me a lot of Arrow's old Suspended Coaster model. A while back, I remember seeing people wonder how it would look like if we used roller coasters as a mode of transportation. Well, this is as close as I've seen up to now!
it didn't turn out the way it probably was envisioned initially, but at least it's a fun idea and probably also a fun ride while also a decent exercise and transport ride system that looks a bit safer than traditional bike riding, i guess.
Wow, I was just there a few weeks ago and saw the shweeb ride on the side, it was real cool. Didn't have the chance to try it though(maybe next time). Did you see the big ostrich on the right hand side of the entrance?
Loving the calming screams of the damned when the Shweeb Generation 3 was being discussed following up from 1:22 to 1:31. Really provides and gives a comforting feeling of safety and the idea that ones well-being is of most importance!
@Ryan Payne At XCOR I put serious design effort into how I would skydive from the Lynx rocket plane from 100 km up, including subscale drop tests of spacesuited models with a wingsuit and "unicorn horn" shock spike on the helmet. Damn shame we went out of business before we got it flying.
If anything, that makes it stand out for me as a brilliant and cheap carnival ride. No one would stop the clock for an actual transit system like this, but it literally screams amusement park to me.
Honestly I could see this being a fun transport system for those rare cases where they've got money to spend, and the ridership won't be *too* high. Thing like, well, the google campus or certain universities or something. Never the main route of transport but...a fun thing, and maybe something to get over high-traffic pedestrian zones for medium distances. Again, the use cases for this are the most niche imaginable but...I don't hate it.
I could see it on a zoo or a national park, a long ride with a tour in front and the end. Sure Chairlifts exist and are probably a more calm option but this could be fun.
@Jons LG Did you even watch the video. This, and ALL systems even remotely similar to it where you have "individual pods", literally WILL NOT WORK. Imagine being in rush hour traffic, but it is physically impossible to change lanes. That's what systems like this would boil down to if it were to "replace cars" as you think this would do. Working from home is doing more for replacing cars than these "revolutions to transportation" ever will.
Tom... taking us places we would otherwise not ever see. It would have been nice to see the power train of the vehicle... perhaps the buffering system... but, I'll for the "bullet" pods... or the transporter pads.
I can honestly see something like this working on a small scale, perhaps around huge compounds or parks where you're not dealing with thousands of commuters on any given route.
I've been to this park actually, it's incredible. Very modest compared to other places you might find the sorts of attractions there, but truly a definite if you're in the area. The Shweeb was definitely not practical for everyday use, but a blast to try out.
As well as being in control, it also probably helps that he's in a supine position and the down slopes never exceed 10-20 degrees. Apart from Alpine coasters, the closest "proper" roller coaster I can think of like this is Air/Galactica at Alton Towers.
I loved the moment when the interviewee just brushed off some intense screams in the background. I guess that's part of the job one would just get used to.
They could work well for public transport if they: * were fully motorised instead of pedal powered. * had a more traditional seating position. * held 3 or 4 people per pod. * were fully automated so you could just request one to your location and tell it where you wanted to go to. * they built small stopping loops into the track layout at popular areas (schools, shopping centres, etc) so pods passing by could continue while passengers are getting in or out.
Such a great idea for mass transit...because what everyone wants on their commute is to climb into a tiny box that other people have been doing strenuous exercise in. I bet they smell great.
If you & your partner were out on the town wanting to get home on a rainy night & find only 1 shweeb available in the rank - you are BOTH gona try to squeeze in. Halfway you get stuck.
It'd be great for treacherous areas you can just do the bend around, or for things like setpieces and sights to view. Like amusement parks or instead of a gondola.
Some google guy just thought it looked fun and wanted to get an operational version to play with. As a cyclist, this looks like a blast, so I totally get where that dude was coming from.
Why didn't they buy a few hundred velomobiles, and worked with local governments to build a fast bicycle network? Velomobiles go fast, can go anywhere, make your employees healthier, and it could turn the disasterous money pit of US urban planning into something maintainable. All the money saved, compared to company cars and fuel, could finance facilities like parkings and repair shops.
At its completion at a cost of $83 million in January 1943, the Pentagon was the world's largest office building, covering 29 acres (12 hectares)-including a 5-acre (2-hectare) central court-and Chief of staff "God dam it where's the president gone again" Aid- "he doing another lab of the 7 floor"
I'm not sure if they have kept this since the addition of electric pedal assist, but they kept a weekly and all time leaderboard of lap times here. Being based in Rotorua, a mecca for mountain bikers, you'd often see big names in the sport fighting for top spot after visiting the town for races/events
The thing about failures is you don't see them 😅 I bet there's been so, so, so much more money spent on projects that failed than on those that proved practical. It's just that you only get to see the successes, and the things that went nowhere, well, they stayed nowhere. Out of sight, out of mind.
Thanks to everyone at Velocity Valley! And also thanks to the perfectly-timed screaming people on the Giant Swing.
What are your testosterone levels at they gotta be really low
This is like a bad dream about the Sinclair C5 meeting the Simpson's "Monorail" Guy...a fun park is about right for this...
the idea could still work ala a scsi scheduling app and all electric motors and robotic switching
@nevan o'connell looks like I’m not the only one
This may sound creepy but my brother spotted what we both thought was you in town and we waited for an NZ video to confirm
There's two kinds of "revolutionary transport systems": "Bikes but worse", and "Trains but worse". The Shweeb has the dubious honor of being both.
You can't forget "Cars, but literally no improvement"
There is an inane obsession of tech bros with pods. They watched too mutch jetsons or something.
@Bane That's a fair point, but none of the cities I've lived in have had good enough transit that going car-free was practical. Not to mention the problem of how to evacuate if there's a natural disaster.
@MxBirdnose If you live near work, you'll probably pay more, but if you don't own a car it'll balance out.
An average payment for a used car seems to be around $500/month. Say I got a cheaper one but then added insurance and upkeep, it'd be ~$600.
In my area (suburb kinda far out from Washington D.C.), a 1 bed/1 bath apartment costs ~$1800/month. If I moved to an area where many tech employers are, it'd be around ~$2050/month.
So, even after adding $150/month of bus or Metro fees, it'd be cheaper to live close to work as long as I don't own a car.
it looks fun tho its like a mini rollercoaster
I feel like this is low-key the most skeptical/negative opinion of something I've heard Tom provide, and I'm here for it
how is it low-key? he very explicity said that this invention was garbage xD
Thing got a million dollars when it literally has the worst cons of both bikes and trains and clearly wasn't the future of transport. I'd be angry too
@mvwilHe wouldn’t have to hate them if they weren’t pointless and obstructive
He just hates monorails
I live in New Zealand and I have never, ever heard of the Shweeb. "A strange novelty ride for tourists" is actually a great outcome for a gadgetbahn.
You don't hear about it, you just wander around and it finds you. Or you can just follow the distant screams
Maybe it's cause it's so close to Rotorua?
Same but like now I wanna go on it.
You gotta give it a shot mate
It's actually not a bad idea, perhaps not as a serious mode of transportation but it think it'd be a great thing for sightseeing, going over area's at your own speed and leisure whilst getting a nice view. It'd be great in a Zoo, Museum or something like an immersive theme park ride.
Walking or having a zoo with bikes/high platforms would be way easier
Going over an area at your own speed and leisure whilst getting a nice view ...
GOLF CART!
*Jurassic Park theme plays in the distance*
@Tyiriel i was thinking of people trying to go across a cliff or over streams and stuff
@AbyssEyes Bigger brain idea: Build a high walkway and let people walk to sightsee what they want on a path.
Tom Scott's videos are always interesting but have a certain down to earth quality about them. Then to top it off, he comes across as genuinely thoughtful, considering others and being aware that his own actions have the ability to cause others to act without his say-so.
As usual, he's a likeable person making likeable videos. Well done on another great one, Tom.
Just... don't meet him off camera.
@AaaaNinja These days, it often is.
You make it sound like it's a great accomplishment for people to be people.
that's just any british narrator
Oh wow you should be a critic.
The Swheeb inventor really said he’ll fix the problems in post when he submitted the design and got a $1 million grant. Incredible.
I admire the ‘ram the slow person in front of you to get them to go faster’ mentality of the Schweeb. That’s thinking I can get behind 100%
Wish we could do this with bikes. And people.
@tommy karrick It really is such a wild idea that I wish Scott had remarked on more. Imagine the cries of "Ramming speed!"
Now if only i could do that to slow walkers in front of me
In New Zealand there a road signs telling you to get out the way and pull over if a faster car is behind you. Fantastic imho
I love how it has no regard for this concept we usually call “inertia”
Don’t worry about slamming into the person going half your speed at 60 kilometers per hour, I’m sure both the pods will be fine, and I promise you won’t break your neck from the sudden impact. This is 1 dimensional GTA just have fun
Reading the marketing material linked in the description, Tom really should have included the line from it: "If you can walk, you can Shweeb!"
@Alex From Google? Probably found the one suit there who still had an idea of "fun" and said "Ramming speed!"
@Winjin still fetched a million...i wonder how
No! walking is one of your main competitors, Shweeb! and it's got you hard beat with overtaking alone! Why draw attention to the possibility of just walking to wherever the Shweeb station is?
"Stop making Shweeb happen; its' not going to happen"
Not enough people are talking about how well you stabilized the shots from inside the Shweeb! No matter how you did it, such a great job.
GoPro's (or a similar competitor) have ever so more awesome stabilisation.
This would actually be very good for a hybrid ride/transport system for amusement parks. It would serve as a decent enough means of getting from one section of the park to another while being fun and providing decent views of the park. And parks are already in the business of managing and maintaining similar equipment.
It would be awful for cities, but amusement parks could actually benefit from this oddball implementation.
@xxxtensioncord There are plenty of other rider-controlled attractions that work just fine and don't have that problem. You just have to time the releases, so that people don't bump into each other much.
@Pierce Johnson Wow! I bet you're fun at parties...
Yes, but it takes longer and is limited to certain design requirements of foot paths, whereas this would be more for riding over sections of the park that would work well for footpaths, or driving around park features to show them off in a more integrated and interesting way. This would be more of a hybrid ride/single person transit, like gondolas between park sections, but able to move much faster with more curves more like a pedal powered roller coaster.
Feet work great too for those who are able
@xxxtensioncord On this note, I'm curious how hard the proposed physical impact on slower pods would be when faster pods ram into them. Would Granny be okay if someone ran into her pod?
I could see this working well at nature tourism destinations. It could allow visitors to transition through sections of a nature area quickly and easily without disturbing local wildlife while feeling fun and exciting. Add in some stops for guided tours of sections of the park and it all starts to come together quite nicely.
@Дмитрий П. Folks in Africa wouldn't want to spend the money constructing the monorail railway when they could just pave a road and use it for bicycles, motorbikes, golf carts, and the occasional automobile. The road would be less money and have more uses.
Look, its a monorail
Doesnt matter how cheap it would be, its a linear line. Its like bike but now its hanging and you could get stuck in traffic.
At best it would be like a sliding hanger
@Abi Gail monorails, gondolas, elevated tram ways === price. price and price.
you can put this (steel rails + cabin at 1/10 of any high tech)
it's like "i do not need a bicycle cause we have car", yes, sure... you do not need but some people in Africa/Arabs/India do want to have cheap bicycles
@Abi Gail monorails, gondolas and elevated tram ways all have higher construction costs and running costs, for a cheap local wildlife exploring solution these could fill that gap
@Abi Gail That's not as fun. And more boring for kids since they can't race one another.
I love how he tries his best not to smile or laugh when the people are screaming, he also politely apologized when he smirked.
i have a great idea: perhaps you could invert the rail so there are less points of failure, and enlargen the pod so many people can fit in at once, and then of course to address the whole issue of moving it, a powered pod at the front could pull the others behind it! oh.. wait.
@SharienGaming lmao. Someones never heard of induced demand
@Hubris Inc Adam something really thinks that putting some fuckin Choo choos in the city will make us a type II civilization
@Patrick O
"Oh no, car traffic and car deaths, who could've seen this coming? Wait, what's global warming?"
@Rob Schellinger that's a perfectly cromulent word.
damn it, invented the train again
i mean it may fail as a public transport system, but it could be a big thing for an amusement park ride, and theres nothing wrong with having those. Getting families out of the house doing things together is a great idea especially in this day and age where staying home playing games or streaming seems to be the "in thing". Need more amusement parks, and more innovative ideas like this that also have a minimal amount of actual exercise and effort
@Mister Dayne Oh my gosh that gave me an idea! Remember the Tom Scott video of the aerial bucket way? When they decommission it, they should put a modified Schweeb where the people going down assist the people going up. It's brilliant!
It could be a simple way of getting from A to B between points in a massive wooded area or something. Rather than wandering through nature, why not get there 12 times faster and glide through the trees, slalom style
I've been on it before, and I can assure you that it is not a "minimal amount of exercise"!
Family ones need multiple race tracks, like the kids RC cars. Like four parallels to race each other. Except I'm not sure how corners would work, as the shoulders will be wildly different in length.
I can definitely see this happening in a small scale, around a campus or convention center. but nothing larger than that.
imagine these high in the air around like a mountain or a body of water
@Safe-Keeper That isn't impossible. If you can do that, you would qualify for the tour de' france but not necessarily win. n
@Cornelius the Crow Tamer try going 60 kmh on a regular bike. But you can deliberately not get it if you want to, of course.
@Eoin Doyle Have them run partially electric so that there is never more than a small speed difference between pods, when they collide the rear pod should only be going maybe 5mph faster than the front one. being able to form trains on the fly but still run individually as needed is by far the best unique feature here, something that cannot be accomplished with cars, bikes, or actual trains. since everything is moving together, there should never be a rush hour/traffic jam situation unless the system is malfunctioning.
@AStupidlyLongNameThatsLongerThanMyPreviousNameLolz Unless you've been on it, you don't know... ;)
Fun fact: both the train and the bicycle, the two things techbros hate, are the result of decades of incremental progress, not "one radical idea." Fixing our transit problems comes by building what works and incrementing upon it, not looking for the magic bullet that will save everyone.
@Udi Shomer
For larger cities, yes. But for smaller cities, towns and villages, liquid fueled cars are the only practical option. You're not going to get on your ebike and ride it 100km at 25km/h. Especially if your ebike battery can only do about 50km range anyway.
I have an electric car, and I have just upgraded my bike to an ebike... And while these are great for my smaller trips, and have saved thousands of dollars in fuel, they're not a one-size-fits-all solution.
@Udi Shomer not to mention how comfortable long distsnce trains are. Id much rathsr be in a diner csr than esting mcdonalds in an suv
@Zynel cars are the most inefficient form of ground transport, both in terms of cost per km/mile, and in term of externalities (pollution, noise, danger to other road users, co2 emissions, use of public space).
Buses, Metro systems, trams, bicycles, e-bikes, trains and walking are all much more efficient.
@Levin how so? Not attacking you, just want to hear your take.
@Seph Reed cars are objectively poor forms of transport
I had the opportunity to go on the shweeb once, but didn't know about this history! I'm glad they turned it into an amusement ride though, it was quite a lot of fun to control the speed of your own coaster
I've been on this as a kid. It's really fun! I remember thinking it probably wouldn't work as a transit system, even though it would be a really fun way to get around!
The bad parts of monorails with the bad parts of bikes - genius!
@Chaosvolt there are nation states other than the USA, bike lanes exist
@John Roach He turned millions into more than a hundred billion..
@Vera Tabbynx Ah but the self driving disables itself shorty before an accident so all issues are down to the driver /s
@Alucard maybe Elon could buy the Schweeb and waterproof it and provide it as an unsolicited craft for underwater rescue and insinuate that actual professional rescuers are pedophiles when he doesn't get his way for something he wasn't asked to participate in
@KasimirFreeman Those sound like great policies! He should also legalize murder while he's at it. (He might as well)
Thanks, Tom, for asking viewers not to reach out. I love how you care for someone you haven't met but could use some space.
It's so cool seeing him go somewhere and doing something I have done before. Its actually a lot of fun. Its like a roller-coaster and its not hard to pedal at all. Much easier than a bike.
idk why but the parts where Tom is zooming around as the camera follows him and he's speaking is so funny to me, he's just nonchalantly telling us information as he zooms round in a floating bicycle
I feel like this would work at places like a ski-resort or some kind of large park, I feel like that would be a really cool ride atop the trees, like zip-lining but with more control I suppose and maybe a little more comfortable.
For personal, individual transport, I've never figured out the reason that the cannon didn't become more mainstream.
It worked in Secret of Mana, it worked in Super Mario 64, how much more proof do we need?
Mostly because it tears your skin off but people that make a big deal out of that just hate fun
Not the infrastructure project we want, but the one we Shweeb.
I'm absolutely Shweebing about this!
Peak comedy.
Shweeb, formerly Chuck.
*grunts*
Take my like, damnit. XDD
Time to get Shweebty! - rick
I think they would be great for holiday complexes (like centre parcs) great views, protected from weather and other traffic, plus not having to worry about taking your own bikes finding parking and locking them securely.
The biggest problem about this being in the hands of public, especially if the things are made to push each other, is that people ahead might get lazy and pedal less, expecting those behind to push them.
@PhysicsGamer it's just small problem and it's solvable.
like trains work (they also can not "hit each other"), same here:
some electrofield -> if cab in 5 metres from another -> it triggers brakes.
the question is price: if you do it "perfect" how much cheaper it will than monorails or other solutions.
There's also the rather glaringly unsolved problem of what happens if you slam into someone at speed. Bike collisions can _hurt_ and this thing is meant to go faster than most people on bikes...
This definitely has potential... as an amusement park ride, it just needs something to enforce a minimum speed. My idea would be to have two stations, start station at the top and end station at the bottom, with an elevator system to shift pods back up to the top. Gravity can do most of the work, in cases where there is up hills or long horizontal sections, just install a few electromagnets to force them forwards and install an air pressure break at the end so riders are forced to slow down.
I love how they invited him in to test their invention out and he literally explains to us all how ineffective and ridiculous it is.
I think a system along these lines that allowed someone to use their bicycle in it would be a good way to connect bike lanes and paths across difficult areas
It might have a possibility as a small transit system on something of similar size to a college campus, but you'd need a way to put a bunch of people in one car, along the single cab rides. I think this is one of those things that's fun to think about but not terribly practical
I went on what was probably the original version of the Shweeb back in 2008. It was heaps of fun as a ride, but with all the good will in the world, it was never going to work as a mass transit system.
I like the idea of shared effort (assuming it works in practice), but I think the biggest downside of this as a mode of transport - other than the obvious infrastructure and cost issues you mentioned - is that there's no room for even a small amount of luggage. Where are you supposed to put your bag - on top of you?
That looks fun, and it seems like the kind of thing that should end up in a place where people go to have fun.
This could be really cool in big facilities that have multiple separated facilities (ex colleges), in the rain especially.
And as noted, Google’s campuses or Apples giant dome place, definitely a cool idea.
I definitely don’t think it’s made for transportation but I’d definitely pay to ride one at like an amusement park or something it looks so much fun
@Marten different cultures sadly, and if it prevented even one fatal accident a year it'd be worth it with how much people try to get over on businesses and government
@Axion I agree that the whole traffic situation needs to be taken into consideration. But that's definitely possible. Here in The Netherlands we quite a few university campuses where thousands of students cycle on any given day and site traffic is extremely minimal and mostly seperated and at slow speeds. Risks for cyclists is very minimal, while throughput is huge and the costs for the university are also very low.
@Marten it's safer than a bike and removes the getting hit by site traffic equation
Hmm, Still doubt it. Like Tom said in the video: it doesn't really have any benefits over a regular bike path.
In theory it might go a bit faster than a bike, but not by a whole lot (modern e-bikes can go 40 km/h) and I doubt it will be beneficial when you count the time you need to get to a station, wait for a pod, get on and off, etc
@littlejack Ramming speed!
Now I'm wondering if you could do this the other way, and make a transport system that's like a log flume ride at an amusement park, but with paddleboats.
Can we just appreciate the effort Tom puts in these videos? They even have captions!
Just from listening to Simon for a minute gives me the strong impression that Velocity Valley is run like a ship in the royal navy.
This is exactly the kind of idea I'd expect to come out of Rotorua.
I rode this as a child, was very fun, had no idea it was designed to replace transport
So it's a bike that's really expensive to operate, has a set route it can operate on, is not easy to exit in an emergency, can't overtake and can't go up prolonged inclines. Perfect.
@P00p00face1234 Yes but the idea is that dedicated bike infrastructure while increasing safety would also be cheaper to build and maintain and would be just more accessible to everyone.
So, like a train you pedal.
@ａｎｏ ｎｙｍ For a sea-faring creature, maybe. Terrestrial folk with any shred of dignity should dissolve back into the ground again.
@P00p00face1234 If a city has actual infrastructure for biking - i.e. Dedicated bike lanes which are physically separated from traffic - on the other hand...
This reminds me of a thing in an amusement park in Finland. It's like a pedal roller coaster that goes around the whole park, but there are no uphills or downhills, and you can get on and off at multiple spots. Not really a transit system, more for taking in the view.
Thats so cool to see you in NZ I hope you have had an awesome trip here! plenty for you to see and enjoy I'm sure! I hope we Kiwis treated you well! Ive been to that park but didnt try the sweeb but did do the Jetboat and the sky dive both good fun! All the best for 2023!!
Imagine waking up in the morning and saying “Honey, I’m going to take the Shweeb to work!” 💀💀💀
You've got a lot of heart and integrity, Mr. Scott. Thank you.
2:47 recently I went to Sweden and I noticed that every single road we drove on had a dedicated bike lane off to the side. as a brit, it made me jealous. over here we share the road with them, which makes it quite unsafe for them, and to try increasing bike usage, bike lanes just get painted onto roads which eats up road space, and then add to that that cars park on top of those lanes and it makes no difference if there is a bike lane or not.
The monorail enthusiasts have gotten to Tom and they can no longer be stopped
@Pierce Johnson If it's not up to spec, sure I guess.
Is there a chance the track could bend?
'e be one o' us now!
That, and the rollercoaster kick.
@Vitor de LimaIt’s just such a shame that they’re pretending it’s a form of transport.
I feel like this would be cool for like sight seeing safari type situations. Like a protected wildlife preserve you can have rails of these for people to peddle around in and look at the sights. would be safer for sightseers and animals as it would elevate them from the ground unlike a car. Of course overtaking is still an issue
Have to be highly elevated so that the animals can't reach it. Trying to pedal away with little human noodle legs won't cut it when an elephant decides to reach up and investigate the cab.
That looks REALLY fun though!
Imagine using that at really big parks or campuses!
I can actually see how this would work in some areas where it would be in a loop from nearby (2-5Km) apartments to a central business hub.
The idea you should bump into the one in front if it's going too slow is hilarious 😂
thats actually a super nice thing for bigger companies! you could use this even indoor.
u just need like switches to your specific workplace.
just 2 rules - 1. everyone has to drive it back himself at the end. and 2. just people who brought one can also ride it back.
This looks incredibly fun. Being an amusement park ride feels like the proper niche for this. Especially if you had it over some place that has a nice view.
@DarkIzo Going to my lectures on that thing would be incredibly fun
@Vitor de Lima The thing about this sort of project is that as you fix the problems with it, in short order you end up with either a bike or a train. Maybe a gondela/cable car if you intend to use it in certain Very specific niches.
Near where I grew up there is a small theme park that has a small, two person per car, pedal monorail. It's geared down a long way so it's very slow, but suitable for children. It goes out over some of the theme park and then returns.
@Mileyard Gigahertz But that's where slow and quick lanes would come in. Setting up a combined 4 lane (2 quick & 2 slow - 1 of each going in both directions) rail would even allow you to swerve people into the other lane if something breaks down somewhere on a track. Just have contingencies mostly.
It's nice and fun to talk to about biking - but if nobody is going to do it, this is the next best thing we can reliably PUSH on people. Being rural sucks when you get neither though of course too!
or for getting around medium to large sizes campus
That looks like an absolute blast. They should set up parallel and intertwining tracks with a different coloured cars so you can race your friends.
Looks like there's two lines next to each other.
What a cool idea, for many applications like college and university Campuses or rainy climates when people want to go a short distance and not wait for the bus.. I would work for this company.
Appreciate how Tom mentions that this is actually a terrible idea for public transit. As an amusement part ride, it does look fun though. I do have doubts about anyone being able to ride one considering you need to both use feet to petal and be able to fit in the pod itself.
This looks so much fun. :D Would love to run that track too.
Honestly i think this could work if its installed in places where you need to traverse between cliffs and mountains. A bike lane would be impractical in there because you would need to spiral upwards and downwards but with this you could make a straight line system between them.
Google just wanted to have some fun on their campus and needed a fancy way of going around - That's why they spend $1,000,000 on this!
@M M 1. Bike lanes keep bikes safe from cars.
2. As for not worrying about maintenance, a normal utility bike needs literally 0 (not exaggerated) maintanance (except for flat tires) so there's nothing to worry about.
With the Shweeb however, since a single broken unit causes the entire line to jam, you need to worry about the maintenance of every single unit on the line. Not being able to overtake makes other unit's failure YOUR problem too. Not so for bikes.
3. As for worrying about the weather when riding a bicycle, well, as my mom used to say, you're not made of sugar, you won't melt in the rain :)
4. The 'not worrying about your bike being stolen' is a fair point, altough I would worry a Shweeb would become target of vandalism, since it'd be relatively easy to disable the entire line
@velox Keeps riders safe from cars, protects riders from inclement weather and poor road conditions, and allows riders to not have to worry about maintenance or their bike breaking down (tires, gears, etc) or their bike being stolen. I think university campuses would be a great place for something like this.
My biggest concern is how safe is it from someone actively trying to open it from the inside in a dangerous place and conversely how easy is it for someone to exit in the case of an emergency?
And reckless spending like that is why they have to fire tens of thousands of people (also their core product is now garbage)
Turns out they were just looking for the future of amusement park rides. With that much money to spare, it's worth it.
That or it's a corporate income tax writeoff.
yes tom, we need more dedicated and separate bike lanes and just more trains in general.
The Shweeb getting that grant almost feels like a Buttle / Tuttle situation.
reminds me a lot of Arrow's old Suspended Coaster model. A while back, I remember seeing people wonder how it would look like if we used roller coasters as a mode of transportation. Well, this is as close as I've seen up to now!
honestly, it looks awesome as a fun park ride
it didn't turn out the way it probably was envisioned initially, but at least it's a fun idea and probably also a fun ride while also a decent exercise and transport ride system that looks a bit safer than traditional bike riding, i guess.
So, how many videos is Tom gonna make about monorials?
We're up to like 4 now aren't we?
Mono.......Doh!!!!
@Tjena Donn *golf claps admirably*
This one in particular had been there twice
@Ozma It glides as softly as a cloud
I think like 6
Wow, I was just there a few weeks ago and saw the shweeb ride on the side, it was real cool. Didn't have the chance to try it though(maybe next time). Did you see the big ostrich on the right hand side of the entrance?
I hope you're having a great time in New Zealand. Hopefully you missed all the crazy weather
I remember riding this way back when! I don't remember it being all that fantastic, but as a kid you don't really see that lmao
This is absolutely something I'd be delighted to take every day to work but hate my life for every aspect of it.
This could still be the future of going from one place to another. Very interesting.
Loving the calming screams of the damned when the Shweeb Generation 3 was being discussed following up from 1:22 to 1:31. Really provides and gives a comforting feeling of safety and the idea that ones well-being is of most importance!
I'm glad they didn't do another take.
@Ryan Payne At XCOR I put serious design effort into how I would skydive from the Lynx rocket plane from 100 km up, including subscale drop tests of spacesuited models with a wingsuit and "unicorn horn" shock spike on the helmet. Damn shame we went out of business before we got it flying.
@Ryan Payne I would ride that
@tinwatchman "Sauntered vaguely downward."
If anything, that makes it stand out for me as a brilliant and cheap carnival ride. No one would stop the clock for an actual transit system like this, but it literally screams amusement park to me.
Honestly I could see this being a fun transport system for those rare cases where they've got money to spend, and the ridership won't be *too* high.
Thing like, well, the google campus or certain universities or something.
Never the main route of transport but...a fun thing, and maybe something to get over high-traffic pedestrian zones for medium distances.
Again, the use cases for this are the most niche imaginable but...I don't hate it.
Im just overwhelmed by the entire thumbnail thats perfectly captioned with "i have no idea why". Truly a tom scott classic
Respect to everyone keeping the take with the screaming riders. It added lovely comedy to the video.
I used to work at Google and the fact that they would invest in this doesn’t surprise me at all 😂
This is brilliant. I can't wait to see one in a city.
As a gadgetbahn, it's got so many problems, but as a novelty for sheer fun, it's awesome.
@Jons LG "Subways but above roads" is just streetcars.
@jonslg240 You literally described public transport... just use the train goofy
I could see it on a zoo or a national park, a long ride with a tour in front and the end.
Sure Chairlifts exist and are probably a more calm option but this could be fun.
@Jons LG Did you even watch the video. This, and ALL systems even remotely similar to it where you have "individual pods", literally WILL NOT WORK. Imagine being in rush hour traffic, but it is physically impossible to change lanes. That's what systems like this would boil down to if it were to "replace cars" as you think this would do. Working from home is doing more for replacing cars than these "revolutions to transportation" ever will.
These would be nice in the alps as a ride..without peddling.
Tom... taking us places we would otherwise not ever see. It would have been nice to see the power train of the vehicle... perhaps the buffering system... but, I'll for the "bullet" pods... or the transporter pads.
I can honestly see something like this working on a small scale, perhaps around huge compounds or parks where you're not dealing with thousands of commuters on any given route.
1:21 I love how he's just so casual when people start screaming on the ride behind him. Just normal in New Zealand
Just normal in a theme park.
you don't know how happy I get when New Zealand is mentioned in a video, let alone where I live.
I've been to this park actually, it's incredible. Very modest compared to other places you might find the sorts of attractions there, but truly a definite if you're in the area. The Shweeb was definitely not practical for everyday use, but a blast to try out.
Isn't it crazy to think how absolutley terrified he was of a little kids roller coasters now hes riding this with no fear while talking to the camera.
As well as being in control, it also probably helps that he's in a supine position and the down slopes never exceed 10-20 degrees. Apart from Alpine coasters, the closest "proper" roller coaster I can think of like this is Air/Galactica at Alton Towers.
@pyropulse and thats why he probly gives great hugs
I'd say a big part of it is he knows he's in control of that, in a coaster you just sit down and strap in.
Monorail vs roller coaster? Hardly the same thing.
@Christa Nice On that wildly swinging thing in the video, I'd be quite worried about eating one of the posts supporting the rails if I'm honest
Tom, good job presenting the good and the bad in a fair and balanced way.
This is genius. You just have to go into a Shweeb pod and wait for someone to connect from behind and you don't even have to pedal 🙂
“Google gave the Schweeb $10,000,000” put me into hysterics
I loved the moment when the interviewee just brushed off some intense screams in the background. I guess that's part of the job one would just get used to.
They could work well for public transport if they:
* were fully motorised instead of pedal powered.
* had a more traditional seating position.
* held 3 or 4 people per pod.
* were fully automated so you could just request one to your location and tell it where you wanted to go to.
* they built small stopping loops into the track layout at popular areas (schools, shopping centres, etc) so pods passing by could continue while passengers are getting in or out.
Such a great idea for mass transit...because what everyone wants on their commute is to climb into a tiny box that other people have been doing strenuous exercise in. I bet they smell great.
If you & your partner were out on the town wanting to get home on a rainy night & find only 1 shweeb available in the rank - you are BOTH gona try to squeeze in. Halfway you get stuck.
@Vojtěch Janda But the Shweeb makes you schwinnng!
@quinbot quinbot Just please don't get Schwifty in the Shweeb.
@ShaCaro Shwipe your Shweeb, Shwab your Shweeb...the possibilities are endless!
@wnnetwork I would destroy at least 3 of these on my weekend commute home from a night drinking.
It'd be great for treacherous areas you can just do the bend around, or for things like setpieces and sights to view. Like amusement parks or instead of a gondola.
I want a go on this.
I'm probably too big to fit, like every other ride I actually want to try, but I want a go on this.
I’m so proud to have rode this exact track!
I’m sure it’s been asked already but with all the travelling Tom does, does he do anything to offset his carbon footprint?
it'd be hard for me to not give a million dollars to something called the schweeb
Some google guy just thought it looked fun and wanted to get an operational version to play with. As a cyclist, this looks like a blast, so I totally get where that dude was coming from.
Why didn't they buy a few hundred velomobiles, and worked with local governments to build a fast bicycle network? Velomobiles go fast, can go anywhere, make your employees healthier, and it could turn the disasterous money pit of US urban planning into something maintainable. All the money saved, compared to company cars and fuel, could finance facilities like parkings and repair shops.
@Matthew C Thats like 4-5 google engineer's yearly salary.
At its completion at a cost of $83 million in January 1943, the Pentagon was the world's largest office building, covering 29 acres (12 hectares)-including a 5-acre (2-hectare) central court-and
Chief of staff "God dam it where's the president gone again"
Aid- "he doing another lab of the 7 floor"
I'm not sure if they have kept this since the addition of electric pedal assist, but they kept a weekly and all time leaderboard of lap times here. Being based in Rotorua, a mecca for mountain bikers, you'd often see big names in the sport fighting for top spot after visiting the town for races/events
Probably wanted a track at the office to ride around in. Could you imagine the Apple building encircled by these tracks?
Good to see you back in NZ tom! Theres plenty of interesting stuff here. Heard of the Cracroft Caverns?
The thing about failures is you don't see them 😅 I bet there's been so, so, so much more money spent on projects that failed than on those that proved practical. It's just that you only get to see the successes, and the things that went nowhere, well, they stayed nowhere. Out of sight, out of mind.
Looks like it's lots of fun to try in an amusement park. But I'll keep using my normal bike for actual transport.