PUBLICATION
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Personal Automated Transportation:
Status and Potential of Personal Rapid Transit, September 2002
A report by the Personal Rapid Transit Technical Committee of the Advanced
Transit Association.
Read
Executive Summary now, or see below for full distribution.
Abstract
Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is defined as direct
origin-to-destination service with no stops, using small fully automatic
vehicles on a dedicated guideway. It promises a low cost way to provide service
that is widely dispersed throughout a region. The Advanced Transit Association
(ATRA) produced this report to encourage better understanding of PRT. The
advantages in service and cost of PRT over mass transit are discussed. Design
details and tradeoffs of PRT are enumerated. Fourteen of the PRT systems now
under development are examined. At least $60M has been spent on engineering on
these systems, including prototypes. Many evaluation points were considered for
each system, including visual and geometric factors, market readiness,
propulsion, switching, capacity, control, and cost. Nothing was found in the
evaluations that would suggest that PRT is not viable in revenue operation.
Approximate costs of a PRT system of $3.4 M/km ($5 M/mile) (one way) can be
projected, based on a combination of actual prototype costs, bids, and several
comprehensive costing studies. It is proposed that local governments update
permitting requirements to legalize PRT, and follow rigorous planning and
evaluation practices so that PRT systems are compared fairly with other systems
on the basis of their ability to meet well-defined public goals. 224 pages in 5
volumes.
Authors
Bob Dunning, committee chair
Ian Ford, report
editor
Committee Members:
Rob Bernstein Catie Burke Dennis Cannon
Jerry Kieffer Dennis Manning David Maymudes Jeral Poskey
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Joe Shapiro Markus Szillat Göran
Tegnér Ron Thorstad David Ward Michael Weidler William
Wilde |
Read/Download Contents Here
Introductory and summary material:
- [PDF] Cover letter.
From Jerry Kieffer, ATRA founding member.
- [PDF] Executive Summary. 26
pages.
Main report:
- [PDF]
Main Report, including history, rationale,
technology details, FAQ, and recommendations. 37 pages.
- [PDF]
Technology Evaluation, a comparison of PRT
systems in development. 97 pages.
Supplements:
- [PDF]
PRT Ridership Analysis, by Goeran Tegner. 8
pages.
- [PDF] Innovative Transit
Systems, Survey of Current Developments, by Ingmar Andreasson. March
2001. 56 pages
- [PDF] Personal Rapid
Transit, Another Option for Urban Transit. This is the 1989 ATRA
report that was the basis for the current update. It is posted mainly for
archival purposes. 90 pages
Report distribution
The report may be obtained:
1. On this web site: www.advancedtransit.org/pub/2002/prt
2. Printed copies are also available. Contact Bob Dunning at cliff@oz.net. Printing and mailing costs for the
complete report are $50, or $15 for the summary only.