3 Proposed PRT Projects, 6 PRT Companies and 2 PRT Lobbyists in Minnesota

Last week I posted links to articles about a proposed $100 million pod project in Coon Rapids.

It's really is starting to look as if there's a PRT "industry" in Minnesota.

There's a list of Personal Rapid Transit projects in Minnesota on the Google Transport Innoovators forum:

* Coon Rapids for Rob Jacobs,

* Winona and Duluth for Taxi 2000,

* Bill James talked about an effort in New Jersey and a computer campus N. of Duluth,

* I think that Joe Lampe has an edge city to the N. of downtown Minneapolis

* Ed Anderson is quiet, but says that he has some irons in the fire.

List of PRT businesses is from a CPRT brochure (view on Google):

PRT Updates from Minnesota

JPods

Hull, MA passed a resolution supporting PRT. JPods expects to lease private land and build the first leg there in the next 4 months. New Jersey is considering declaring performance standards, allowing anyone access to public rights of way that can privately finance transport networks that exceed 120 mpg.

PRT International

Dr. Ed Anderson has been working for many years to acquaint planners and decision makers with the potential of an optimized version of PRT for solving urban transportation problems. He gave a presentation to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority in December 2010. Dr. Anderson works on advising a number of people in various locations around the world on various PRT projects or pending projects. He is willing to give courses on PRT of any desired depth.

PRT Minnesota

PRT Minnesota’s current focus is on preparing a patent submission for their PRT mechanical design. PRT Minnesota is still
seeking funding to complete the technical development program and achieve manufacturing readiness.

PRT Partners

PRT Partners is based in the Minneapolis area and is headed up by Robert Jacobs. PRT Partners assembles teams, technology, and projects that solve specific urban transportation and land use challenges.

Taxi 2000 and Skyweb Express

Currently, Taxi 2000 is working with two financial institutions interested in implementing Skyweb Express projects using a private public partnership agreement. They are also working with corporations for implementing system on corporate campuses. Taxi 2000 continues to work with Winona, Minnesota to build a PRT demonstration and laboratory facility.

Not mentioned is Rob Jacobs' other company Smart Infrastructure which is pitching the pod project for Coon Rapids.

There are two PRT lobbyists - Mark D. Olson for Smart Infrastructure and Edwin Cain for Taxi 2000 Corporation. Taxi 2000 spent nearly $80K since 2004 lobbying in Minnesota.



Recent news about the ongoing, worldwide pod boondoggle:

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.

Former Rep. Mark Olson Returns to Capitol as a Lobbyist for Personal Rapid Transit Company

Remember Mark Olson?

If you don't, you can read about his antics as State Representative at the Dump Mark Olson Blog. Rep. Mark Olson is perhaps best known for his arrest and conviction for endangering his wife... from Wikipedia.:

On November 11, 2006, days after winning re-election Olson was arrested in Blaine after police were called to his Big Lake home. According to the criminal complaint, Olson’s wife Heidi told investigators that after an argument Olson pushed her to the ground three times. Olson later admitted to having taken his wife by the shoulders and "placing" her on the ground, according to the police report. After spending two nights in jail, Olson was charged with two misdemeanor counts of fifth degree domestic assault....

...Olson was convicted of domestic assault by intending to cause fear of bodily harm against his wife. He was acquitted of the more serious charge of intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm. Olson publicly commented on the verdict by saying "I don't believe I had any intent to cause fear, but anger can cause fear and I did get angry." The Republican members voted to officially expel him from their caucus in early December 2007....

He was voted out of office, but apparently he's back at the Capitol... as a lobbyist.

According to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure board's website Rep. Mark Olson is back at the Capitol lobbying for a company called "Smart Infrastructure":



Rob Jacobs of Brooklyn Park is listed as the President of Smart Infrastructure. Rob Jacobs is a longtime pod promoter, As head of the non-profit "Starting Line Foundation" a while back, Jacobs proposed a pod/stadium scheme to the Legislature. You can download a PDF of the wacky plan at this page on the House website.

Rob Jacobs is also President and Senior Partner at PRT Partners, LLC.

Recently, Rob Jacobs pitched the pods to Coon Rapids:

COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- A new mode of transportation could one day connect Northstar train riders to stores and businesses in the Riverdale area.

It's called "Personal Rapid Transit" or PRT. The system runs on specially-built tracks. The idea is being pitched by a local businessman.

"It's no waiting, no stopping, aways have a seat, always ready."

Pod cars used for Personal Rapid Transit can take you non-stop to your destination. It's an old idea that would use new, smaller vehicles with seating for five.

Robert Jacobs with Smart Infrastructure pitched the idea this week at a City Council worksession. He's says the system would connect the Northstar Commuter Rail station with key areas of Coon Rapids.

And the pricetag for the pods ... hold on to your hat...

County officials also saw the PRT presentation at the worksession. It's clear that everyone's interested in a self-sustaining project. The estimated cost of the project is $100 million.

UPDATE: According to another article in the ABC newspapers, the cost of the pod project in Coon Rapids just went up:

According to Nevinski, Jacobs, when making his presentation to the council, estimated the cost to build the system at $112 million.

Recent news about the ongoing, worldwide pod boondoggle:

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.

Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit (CPRT) Table at UofM Jobs Fair

Yesterday, I posted a link to an article titled "Masdar City Abandons Transportation System of the Future". The article has a link to the Light Rail Now history of PRT flops. There is a list of more recent fiascos at the bottom of this post.

You'd think the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies would steer clear of PRT. But, the CTS invited the pod hucksters to table at yesterday's 2011 Transportation Career Expo at the Coffman Union.

Screenshot from the Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit (CPRT.org) website:



The CPRT's website announcement says they would talk to students about the "emerging PRT industry"... which of course there isn't much of what could be described as an "industry" and the flawed, absurd PRT concept has been "emerging" since there was a guy in the White House named Dwight Eisenhower... PRT is that old, I'm not kidding.

A student sent me photos of the CPRT table at the jobs expo. In this photo you can see what appears to be the same PRT promoter in this You Tube video I made of the CPRT guys at the 2008 Living Green Expo.



The University should also be concerned by what is clearly visible in the photo below - on the right corner of the table, a stack of maps created by disgraced former Minneapolis Councilman Dean Zimmermann:



This San Jose Podcar conference newsletter also has the PRT map created by Zimmermann.

Click on the screenshot to make it bigger:



Apparently, Dean Zimmermann is still very much a part of the CPRT. Andrea "Drea" T. Walker, the newly elected chair of the CPRT lists Dean Zimmermann as one of four "Prominent Minnesota People in PRT". Not mentioned is the fact that Dean Zimmermann was convicted on 3 counts of bribery in 2006. The CPRT likely violated their non-profit status by electioneering for Zimmermann and other PRT-promoting candidates in the 2005 election. The CPRT used to meet at Dean Zimmermann's home, but now meet in restaurants and park buildings.

In addition to taking bribes, Dean Zimmermann tried to convince real estate developer and government witness Gary Carlson to invest $250,000 in PRT:



A while back, I videotaped Zimmermann protesting reality-based transit and promoting Personal Rapid Transit at a transportation forum. Zimmermann gave me a tortured explanation for accepting cash from FBI witness Gary Carlson and refused to sign a waiver for the FBI tapes shown at this trial:



Members of the Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit (CPRT) also spread the nonsensical conspiracy theory that Zimmermann was framed by the FBI:



Recent news about the ongoing, worldwide pod boondoggle:

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.

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 is Sooooo NOT Happening in Masdar

The failure of pods to launch at Masdar has been reported before... but the Singularity Hub has a few more details about this epic pod FAIL:

....the Personal Rapid Transit system has been shelved, yet the prototype remains in place.

The "prototype" is a dozen or so noisy, bouncy pods that go back and forth between two points in a basement.

The article goes on to say this about the glorified golf carts of Heathrow:

Masdar City, once planned to be fully operational in 2020 but pushed back to 2025, may be an urban planner’s dream come true as well as a playground for tech companies around the world, but the future of transportation? Unfortunately, no. The closest we are to seeing real personalized transport in operation is the underwhleming[sic] ULTra system at Heathrow airport now servicing a 1.9-km point-to-point guided track between Terminal 5 and the N3 Business Car Park.

The Heathrow pods are only "servicing" employees at this point, but "underwhelming" is right.

I predicted PRT would flop in Dubai 5 years ago :

A year ago, during one of the debates between Gary Dean Zimmermann and Robert Lilligren, Zimmermann announced that ULTra had two big contracts to build PRT systems, one in Dubai and the other in one of Heathrow Airport's parking lots. Since then I've seen no evidence of actual construction on either of these projects. Like every PRT project in the last thirty years, Heathrow and Dubai will likely be flops or fakes.

I was right. Both pod projects in Heathrow and Masdar were fakes, not the PRT we've seen in the uber-hyped CGI videos (no free-standing, elevated stations, only two stops etc.). Masdar PRT is now an official flop in the long and costly history of PRT flops... and the Heathrow pods will join that list eventually.

Speaking of predictions.. click on the screenshot below to make it bigger:



Recent news about the ongoing, worldwide pod boondoggle:

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

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.

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.

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.