Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit Continue to Spread Misleading Info About Transit Costs

One of the many unfounded claims of Personal Rapid Transit promoters is that PRT can pay for itself. Here's what then-Senator Michele Bachmann told Minnesota Public Radio:

Supporters range from Minneapolis City Council member Dean Zimmerman, a Green Party member, to Republican Sen. Michelle Bachmann of Stillwater. Bachmann says personal rapid transit, like many political issues, creates strange bedfellows.

"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," she says.

Taxi 2000 says PRT could be paid for by fares and private investors.

At the MnDOT PRT workshop last year (PDF), former Minneapolis Councilman Dean Zimmermann made a similar claim:

In terms of cost, the legislature is willing to spend all kinds of costs to subsidize all these kinds of transportation. No one is dif-ferentiating between capital cost and operat-ing cost … Every single vendor in here will tell you if we build this system, it will pay back its cost with revenue. Light rail takes $10 million a year of public subsidy. The bus system, 25 percent paid for by users, and let’s not even go into the automobile, the most heavily subsidized transportation system. PRT is the only system mentioned that will pay for itself in terms of operating cost.

I saw Dean Zimmermann tabling for the Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit (CPR) at the 6th Annual Sustainable Communities Conference in downtown Minneapolis, so I was able to ask him to explain how PRT could pay for itself:



Of course, transit systems cannot survive without subsidies, But, in these tough fiscal times, it is a claim that cash-strapped citizens and public officials may want to hear. This comment on a forum explains why subsidy-free PRT is a fantasy:

First, you say that PRT will pay for itself. This is preposterous. You have a system that has low volume and will need extremely sophisticated infrastructure. There is no way, theoretically, that you can have such a system that will pay for itself.

Second, no genuine PRT system has been built anywhere ever. So you have no proof to back up your argument there.

Third, every time they try building a PRT system, they go to local governments to ask for money. So that's just proof of more fantasizing on your part.

Finally, ALL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS COST MONEY. It's just that systems such as light rail are the very systems that Detroit grew up around. So when we talk about light rail, it is a serious investment with proven gains that works in other cities -- and has worked here before. That is why light rail is credible, and why such untried, never-implemented systems as PRT are a joke.

Also interesting is that the CPRT continues to make the creepy and bogus claim that people don't like riding with "strangers" (click on the picture to make it bigger):



Recent news about the ongoing, worldwide pod boondoggle:

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.

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.

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!

Editorial - Morgantown PRT "Horror Story" & "Flawed Behemoth"

Editorial in the WVU The Daily Athenaeum:

It’s pretty safe to say anyone who has ridden West Virginia University’s PRT system has some kind of horror story.

Typically, it’s the same complaint – it breaks down or it’s is late getting to one station over another. However, recent incidents have proven to be more serious.

We’ve had multiple reports from riders about seeing a PRT car filled with smoke and a fire erupting in one of the cars Thursday.

Students in the car were then forced to walk the tracks as the system came to a complete stop – a safeguard for such incidents.

However, these incidents have been downplayed by the University.

The issues were attributed to "minor problems" and "arching electrical phases on track" that "caused a flash and cloud of smoke," according to Director of Transportation and Parking Hugh Kierig, by way of Becky Lofstead, assistant vice president for University Communications.

As reported in Monday’s edition of The Daily Athenaeum, University spokesman John Bolt said there had been several electrical problems but none were major.

The PRT is synonymous with its problems, despite continual reassurances from University-provided statistics of high reliability and constant uptime.

The system is a flawed behemoth. There isn’t enough money to completely overhaul the system, despite constant funding being poured into it for upgrades.

Most recently, the University closed the system for an entire summer, spending $2.5 million on track and system issues.
These upgrades weren’t designed to fix all issues, and they haven’t.

Read the entire editorial.

This is how Shay Maunz of the Daily Atheneaum reported the incident February 28th:

Two fires on PRT last week causes trouble for students

A passenger’s photo shows the damage as a result of recent problems.

Several West Virginia University students have reported an explosion on the tracks of the PRT Friday and a fire in a PRT car Thursday, but University officials are denying the incidents occurred.

University officials attributed the disruption in PRT service to minor problems.

"There are some rumors going around on Twitter and some misinformation," said Becky Lofstead, assistant vice president for University Communications. "But there was no explosion or fire or anything."

John Bolt, WVU spokesperson, said though there were several electrical problems with the PRT Friday, none were major.

"My last word was that it was taken care of," he said.

Calls to WVU’s Transportation and Parking Department were not returned by press time.

Sounds like a cover-up. The article continues:

Krista Whites, a freshman theater major, was on PRT car 50 Friday afternoon around 1:40 p.m. heading to the Student Recreation Center when the car stopped between the Beechurst and Engineering stations. There was an "explosion right behind the car that was like five feet in the air," she said.

After an operator’s voice came over the loud speaker, and the car attempted to move again, but "there was another explosion – a bigger one – it left a pretty big hole in the track," Whites said.

The students in the car were then fetched by a PRT employee and walked to the station.

Paige Carver, a sophomore television journalism major, entered the Beechurst PRT station around 1 p.m. Thursday. When she entered the station, she said, a PRT car was waiting at one gate with smoke pouring out of its door.

Carver saw flames inside the car, she said, but could not determine where they originated from because the smoke blocked her view.

She waited for several moments before calling PRT assistance on her cell phone and explaining the situation to the operator.
He took down the information, she said "but there was no shutting it down, no maintenance guy came, for the whole 15 minutes."

The car then left the station and another one came in its place.

For the past several years, the PRT guys have been praising the WVI PRT to the heavens.

Recently, on the City Pages Blotter, Peter "PRT Guru" Muller showed up in the comments to say this about the WVU PRT:

For those who follow the link to Minnesota 20/20 I offer a correction here because Mr. Avidor is careful not to allow comments to his postings directly.The assertion that "The Morgantown PRT has been plagued by glitches and breakdowns ever since" is simply wrong. Morgantown has now completed over 140 million injury-free passenger miles (regular transit would have injured over a hundred). It has done this at transit level of service A - as good as it gets. Yes, it had teething problems but the New York Times recently called it a "white elephant turned into a transit workhorse".

WVU students have made not one, but TWO You Tube Hitler-parodies of the WVU PRT.



More on this blog about the Morgantown PRT.

PRT & Stadiums - Boondoggle Buddies

UPDATE: Major league sports and pods cross paths yet again when CPRT board member Dick Gronning claims Vikings Football Hall of Famer Carl Eller said he was hoping to build a pod project in South Minneapolis.

This is a proposal for a combined PRT/Stadium boondoggle on the Minnesota Legislature website (PDF).

Minnesota has several choices regarding stadiums. We can do nothing. We can be among the last to build the “latest” generation of stadiums or we can be first to build the next generation of stadiums. We believe Minnesota should lead.

The technology that enables this leadership is Personal Rapid Transit. This technology is the lowest cost alternative of all potential transit solutions. It is flexible, fast, and rider-friendly. It can make a significant contribution to the economic success of stadia to which it is integrated. Placed in the right location, the inclusion of this technology is very low risk. For stadium economics, it can only help and can’t hurt.

Here's another proposal for a combined PRT & stadium boondoggle on the legislature's website(PDF):

Transit is critical to sports due the nature of large crowds coming and going simultaneously and in large groups. Transportation will depend on the integration of several modes. A true inter-modal transit system, to include automobile, conventional transit, PRT, and perhaps LRT, will be required. The Center for Transportation Studies at the University would lead and coordinate the efforts of the Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Council to develop a transit model for this project.

City Pages Blotter Post About the Pods

Hart Van Denburg has a post about the pods on the City Pages Blotter.

Peter "PRT Guru" Muller showed up in the comments to say the Morgantown PRT is wonderful.

That's not the opinion of WVU students who made not one, but TWO You Tube Hitler-parodies of the WVU PRT.

Here's one titled "Hitler mad at WVU's PRT":



A sample of the comments on the video:

GuitarRocker12

I love this video. I totally forgot about this until my professor talked about it a few weeks ago. It's hilarious and accurate. It sucks waiting on the PRT in freezing weather freshman year when you have no other transportation. Thank God I have my car up here now.

AngiDsigns

ROFLMAO....exactly why 7 of my 8 semesters I avoided the PRT like the plague. My dad rode it when it was new and back then they referred to it as the Perfectly Rancid Transit system.

RAbbi74

Very well done! Piece of junk just stranded me in Evansdale yesterday (right, immediately after the piece-of-junk bus left), and was down for a couple HOURS on gameday a week and a half ago, must to the dismay of all those alumni and fans.

Should honestly scrap the damned thing and admit failure...

Pod people admit failure? Never!!!

ULTra PRT Heathrow Debut Delayed a Third Time?

UPDATE: ULTra PRT Heathrow Debut Postponed a Fourth Time.

U of M CTS Report:

Steve Raney, a principal with ATS ULTra, gave an overview of current PRT technology and discussed ULTra’s recently completed PRT project for London’s Heathrow airport.

The ULTra circulator runs on an elevated guideway to connect Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 to a remote parking lot. Its on-demand nature was particularly useful for this destination. “PRT was the only practical solution for (the British Airport Authority),” Raney said. “It had a 60 percent travel time savings and 40 percent operating costs savings” over other modes. Construction on the project is currently complete, with revenue service scheduled to begin this spring.

According to a presentation by Martin Lowson (available at the ATRA website) the new launch window is in "Mid 2010":



That would make it three times the debut of the glorified golf carts have been postponed. How many chances do these PRT guys get?

Public Transit had this comment after the second postponement:

It seems that the opening of the Ultra PRT system constructed at Heathrow Airport outside London, England, has been delayed again, by issues that remain unidentified.

During some intense debate earlier this year involving this website and the engineering team behind the Ultra PRT at Heathrow, it was stated that the system would open for revenue service in the "4th quarter" of 2009, e.g., sometime between October 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.

In recent British press reports (for example, http://www.ultraprt.com/cms/index.php?page=the-london-science-museum-aug-09 ), the system now reportedly will open "sometime next year." To wit:

The bubble-shaped, driverless cars with black, bug-eyed windows are his solution to the problems of urban travel. He began working on the system in 1995 and NEXT YEAR [2010] they are due to start operating at Heathrow, carrying passengers from car parks to Terminal 5 [emphasis added].

So what gives? Did the concerns raised here a few months ago sink in, and perhaps produce more "due diligence." Of course, I'm not going to hold my breath for any explanation from Mr. Lowenson et al regarding up to another year of delay.

Also, displaying the Ultra PRT vehicles alongside Stephenson's Rocket is highly presumptuous until PRT is actually proven for several years in revenue service, which it still has to show.

Steve Raney had this to say after the first postponement,

"I've certainly been in situations where the people I'm communicating with really hate PRT."

Listen:

PRT and the "Minnesota Drearies"

Transit Pulse, Vol. XXIV, No. 5 January/February 2007 (PDF)

Minnesota Drearies

The Santa Cruzans for Responsibly Planning (see page 2) started as a Citizens for PRT organization somewhat modeled after a group in Minnesota that started up in 1995. According to Dick Gronning of the Minnesota group, activities are dwindling and membership is down. The Minnesota Sierra Club and other environmental groups are pro-LRT, judging their Hiawatha Line as a great success and often dismissing PRT as a right-wing conspiracy.

Jeral Poskey has left Taxi 2000 and relocated back to the Silicon Valley. Taxi 2000 is busy but quite. Ed Anderson also remains quiet these days. A pro-PRT Republican legislator who bucked the Democrat landslide last month is in trouble over charges of domestic abuse.

Gronning thinks that Minnesotans, following their offshoot friends in Santa Cruz, should refocus on a multi-modal approach.

New Route for the Winona Personal Rapid Transit

A few comments on today's Winona Daily News article:

While it's not clear how this PRT/RTP scheme would answer many questions about how such a system would function in a densely populated urban environment, it does demonstrate how one person's wasteful pork spending can be another's wise use of economic stimulus funds.

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This is a ridiculous waste of taxpayers' money, especially when it fails like others before this one. We need our roads fixed so we can use own personal transport vehicles to get where ever we want to go in safety and comfort. Hwy 61 crumbles while we use tax money for this!

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All the pork should be cut. Start with this as Troller said. Take care of the infrastructure we have (roads, rail, river) first. $25M may not be much to a progressive, but it's a heck of a lot to little ole me. Just think 'only 27.7M per mile,WOW.

By the way, we already have PERSONAL transport, I drive to work in/on it every day. Guess what, I can drive wherever I want and even go further than .9 miles too!

The article also has new (late January 2010) plans. There is nothing on the plans to indicate who prepared the plans.

Click on the images to make them bigger.

Uppsala - "Decision on track cars (spårbilar) postponed"

Upsala Nya Tidning: Beslut om spårbilar sköts upp

Google Translation:

The decision on Uppsala's PRT effort was postponed by the Municipal Bureau on Monday.

The politicians wanted a clearer statement to the effect that the state should pay 100 percent of the investment cost. The letter of intent which the government requires the municipality to participate in a project could, in certain respects be interpreted as that the municipality would account for part of the financing, all parties agree, however, that the City of Uppsala to say yes to the PRT project. A decision is expected later this week.

From the Eskilstuna Courier (Google translation):

Eskilstuna is re-opening race for track cars (spårbilar)

Eskilstuna - If the government wants us to do a pilot municipality so they may well do so. But we have no own resources to stop in, "says Jimmy Jansson (S).

Eskilstuna Municipality would again take up the fight on a pioneering path to track cars. But the alliance, in addition to the Center Party, rejects the whole idea of rail cars in Eskilstuna.

Some time ago four municipalities singled out as potential candidates to become pioneers of the effort the PRT tracks.

Comments:

No, but stop now! Again comes the nonsense PRT debate up again as it has done occasionally in the last 10-15 years. Why have track cars at all? Requires an infrastructure that ugly urban environment, and it can not be trace on every street in town? No, instead favoring electric cars are starting to come now. Add money on parking spaces with charging socket for them instead!

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Pure idiocy! Stop burning tax money on a bunch of shit that do not provide society anything.

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But that's typical activists governing this municipality, ideas miles distant from reality and exorbitant fees for everything that may have the least connection to the environment. Is simply to take money into cover behind environmental issues, not to promote it.

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On the municipal website, I found some time ago a paper with a proposal for spårbilsnät in Eskilstuna. There was a ring around the city center as well as a detour from the ring to Fristad Square. Can anyone imagine Fristad Square cluttered with bärpelare and bärbalkar both lengthwise and crosswise and one or more hanging platforms with associated lifts and other things. One or more technologies happy at the municipality can actually there. How divorced from reality may be responsible in the municipality.

Here is a visual from the proposal:

Winona Daily News - "Leaders line up to support PRT"

Winona Daily News:

The city of Winona has formally requested nearly $25 million in federal funding to test a futuristic transit technology, a proposal that has already garnered support from local businesses and colleges, state transportation officials and a major California metropolitan area.

Skip to the bottom....

Some of that support may be impacted by the new, shorter route. A preliminary layout shown to Winona City Council members last month showed the elevated guideway would loop through the East End near Hwy. 61, with planned stops at Southeast Tech and Winona Health and near Target and Fleet Farm. The shorter route has only three stops, including Southeast Tech. But it only briefly crosses onto the north side of Hwy. 61, no longer venturing as far as Target, Fleet Farm or Winona Health, which submitted a letter of support.

This is the former route:

The city would administer the grant funding, including project bidding, the application states. The matching grant for the federal funding would be $5 million in preliminary work already completed by Taxi 2000, a Fridley, Minn., firm the city has been working with on the proposal.

If the funding is approved, construction would begin in September 2011, the application states. The lab would be on line in March 2013.

The lab, once online, will be owned and managed by the Partnership Center, which will have three staff members, including a director, and a board of directors with private, public and institutional members, the application states.

The entire proposal is contingent on the large infusion of federal funding, however. The city should learn in April if the project will receive the requested grant.

Hilarious Opinion Piece By Personal Rapid Transit Promoter Hugh Miller

Comment on a recent Winona Daily News article about PRT:

Not saying this is or isn't a good use of federal stimulus money. But note that the private sector businessman pitching this is the guy that's been running those full page, star spangled ads about how the country is bankrupt and headed to hell in a handbasket.

The comment is referring to this long-winded opinion piece:

Rekindling the American Dream (11/29/2009)

by Hugh Miller
President and CEO, RTP Co.

Our country is in very serious financial trouble, mortal financial danger, and unless and until we turn it around, quickly, the American Dream will die. But upon reflection it's even worse than that, for while the death of the American Dream would be tragic enough, the end of America being a safe, stable and good place to live would be cataclysmic.

It''s that serious, and as an impassioned American citizen, very worried about his country, there is an obligation to speak out, as forcefully as possible. Here's how I see it.

The national debt we are accumulating is both debilitating and unsustainable, and by most standards we are already bankrupt. What this means, in practical terms, is shortly we will not be able to control our own destiny --others will control it for us. It also means our children, and their children, will not have the same opportunities we had, and in fact will be lucky to find a real job. Further, it means our standard of living declines, rapidly, bringing about extreme and likely violent social unrest. Let me try and explain.

The numbers are staggering and confusing, so I will try and state it in terms we can better understand.

Imagine you, Mr. or Mrs. Public, have take-home pay of $27,000 per year. During the year, however, you spend $47,000, $20,000 more than you take home. How can this happen? You charge things you cannot afford and your creditors look the other way. Anyway, you now have a debt of $20,000 you‚will have to pay back over time. You have a real problem, solvable, but unless you get at it, soon, you'll end up in serious trouble.

Now let‚s imagine you suddenly realize you have a second debt of $120,000. That‚ on top of the $20,000, so the total you now owe is $140,000. That''s a very big number, more than five times your take-home pay. With a really dedicated approach, and cooperative creditors, your debt is still manageable, but only with extreme discipline and understanding bankers.

Believe it or not it gets worse. Now let‚s imagine you‚ have just discovered you have a third debt and will owe another $480,000 in just a few years. That's on top of the $20,000 and the $120,000 for a total of $620,000. That''s more than 22 times your take-home pay, so even if you paid all your take-home pay for 22 straight years you‚'d still be in debt.

You are beyond out of control; you''re a fiscal catastrophe.

Fortunately most of us don't live this way, as we live within our means. Unfortunately, however, our favorite uncle does not. No, our Uncle Sam has spent too much in the past, is spending too much now, and will spend too much in the future.

Mr. or Mrs. Public in this example is actually the U.S. government, not with take-home pay and spending in the thousands, which we can all understand, but with take-home pay and spending in the trillions, which most of us cannot understand.

Instead of taking home $27,000, the U.S. government takes home $2.7 trillion dollars. Instead of accumulating debt of $20,000 over the next year, the U.S. government will accumulate debt of $2 trillion dollars over the same period. Instead of having a second actual debt of $120,000, the U.S. government today has an actual debt of $12 trillion dollars. And instead of discovering you have a third debt of $480,000, the U.S. government has unfunded liabilities, due shortly, of $48 trillion dollars and growing. This would include future payments for Social Security, Medicare, pensions, and other obligations.

How can any person live like Mr. or Mrs. Public? The answer is they can't. How can any government live the same way? The answer is they can‚'t either. Most Mr. or Mrs. Publics know better and would never put themselves in such a terrible position. Sadly, and certainly shortsightedly, and arguably stupidly, the U.S. government has put our country, and all Americans, in extreme financial peril. Worse, they don't seem to care.

If we are to solve our problems, we must first understand them, and so we need to step back and realize just how much we have already borrowed from our future and future generations.

We are a nation of about 300 million people, and we now have a total debt and unfunded liabilities of about $62 trillion. That''s $200,000 a piece! That's truly a startling figure, but that's reality, and that's the burden we've already placed on ourselves. Irresponsible doesn't begin to describe this travesty.

What should we do? Here is what I would do.

1) First we must immediately come to grips with and try to comprehend the dire financial position we're in, today. And we must explain that ugly truth to our people, also today.

2) Second, we must stop things from getting any worse. We simply must start living within our means, within our take-home pay, whether it's $27,000 or $2.7 trillion dollars. In that regard I‚'d be in favor of an amendment requiring our government balance its budget, every year, except in times of war. Until that happens, I'd balance the budget anyway.

3) We don't take in too little, we spend too much -- much too much. Since 1999 to the present the U.S. government has taken in, on average, 4% more per year. Unfortunately, during that same timeframe, they have spent, on average, 9.2% more each year.

Simply put we must cut spending, drastically, tough and unpopular as that may be. The alternative is worse, much worse. Taxing businesses or other job creators is not the answer and will make the deficit worse while increasing unemployment.

Sacrifice will be required by all of us, and it must be done fairly, and that‚''s as it should be. But whatever policies emerge must not be done at the expense of growth, for that would be counterproductive. After World War II we also had a huge debt, but strong economic growth made it much easier to handle that debt. And the reverse is true, the lower the growth the harder it is to pay back debt.

4) Any new spending programs should be shelved until we have a real plan for fiscal solvency. It’s like redecorating your living room while a fire is blazing in your basement. Put the fire out first, completely, before you even begin to think about redecorating.

Our first order of business, by far, is to put out the fire in our basement. Unless and until we fully extinguish that fire we won't have a house to live in anyway.

5) Both the second debts, $120,000 for Mr. and Mrs. Public and $12 trillion dollars for the U.S., and the third debts, $480,000 for Mr. and Mrs. Public and $48 trillion dollars for the U.S., must be dealt with, now. Aggressive repayment and other appropriate procedures, in a bipartisan way, must be implemented immediately. We either solve these problems, together, or we die, financially at least, together. We have no choice, it must be done.

6) Lastly, but certainly not least, we must start rekindling the American spirit, which once was so great, and inspired our ancestors to come here in the first place.

That same spirit turned this country into a great world power, largely by way of American manufacturing, American education, and American entrepreneurialism.

Today that would seem far less likely, as that American spirit is missing. We live in a highly competitive global society, and, sadly, America not only has a fiscal nightmare it has also lost its competitive edge in manufacturing, in K-12 education, particularly math and science, and in entrepreneurialism.

While our first order of business is digging ourselves out of our self-inflicted financial hole, simultaneously we must also start solving our manufacturing, educational, and entrepreneurial problems. By doing that we make ourselves globally competitive and give ourselves a chance to win.

By not doing so we lose.

Those six things are keys to solving our problems and laying the foundation for a successful future. It will be difficult and painful, but it can be done and it must be done.

I often think of my grandfather, who like many others came here with little more than the shirt on his back. But those brave souls also brought with them a dream, a dream of making a better life for themselves in their new country, America --the American Dream. And they did. I've little doubt my grandfather never heard of, let alone understood, the term entrepreneur. But nevertheless he was one, and mainly by hard work and sheer determination established a business, made life better for his family and his community, and created opportunities for others along the way. He lived the American Dream.

Would he be able to do so today? He certainly was strong and determined and his wife even more so, but I‚'m not so sure, in fact I doubt it --there simply are too many roadblocks. Would he even want to come here today? I'm not so sure of that either, and that, to me at least, is really sad.'

Minus that entrepreneurial spirit our economy won't grow, jobs won’t be created, and we'll start to experience an increasingly rapid decline in our standard of living. If we are to recover, it's entrepreneurs who will lead that recovery. Accordingly they must be encouraged, not discouraged.

This looming catastrophe hasn't happened overnight, but clearly it has accelerated rapidly this past year. We‚Äôve trusted our politicians to do the right things, and clearly they‚Äôve betrayed that trust. You might give them the benefit of the doubt by saying they don''t understand the problems, but if that‚'s the case they should find another line of work.

Rather than playing the blame game, however, and God knows there's plenty of blame to spread around going back many years, let’s take the positive approach and just start solving the problems.

Quite frankly we have a mess, actually messes, almost beyond description, and they become increasingly unsolvable the longer we wait. We must start attacking them today. But it's going to take a unified, bipartisan approach, starting right now.

From a personal perspective I would greatly prefer not to be the one highlighting these extremely unpleasant issues. However as an American citizen, very worried about his country, and very worried about the future of his children, and someday their children, and all other people it's children, there is no choice --it must be done. There is, in fact, an obligation.

We can rekindle the American Dream, and we must, but we must get going. Our grandfathers and fathers would want it that way. Our children and grandchildren will be forever thankful.

All that talk about fiscal responsibility and Mr. Miller wants to waste millions of taxpayers' $$$ on a pod pork project.

A screenshot with a quote from Mr. Miller from a brochure (PDF) promoting PRT in Winona.... BTW, who paid for that brochure?

PRT "Consultant" Advises Public Officials to Manipulate Public Process

PRT "consultant" Peter Muller, who was at the MnDOT Rochester PRT symposium recently posted this advice to public officials on his website:

Any proposed PRT system that could suffer from adverse public comment, should have a well thought-out public outreach program. Public education and input should commence before there is any chance of members of the public learning about the project and becoming upset, because there are aspects of it they do not understand or that get misrepresented in the press. There are many instances of good public projects being stopped in their tracks by a vociferous minority.

Muller then goes on to describe a sham public process - the sort of manipulative process described by Sherry Arnstein in The Ladder of Citizen Participation:

In the name of citizen participation, people are placed on rubberstamp advisory committees or advisory boards for the express purpose of "educating" them or engineering their support. Instead of genuine citizen participation, the bottom rung of the ladder signifies the distortion of participation into a public relations vehicle by powerholders.

The PRT guys have always avoided a genuine public process... what are they afraid of?

ULtra PRT is Testing... Testing... Testing....

A recent BBC article titled "Futuristic transport for Cardiff still on hold" asked the question:

Is this the future of public transport in south east Wales? Will it ever transfer from a test track in Cardiff Bay to the city's streets?

The answer is no.

A decision by the Welsh Assembly in January 2003 to withdraw £8m of financial backing for the scheme effectively shelved the project to the dismay of Cardiff council.

But seven years later a report by the Assembly's Enterprise and Learning committee in January 2010 has called for the fresh consideration of light rail systems in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport to tackle road congestion.

However, the report makes no reference to the system the Assembly had previously supported.

Why? Here's a clue - two screenshots from the ATS ULTra website that explain the problem:

2006:



Now:




The 2006 ATS ULTra website said this:

All of the key aspects of the technology of the ULTra system have now been demonstrated.

So why are they still testing... four years later?

How may chances do the PRT guys get?

JPODS 12 Year Plan to Save America

The Jpods Plan:

Intent: Repeat the successful 12 year re-tooling of communications infrastructure (analog to digital to wireless) in urban transportation infrastructure displacing 70% of oil-powered transport with JPods Networks that are 10 times more efficient per unit of economic work. Reduce US oil needs to within domestic production capacity.

Objective: By 2022 JPods, allies and competitors profitably displace 70% of urban oil-powered transport with networks 10 times more efficient, creating 5 million jobs, increasing disposable income by $5,000 per family, building economic lifeboats in the communities we serve.

Has the Winona City Council looked into Jpods?

Taxi 2000 Pledges Millions for Winona Pod "Test Lab"

Winona Post:

Firm pledges millions to Winona pod car test lab (01/24/2010)

By Sarah Elmquist

A private company that has developed a futuristic pod car transit system has pledged millions to Winona’s bid for a test lab to be the first to prove such a transportation system works.

Taxi 2000, based in Fridley, Minn., has offered to cover the required 20 percent match to a $24.9 million federal grant Winona will apply for. City leaders are backing the proposal, which would bring Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) to be studied in Winona, aiming to bring jobs and business to the first success of a transit vision first dreamed of in the 1950s.

Taxi 2000 has millions of $$$ to give away?

City Manager Eric Sorensen said that the possible grant money would cover the construction of the tracks, cars and study lab at SE Tech, as well as the maintenance for four years. He said that after that point, a possible nonprofit could be formed to take ownership of the infrastructure.

Supporters of the proposal, which include all City Council members except Deb Salyards, say that the test lab would generate jobs and business in Winona. Sorensen said that he envisions Winona producing much of the necessary components, from the cars themselves to the electronic boards that help run the system, and that there is a major potential for collaboration with the city’s three higher education institutions: Saint Mary’s University’s geospatial services department could take the lead on mapping assessments and graphic depictions of the operations. Winona State University, along with its composite engineering programs unique to the nation, could help develop and study the system and infrastructure, and SE Tech could assist in research and development of electronic systems, network administration, mechanical drafting and maintenance.

While the majority of the council seemed excited about the possibility, Salyards seemed skeptical, and voted against applying for the federal grant. She asked why, if this was such great technology, has the private sector not invested in a functioning system?

Mike Lester of Taxi 2000 said that every municipality around the world he’d talked to about PRT had been interested in being the second to employ it, but didn’t want to be the first. Cities around the world, he said, are waiting for the technology to be proven, a feat that could happen right here in Winona.

“We’ve got municipalities all around the world saying, ‘Show me,’” he said.

Council member Gerry Krage asked whether the city would be on the hook for maintenance costs after the grant expires, and who would pay to tear down the system if it fails in the future. Sorensen told the council that he envisioned a 501(c)3 being formed to take ownership of the system, and the cost of any potential decommissioning would be worked into the grant or taken care of by a future nonprofit.

Salyards was not convinced. “If this is the wave of the future, private investors should be paying,” she said, adding that spending taxpayer money frivolously is a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away, with no one willing to pull in the reins. “[Taxpayer grant money] is all like free money from heaven,” she said.

City leaders also viewed a map showing a potential “long-term” plan to add 11 more miles of track to the system, running tracks down Sarnia Street and Highway 61, down Huff Street and down Highway 14 to Saint Mary’s University.

Council member Deb Salyards is asking the right questions.

Winona City Council Votes 5-1 to Request $25 Million for Pods

Winona Daily News:

The City Council took an initial step Tuesday toward building a test lab for the controversial transit technology Personal Rapid Transit.

Council members voted 5-to-1 to submit an application seeking nearly $25 million in federal funding for PRT, which uses small, pod-like vehicles on guideways to shuttle passengers to their destinations. Winona will not put local tax dollars toward the project, and city officials have said they won't seek state funding.

City leaders have lauded the potential economic benefits of the Winona Personal Rapid Transit Lab and Partnership Center, which would include a 1.3-mile elevated guideway. The grant would also pay to build a testing laboratory on the main campus of Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical in Winona and fund it for four years.

Typical PRTista shenanigans:

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.

Money quote:

"This is not a transportation mode for Winona ever," council member Gerry Krage said. "Right now, we're looking at $24 million for a showroom to bring people here."

One voice of reason:

Council member Deb Salyards spoke dubiously of the project, asking why the technology had not been implemented anywhere else and questioning if any government money should go toward such a project.

"I still wonder, why?," she said. "If this is the wave of the future, a private individual should develop this."

Salyards cast the lone vote against submitting the application.

What happens next?

After the council's approval, city staff must now prepare and submit the funding application by Feb. 8. Winona will learn if it landed the award this summer, and if the money is awarded, construction would have to begin within 18 months.

Who are the "Possible Private Donors" for the Winona PRT Project?

The Winona Post has an article on the pods of Winona:

Supporters for a futuristic transportation test system for Winona have thrown their cards on the table, with the city poised to apply for $25 million in federal funds for a first phase test lab.
Preliminary work on the possible project shows that Southeast Technical College could connect with the hospital and East End retailers through a series of pod-like cars which ride along elevated tracks.

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a transportation system developed in the 1950s, and has had its share of failures and criticism for a system which carries three to five passengers to destination stations along the elevated tracks. But supporters of the technology say it’s green, convenient, affordable and the wave of the future, with some studies suggesting such transit will become a $44 billion industry by 2020.

$44 billion? in ten years?

If PRT does explode as the new transportation system of the future, Winona city leaders would like a cut of the job creation that would flower alongside its development. They’ve come up with a plan, one that could result in a $175 million to $200 million system connecting locations in Winona, while fueling composite industry jobs and higher education collaboration.

That's $200 million of taxpayers dollars, folks.

Within a document prepared by the city to promote Winona as the site for a PRT test site, support was pegged from all three higher education institutions, and Winona-based RTP Company and related composite industries in Winona were named as private businesses which could help develop the actual pod cars and related infrastructure. That, city leaders say, could help create jobs that would continue to grow as PRT takes off elsewhere.

The City Council will learn more about the proposal on Tuesday, when it will vote on whether to pursue the $25 million in federal funding for the first phase project. That money would come with an 80/20 split, and would require matching dollars. City leaders have suggested that there’s plenty of interest from possible private donors for the project, and they likely won’t seek state bonding money for the potential PRT test bed.

"Possible private donors"..... where have I heard that before....

I wrote about a similar pitch for a PRT resolution back in December 23, 2005:

How the Personal Rapid Transit Scam Works

The PRT scam artists tried to sneak a resolution onto the Saint Paul City Councilmeeting agenda Wednesday.

Pioneer Press 12/20/05:

"St. Paul City Council: Regular meeting, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd. The council will discuss the city's Emergency Operations Plan and a potential feasibility study on a personal rapid transit system...."
What happened?

I heard the councilman yanked the PRT resolution. I've also heard from a reliable source that the PRTers claimed they had an "angel" willing to invest in a PRT "demonstration project" in Falcon Heights... a monorail between the Midway stadium and the State Fair.

Apparently, the angel didn't exist (maybe the angel was raptured).

The PRTers have pulled variations of this scam in Duluth, Minneapolis, and Rochester. They convince some well-meaning councilmembers to vote for a resolution saying they are "considering" or "studying" a PRT project for their city.

The anti-LRT/anti-Northstar bunch (Bachmann and Mark Olson are prominent Northstar haters and PRT boosters) in the legislature use the resolutions to convince DFLers to vote for their anti-transit PRT bills because a PRT project in their district smells like pork. That's the Democratic Party for you, the Dems will eagerly hang themselves if the rope is made of pork. Last session the PRT demonstration project was supposed to be in Duluth and they got Senator Prettner Solon to co-author a PRT bill.

Some suckers have actually bought stock based on these bogus resolutions and bogus bills.

Which City Council in Minnesota will be the next target of the PRT scam artists?

It only took 4 years. Now Winona is poised to be the next victim of the PRT con artists.

The question now is will the City Council of Winona perform due diligence and ask who the "possible private donors" are before they sign on to this current iteration of Ye Olde Pod Scam.

Is The Raytheon Personal Rapid Transit Boondoggle Testing Facility Gone Forever?

The $45 million dollar PRT test facility as it looked on Google maps in 2007:



This is what Google maps shows now:



Nearly a decade ago....

Raytheon pulls out of rapid transit plan

By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff, 3/29/2000

It may take a bit longer to catch Taxi 2000.

Some transit planners still swoon over the design, an ambitious monorail-like system that would send three-seat cars zipping around urban areas at up to 80 miles an hour on elevated tracks. In 1993, Raytheon Co. said it would invest $20 million to build a test track in Marlborough, in a partnership with the Taxi 2000 engineering firm. At the time, defense contractor Raytheon touted the deal as part of its effort to diversify. But the firm has renewed its military focus since then, and yesterday said it has exited what it calls the ''personal rapid transit'' business.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Raytheon also said it has taken a $6 million charge to ''dispose of'' the test track, a one-third-mile outdoor loop built near a company parking lot. A spokeswoman couldn't be more specific about the track's fate, though she said it was part of a number of cost-cutting steps Raytheon took after a series of financial warnings and slowing sales. Executives were not immediately available to discuss the move, she said.

The end of Raytheon's support might be seen as a setback to Taxi 2000 president J. Edward Anderson, a retired mechanical engineering professor who taught at Boston University and the University of Minnesota.

But Anderson, reached at home near Minneapolis, says he's glad for the 
chance to seek new partners and is in discussions with another company, which he declined to name.

... How many chances do these PRT dudes get? ...

The electric-powered, computer-controlled system Anderson proposes would be cheaper than light rail and environmentally cleaner than building more freeways and automobiles, he said.

Anderson estimates Raytheon spent nearly $45 million developing and 
marketing the project since 1993.

... 45 million freekin' dollars!!! ...

He said the three test cars it built, at 5,000 pounds apiece, were far too heavy. ''We lost eight years'' working with Raytheon, he said. ''But we're going to recover.''

One supporter is Ed Porter, a member of the Santa Cruz, Calif., planning commission who says he will urge that a personal rapid-transit system such as Taxi 2000 be included in a mass-transit study the city is now preparing.

Some oppose the idea because it would involve building elevated tracks 
down city streets, but Porter is unfazed: ''As much as you could improve bus or rail service, it doesn't look like they're going to get the job done alone,'' he said.

Now Porter worries Raytheon's move could harm his case.

''I was hoping to come visit,'' he said.

Don't worry, Ed. You may get your wish when Winona builds a similar, and equally doomed PRT boondoggle test track!

Who Will Clean and Maintain the Winona PRT?

Another good comment from yesterday's Winona Daily News article:

easy said on: January 16, 2010, 3:58 am

What's the Point and RiverView think it should connect the bars and campuses and the jail -- it would also need a stop at the drive-thru at Hardees!

The question is who would be responsible for maintaining the pods, taking out the litter, cleaning up the graffiti and the vomit -- and you know everyone will want to have sex in the things.

If the pod's a rockin, don't....oh well.

Exactly.

Hold on to Your Wallets, Taxpayers - PRT in Winona Will Cost a Lot of $$$

With the release yesterday of a proposed route for the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) project in Winona, questions should be asked about the process by which the cost of the project was determined and who will pay for the project.

According to City Manager Eric Sorensen in yesterday's Winona Daily News article, the PRT project is a big one:

"The intent is for this to be a major project," said City Manager Eric Sorensen

Major projects have major costs.

It is unclear whether the anonymous designer of that route engaged citizens, businesses and public officials in a public discussion as required by law (NEPA), particularly when it comes to cost and who will pay.

The city won't put local tax dollars toward the [PRT] center and is unlikely to seek state funding, city officials said...

There is an established process for determining the cost of transportation projects like the PRT project proposed for Winona.

That process is outlined in this Federal Highway Administration document - (MAJOR PROJECT PROGRAM COST ESTIMATING GUIDANCE PDF):

1. Estimate is escalated to year of expenditure dollars for each element of the project.

2. Process includes risk-based assessments of unknown and all uncertain costs.

3. Estimate is well documented.

4. Estimate has been independently validated.

5. Estimate is consistent with project scope.

6. Estimate includes all initial preliminary engineering costs and final design costs.

7. Estimate includes all right-of-way and administrative costs.

8. Estimate includes all third party (e.g. utility, railroad) costs.

9. Estimate includes all TDM/TSM costs.

10. Estimate includes all construction costs.

11. Estimate includes construction contingencies.

12. Estimate includes construction administration.

13. Estimate includes public outreach cost.

14. Estimate includes a management reserve.

15. For planning or conceptual estimates, consideration was given to expressing the
estimate as a range.

16. For projects under design, estimates include a design contingency at each stage of
design.

Specifically:

The team must be familiar with the project scope. The team will review all aspects of the cost estimate for accuracy and reasonableness and identify major cost items and estimate issues. At a minimum this would include structures, roadway elements, right-of-way, utilities, environmental mitigation, preliminary engineering, construction engineering, contract administration, contingencies, and inflation rates.

Was all that done? If it wasn't done, it will be done and the taxpayers will pay for it.

And if the PRT guys say it won't cost taxpayers anything, they are deliberately misinforming citizens and public officials about a major project that could cost many millions of dollars.