Heathrow T5 Pods: Driverless, Fast, Eco-Friendly

Photo credit: Gary Bembridge

Back in Autumn 2011 an automatic pod transport system was revealed at Heathrow Terminal 5, designed by Ultra Global and allowing 800 passengers a day to travel stress-free between the T5 Business Car Park and the terminal. We say stress-free, how about adrenaline-filled and state-of-the-art-amazing?!

The award-winning £30m system took 6 years to develop and a year to trialprior to its launch and boasts driverless vehicles with self-recharging batteries, and enough space (and power!) to transport up to 4 passengers in each pod.

The pods find their way around using laser sensors, and initially it was estimated it would have cut the amount of bus journeys around Heathrow terminal by 50,000 a year.

What’s in the ride?

The system has 21 pods, a total length of 3.8 km one one-way guideway, and 3 stations – two of them at the T5 Business Car Park and one at the T5 terminal itself.

• Smooth, virtually silent 5-minute ride.
• The pods can reach a speed of up to 25 miles per hour.
• No stopping from start to destination.
• The journey is on-demand, you don’t need to jump on an approaching pod!
• The pods are there at your service for 22 hours weekdays, for 21 hours on Saturdays and 20 hours on Sundays.
• No timetables. No waiting. Self-recharging batteries ensure the pods are always ready to go.
• Computer-powered equal distribution of pods throughout the system based on demand.
• Journey time between the same two locations is approximately 10 minutes shorter compared to the original bus shuttle.
• The pods use 70% less energy than it would take to power a car.

The passengers seem to be loving the innovative driverless transfer service. Social media is inundated with photos, selfies, videos and general ‘wow!’ feedback, such as:

We’d love to hear your thought on this new Heathrow’s Pods at T5! But if you didn’t fancy this, you can still book your parking at Heathrow’s Business car park!