Keep Austin Blue Boozed with Tonight's Public Transit-Themed Happy Hour

thanks for the article. besides it being a bit condescending, it made some good points. however, it was from a light rail advocacy group, hardly an independent or unbiased research group. i do take issue with some of the more speculative aspects, as well as the examples of failed prt systems, which were from 20 and 30 years ago. i still think there is room for discussion of a viable prt system when talking about transit in austin. hopefully heathrow will teach us something.

Here's a much longer article by the lightrailnow folks, and an excerpt:

PRT's travails would be of little more than marginal interest in the public transport industry except for the fact that this proprietary, repeatedly failed system is being brandished as a viable "alternative" to proven, workable, reliable rail transit projects – and in effect an excuse to stall bona fide major transit investment programs. It is somewhat astounding that PRT is being seriously considered anywhere when there is no working prototype of this technology in public service, anywhere. Thus, PRT promoters can merely refer to the sanctity of their computer simulations and claim ... virtually anything.

helloali,

The part which I was most interested in sharing with you (and others who might be fooled) is the stuff about how PRT is a stalking horse for highway interests - something with which to confuse the issue so that no transit actually gets built. It's worked in many other cities.

PRT is a pie-in-the-sky technology whose one test installation works poorly in an environment designed to showcase it (West Virginia). Heathrow might show us more, but I doubt it - it's still nothing remotely like the switch-heavy complex-route urban installations being conceived of by the propeller-heads.

I _have_ studied transit and transportation in general for a very long time, and I'm telling you that I have never met anybody who knows their ass from a hole in the ground who thinks PRT can work.

mdahmus - the source you cite is an editorial by someone who describes himself as "perhaps the leading skeptic of Personal Rapid Transit," according to the article. hardly a reliable source, and mostly he just claims that it's a scam with no reliable evidence given to support that claim.

he only cites one study, a study in which the consultants made changes to the design of the system, and the conclusion of which was based on the fact that it was still an unproven technology. in fact, that same study concludes that prt had the best point-to-point travel times, schedule reliability, geographical coverage and service frequency.

i don't claim to be an expert, i just looked this stuff up right now. i'm just saying cap metro should give it at least that much consideration, especially when considering options like light rail. i don't even think the privacy aspect is its biggest selling point (and personally couldn't care less about traveling with or without others). its best aspect in my opinion is the efficiency of an open loop system that allows point-to-point travel without stopping.

allen even when i click on the show guest comments it does not be showin me the guest comments, you probs aware of this glitch xo,

Good summary here:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/237556_antiprtop.html

Basically, PRT is a stalking horse for the highway construction industry. PRT proponents can say things that the highway boosters could never say, such as "People don't like to ride with strangers." This anti-transit propaganda divides and conquers the opposition to highway projects.

PRT is a joke - half its support comes from 'road warriors' who just want to prevent any transit from getting built, and the other half comes from guys who think monorail's not quite esoteric enough and are being used by the first half. It's been right around the corner for 40 or 50 years now (like monorail) but has never been built even halfway successfully (unlike monorail).

I can't wait to see what ULTra rage is like.

i've got to throw in a plug for my buddies at acprt. it seems like a great idea for transit in austin that cap metro won't give a second thought to because no other city has done it yet.

I hate that driver. She never says, "Good morning".

Pollutinist is my least favorite sibling to austinist.

I'll tell you what. If another Cap Metro asshole bus driver decides to run a yellow light as I run for her bus (you know who I'm talking about 101 driver) I will find the most pollutinist car I can and drive very very slowly into work each day.

Those bus drivers can suck it.

Be sure to do your old buddy M1EK a favor and ask them how much they expect the suburbanites who won't ride the one-seat express bus straight to work today to love twice-day stuck-in-traffic shuttle-bus rides from the train station to their office.

I'll, ironically, be watching the kids while this is going on - my wife will have our one car, and I'll be taking my young one home from preschool on... the bus.