First Hyperloop Test With Passengers Is Success

The transportation sector is on a high-speed train, barreling towards the future. In a previous Medium post, I discussed the Midwest Connect hyperloop feasibility study that was completed and the many benefits of hyperloop — economic uplift, job creation, emission reductions, and the opportunity to fundamentally change the way people live and work.

On November 8, 2020, Virgin Hyperloop conducted its first test with four passengers, a huge step for the space program. As with any test flight, it’s cargo first, animals second, and people last. Two of the four passengers were Josh Giegel, Virgin Hyperloop’s co-founder and CEO, and Sara Lucina, Head of Passenger Experience for the company. They took a quick, successful ride in a two-seater prototype experimental XP-2 pod through a 500-meter tube in the Nevada desert.

Due to the limits of the tube, the crew could only reach 107 MPH, but in a full-size shuttle, the top speeds will be as fast as a commercial jet. It’s worth mentioning that the first flight of an airplane was on December 17th, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville Wright’s flight lasted only 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet at 6.8 MPH. However, what happened that day was a monumental step in changing the way people traveled the world forever.

The hyperloop test is another significant milestone. In addition to travelling at the speed of a commercial jet, you can expect to experience the comfort of sitting in a car and the capacity to hold as many or more passengers as a subway. Others in the industry have said that Hyperloop brings together the best of all the transportation systems we have already developed.

Now that we are in a new year and the worst of the pandemic appears to be behind us, I am hopeful that we will continue to see bipartisan support for developing the new transportation systems of the future that will create new jobs and build enriching communities.

For more futuristic ideas, follow me on Twitter @shervin.