Heathrow Pod

About the city. London is trying to manage the chronic traffic congestion problems in the Greater London area.

Goal

The goals of the project are: reducing waiting time and offering reduced journey times; it’s also an environmentally sustainable form of transport that ensures reduced emissions.

Implementation period. Heathrow Pod launched in 2011.

Fact

With over 67 million passengers passing through each year, the airport at Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest.

Solutions

Ultra’s first commercially operational pod system provides 800 passengers per day with a vital link between the T5 Business Car Park and the terminal itself.

A powerful example of the system’s benefits, the small footprint of the Heathrow pods system enables it to fit within the tight constraints imposed by the airport infrastructure.

Commissioned by Heathrow Airport operator BAA, the system consists of 21 vehicles, a total of 3.8 kilometres of one-way guideway, and three stations – two in the T5 Business Car Park and one at Terminal 5.

Team

The Heathrow pod system started life as a Bristol University project – was developed by UK company Ultra and BAA

Timeline

To date, the system has carried over 700,000 passengers and in May 2013 celebrated reaching its 1 millionth autonomously driven mile.

The pods use 70% less energy than it takes to power a car, and 50% less than a bus.

The success of the Heathrow pods has driven British car companies to follow their lead by creating autonomous driverless pods.

As of May 2018, the 21 pods carry upwards of 1000 travellers per day.

If you notice an error or inaccuracy in our editorials, please email [email protected] so we can look into it.