Salt Lake City wants to replace cars with this 8-mile-long sustainable gondola
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has a plan to replace a narrow, winding highway leading to a popular ski area with an 8-mile-long (13 km) electric gondola ride. The move would make the site accessible via public transportation, removing the need to clog the highway with cars, cut down on traffic accidents, and decrease emissions in the canyon.
The planned route for the gondola passes through Little Cottonwood Canyon, where State Route 210 connects Salt Lake City with four major ski resorts in an area with world-class skiing.
The electric gondola has been proposed as a solution to the major traffic concerns along the highway, which has been described as having traffic that “has gotten so bad, particularly on snowy ‘powder’ days, that the canyon becomes more or less undriveable after 8 a.m. if there is any significant snowfall.”
Avalanches and traffic accidents can also lead to miles-long traffic jams along the highway. SR 210 is known as the most avalanche prone highway in North America, as it sits in the way of 64 active avalanche paths.
UDOT proposed three potential solutions: widening the highway as well as increasing bus routes along the road, laying down a rail network next to the highway, or constructing a gondola to fly passengers above the highway. The gondola plan was ultimately chosen as the most effective, and is currently in discussion stages before seeking final approval.
The proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola Project is a far cry from an oversized ski lift or cable car. UDOT project manager Josh Van Jura explained that the project would use large climate-controlled gondolas that carry up to 35 passengers and feature heated seats with built-in USB charging, offering just as comfortable of a journey as a car ride. The gondolas would arrive every two minutes, resulting in a maximum theoretical throughput of over 1,000 passengers per hour. The highway currently sees around 7,000 vehicles per day.
The proposal includes building the La Caille base station as the starting point for the zero-emission gondola. Located on the edge of Salt Lake City, the multi-modal hub would include several thousand parking spots and feature rental lockers for ski gear, eateries, and shopping.
A 31-minute gondola ride from the La Caille station would whisk passengers through the canyon, flying above the highway towards the Snowbird station. Passengers remaining on would have another six-minute journey on the gondola to reach the final point at the Alta Station.
The estimated cost is said to be between $391 million to more than $1 billion. As a Utah Department of Transportation project, the gondola would be funded by state capital similarly to other transportation or road projects.
The project is currently open for comment from Utah residents until February 26, after which a decision will be made whether or not to move forward with the project.
Electrek’s Take
I think this is an incredible demonstration of how zero-emission alternatives can be an improvement not just for the environment, but also for daily quality of life.
The current situation is awful, with people frequently stuck in hours-long traffic jams or just being unable to use the road at all — which is itself a safety concern when evacuations are necessary. Adding more buses or lanes would add more noise and pollution to the canyon.
I understand that there are objections to the project, largely based on the money it would take to build or the potential “ruining the view” of the canyon. My response to the NIMBYs is that this is why you have taxes, and that the view would be much worse if they build a bigger highway or put hundreds more buses on it. And if you don’t like seeing cables or gondolas on your mountain, then perhaps you would have preferred stairs instead of a chairlift at your local ski resort? Yeah, I didn’t think so. A few thin cables aren’t going to destroy the view, nor are the support towers that are likely to be nicely camouflaged along the way, just like how cell-phone towers are often built to look like trees in many cities.
Admittedly, the 37-minute trip is longer than a car drive, which takes around 20 minutes without traffic. But when the road is impassible due to traffic jams, accidents or inclement weather, 37 minutes sounds a lot better than canceling a trip or spending hours stuck in an idling car halfway up a mountainside. Plus it’s a beautiful, 37-minute scenic trip through the mountains. Sign me up!
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Locals call him the “Bicycle hero,” but Texas man Evan Wayne says he’s just doing what he can to help his community after it was cut off due to the recent devastating and deadly flooding tragedy.
When the local Sandy Creek flooded following torrential rains in Texas, it destroyed the only bridge into one community. Residents were cut off from access to supplies, including everything from necessities like food, water, and medicine to basic comforts.
Although the bridge was impassable to cars, volunteers who quickly organized to help the stranded residents found that the damaged bridge could still be traversed on foot. Or in the case of Evan Wayne, it could be covered by an electric bike.
Evan joined hundreds of volunteers who answered the call of grassroots organizers by working together without any official capacity. While many started by hand-pulling garden carts of supplies uphill to reach the stricken community, Evan jury-rigged a trailer to an e-bike and took on as much of the load as he could, helping shuttle much-needed food and gear into the community over hundreds of round-trip journeys.
“This was a dog trailer 48 hours ago. I had a hacksaw, hacked the top off, grabbed some bungee cords, and here we are,” explained Evan in an interview with CBS Austin, while waiting for the next load of gear to be stacked on his trailer.
In the first two days of the operation, he made around 100 round trips each day, shuttling food and water as well as critical rescue supplies. “Right now, I’m waiting on a couple of chainsaws that I’ll bring in for a crew that’s been going at it with handsaws so far.”
In addition to delivering needed supplies, Evan has often found himself moving something even more important: information. “I’ve flagged down medics. I’ve been the guy that goes between Austin EMT and STAR Flight because I’m quicker than cell phones sometimes, people don’t have signal a lot of the time.”
Evan quickly points out that he isn’t the only one helping. “I’ve got an e-bike, but other people are pulling carts. People are walking, people are carrying things. Everyone is doing what they can.” But there’s no doubt that his ability to carry more gear at higher speeds and make hundreds of round-trip journeys so far in and out of the stricken neighborhood has helped impact countless lives.
“This is all volunteers here. They’re just taking it upon themselves to get people where they need to go. I think there’s an umbrella company coming in, taking over tomorrow, but until they get here, people are just taking care of people, which is what you’ve got to do.”
E-bikes proving their worth in emergencies
While many people consider electric bicycles just another form of recreation, they’ve proven to be potent transportation alternatives after natural disasters worldwide.
Not only do their small and efficient batteries make performing hundreds of rescue trips like Evans’ possible, but recharging can be done simply and easily with a solar panel when electricity is out after a disaster. And when gas stations are out of fuel (or simply can’t pump it with the power grid down), e-bikes can keep running while gasoline-powered motorcycles or ATVs run dry.
Electric bicycle batteries have also proven to be a handy source of emergency power after hurricanes and other disasters, often helping owners keep their phones charged up for days to remain in contact with family or rescue services.
While most hope to never need theirs for emergency purposes, electric bicycles have proven their worth in countless disaster scenarios, adding benefits far beyond just alternative transportation, recreation, or fitness riding.
Image credits: CBS Austin (screenshots), used under fair use
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.
Handout | Via Reuters
Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.
The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.
In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”
In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.
Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.
Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.
Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.
PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.
While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.
WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street
The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.
China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting
More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.
While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.
In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.
Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.
North America is stuck in the slow lane
Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.
Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.
And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.
Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.
Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024
- Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
- China: 5.5 million (+32%)
- Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
- North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
- Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)
Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025
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