Repeating mistakes won’t fix the problem

Urban markets across the globe share three massive problems.  Vuba offers compelling solutions to all of them.

Lack of space – Cities around the globe suffer from massive traffic congestion with no end in sight. Electric cars occupy the same space on the street as diesel or petrol cars.  Trains and Bus Rapid Transit require expensive dedicated corridors. None do anything to address the basic fact that cities need to move more people faster in much less space.  Vuba’s light elevated network can quickly thread its way through and above the densest of urban cores.

Pollution – Transportation contributes 14% of worldwide greenhouse gases. It is responsible for 1.35 million annual deaths.  Electric vehicles reduce localized air pollution but issues with range and space for charging networks create challenges in dense urban environments.  Wherever it comes from, the energy to move heavy vehicles is expensive and grossly inefficient.  Vuba’s lightweight vehicles can move thousands of people with zero emissions and a fraction of the energy required by other “green” alternatives.

Cost – In both the developed and developing worlds, road networks are continuously undersized for current needs - and the costs of maintenance (never mind expansion) are prohibitive. Vuba offers a privately funded alternative that can provide affordable mobility to a range of markets.  

Vuba Corporation: Fast Facts

The future of urban mobility is in efficient electric, autonomous solutions. Yet, even as technology improves, driverless and electric cars only increase congestion on city streets already starved for space, with a cost greater than most of the world can afford.  The world needs public transportation solutions that move people fast, safely and affordably – while minimizing CO2 and other emissions.

Vuba is engineered with that very idea in mind, offering a sustainable solution to traffic congestion and pollution using attractive elevated guideways that transport people above the road – faster, safer and greener than ever before – with a business model that makes money.

Built With the Future of Mobility in Mind

Vuba means “quick”: Vuba stations are offline and are bypassed by most vehicles, enabling express, nonstop travel. With top speeds of 60 mph and no need to stop for intersections, backups, or road construction, travel times can be much better than automobiles.

High capacity: Our patent pending switching design allows six-seat vehicles to travel just one second apart. In this way we can provide true mass transit (with more than 20,000 riders per hour per track) while offering personal on-demand service.

Inexpensive to produce: Vuba provides efficient lightweight vehicles to replace the traditional large machines of mass transport. Elegant lightweight guideways replace massive roadbed and heavy track. Borrowing from the aerospace industry, Vuba uses advanced composite materials to ensure the end product is lightweight and results in long-lasting infrastructure.

Safety: Operating vehicles on exclusive guideways avoids conflicts with other traffic, cyclists, pedestrians and obstacles. This means that safety is orders of magnitude better compared to both traditional and driverless cars.

Less walking: By locating many stations throughout a city, Vuba can increase the accessibility and convenience of the system. Since stations are offline from the main track, adding more stations will not slow down the through traffic.

Less waiting: The use of many small vehicles allows “on demand” service, reducing waiting times and the need for intermediate stops. 

Fuller utilization: Most cars sit idle for 95% of the day, requiring massive parking lots that take up valuable urban real estate. With Vuba, our innovative ridesharing methodologies allow vehicles to operate nearly continuously all day with high occupancy – dramatically increasing efficiency and reducing operating costs.

Equitable service for all: Vuba has created a system of tiered fares to ensure we can offer equitable service for all. Passengers choosing a premium fare have exclusive use of the vehicle for themselves and their party, along with shorter waiting times and nonstop travel. Passengers choosing standard or economy fare will share rides and may make intermediate stops but will experience vastly superior service compared to traditional public transport.

Uplifting local economies: Rather than just selling a transportation solution, Vuba is also establishing local transportation and manufacturing companies with significant local equity ownership. Our goal is to increase quality of life on a massive scale through service, job creation, local ownership and economic growth.

Take your first ride!

Vuba was built from day one to be as simple and easy to use as possible. Get a ride in just three easy steps:

Traction & Accomplishments

Customer acceptance: A three-year effort has led to an MOU with the Government of Rwanda, giving us binding exclusive rights to negotiate a $1 billion initial project in Kigali. This effort included a pre-feasibility study that predicted a benefit/cost ratio of 4.9 and 529,000 daily trips generating initial annual revenues of $275 million. 

Partnerships: MASS Design Group, based in the U.S. and Rwanda, has provided a sizeable grant to Vuba to assist with branding and development of marketing collateral. We are also in final negotiations with IP Automation of Colorado Springs to take an equity position in Vuba in exchange for providing engineering design and manufacturing services related to building and testing vehicles, bogies and guideways.

Technology Development: We have licensed the safety-certified computer control system currently used on a 40-vehicle system in public operation. We have developed detailed descriptions of our planned technology development and operational methodologies. We have commenced engineering design and manufacturing of the prototype bogie that will have switching capabilities and run inside the guideway.

Vuba Leadership

Paul Klahn | Co-Founder and CEO

• Aerospace engineer, pilot, former US Air Force officer and entrepreneur
• Has served on the leadership teams of several startup businesses, ranging from an aircraft design and manufacturing business he founded (Nexaer Corp.), to an ocean wave green energy generator (Atargis), to a near space lighter-than-air vehicle used for border security, aerial surveillance, and communication
• Most recently, Paul was COO and engineer for two U.S.-based companies developing automated transit systems

Peter J. Muller, PE | Co-Founder and CTO

• President of the international Advanced Transit Association (ATRA)
• Degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the universities of Cape Town (South Africa) and Colorado (USA)
• Has specialized in transportation planning and engineering for over four decades
• Has been involved in numerous automated transit network (ATN) development projects over the last 20 years and is a world-leading expert on all aspects of the ATN design, operation and development process
• He co-founded a successful civil engineering consultancy and founded a successful driverless transit consultancy