I know gondola can be a boat but I'm referring to the one meaning where it has a similar meaning to cable car. It seems as if cable is more vague.
All the cars attached to the cable slow down.
For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axIz9 On gondola lines with multiple cars, each one detaches from the cable.
You ask what is the difference between a cable car (on an aerial lift) and a gondola on a gondola lift? A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, often called a cable car, which consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in the terminal, which is connected to an engine or electric motor. Gondola lifts should not be confused with aerial tramways (where a cabin is suspended from a fixed cable and is pulled by another cable), which are also sometimes known as 'cable cars'. An aerial lift is a means of transport in which gondolas or open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of a cable. Types of aerial lifts include: Aerial tramway, with fixed cable for suspending the gondola and another cable to pull the gondola along the cable. Funitel, with two moving loops of cable which support gondolas (gondolas attach to two cables each). Gondola lift, a moving loop of cable with gondolas attached to the cable. Funifor, two fixed cables for suspending the gondola, with another cable to pull the gondola along the cables. (The above are often referred to as cable cars). Other types may include: Chairlift, with a moving loop of cable with chairs permanently attached to the cable. Detachable chairlift, a loop of cable moving at high speed, with chairs that can be clipped onto the cable at either station.
A 'cable car can be part of a system of train cars that all are driven by an underground network of cables that are kept in motion by a large central power plant. That is how the cable cars in San Francisco, California have operated for many decades. The type of gondola you are asking about is a 'car that is suspended beneath a moving cable. In common language, people often call a gondola a 'cable car', and that is OK. In actual use of language, the thing that is being referred to probably is the only thing like that in the location being discussed. Thus, people most likely will know what is meant, regardless of whether it is called a cable car or a gondola.
