ULTra Personal Rapid Transit

[M II A II R II K]

ULTra Personal Rapid Transit

http://www.atsltd.co.uk/

ULTra is a revolution in sustainable public transport, providing on-demand driverless travel. ULTra offers an advanced form of PRT (Personal Rapid Transit), ready for application, giving effective, low cost and sustainable transport for cities, airports and special developments worldwide.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PyUQuWmt2M

 

[leopetr]

This wouldn't scale to actual public transit volumes. The space requirements would be similar to those for cars -- and no one is going to build six-lane elevated guideways, even if those were an improvement over car-oriented land development patterns. This is a toy for the rich.

 

[rbt]

This wouldn't scale to actual public transit volumes. The space requirements would be similar to those for cars -- and no one is going to build six-lane elevated guideways, even if those were an improvement over car-oriented land development patterns. This is a toy for the rich.

Not to mention there is far too much privacy. I can't even imagine what may be found on the seat or floor when the vehicle arrives to pick you up.

Think of what goes on with cabs then take away the guy to kicks them out and cleans up the mess.

 

[M II A II R II K]

Well we'll get to see what happens with the one at Heathrow.

What about 5 or 6 layers of the same network covering the same area and buildings though.

 

[CodeMonkey]

These are genneraly called "People Movers" and when i hear Niagara Falls was getting new "People Mover" system i assumed this. But this also reminds me of the Domain Ride at the Toronto Zoo years ago, basically the same technology but join together like a normal train would be.

 

[Fred.S]

These are very different than people movers, and I could see it being very successful towns/small cities. It'd be awesome if public transit was actually faster and more convenient then cars.

Unfortunately the system only works (theoretically) when initially built as a decent-sized network, and no one wants to risk the money in a new technology. Although there are a few places in Europe and the UAE that doing studies on it.

I really hope the Heathrow model gets expanded and proves successful.

 

[M II A II R II K]

Maybe although private there would be random look ins with security cameras, especially since some countries have CCTV everywhere. This would deter against piles of garbage, cigarette smoke, used condoms, mysterious stains and stuff from accumulating in the carriages as they get used.

If it were to be too overwhelmed in the downtown of this city then maybe a few random networks in the more sparsely trafficked transit areas of the city could supplement the already existing transit and car traffic in those areas, and also provide convenient access to far away subway stations and also act as a feeder route.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Or bring back the Domain Ride at the Toronto Zoo. Most of the track is still there and they can get rid of that motorize cart that cuts you off when your walking.

 

[leopetr]

Maybe although private there would be random look ins with security cameras, especially since some countries have CCTV everywhere. This would deter against piles of garbage, cigarette smoke, used condoms, mysterious stains and stuff from accumulating in the carriages as they get used.

As a counter-argument, the three or four CCTV cameras on every TTC bus don't prevent the accumulation of food wrappers, newspapers, and mysterious stains.

 

[CodeMonkey]

As a counter-argument, the three or four CCTV cameras on every TTC bus don't prevent the accumulation of food wrappers, newspapers, and mysterious stains.

Or fires

 

[Ryan]

This is better:

http://www.skytran.net/phpsite/home/Home Intro.php?bg=neg

http://www.unimodal.com/

 

[Fred.S]

I think Skytran is a cool idea, and would probably operate better in our winters. However, it would be very tough for it to meet legal requirements, such as being fully accessible and being able to escape from a pod in an emergency (unless you're ok with the 20-30 foot drop...).

In my opinion (I'm not in any way an expert but have been following PRT closely for a number of years) ULTra seems to be a good compromise between the speed and energy efficiency of Skytran, and being able to meet better safety requirements and carry more.

There are also some pretty funky station layouts for ULTra that can adjust much better to larger numbers of people (using berths for each pod instead of one track).

 

[afransen]

I have the feeling that systems like this would fill a niche similar to taxis (or lower cost) or car sharing for infrequent trips, or for long distances that aren't well served by a high-capacity service. It would probably never be cost-competitive on well-travelled corridors.

 

[Long Island Mike]

ULtra PRT: A modern people mover that is designed like...

Everyone: This PRT is interesting and it also reminds me of the 70s era people mover constructed in Morgantown,West Virginia as a US DOT demonstration project. For more info just google these terms: MORGANTOWN PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT - LI MIKE -

 

[M II A II R II K]

Maybe one day there could be an extensive network throughout cities, except the cars would be owned by the passengers that they'll board at their house.

Kind of like in Minority Report.