Bartholet
Bartholet, a Switzerland-based company, is one of the leading global manufacturers of traditional gondola and ropeway systems, with expertise spanning both tourism and urban mobility applications.
In December 2023, Bartholet debuted its Ropetaxi technology with the launch of the FlemXpress installation at the Flims Laax Falera ski resort. As of this update, the system has served over 50,000 riders. While currently operating in a resort setting, the project is being closely watched as a potential model for urban transit adaptation.
Ropetaxi introduces a form of gondola automation designed to enhance route flexibility and energy efficiency. The system features autonomous electric motors - referred to as eMotion drives - mounted on top of standard gondola cabins. These motors enable the cabins to navigate the clamping area (the section where cabins detach from the main cable) and move independently along guide rails to switch between cable lines or bypass stations.
This approach allows for direct, non-stop travel between selected stations and enables unused cabins to be removed from the main cable, potentially improving energy efficiency during off-peak hours. While still in its early deployment phase, Ropetaxi represents a significant innovation in gondola system design with possible future applications in urban mobility. It’s a pretty big game changer.
Roland Bartholet (CEO of Bartholet Maschinenbau AG) highlights Ropetaxi:
“With a conventional gondola lift, around 90% of the cabins travel empty. With FlemXpress, at least one person will be present in the cabin and the gondola goes wherever you want it to. That makes our gondola lift much more sustainable than it has been possible up until now.”
Look at Bartholet’s promotional video for Ropetaxi:
It’s a big innovation and update to tradional gondolas. But, it might be awhile before the technology gets to a place where it could start to realize the type of experience and throughput needed for an urban gondola network. This video from Swiss Ropeway Channel shows it taking about 4 minutes to move from the boarding area to the main cableway. That’s still worth it at a ski resort to be able to have a custom trip, however, it’s hard to see that working in a city just yet.
Is it a supergondola?
Ropetaxi represents one of the more notable recent innovations in the gondola industry, and Bartholet has openly expressed interest in expanding the technology into urban transportation. However, in its current public form, Ropetaxi does not yet meet the full criteria of an urban supergondola system.
While the system introduces features like autonomous cabin movement and station skipping, it still relies on traditional cable propulsion via large bullwheels for the primary transport function. As a result, its ability to deliver highly flexible, point-to-point service in dense urban settings remains limited under the existing design.
That said, Bartholet appears to be among the more advanced players - at least publicly - when it comes to rethinking cable-based transit for urban use. Future enhancements may move the system closer to an urban supergondola model, though details about next-stage developments have not been disclosed. But, Bartholet is probably already secretly working in the background to take this technology to the next level - and they’re pretty far ahead of the other major three gondola companies. So we have a lot of optimism. Go Bartholet! You got this!
When will it happen?
Ropetaxi is currently operational at the FlemXpress installation but, as stated above, it’s not yet at the state to be an urban supergondola. We can only speculate when the next major update from Bartholet will come.