Can GLYDWAYS Rewrite the Future of Urban Mobility

DIRECT CONNECTIVITY between San José’s Diridon Station and Mineta International Airport is no longer an urban planner’s fantasy—it is a project moving decisively into reality. On March 27, 2025, the San José City Council unanimously approved Phase 2a of the ambitious Diridon–Airport Connector, advancing a transit solution that blends Silicon Valley ingenuity with civic vision. This decision follows a rigorous Feasibility Validation Report that tested every assumption, from emissions reduction to ridership forecasts, affirming the system’s readiness for scaled implementation. 

Glydways, the company leading the effort, promises something genuinely transformative: fleets of fully electric, autonomous Glydcars traveling on closed, dedicated guideways. Unlike rideshare or buses, these vehicles never share the road, never slow in traffic, and never stop until passengers reach their destinations. With thousands of riders per hour, per direction, and zero emissions, the connector will knit together the region’s most vital transportation node with its global gateway. For San José, this is not simply transit—it is legacy infrastructure.

AT THE OTHER end of the Bay, another Glydways milestone is unfolding at the site of Richmond’s long-faded Hilltop Mall. Once a symbol of retail decline, the 14-acre property is now poised to become a proving ground for the most advanced Automated Transit Network in North America. Glydways is transforming the space into a development and demonstration hub, complete with over a mile of elevated test track, a 13,000-square-foot Maintenance and Storage Facility, and an immersive visitor showroom designed to capture the public imagination. Set to preview live system deployments by 2026, the site will allow investors, regulators, and the community to experience firsthand the quiet efficiency of Glydcars gliding on demand, like ride-hailing but at transit fares. 

Local leaders see more than transit; they see catalytic redevelopment. By activating dormant land while advancing the Hilltop Horizon redevelopment plan, Glydways is not just testing vehicles—it is reanimating an urban landscape. This is where innovation meets economic renewal.

THE GLYDWAYS model is deceptively simple and profoundly disruptive. At its heart is the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) concept: lightweight, four-passenger pods operating on dedicated infrastructure, available on demand, and designed to scale like broadband rather than buses. Each lane can move up to 10,000 riders per hour, per direction, a capacity rivaling subway systems but at a fraction of the cost. Unlike autonomous cars that share congested roads, Glydcars glide continuously in a closed network, insulated from the unpredictability of human drivers. 

The system is built not just for efficiency but for equity: 24/7 availability, fare pricing comparable to traditional transit, and design accessibility for every rider. Investors have taken note. Strategic funding from Suzuki, Mitsui Chemicals, ENEOS, and Apollo Projects has infused Glydways with the credibility and resources to scale beyond prototypes. For cities balancing fiscal constraints with climate imperatives, Glydways offers not a gadget but a paradigm shift—transit as infrastructure-as-a-service.

EVERY CITY claims to chase sustainability, but few align policy, private capital, and public will as clearly as San José has in this moment. By anchoring an airport connector in Glydways’ model, the city positions itself as the nation’s test case for urban transit that is not merely clean but personal, seamless, and expandable. This is not about building one line—it is about building trust in a system that can extend into neighborhoods, campuses, and job corridors with modular precision. 

In Richmond, the story is equally powerful: a dormant mall reborn as a showcase of twenty-first century innovation, bridging the gap between technology firms and local communities. For the Bay Area, Glydways offers more than mobility—it offers resilience, an infrastructure that grows stronger as it scales. The stakes are high, but so is the potential: a model that cities from Miami to Manila may soon seek to replicate.

IN THE CONTEXT of luxury, Glydways is not about plush leather seats or chauffeur-driven excess—it is about time, access, and equity. Luxury, at its most profound, is the absence of friction: arriving on time without stress, connecting seamlessly between air travel and city life, moving freely across regions without emissions. Glydways reframes transit as a lifestyle amenity, one that elevates urban living rather than burdening it. 

For business travelers landing at SJC, the system promises the swiftness of a private car with the cost of public transit. For residents of East Contra Costa County, it means reliable, affordable access to jobs and education. Globally, it signals that the Bay Area is not just home to Big Tech’s apps and platforms but to real-world, scalable innovations in infrastructure. Glydways is, in essence, a new form of luxury: democratic, sustainable, and deeply personal—transport designed as an experience, not a compromise.

Glydways systems can move up to 10,000 passengers per hour per direction on dedicated guideways—all at public transit fares.