This week, Parisians have been treated to the sight of eco-taxis, shaped like white bubbles, seemingly floating across the water, transporting people up and down the river Seine. They are called SeaBubbles and are being tested ahead of the decision to integrate them into the Parisian transport network.
SeaBubbles out on the river
The boat uses hydrofoil technology
The SeaBubble is still in early testing phases, using technological know-how from several industries; the foils derive from the aeronautical industry, the steering and navigational system come from boats and the design for the upper deck comes from the car industry. The boat sits in the water as the passengers get on and off but once the door is closed and the boat is moving at 12 kmh (7.5 mph) it uses hydrofoils attached to its hull to lift it out of the water and skirt along the surface. It is 100% electric, charged via a lithium battery, so seen as more environmentally friendly.
A SeaBubble on lake Geneva
Foils are coming back into fashion
Foils are not new technology; they date back to 1898 and an Italian engineer called Enrico Forlanini. The Germans tested foil boats in the 1940s, the first hydrofoil ferry became operational between Switzerland and Italy in the 1950s and by 1965, a hydrofoil yacht was good enough for the James Bond baddie in Thunderball. What has changed, however, is the technology, which has improved to the point that it can now overcome some of the inefficiencies and shortcomings which prevented widespread take up of foils from happening.
A mock up of how the Seabubbles dock would look in Paris
Within five years, the company wants to be in 50 cities
The company has big ambitions; it wants to use the world’s waterways–and not roads–to transport people from A to B, and it wants to do so with “zero wave, zero emissions, zero noise.” The SeaBubbles would travel at the same speed as cars and the aim is to provide these at the same cost as a taxi, with customers ordering them via an app as they would an Uber.
SeaBubbles would add another dimension to city transport
Anders Bringdal, SeaBubbles CEO, told told Associated Press that he hopes to change the way people move about cities. SeaBubbles are one more example of how shared public transport can alter the mobility landscape of large cities, much like shared bikes and electric scooters are currently doing. People are increasingly looking to rivers as a means of commuting and moving around large cities to rival the subway or buses–in London, travel cards are now accepted on river boats.
