PRT Guys Talk Trash About Rep. Tim Walz

In the aftermath of the failure to obtain a $25 million earmark for a pod facility in Winona, CPRT member and PRT consultant Dick Gronning had this to say about Congressman Tim Walz at the Transport Innovators forum:

It may be a DEM - REP thing. The democrats have been lobbied to death by the LRT folks. Our CPRT group did informational lobbying a few years back. The republicans would hear us out, but the democrats would either not see us, or show us glazed-over eyes. "That's REAL nice!" And, out-a here.

I doubt if he even knows what PRT stands for let alone what it looks like. Things ARE changing, but maybe not where this guy comes from. It IS true that SWE/T2C made the first bid on the project. The mayor is enamored with T2C. The idea behind the effort is to prove a Minnesota-based system. He doesn't get that either.

Dick

Others joined in the Walz-bashing... TriTrack "inventor" Jerry Roane:

Jerry

Notice he is not even asking for the funding but is personally standing in the way. How much does it cost him to ask the question? I did not have the time to submit TriTrack to Minn. I have enough snakes to kill around here but perhaps I should have submitted something to show support for my buds in Minn.

Jerry Roane

Skytrek "inventor" Jack Slade:

At a guess (scale of 1 to 10) he is almost up to 1....Jack Slade

Pod booster Walter Brewer:

How about minus 5?

Keep it KLASSY PRT Guys!

Time for a review....

No $25 million earmark for PRT pork project in Winona, Minnesota.

The ULTra PRT launch at Heathrow has been delayed at least 3 times.

The Swedish/Korean PRT prototype malfunctioned recently 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.

The much-hyped PRT project in Daventry ended in fiasco.

The so-called Morgantown PRT (it's a mundane people-mover) was the subject of a recent student newspaper editorial after a serious malfunction created a "fireball" and filled a vehicle with smoke.

Transit Expert Comments on Vectus Pod Snafu

Michael Setty at Public Transit has this to say about the Vectus model PRT malfunctioning in front of reporters in February.

This embarrassing incident only goes to prove one of my predictions: the undue complexity of the Vectus guidance and switching mechanisms would lead to problems--and did.

Read the whole thing.

They're going to need taller ladders:



UPDATE:Michael Setty has a postscript:

Postscript: A PRT news website run by David Gow, the most vociferous, consistent critic of Avidor (every time Avidor posts something at http://prtboondoggle.blogspot.com/, usually within a day Gow has some sort of snarky reply to Avidor up at PRT is a Joke is a Joke), says that a Vectus spokesperson claims that a minor problem with the Vectus wireless communications system was the cause of the vehicle stalling on the track, as shown in the Swedish newspaper article and photograph. See http://sites.google.com/site/prtshtuffpage/swedish-prt-news/vectus-test-track-glitch-explained.

But this begs a question: what the heck was that person on the ladder looking at under the vehicle or on the guideway under the vehicle (an action not consistent with an electronics problem--presumably the electronics aren't at the same location as the vehicle undercarriage??)? Given our role as PRT skeptics, we're not taking Gow's word for this; rather, we see it perhaps as "something that goes 'bump' in the night" with some things we'll never know for sure, or at least, as outspoken PRT skeptics, we'll never be allowed to be privy to.

Exactly.

Vectus PRT - FAIL

It got stuck (in Swedish):

- Vi har testkört de här dagarna helt utan problem. Trots att vi har låtit det snöa igen helt och hållet på spåret har det ändå varit lätt att komma i gång, säger Jörgen Gustavsson.

Men när vi på torsdagen besöker den 400 meter långa testbanan vid Uppsala biomedicinska centrum i Uppsala går det inte lika smärtfritt.

- Stopp, stopp, stopp, stopp. Slå av limmarna, ropar Leif Åsberg, teknisk konsult, in till kontrollrummet.

Google English translation:

- We have test driven these days without any problems. Although we have let it snow again entirely on the track, it has nevertheless been easy to get started, "says Jörgen Gustavsson.

But when we're on Thursday the 400-meter long test track in Uppsala Biomedical Center in Uppsala, it is not as painless.

- Stop, stop, stop, stop. Turn off the glue and shout Leif Åsberg, technical consultant, into the control room.

I'm guessing "glue" isn't the right word.

- You can turn on the glue, otherwise it will be difficult, "says Leif Åsberg and begins to push the cart with all his body weight. Cart rolls off and accelerates to about 30 km / h but a hundred meters into the cart path stops again - "technical problems". Something that does not have the weather to do, declares Project Manager Marianne Ogéus.

- You should have come on Monday instead, then it was problem-free, "she says.

But 30 minutes and several attempts later, we simply leave the test track with its tail between his legs.

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!!!

Uppsala Green Party Backing Away From the Spårbilslobbyn (PRT Lobby)?

MP Maria Gardfjell (Google Translation):

There are many interesting opportunities with driverless rail cars. But when there are no practical tests in an urban environment, it is actually not possible in current situation to support a major expansion of the PRT in Uppsala. Therefore, the Green Party has taken the position that there are trams that must be the main effort in Uppsala.

New Paper Critical of PRT for Winona, MN

From Michael Setty at PublicTransit.US:

OK, OK, we have spent way much more time on PRT than it really deserves, however...As a favor to the taxpayers of Winona, Minnesota, and for future cases of other municipalities suffering from the "Music Man" style of PRT salesmanship when it comes to town, we have posted a new paper debunking Personal Rapid Transit, "Professor" Harold Hill Pitches PRT to a River City on the Mississippi in Minnesota. Link is www.publictransit.us/PRTDebunked1-WINONA.pdf. Even though this paper has been available only since the morning of Sunday, December 20th, it has already created quite a stir among the PRT hoi-polloi.

This is an excellent paper.

This paper will join Personal Rapid Transit – Cyberspace Dream Keeps Colliding With Reality and the Central Loop OKI report, and Professor Vukan Vuchic's writings as essential reading for citizens, public officials and investors who have been approached by the PRT guys.

Editorial: "Space pods seem a little too far out "

Winona Daily News:

Last week, Winona learned of a plan by city leaders to court public funds and private investors in a collaborative effort to develop a model for personal rapid transit systems.

They’ve been dubbed “space pods,” because drawings of such a system depict streamlined bubbles on tracks that pass by not-too-distant-future type buildings.

For a moment, though, let’s pause on that thought — just drawings.

We only really have drawings of PRTs — and there’s a reason for that.

As Winona begins to explore and advocate for a $25 million model, which will not really serve the area’s own transit needs, there has never been a successful PRT system launched.

One system is slated for London’s Heathrow Airport, but right now, it’s still not functional.

Good editorial, read the whole thing.

Campaign to Protect Rural England Opposes Personal Rapid Transit

From the CPRE's paper (PDF) "Eco-towns: living a greener future - CPRE's response" that can be downloaded HERE:

an integrated approach to transport, across a district as a whole, should be taken to maximise potential for journeys to and from eco-towns to be made in a sustainable fashion, rather than relying on unproven technologies such as Personal Rapid Transit

Good advice... PRT-pie-in-the-sky-imaginary-solutions go nowhere as Daventry recently discovered.

Professor Vukan Vuchic: