Oh dear! Paris is building a huge cable car system for suburban commuters

There are, we imagine, some basic pros and cons to traveling by cable car. On the plus side, you get great views every day, you don’t have to spend your whole life sitting in traffic, and you probably won’t be run over by loads of smelly humans. On the other hand, you do do not want to be sitting in a cable car with someone who forgot their deodorant. And if someone farts… well, you better not think about it.

Soon(ish), the citizens of Paris will discover these pros and cons for themselves. The first public cable car in the French capital has been launched. Double Cable Athe 4.5 kilometer line will connect several suburbs in the south-east of Paris, linking four stations of the city’s metro network.

So why a gondola? Well, apparently this area of ​​Paris – called Créteil – is particularly hilly and criss-crossed by highways and high-speed train lines. Instead of building an expensive and/or complicated system of buses or subways, a cable car can simply sail above it all. In theory, it’s also cheaper to build, and if it keeps people away from their cars, it’ll also be better for the environment.

Cable A was first proposed in 2008, but was delayed by opposition from local residents for years. Their main complaint was about privacy, but all of that has apparently been solved by some nifty new technology. According to Bloomberg, the gondolas will be equipped with sensors that will make their windows opaque when they approach too close to residential buildings. Clever stuff, huh? Here are some preview shots of what could soon be Paris‘ fanciest ride.

Scheduled to come into service in 2025, cable A could eventually be one of the five gondolas in the Paris suburbs. And, to be fair, who can blame Paris city planners for stringing together loads of high-flying cable cars? When you have a place as beautiful as the City of Light, it must be hard to avoid building vantage points at every turn.