Jerry makes a good point. Perhaps I was too harsh on the shuttle bus -- he is right that distribution is still a problem at both ends.

Regarding technology, Howell's published idea did not include a connection at the Ross Island bridge head, but it was brought up in the design competition. Both Detroit and Minneapolis airports have "trams" that are driverless, hauled by cables, have level boarding, and are capable of operating around curves. The Detroit one was built by Otis Elevator, and operates on air cushions over a distance of almost a mile. The Minneapolis one uses wheels on steel rails. I would imagine that the vertical connections would be similar to the Washington Park Zoo Max station elevators.

What boggles my mind is that South Waterfront/North Macadam is being developed to densities similar to downtown, yet the Tram is worthless at providing transit access.

Jerry's points regarding cost are crucial. Public agencies tend to forget that sunk costs should be irrelevant for making decisions. Only future costs should count. It is the increment beyond the $6 million cost of stopping the Tram, for completing and operating the project, that should be compared with the future benefit. Pinnell and Bush are wasting our money if they are investigating some other question. Having taken a class in Engineering Project Management from Steve Pinnell himself at PSU, I expect he would agree on this.