The Guardian Pans Masdar's pods

Guardian UK:

Getting to the showcase streets of the new institute is an unusual experience. Arriving by road from Abu Dhabi – there will be a train in years to come – you swap your car for a ride in a Personal Rapid Transit pod, an experience that combines the cartoon aesthetic of The Jetsons with the comedy of Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle, the 1958 French satire that lampoons the excesses of an overdesigned futuristic world.

The driverless sci-fi pods bumble around the undercrofts of the first phase of Masdar City and it is a wonder that none of them bump into each other. But they move so slowly it may well be quicker to walk. The original idea was for these comic pods to criss-cross the entire city underground so that residents, commuters and visitors could reach any part of it without having to drive, and in the welcome shade. There would have been hundreds of pods. In the event, they have been seen as an all too complex way of getting about. Future phases of Masdar will be pod-free, although cars and lorries will be directed underground, leaving the streets above for pedestrians only.

Read more ridiculous stuff about PRT on THE PREVIOUS POST.

CPRT Board Member: Football Legend Carl Eller Hoping to Start Development in South Mpls That Will Use PRT

Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit (CPRT) board member Dick Gronning lets the cat out of the bag at the Transport Innovators forum:

Around 2:00 PM an enormous person showed up and started talking to us. He stated that he was very interested in PRT. He knew quite a bit about PRT already. He stated that he was hoping to start a development S. of down town Mpls and use PRT. He said that his name was Carl and he represented a group of investors. I looked at him (Particularly his size) and asked, "Are you Carl Eller of the Vikings?" He laughed and said, "Yes I am!" He is president of the Retired Players Association.

Holy cow! Carl Eller wants to build a development with PRT pods in it?!? This is like the most awesomist PRT news since that Texas astronaut/video game mogul said he was going to launch a PRT system in Austin.

It's also possible that Gronning is not being entirely factual. Gronning is in error when, in another post he reports the following about me:

Ken showed up at the CPRT table that we had for the U.M CTS career day and wrote up what was actually a respectable account. He didn't visit us this year at Living Green. Maybe he too is changing...

Wrong, I wasn't there. the photos I posted March 2, 2011 were sent to me by a student. And no, I'm not changing; I still say PRT is a hoax and a scam promoted by con-artists, criminals and crackpots.

Gronning's comment about me is in response to the ever-klassy inventor of Skytrak Jack Slade:

Did Ken Avidor show up, or have a table? Or maybe he was visiting his Mother at the Chicken Ranch for Mother's Day.

The most hilarious comment is reserved for last from Seattle PRTista David Gow ("Mr_Grant"):

I hope you guys have stopped using the placard that mentions You don't ride with strangers, or words to that effect. So easy to misconstrue.

"Misconstrue"?

Sorry, Mr. Gow/Grant, but the PRT hucksters aint going to give up the fear-mongering about "strangers" on buses and trains . It's the argument that most appeals to their target audience - white suburbanites who are afraid to ride the bus or LRT with people who look like Carl Eller.

Here's a photo I took last month at the Sustainable Communities Conference of that CPRT display that bothers Mr. Gow/Grant so much (click to make larger):



More PRT news:

Petulant PRT promoters acting up again.

Skytran in Detroit? Meet Skytran CEO.

Another Crackpot Personal Rapid Transit Proposal Bites the Dust (Almelo)

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. Convicted felon is spokesman for the CPRT.

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 (not a true PRT system) 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.

ULTra's Poison Pod Pill for High Speed Rail

Even as they struggle to launch their much-ballyhooed, much-postponed launch at Heathrow, the ULTra PRT hucksters keep adding more ridiculous CGI videos to gazillions of PRT videos already on You Tube. But, instead of trashing rail transit like this PRT video titled "Phoenix light rail is Trash!", this video pretends to love rail transit:

High-speed rail has become an increasingly attractive form of transit, offering inter-city travel that is faster, more convenient, and more environmentally friendly than driving or flying. But how do you get to the high speed rail station?

ULTra sustainable personal transit can increase the popularity of each high speed rail station, without requiring expensive parking structures. By connecting to high-speed rail, ULTra can increase the area that is served, boosting rail ridership, and making for a more economically viable system. ULTra PRT takes high speed rail to the next level. For more info: http://www.ultraprt.com

The pod people like to argue that PRT is a "last mile solution" for passengers. They argue that Americans will not take LRT or HSR because they need a pod to take them from the station to their final destination.

Except that there isn't any "last mile problem". Passengers take the bus, bike, tram, cab, walk etc.

The PRT "solution" is just a poison pill to make rail transit look too expensive and too complicated.

As usual, the PRT guys offer distraction and misinformation to confuse public officials and citizens about reality-based transit.



More PRT news:

Petulant PRT promoters acting up again.

Skytran in Detroit? Meet Skytran CEO,

Another Crackpot Personal Rapid Transit Proposal Bites the Dust (Almelo)

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. Convicted felon is spokesman for the CPRT.

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 (not a true PRT system) 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.

Ian Bicking Promoting New/Old Pods Again

Ian Bicking is promoting pods at Minnebar:

Personal Rapid Transit is new idea for public transit that is not mass transit. This concept has in the past seen development here in Minnesota, though the idea is now coming to fruition abroad, most notably with the ULTra project at Heathrow airport.

Uh, the launch of the glorified golf carts at Heathrow has been postponed more times than anyone cares to remember.

....The PRT concept originated in the 60s...

Wait, Ian you started off saying PRT was a "new idea". PRT is a really OLD idea.

....and by now technology has more than caught up, though many questions remain, especially about construction costs, politics, safety, research, etc.

Yeah, a lot of questions, like how the heck can you get approval to build two-story PRT monorail structures on streets with a clear view into people's bedroom.

I am not involved with any PRT technology, but I have found it interesting and have followed its progress, and it has several features that I think will make sense particularly to a technical audience. This presentation will describe PRT and compare it with traditional transit options. PRT has traditionally been the source of a controversy (even derision) in transit circles, and though I'll be presenting a largely pro-PRT viewpoint I will encourage the audience to challenge that viewpoint at any time. No, wait... this is BarCamp, there is no "audience"! I mean my fellow presenters who just happen to be sitting across from me.

Okay, presenters here's some recent news about the ongoing PRT fiasco, ask Ian about some of them:

Petulant PRT promoters acting up again.

Skytran in Detroit? Meet Skytran CEO,

Another Crackpot Personal Rapid Transit Proposal Bites the Dust (Almelo)

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. Convicted felon is spokesman for the CPRT.

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 (not a true PRT system) 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.