This summer, I had the chance to visit the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. There were many highlights, from the elephants to the pandas, but one thing that stuck out to me (and especially my 3-year-old niece), was the Orangutan Transit System, also called the “O-line.” It can be roughly described as two cables, connected by towers, for orangutans to travel (over visitors) between the Great Ape House and Think Tank. No nets, no nothing.
So what does this have to do with the workplace? Well, apparently my niece and I weren’t the only ones intrigued by the overpass. Michael McDaniel, at Frog Design in Austin, Texas, thinks the zoo is onto something.
He thinks humans could one day have a similar form of transportation, although his vision wouldn’t have commuters swinging from a rope. He calls it “The Wire.”
In an interview with National Public Radio, McDaniel explains his vision: “We don’t mean chairlifts, by any means. There would be way too many dropped iPhones.” More like “high-speed, detachable gondolas,” he explains.
Quite the way to cut down on traffic.
What do you think? Would you take this on your commute to work?