Bicycle Austin forum

McChris

Member

From: Blackland

Registered: 2008-10-31

Posts: 36

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Google Invests in Bike-like Transportation System

I saw the news today that Google has invested $1 million in a New Zealand startup Schweeb, which is developing a human-powered monorail system. It looks like recumbent bikes trapped in capsules that run from a track.

It's worth clicking through to check out the pictures. I'm somewhat skeptical of how well this would work in Austin. It seems like those capsules could get pretty steamy, and the prospect of using a unit after someone has perspired all over the seat seems pretty gnar.

Google's Weirdest Investment Yet? $1 Million To Human Powered Monorail Company Shweeb

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-h … eeb-2010-9

Google has invested $1 million in Shweeb, a New Zealand company that wants to make bicycle monorail pods to transport people around urban areas.

The investment was part of Google's "Project 10^100," which asked people to submit world changing companies/ideas for Google to invest in.

The other companies that received money:

    * Khan Academy for putting education online.
    * FIRST, a non-profit for science and engineering education.
    * Public.resource.org to make government more transparent.
    * The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, which provides education to African students.

Shweeb is supposed to "drive innovation in public transport." The money will go towards funding research to see if these pods can work in urban areas. We could have saved Google $1 million. This will not work.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-h … z10l4dw4fx