BMW invents hyperloop for cycles

BMW has unveiled a new concept for covered cycle ways which in the future could revolutionise cycling in megacities.

Described as 'Hyperloop for cycles', the new BMW-designed infrastructure consists of large elevated glass tubes designed to encourage commuters to switch from cars to zero-emission pushbikes, e-bikes and electric scooters.

Created for megacities in China, the closed tubes are covered and protect users from dangerous air pollution, motorised vehicles and bad weather.

To use them, BMW suggests riders would rent an e-bike or pay a fixed fee per distance which would automatically be deducted from their bank accounts via a smartphone app.

Naming its new mobility idea the BMW Vision E3 Way, the new cycleway project began at the car-maker's Shanghai R&D centre and was developed in cooperation with nearby Tongji University.

To test the E3 Way, BMW and Tongji are proposing two routes totalling 20km in Shanghai.

Both hope to attract users because, compared to any other land-based vehicle, the cycleloop will become the fastest way to commute across the city.

BMW also says the presence of the safe cycleways will give the city a new tourist attraction.

Once built, it's thought BMW will allow users to hire its Active Hybrid e-bike which, when fully charged, has a range of up to 100km and a top speed of almost 26km/h.

China is the perfect place for the cycleloop.

Not only is it losing the battle with congestion and air pollution, China already has the world's highest e-bike usage, with more than 250 million riders.

In Shanghai, alone, more than 20 per cent of all journeys are now completed using e-bikes.

And, it's not just the idea of an enclosed cycleloop which is innovative. Tongji University has developed a pioneering way of producing the tunnels themselves.

Instead of building them in situ, the tunnels are constructed elsewhere and then lifted in place, meaning the cycleloop is built in a fraction of the time a regular elevated highway takes to build.

Unfortunately, this utopian-sounding, zero-emission way of navigating a city far quicker than in a car could have its drawbacks.

BMW has suggested to keep things safe, regular pushbikes may be banned altogether and a speed camera-enforced speed limit of just 24km/h would be imposed.

If the paths get too busy, barriers will be used to manage traffic flow in order to prevent bottlenecks among riders entering on-ramps.

In the future, BMW hopes users will choose its cycleloop for all journeys up to 15km.