Personal Rapid Transit

Personal Rapid Transit

Personal rapid transit (PRT), also called podcar, is a public transportation mode featuring small automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guide ways. PRT is a type of automated guideway transit (AGT), a class of system which also includes larger vehicles all the way to small subway systems.

In PRT designs, vehicles are sized for individual or small group travel, typically carrying no more than 3 to 6 passengers per vehicle. Guide ways are arranged in a network topology, with all stations located on sidings, and with frequent merge/diverge points. This approach allows for nonstop, point-to-point travel, bypassing all intermediate stations. The point-to-point service has been compared to a taxi or a horizontal lift (elevator). The PRT ride experience, including destination selection, boarding, travelling and alighting, on three different systems, can be viewed in this video.

PRT was a major area of study in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1975, Morgantown PRT, an experimental automated system which exhibits some (but not all) features of PRT, was opened to the public after significant construction cost overruns. Morgantown PRT remains in use today, and there have been discussions on expanding it.Personal Rapid Transit (PTR), while not a new phenomenon, has not been widely used in the United States of America. The federal government has tested its practicality and functionality at West Virginia University and although it is still functional and successfully working with that community it has not been widely replicated. Some reasons for this includes • Additional infrastructure required to set up • Amount of stations stops that will have to be created • This type of transportation system is only functional in small communities • System can only function in certain topographies • Factors like population density and system circulation need to be optimal While there are many advantages like cheaper cost of operation, lighter rail cars, and use of less space are selling points for this system the challenges listed above seem to out weigh the benefits of operating the system in many areas.

A PRT system (by 2getthere) went into operation in Masdar City in the UAE in November 2010. The system has 10 passenger and 3 freight vehicles serving 2 passenger and 3 freight stations connected by 1.2 kilometers of one-way track. The system is in operation 18 hours a day, seven days a week serving the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. Trips take about 2 and a half minutes (i.e., an average speed of roughly 12 mph / 20 km/h) and are presently free of charge. Average wait times are expected to be about 30 seconds.

The award winning ULTra PRT system began passenger trials at London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5, in October 2010 and opened for full passenger service 22 hours a day, 7 days a week, in May 2011. It runs between the Terminal 5 and its business parking lot, with 2.4 miles of track and 21 vehicles. Operational statistics in May 2012 demonstrate >99% reliability and an average passenger wait time over the one year period of 10 seconds. Ultra has achieved a number of awards from the London Transport Awards and the British Parking Awards.

A system using a system supplied by Vectus is in construction in Suncheon, South Korea. There is a commitment to a large (100,000 people per day) City PRT system using Ultra PRT technology in Amritsar, India.