MARLBOROUGH – A space-aged, carbon-fiber podcar pulls up to your stop. You and your friends enter a desired destination on a smartphone, hop in and enjoy a fast, stressfree ride to shops, restaurants and entertainment.

That is Mike Stanley's vision for the future of public transportation. Stanley is eying Marlborough and a handful of Massachusetts communities for his new privately-financed Transit X transportation system he says is faster, environmentall friendly and safer than current methods of travel.

"The vision is to make a car-free city," says Stanley, founder of Transit X.

Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant and some city councilors are skeptical.

Transit X uses a 100-pound, elliptical-shaped podcar that is suspended under a thin rail about 14-feet above street level and is powered by solar energy. The podcars, which quietly travel under the rail at speeds of 45 mph on main roads and 135 mph on highways, can carry a single rider or a family of five to their destination two to 10 times faster than a bus, car or train, said Stanley.

Once a destination is plugged in via a smart phone application or a kiosk at a stop, the podcar accelerates up a ramp, merges onto a podcar highway and travels non-stop until it reaches its destination. When a pod stops to drop someone off or pick them up, it pulls into a pod exit, allowing other podcars to continue traveling, said Stanley.

"It's very effective," he said.

The podcars would not be affected by snowstorms because of their height off the ground, said Stanley. He came up with the idea after the winter of 2015, which crippled public transportation in the region.

"I think this is a fantastic idea," City Councilor Mark Oram said at last week's council meeting.

Stanley suggested connections from the Solomon Pond Mall and New England Sports Center to start, but said linking all the major hotels and destinations, such as the Apex Center, is a future goal. The system would be appealing to leaders of local corporations because Marlborough has little public transit, said Stanley.

"It could revolutionize Marlborough," said City Councilor David Doucette. "We've always been in the lead in technology."

Stanley proposed the idea to city leaders recently and the City Council last week narrowly voted to request Vigeant send a letter of interest to Stanley to get more information Vigeant vetoed that request late last week, saying he is not convinced the city should support the proposal at this time.

"I think it's a little premature," said Vigeant.

The mayor and other city councilors - including Joseph Delano, Michael Ossing, Matt Elder, Kathleen Robey and Ed Clancy - have their doubts saying the technology has not been proven. Vigeant also voiced concerns about safety and Stanley's ability to acquire rights of way to place the system on private property.

"I think (Stanley) has a lot of work to do," said Vigeant.

The mayor wants to see if the logistics of Stanley's proposal are feasible before the city gets involved. Transit X plans to pilot the system in New Hampshire sometime this fall, said Stanley.

"Transit X claims that a pilot will be active near Boston in 2018. At that point we can begin to see whether forward progress is being made," the mayor said.

Stanley said West Virginia University has a similar system on its campus and has never had a death, crash or injury in 40 years.

"We're expecting this to be 100 times safer than existing cars," said Stanley.

For more information on Transit X visit www.TransitX.com.

Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or jmalachowski@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.