If the system is so effective at reducing wind drag that it can be powered by a human, you may as well remove the issue of having cyclists with a massive variation in fitness levels by attaching a small electric motor. This could also allow a higher speed than the rather sluggish maximum of 25km/h that’s currently proposed.
They mention that the pods are far more efficient when linked together, so we should probably make that the default configuration too; if the system has such a small uptake that pods are constantly traveling as singles, then I can’t imagine it’d be worth the money. Admittedly linking the carriages together doesn’t allow you to choose your path to the same degree, but if you want freedom of direction you may as well use a bike and get to your destination faster.
Actually while we’re at it, we could probably increase the diameter of each pod and reclined seating so that it’s not restricted for use by skinny fully-abled people; it seems silly to spend so much money on expensive rails for such an exclusive system.
Now we have an electrically powered set of pod/carriages that travel at a reasonable velocity with a high efficiency and are useable by absolutely anyone, even those in wheelchairs. Sound familiar?