Wow, this is actually an interesting idea. They work really well in Ski resorts (some of the densest and highest traffic areas around) and some are actually building them across large swaths of the town allowing people on the far side of town to be quickly wisked to the mountain top.
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Originally Posted by ardecila
Gondolas aren't a perfect solution, but they are an interesting concept. They definitely have some drawbacks - strong winds or storms could put them out of commission, they would attract lightning strikes, the difficulty of rescue if the system fails, riders get a sense of vertigo, etc.
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Lightening strikes aren't really an issue assuming the supports and wheels the wire runs on are grounded. Rescue on the gondola isn't that difficult since there are always backup systems that can manually reverse the whole system (granted at a much slower speed than normal). I think the biggest challenge would be the sense of vertigo and bounciness that seems to turn lots of people off from them at ski resorts.