Tests of Air-Cushion Vehicles in Public Transportation

The use of air cushion vehicles (ACV) to provide airport access and public transportation, where that service can be performed primarily over water, is operationally feasible and has received encouraging passenger acceptance. ACV's can operate with and in close proximity to other airport and marine traffic. However, at the present stage of ACV development, such service is economically feasible only in special applications, such as on short, direct routes, over relatively calm water, connecting points generating large volumes of passengers who are willing to pay a premium fare, and for which alternate routes are more lengthy and time consuming. These are the results of a Mass Transportation Demonstration Project, designed to determine if air cushion vehicles can offer a unique solution to many transportation problems, especially in areas adjacent to bodies of water. Two, 14-passenger ACV's were operated for one year in scheduled service to the two major airports in the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area. A continuous passenger survey was undertaken, and extensive operating and economic data were collected for the desired evaluations.