Masdar City is piloting its Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, which is made up of electric-powered, automated, single-cabin vehicles.
Magnets embedded in the road are used to locate their positions and on-board sensors detect obstacles in their path. They are also powered by a recyclable battery that recharges while the vehicles are standing at the stations between trips. The vehicles can travel up to 40 kilometres per hour on straight roads and 25 kilometres per hour on curves.
News reports have said Masdar plans to scrap the PRT system.
When "Weekend Review" asked Masdar about it, they said that "in the past two years, there has been a surge in the development of electric and robotic vehicles in the commercial market and we wish to study these to make comparisons with our PRT system".
Another big FAIL for ill-starred, would-be pod vendor 2GetThere. But the PRT hucksters will likely continue to promote 2GetThere's glorified golf carts into the next decade. Here's a wacky video that offers a collage of animated pods, King Kong, dirigibles and other junk as some kind of an environmental solution:
The PRT hucksters like to claim the pods are a "new technology". PRT is neither new or a technology.
PRT is an argument - an argument that conventional transit is not "faster, better, cheaper" than so-called "innovative transportation technologies", PRT being one of them. The problem is futuristic pie-in-the-sky gadgetbahn PRT schemes exist only as unproven concepts. At times, the PRT hucksters produced prototype pods or even a test track... but there really is no there, there.
The anti-transit arguments of the PRT hucksters of today or no different than when they wore sideburns and bell bottoms.
Joe Lampe wrote these comments: Unfortunate 1889 streetcar revival for Minneapolis & St. Paul? I've heard that Ed Anderson upset (insulted?) Mayor Ryback at a meeting some years ago, and Ryback has banished any discussion of PRT.
Another participant in the MnDOT workshop last August, would-be PRT vendor Jack Slade chimes in with this comment:
It is interesting that they will study the streetcar versus bus service, but not streetcar versus bus versus PRT service. Real foward thinking.
We should be thinking of a fitting memorial for this type of Mayor. Anybody know where we can get 100 trainloads of horse manure?
Minnpost: What's your reaction to Gov.-elect Dayton reappointing Tom Sorel as transportation commissioner?
Frank Hornstein: He's a breath of fresh air at MnDOT and a good advocate for a multimodal approach to transportation. The only complaint I have is that he has embraced PRT (personal rapid transit) in a way that's not helpful. It's something suitable for an amusement park and a distraction from the bigger challenges we face.
With Republicans in control of the MN legislature, there has never been a better opportunity for the PRT hucksters to get a PRT bill passed.
MNObserver has a good post on The Cucking Stool about the consequences of the Wisconsin's Governor-elect Scott Walker decision to opt out of the Upper MIdwest high speed rail network.
Having campaigned on a platform of jobs, jobs, jobs, Wisconsin's Governor-elect Scott Walker has taken steps - even before he has been sworn in - that have driven a private manufacturing employer from the state, has eliminated 4,700 short term jobs, and cost hundreds of permanent jobs...
Walker's decision, of course had consequences for Minnesota. Kevin Giles at the Strib::
About $1.2 billion in federal money had been reserved for high-speed projects in Wisconsin and Ohio. The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday awarded those funds to 13 other states -- but not Minnesota -- because Republican governors-elect in Wisconsin and Ohio had promised to kill the projects despite years of planning to build a network of faster trains in the Midwest.
The Wisconsin segment that lost funding -- $810 million from Milwaukee to Madison -- was one of 25 "alignments" under consideration in a Minnesota study to determine the best route to Chicago and what it would cost, Krom said.
The preferred route will be named when the study is completed in June 2012. But "when it gets built is another issue," he said.
[snip]
Jerry Miller, who chairs the Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission, expressed disappointment that Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker opposed the project.
"Connecting our region by high-speed rail will create 15,000 new jobs and economic opportunities for years to come," Miller, who is also mayor of Winona, Minn., said Friday. "By shifting this funding to places like Washington, California and Florida, we are also exporting future private-sector job growth to our neighbors and making the region less competitive."
Both Miller and Krom said they would work with Minnesota Gov.-elect Mark Dayton to seek his support for the rail line.
As Chair of the MN HSR Commission, how hard did Jerry Miller lobby his fellow Republicans in Minnesota and Wisconsin? Did Mayor Miller lobby as hard for HSR as he did for Personal Rapid Transit?
Here is a video of Mayor Miller wasting everyone's time promoting fantasy-based pod transport instead of reality-based conventional transportation from Winona 360:
Reporter Megan McNulty interviews Winona City Manager Eric Sorenson and Mayor Jerry Miller on their thoughts about the proposed plans for a Personal Rapid Transit model of transportation in Winona.
I'm sure you've received a sizable amount of emails regarding your anti-PRT stance. Add this one to the pile.
I won't try to change your opinion, nor will I try to change your anti-PRT religion. Both would obviously be futile. What I would like you to know is that the costs of what we have now are far too great and current public transportation will not enjoy forever its taxpayer-supported funding bounty. In the end, your side will lose because it is far more costly, far less convenient, and by any measure of ridership it has consistently failed to reach an adequate percentage of the population (unless you're talking about ultra-dense cities like New York). Let's face it, light rail and buses are doomed to pass away into history. The economy and the mood of the taxpayers to continue to support a failed system is growing thin.
I offer you best wishes through what will in the coming years be a greatly trying time for you and your light rail funders. I feel sorry for you that you picked the losing side, nobody likes to lose, but those are the facts.
PS: you do not have permission to use any of my words or information in any way shape or form.
Sincerely, A non-loyal (never again) reader of one of your columns.
I hate to disapoint Tom B., but I don't get a " sizable amount of emails" about my "anti-PRT stance". In fact, I hardly get any emails from pod people. There is a very, verysmall number of grassroots PRT supporters.
“This is disruptive technology,” said Edward Anderson, standing beside a red, egg-shaped PRT prototype in the Taxi 2000 Corporation shop in Fridley.
Well, looking around Minneapolis I don't see thousands of pods on a network of iron trestles. After all those years the pod people don't have one... not one... true PRT system in revenue service anywhere in the world.
After years of outrageous hype about PRT being "faster, better, cheaper" than conventional transit, the pod people have nothing to show except the much-postponed Heathrow project (rumored to debut "soon after Christmas") and the scaled-back Masdar project.
On Sunday, November 28th, the Masdar PRT system opened to the public. To quote Larry Fabian, 2getthere, the manufacturer, got there. 2getthere operates the system with the support of Singapore Mass Rapid Transit. Masdar City is a new carbon-free city being developed adjacent to Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
The system has 10 passenger and 3 freight vehicles serving 2 passenger and 3 freight stations connected by approximately one mile of track. The system is in operation 18 hours a day, seven days a week serving the Masdar Institute of Technology. Trips take about 2 and a half minutes and are presently free of charge. Average wait times are expected to be about 30 seconds.
Can Masdar really be called a system with only two at-grade-level stations and runs a short distance in a basement? Isn't PRT supposed to be elevated? How can they say that PRT can pay for itself when trips are "free of charge"? One mile of track? who is going to bother with the pods in the basement when they can walk that distance easier and faster?
And how are the snail-paced, battery-operated, automated vehicles at Heathrow and Masdar any different than the vehicle in the video below?:
They get the money from all of us. I am not sure where you are, but if I call a help line here, almost any Company, I get to talk to somebody in India. As many services as possible have been out-sourced to India and Pakistan, and the people who held the jobs here are on welfare or working in a coffee shop. This is called "progress", I think, or "maximizing profits".
It is the result of our Universities ( both Countries) deciding that it is more profitable to educate foreign students instead of our own. These students then return home and start up businesses to compete with out local businesses, and they pay lower salaries, so they win every time.
Terrorism and Transportation Choice Thu, 2010/02/04 - 12:00am
Dennis, we went through the whole buildup of aviation mostly in the years 1945 to 2000 without having to restrict firearms on aircraft.
During thise years, can you name me one problem that ever occurred, or one persin that was ever injured? If you can, it certainly did not ever get published in the aircraft accident and incident reports that I was reading constantly during that period.
Lesser of 2 evils....which would you prefer,(1) a trained, armed, passenger or (2) a terrorist who has total freedom to kill everybody on board? If you really want to put the fear of Allah into these terrorists, you should make it be known that ALL your bullets have been dipped in pig blood. All the Military bullets, too.
This does look like it may be our Transportation expert. It might be best to find out him, just to be prepared. Artists just HATE criticism. Why don't we do what we can to interfere with HIS way of makung a living? Remember: DONT GET MAD, GET EVEN. Jack Slade
In our view, it is a big waste of time advocating such "gee-whiz" options, given the severe limits of monorails and similar technologies such as PRT, when U.S. transportation problems are almost always sociopolitical and economic–not technical–in nature.
Demery returns to the subject in "Where's the Gadgetbahn?" at publictransit.us
The introduction:
If there is a country where Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) "should" work and "should" already have been built, then it's Japan.
Having traveled extensively throughout that country over the past three decades, I shall take this a step farther: if there is a place in Japan where PRT "should" work - and "should" already been built - then it's _____.
One could fill in the "blank" above with a number of locations, based on empirical observation of the built environment. During the past five years, maps and aerial photo images became available online and quality has been improved steadily. It is now possible to study the urban geography of Japan, "armchair" style, whether or not one has any knowledge of Japanese. This series shall present several examples of locations in Japan where the built environment appears conducive to PRT development. It shall also consider results obtained by other transport modes, e.g. automated guideway transport (AGT), in specific locations.
With both houses of the Minnesota Legislature in the hands of the GOP, will PRT bills be introduced again? Last year, PRT legislation was stopped by DFL legislators in the House and Senate.
If PRT legislation is again introduced in the next session, I hope legislators and the media will remember the godawful politicians who supported PRT in the past.
Let's start with the legislature's biggest promoter of PRT Mark Olson, arguably one of the worst representatives to sit in the Minnesota House.
Rep. Tom Hackbarth nominated Mark Olson his friend and colleague of many years. It was seconded by another guy (bearded)I couldn’t hear at all. Heidi concluded the nomination speeches by exhorting everyone to vote for Mark because he is cute. It was really charming. It’s all on tape somewhere. There were 2-3 cameras rolling. Phil Krinkie was also on stage in support. You have to give Mark credit. He rallied his people and they showed up.
Phil Krinke, now head of the right-wing Taxpayers League also voted for Olson's pods.
"People on the right, people on the left, we have the common goal of moving people with transit, but doing it in the most cost-effective manner, in fact, in a manner that may end up costing no government subsidy, it may end up paying for itself,"
At present, Heathrow airport is the only place where the pod is operational. While it is right now being used by the airport staff, the commercial operations will start soon after Christmas.
There is no mention of this new launch date on the ULTra PRT site.
I recently received an email asking me what is happening with the PRT projects at Heathrow and Masdar. Here is what I've found on the somewhat-reliable internet:
Gone is a proposal for a pod-based personal rapid transit (PRT) system, which would have run beneath the podium.
PRT pods are already running at the development site but only from the gate to the recently opened building that houses the Masdar Institute, a post-graduate university with a focus on clean energy. The pod cars are part of a pilot project, Mr Bone-Knell said.
Frog/2getthere created the guidance system "platform" for the ULTra - ULTra supposedly improved it, but I don't see much difference. It's really a stretch to call either 2GetThere's cybercab or ULTra's pod "PRT". Both are essentially automated, battery-powered golf carts - neither are personal (passengers sit awkwardly across from one another, knees almost touching), rapid(bikes are faster) or transit (totally lacking capacity).
Heathrow revenue service trials produce excellent results
The four weeks of "Simulated Revenue Service" trial - intended to mimic real operating conditions - using Terminal 5 staff is now complete. This involved operation the system for 10.5 hr each day of the trial period....
With only "revenue service trials" at Heathrow completed, ULTra has teamed up with Fairwood India to propose building an ambitious PRT system in Amritsar, India.
"The Personal Rapid Transport (PRT) – developed by our ULTra PRT, UK – is a revolutionary new transportation system, which has been operationalized in London (Heathrow airport) after 20 years of development. "
One reason that PRT never goes anywhere is the PRT guys never engage the public in any meaningful way. Here is an LTE published October 6th in the Winona Daily News:
Ken Avidor: Let the public have a voice in PRT
Boston Personal Rapid Transit promoter Lawrence J. Fabian in his Sept. 23 letter chided the citizens of Winona for their lack of enthusiasm for the PRT plan proposed by the city of Winona.
“If Winona wants to think small,” scolds Fabian.
An interesting criticism when you consider that Winonans never really had an opportunity to comment or ask questions in a public forum about the PRT project.
According to a Jan. 20 article in the Winona Daily News, a meeting where the public could have asked questions was for Winona City Council members only, “While there was little discussion of PRT during the meeting, the vote came after council members examined the system during a pre-council informational session that lasted more than one hour.”
I recall a similar PRT “informational session” for Minneapolis city officials only on March 26, 2005. When a proposal for a PRT project later came up for a vote in committee, the PRT promoters failed to show up and the matter was tabled. More recently, public officials in Daventry, England, complained that PRT promoters would not show up at public forums to answer questions. The Minnesota Department of Transportation held a “PRT workshop” Aug. 18, which cost $50 to attend and was not a public meeting. Why are PRT promoters avoiding the public?
When the city of Winona revisits the issue of PRT, as it has recently indicated it would, I would suggest they hold a free, public forum and invite critics as well as promoters. I would also suggest inviting experts in the field; transit engineers, transit advocacy groups and environmental groups. But most of all, I urge Winona city officials to invite the public.
Grassroots support for any big public project is essential. For it is the citizens who will end up paying for it— and if built, living with it.
The Amritsar PRT project should not be taken seriously. Dozens of these proposed PRT projects have gone nowhere over the years.
The Personal Rapid Transit movement (PRT) that Michele Bachmann once sponsored legislation for and promoted in the media has all but fizzled out. Much-hyped PRT projects at Masdar and Heathrow failed to enter revenue service as per schedule. Cities that expressed "interest" in PRT - Ithaca, NY, Daventry, UK and Winona, MN failed to get funding or public approval for PRT.
With nearly a half century of failure, the PRT guys (rebranded "podcar") met one more time last month in San Jose, CA.
The first thing I noticed is that the average age at this conference, held at San Jose City Hall, was over 50, with a very large percentage over 60 years of age and 90%+ male. The second thing was that 20%-25% of the attendees were Swedish; presumably the Swedish government sees a potentially large export market in funding PRT, particularly Vectus and its efforts to establish pilot projects in a few Swedish cities. Third, a large percentage of attendees were clearly either exhibitors or consultants. I’d be surprised if more than 50% of Podcar City attendees were either PRT activists or potential customers, such as the City of San Jose who cosponsored the conference.
The usual suspects in the PRT world were present, such as J. Edward Anderson and the hierarchy of the Advanced Transit Assocation (ATRA), as one would expect.
The first session I caught at the end was about finances and a discussion of the mechanics of fare collection. Afterwards, I had brief conversation with conference organizer, Christer Lindstrom, regarding the many issues with fare collection, such as the cost of enforcement--the issues go well beyond how the money is collected, per se (BTW, Christer, thanks for the free conference pass).
There are things that will increase costs, for example, if turnstiles are installed at every PRT station. Turnstiles add $250,000-$500,000 per station, plus ongoing costs for maintenance, cash collection, security monitoring and so forth. If a PRT system goes with a barrier free system like most LRT systems in the U.S., these costs would be lower, but operating costs for stations would be higher than most PRT advocates claim.
One major point is that most PRT stations would be low volume and very hard to justify the capital and ongoing expense of turnstiles and sporadic fare inspections, at best, would be required to minimize fare evasion.
The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.
The Pawlenty administration has approved at least $150,000 since the start of the year on personal rapid transit system studies.
That's despite the fact that key state lawmakers have told MnDOT not to waste taxpayer dollars on PRT and podcars.
Isn't it usually the governor who brags about stopping the Legislature from spending money on pointless projects during tough economic times?
Nevertheless, according to an audit obtained by City Pages, the state now has three contracts with the University of Minnesota to explore the technology.
The Humphrey Institute: $46,000 to study PRT statewide.
The Humphrey Instutute: $19,000 to study PRT at Minneapolis St. Paul airport
The Center for Transportation Studies: $35,509 for PRT workshops in Rochester and Minneapolis
The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.
The website for the Podcar City conference in San Jose October 27-29, 2010 has a page devoted to the recent PRT workshop last month. If you go to the bottom of the page, next to a photo of MnDOT Commisioner Thomas Sorel, there's a PRT map with the following description:
Minneapolis Personal Rapid Transit Map Legend (a Concept Plan) Map submitted by former Council Member Dean Zimmermann.
Under the map is the following contact info (redacted for this blog):
Comments or questions can be directed to the author: Dean Zimmermann deanzimm@****** 612-***-****
The map shows a plan for a 68 station PRT system serving downtown Minneapolis and some high density housing area to the south. The PRT Web Area would serve the densest housing area in the entire State of Minnesota.
The Podcar conference newsletter also has the map and contact info for Zimmermann.
Click on the screenshot to make it bigger:
In addition to taking bribes, Dean Zimmermann tried to convince real estate developer and government witness Gary Carlson to invest $250,000 in PRT:
Last year, I videotaped Zimmermann protesting reality-based transit and promoting Personal Rapid Transit at a transportation forum. Zimmermann gave me a tortured explanation for accepting cash from FBI witness Gary Carlson and refused to sign a waiver for the FBI tapes shown at this trial:
Members of the LRT-hating/pod-promoting Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit (CPRT) also spread the nonsensical conspiracy theory that Zimmermann was framed:
In an editorial published Monday in the Daily Athenaeum titled "The unreliable PRT says a lot about this University" WVU Graduate student Michael Levy tells the truth about the deeply flawed system:
In the best of times, I can leave my office in LSB 20 minutes before class starts in Evansdale and be on time. That makes a total round-trip travel time of 40 minutes.
That's certainly not convenient, and multiplied across everyone who uses the PRT, it's a huge inefficiency, but it's not totally unreasonable.
However, at least three times already this semester, my daily PRT adventure to Evansdale has been delayed by more than 15 minutes.
I'm not talking about times when the platform is extra full, and it takes a couple cars to get going. Three times in the first four weeks of the semester, the PRT has been down when I tried to use it. Each time, I end up walking into class with my head hung low, muttering an apology for being late. Sometimes I'll add, "Sorry, the PRT was down," but it feels like such a cliched, used-up, one-size-fits-all excuse that it's not even worth saying.
Michael Levy goes on to describe how frequent delays cause problems with recording student attendence. But, he is also concerned about the ecological cost:
Last week, a resource management professor had a meeting with a consulting firm downtown. Being ecologically minded, he decided to take the PRT instead of driving.
But the PRT was down, and he showed up 20 minutes late, uttering the same excuse that I'm sure he's so tired of hearing from students.
As a result of this, people are more likely to drive, even when traveling a route serviced by the PRT. And the traffic and the air pollution get even worse.
Just a couple of years ago, the PRT received around $1.5 million to improve efficiency and reduce downtime. Was it even worse before that?
That the PRT is broken doesn't just mean reduced efficiency on campus.
Students learn more from what they see than what they're told. The PRT sets an example of a system that works most of the time, but it can't be depended on. Is that what we want to instill in our students?
Levy pleads with the administration:
Whatever it will take, WVU needs to do an honest accounting of the problem and figure out how to address the issue.
Sorry Mr. Levy, they won't.
The reason is the WVU PRT was created to monkey-wrench conventional modes of transit and will be expected to function as a paragon of "gadgetbahn" for as long as they can keep it going.
It is about the triumph of anti-transit ideology and futuristic fantasies over reality and common sense.
350.org is an international campaign that's building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis--the solutions that science and justice demand.
Our mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.
The Advanced Transit Association group in northern Califonia (ATRA-NorCal) is sponsoring this event as an opportunity to stand up for a U. S. implementation of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) which promises an efficient, demand-responsive public transit network with automated non-stop service available 24 hours a day. PRT systems are as easy to use as an elevator, and cost a fraction of Light Rail construction. The event will be used to highlight PRT advances and the upcoming Podcar Conference in San Jose(10/27-29). The event will be held at the park adjacent to the proposed PRT crossing of the railroad tracks in Milpitas (Parc Metro East). For details of the proposal, see http://www.electric-bikes.com/prt/ferry.html
And it gets worse...
BIG NEWS:
The Jpods team will have an example of their cab and rail for people to ride. Learn more at jpods.com
Many people here feel that the Personalized Rapid Transit System (PRTS) would harm historic Walled City of Amritsar and would hamper tourism in the city.
They believe that tourism is integrated with heritage here. But in the name of development for the city, the administration may damage the heritage of an age-old wall city.
Nobody wants a lot of elevated trestles cluttering up their streets and blotting out the sky. That's just one reason PRT is a non-starter.
Just another hilarious episode in a long list of flops and fiascos for the pod people - let's review the most recent:
The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.
BAA has to go through a competitive tendering process, but if its selects Ultra the system could be in place at Heathrow by 2006
Richard Teychenne, ATS business development manager, said the key difference between Ultra and its competitors would be its flexibility, as it was for small groups of people
He said: "We have in this country the idea that public transport has to move people in big vehicles. But 90% of journeys are made in cars. Our system is like a network of automatic taxis or an elevator: you punch in where you want to go." The system could eventually see passengers punching in the reference code of their flight and being taken to the correct terminal. Ultra is being considered by 20 councils in the UK, including Swindon in Wiltshire, Corby in Northampton and Cardiff, as well as authorities abroad, with a possible view to delivering passengers from park-and-ride facilities directly to individual shops. Teychenne also met Greater London Authority officials this week to look at how the system could be adapted to the Olympic village
For six long years during which the pod people kept up an incessant PRT publicity barrage and yet the ULTra PRT at Heathrow is not in revenue service as predicted. What happened with the "20 councils in the UK" ? The much-hyped Daventry PRT experiment ended in fiasco when more than a hundred angry Daventry townspeople packed a meeting . They even put up a Say No To Daventry's P.R.T System Facebook page.
I recently received this response from Richard Teychenne concerning the ULTra pods at Heathrow:
I am sorry for the delay in replying I have been away for two weeks. I am not sure where the June idea came from as we have not agreed any dates with the customer BAA for the service to start. Our intention has always been to have the system ready for operations to start in the late summer of 2010. However when this actually happens is at the discretion of our customer BAA.
The current position is we are running passenger trials with a small number of real airport customers every day to allow the operators to gain familiarity with the system. This is ongoing and the system is working well.
Personally I do not expect BAA to want to make any announcements while there are ongoing negative news stories at Heathrow such as the BA and BAA industrial actions. Unfortunately this means that we have no way of knowing when they will actually allow us to officially open. It is also possible that they will not want to have a formal opening announcement because this may cause them other media issues and media management is generally their top priority. We may find that we are allowed to gradually move to full operation unannounced later this summer.
Ken, the June mention you may have picked up was a delay in the passenger trials schedule in June because we were asked to change the communications frequency the system uses to avoid any potential for interference with other airport systems. This necessitated a change in the wifi communications network setup. ULTra uses a communications network which is similar to the mobile wifi networks for mobile phones and laptops in offices. This change required our wifi supplier changing and retesting the fixed antennas on the system and the corresponding components in the vehicles. All of the work required was completed in June.
Richard Teychenne states " I am not sure where the June idea came from". That's interesting. According to a presentation by Martin Lowson (available at the ATRA website) the new launch window is in "Mid 2010":
Testing of the PRT System is continuing and, with all installation and communications challenges now resolved, we anticipate commencing passenger services in late Spring 2010." This is what I'd call a joint BAA/ATS approved statement. http://www.ultraprt.com/cms/index.php?page=latest-schedule
That link is broken. Here's a screenshot:
Well, when June arrived we got this info via a tweet from the PRT Guru that linked to his website where we found this statement:
June 2010: It appears ULTra will not meet its previously-announced June opening date at London’s Heathrow Airport. BAA has issued the following statement: "The Heathrow pod is innovative technology and we have always said that the system will be launched when it is ready to do so. The system, as well as being a world first, is bespoke [customized] to fit into existing airport infrastructure and the process of completing this is informing our decision about the launch date. Testing is continuing and we anticipate that the system will officially launch in the near future."
"The Heathrow pod is innovative technology and we have always said that the system will be launched when it is ready to do so. The system, as well as being a world first, is bespoke (custom-made) to fit into existing airport infrastructure and the process of completing this is informing our decision about the launch date. Testing is continuing and we anticipate that the system will officially launch in the near future." - BAA's schedule statement, June 2010.
Apparently there were earlier, scrubbed launches of the glorified golf carts of Heathrow according to this BBC report from 2009:
In less than two years' time, after the opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5 in March 2008, a network of 18 of these four-seater capsules will be ferrying passengers to and from a business car park to the new terminal building.
It's not surprising that the effect of these postponements of the much-hype ULTra have made public officials skeptical, even irritated at PRT promoters as explained in this video:
So, six years on (more if you count the failed attempt to bring pods to Cardiff, Wales) and the fabled ULTra pods are moving to India. Here's the news report... how many chances do these PRT guys get?
Last Thursday, I attended a presentation sponsored by the Carolina Transportation Program where Steve Raney essentially gave his sales pitch for the idea of PRT. Raney is a transportation planner and consultant with Advanced Transport Systems Inc. who is driving development opportunities for ULTra’s concept.
Its main success so far is seen at London’s Heathrow Airport where they are in the construction phase at Terminal 5. The system will connect passengers directly to the car park, but is envisioned to expand in the future connecting to other amenities like hotels. The idea has several selling points: 95% of passengers will have to wait less than 1 minute for a car; all the vehicles are battery-powered (making it green); and, the cars do not require drivers since they run on a closed system.
But, Raney didn’t focus much on the Heathrow project; instead, he spent most of his time selling the more general idea of PRT as a design solution
Yeah, like what's there to focus on?
Just another hilarious episode in a long list of flops and fiascos for the pod people - let's review the most recent:
The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.
John Edward Anderson, BS ME, MS ME, PhD Astronautics, PE – Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota (23 years). Former Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Boston University (8 years). World-renowned expert on Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) systems analysis and design. Chaired four international conferences on PRT, lectured and gave courses widely in the U. S. and abroad on transit systems analysis and design. Founding President and Member, Board of Directors, Advanced Transit Association (ATRA). In his early career he worked for 12 years at the Honeywell Aeronautical Division on instrument design, autopilots, inertial navigation, and spacecraft development; and previously two years as an Aeronautical Research Scientist in the Structures Research Division, NASA, Langley Field, VA. Named Outstanding Inventor of 1989 for his patents on PRT. Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, cited for his work on PRT. Licensed Professional Engineer, State of Minnesota. Author and co-author of numerous journal articles on rapid transit system analysis and design. Author of Transit Systems Theory (1978), Magnetohydrodynamic Shock Waves (1963 M.I.T. Press).
The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a student newspaper editorial after a malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke. The cost of fixing the Morgantown boondoggle is $93 million.
Bill James, founder and CEO of the would-be Personal Rapid Transit vendor Jpods, dropped in on the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority meeting yesterday to urge the county to adopt a resolution to give Jpods the right-of-way to build PRT in Hennepin County.
James says there there are three companies in Minnesota that can build PRT and create "several hundred jobs in Minnesota in the next 12 months" - that's total nonsense.
Bill James then asked for "a favor" - a resolution that would give companies that claim they could build transit systems that are privately-funded, getting all their revenue from the fair-box "non-exclusive access to rights-of-way". Bill James also claims he has agreements to build Jpods in China.
Bill James said he wants to build Jpod "feeder lines" to connect to the Hiawatha LRT.
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