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> Today, shipments are flown from the three major islands (which have cities and airports and such) to small rural islands in 9-seater planes. When a plane roll

> Today, shipments are flown from the three major islands (which have cities and airports and such) to small rural islands in 9-seater planes. When a plane rolls to a stop on the grass airstrip, it’s met by someone from the local health clinic—but that’s assuming that one of the few trucks on the island is available and in working order. Why do small parcels need to be moved by big trucks? Why not motorcycles? Cheaper and easier to operate and maintain, and off-road models can be used where trucks can't. Motorcycles are ubiquitous on the islands and is an appropriate technology. Drones are the exact opposite. They already have the planes, motorcycles can be sourced in a matter of weeks. Whereas this will take a fortune and years to develop, and it's not even certain it will work before they run out of money. I've been there and I know how Vanuatu works. This is clearly some elected retard in Vila playing games with the national budget as every other one has done since 1980.

detaro 8y ago
> Why do small parcels need to be moved by big trucks? Why not motorcycles? Good question (maybe a package of vaccines for a full island isn't a "small parcel" anymore?), but that's not the part the initial drone proposals are supposed to replace.
deleted 8y ago
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adrianN 8y ago
As I understand the article, drones replace people hiking over mountains. It seems plausible that these hiking trails can't be safely navigated on bikes.
- cimmanom 8y ago
  But can be navigated by trucks?
  - adrianN 8y ago
    No the trucks bring the packages to the central hospital, not to the secluded villages.
    - cimmanom 8y ago
      So then what does using trucks instead of motorcycles have to do with the passes being non-navigable by bikes?
- M_Bakhtiari 8y ago
  It's plausible, but still, trails navigable by wheeled vehicles are appropriate technology and has been since the invention of the wheel. And off-road bikes place very little demand on those trails. It's bad enough that they are reliant on western pilots and technicians to keep the planes in the air, the last thing they need is add western drone operators and techs to the mix. If they hate independence so much maybe they shouldn't have declared it in the first place. Also it won't exactly help their massive unemployment.

detaro 8y ago

> Why do small parcels need to be moved by big trucks? Why not motorcycles? Good question (maybe a package of vaccines for a full island isn't a "small parcel" anymore?), but that's not the part the initial drone proposals are supposed to replace.

deleted 8y ago

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adrianN 8y ago

As I understand the article, drones replace people hiking over mountains. It seems plausible that these hiking trails can't be safely navigated on bikes.

cimmanom 8y ago
But can be navigated by trucks?
- adrianN 8y ago
  No the trucks bring the packages to the central hospital, not to the secluded villages.
  - cimmanom 8y ago
    So then what does using trucks instead of motorcycles have to do with the passes being non-navigable by bikes?
M_Bakhtiari 8y ago
It's plausible, but still, trails navigable by wheeled vehicles are appropriate technology and has been since the invention of the wheel. And off-road bikes place very little demand on those trails. It's bad enough that they are reliant on western pilots and technicians to keep the planes in the air, the last thing they need is add western drone operators and techs to the mix. If they hate independence so much maybe they shouldn't have declared it in the first place. Also it won't exactly help their massive unemployment.