Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Another Crackpot Personal Rapid Transit Proposal Bites the Dust

Pardon the awful Google translation, but you'll get the idea from this article from March 23rd about a pod project in The Netherlands:

Monorail plan finally abandoned

Almelo - Almelo The cooperation of the municipality to develop a monorail stop is put in 2012.

The mayor and aldermen find the current financial position of Almelo, a good reason to keep up with it.

All mid-nineties, the Alderman Anthon Sjoers the futuristic plan for a monorail in Almelo.

Almelo joined a European project that was investigating realization. Almelo was one of the cities where such a monorail could be built.

Against the project was always much resistance.

Also present in the college whose names VVD thought it was nothing.

According to the college games except the financial situation of the municipality, including "changing insights into the future role and functions of the municipality a role in the decision now to stop. Over the years evolved into a so-called PRT monorail system, Personal Rapid Transportation. This system consisted of a concrete runway at several meters high, which was closed by an automated cart system would go away.

In the first versions of the Almelo Downtown Plan was also flirting with the monorail. although it never outgrew the status of studies project.

The actual investigation of the PRT is therefore already in the college in 2006. Since then kept the town active in seeking external sources of funds and to create support for the system in town. The latter did not really succeed.

Also by the college a "wait and see attitude" of the Twente Region and the Ministry of Transport said.
The past two years the city has spent 1,800 euros to the PRT project.

Until 2012, another 4,000 euros needed to build the ongoing cooperation. There were 23,500 euros from a contribution from the Twente region. The rest of the money, another 18,500 euros, the municipality spend raising and improving the existing bus stops.


As always, the pod hucksters wowed the suckers with a CGI video:



Recent news about the ongoing, worldwide pod boondoggle:

Strange Minnesota industry - 3 Proposed PRT Projects, 6 PRT Companies and 2 PRT Lobbyists.

Former Rep. Mark Olson Returns to Capitol as a lobbyist for would-be PRT vendor proposing $100 million pod project in Coon Rapids.

The CPRT table at U of M Jobs Fair.

Daventry citizens say "Pods Off" to PRT TWICE!

Duluth News Tribune article about Taxi 2000 trying to restart Duluth pod project - hilarious comments.

The Pawlenty administration wasted thousands of taxpayers' dollars promoting personal rapid transit .

PRT is so not happening at Heathrow.

Pod people invade Newport News ( the article quotes retired professor Vukan Vuchic)

Bizarre hearing for wacky Jpods proposal for Hull, Massachusetts. Video: Bill James Pitches Jpods Resolution to Hennepin County.

Taxi 2000 Corporation spent nearly $80K on lobbying in Minnesota in 5 years. Taxi 2000 lobbyist and Bachmann pal Ed Cain also lobbied for the phony U.S. Navy Veterans Association charity.

Federal Funding Nixed for Winona Personal Rapid Transit Project

The Swedish/Korean PRT prototype malfunctioned in front of the media.

The Masdar PRT (actually computer-guided golf carts that follow magnets imbedded in the roadway) has been scaled way back, This setback got a mention in the NY Times and confirmed in this Bloomberg article. New post-mortem: "Masdar City Abandons Transportation System of the Future".

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. Twitter Reveals Morgantown WVU Personal Rapid Transit's Frequent Breakdowns.

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