Farcical Hearing for JPOD Proposal in Hull, Mass.

The Hull Sun:

At this week’s meeting, Van Hamm provided selectmen with an overview of the new scaled-back two-year trial run proposal to build a smaller one-mile system at a cost of around $9.5 million, which would run between the DCR parking lot on the bayside of Hull, to the beginning of the HRA property.

The new proposal calls for five stations with 67 pods, she said.

Van Hamm said there would be an economic growth potential provided by an uptick in visitors to the community, who she feels would view the Jpods as more of a novelty amusement park ride, which she envisions would bring a benefit to nearby businesses.

She estimated income of about $1.5 million a year from 2,000 riders in the warmer months and 1,000 riders in the winter paying $6 a ride.

Six bucks for a one mile ride?

“I would personally like to see the president or CEO from the company come down and do a more thorough presentation to the board,” Olivieri said.

Van Hamm asked Oliveri if he’d like to call James on his cell to get answers to some of the financial questions he has.

“No, we asked him before, and his response was he was going to sell t-shirts…. I want someone who can give us concrete answers,” said Olivieri.

Selectman John Brannan also voiced puzzlement over the figures that would make such a proposal work.

“If you have a lot of investors willing to lose money, please send them my way — I have a lot of ideas myself…. It’s not a build it, and they will come (situation),” said Brannan, saying he wants to see a marketing plan and more financial information about the plan.

Citing the interest of full disclosure, Brannan asked Van Hamm if she has any potential financial gain from this project, and she responded “I’m here as a resident of Hull.”

It's sad to see the yet another community waste time on Personal Rapid Transit. Hull is not alone. Scores of cities have had similar experiences with the PRT hucksters; Daventry, Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Winona, Long Branch, Indianapolis, Rosemount, Seattle, Cincinnati, Ithaca, Alameda, Denver and many more...

Personal Rapid Transit at the Mall of America by the Fourth of July?

It doesn't look too good for that Winona PRT earmark. A gloomy gadgetbahner makes this doleful prediction at the Transport Innovator's forum:

Actually the news just got worse. Just announced today...barely three weeks after they buried the body of Democratic Congressman John Murhtha, the king of earmarks, the House Democratic Party has all of a sudden declared that earmarks are no more. If the Winona project was dependent on earmarks, I think that the Winona PRT project is dead...at least until after the fall elections. Maybe San Jose also????

All is not gloom and doom for PRT in Minnesota... The inventor of JPOD's, Bill James is going to have a PRT up and running at the MoA in a mere three months!

The Hull Sun:

VanHamm said JPods has plans to build a 12-mile system with four tracks at the LuoSiwan International Trade Center in China, as well as a smaller system at the Mall of America.

Yup, that's right.... and Bill James says he can have his Jpods up and running by July 4th:

He [James] told the board that officers in his company are funding both the China and Mall of America projects, and they expect to have the Mall of America project up and running by the 4th of July.

Confirmation of the JPOD/Megamall project in The Daily News Tribune:

In recent years James has approached officials in San Jose and Minneapolis with the podcar plan but hasn’t received commitments. He said the company will build a podcar line from the Mall of America to a nearby Ikea store.

... well sort of:

Erica Dao, a spokeswoman for the Mall of America, said no agreements are in place.

“We’re hopeful we can work something out with them,” she said of JPods.

And I'm sure they will... only three months until you can "pimp your own pod" at the MoA!

Will San José Pimp Their Own Pods?

ABC KGO has a report on pod plans for PRT in San José :



(If player doesn't work, go to the abc7news.com website)

ULTra is featured zooming around in computer-generated videos... no mention that the launch of ULTra at Heathrow 5 has been postponed twice.

Laura Stuchinsky, Sustainability Officer, San José Department of Transportation appears and gives a rave review for PRT (also on the ATS ULTra PRT vendor website here).

Bill James is also in the video, the JPODs guy:



Bill James also tried to sell Jpods in Minnesota... here's a video featuring Bill James... watch for Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson sitting in the Jpod with the "Support the Troops" ribbon:



Here's Barbara Johnson's pod-praising letter to Bill James from the Jpod website (click to make larger):