For US aerial trams, the sky’s the limit

The answer to easing car traffic in the greater Dallas area could come from above.

The master-planned Legacy business area of Plano, Texas, has more than 800 businesses and corporate campuses with a daytime weekday population of 160,000 people, said Brian Shewski, Plano’s transportation manager. “The density is absolutely there for having some [additional] type of transit,” he said.

Enter the aerial tramway.

In 2023, the Regional Transportation Council for North Texas invited cities to apply for gondolas that operate on aerial tramways to help move people in congested areas. Plano was the first city to apply. Gondola developer Swyft Cities is now in discussions with Plano, Dallas and other cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area about locations and timeline, according to a company representative.