Personal rapid transit (PRT) could reduce car trips by 30%, technology pioneer Martin Lowson said this week.
His Advanced Transport Systems company’s ULTra (urban light transport) solution, designed to run streams of electric ‘pod-cars’ for up to six passengers automatically on special guideways, featured in London Science Museum centenary celebrations.
Likely urban sites include Cambridge and Daventry, both of which face the need to service new developments with effective public transport. Daventry is planning a 2012 pilot.
Potential applications discussed with Transport for London include PRT loops linking residential areas with Thames riverboat piers, and a line running through Oxford Street stores at first-floor level.
With lightweight metal bridges spanning side streets, this would reduce on-the-ground congestion and increase upper-floor retail sales, Lowson told Surveyor. ATS has also designed private networks which are ready to go live on three business parks. It sees PRT taking pressure off park-and-ride sites where there is land available for guideways.
Britain’s first ULTra installation, a private service for BAA Airports, is now in operational testing phase at London’s Heathrow Airport, where it will connect Terminal 5 with car parks. Lowson believes its 2010 opening will convince more local authorities of the merits of PRT.
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