Whenever you are booked on a flight going out of Heathrow Airport, you have the task of getting to the airport itself for starters. But once you are there you also have to navigate your way through the terminal you are travelling from – and that isn’t always easy with your luggage to carry as well.
Perhaps that is why Heathrow Airport is looking at ways to make the journey to the newest terminal easier than it is at the moment. Terminal Five opened to the public in March 2008, and while it had a very rough first month of operation things soon settled down and worked as they should.
And now comes the next step in making sure Terminal Five welcomes its passengers in just the right way. Next year, 2010, will see the launch of what are called ‘shuttle pods’. And if they sound very futuristic it is because they are.
Each pod operates automatically and is electric in nature. This means no pollution and no running costs associated with petrol to worry about. And apparently there won’t be any wages to pay to the drivers of these pods either – basically because there won’t be any drivers. The whole thing operates on its own – which may take a little getting used to when it comes to using them!
The first batch of pods will be up and running next year and it is the business people who will get the first try at using them. The first lot of track on which the cars run will be in place between a car park designed for business use and the Terminal Five building.
So will it be something similar to the Docklands Light Railway? That might be the first thought to come into your mind, but although that particular railway doesn’t have drivers you will notice we used the words ‘pods’ and ‘cars’ in this case. That’s because these pods are more personal in nature.
Each pod will be capable of seating four people, and it will also of course have room to take luggage as well. As such it is more along the lines of a private car than a bus or train, where you have to share your space with other people.
Eventually Heathrow is planning to roll out this idea to other car parks and areas within the airport grounds. And if it works, it is hard to imagine a future in which the pods won’t be in evidence at all the major airports within the UK.
In fact, some are saying it could be the beginning of the end for the humble car as a whole. If these pods are a success at Heathrow and people can get to grips with using them and benefiting from the fact that they don’t have to drive them, they could certainly catch on in a big way.
One wonders what the world of travel will look like in twenty to fifty years time. Could Heathrow Airport’s pods have taken over entirely? Read this article to get a feel for what the future could look like right outside your door.