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Personal rapid transit (PRT), also called personal automated transport (PAT), is a category of proposed public transportation systems designed to offer automated on-demand non-stop transportation, usually targeted at urban use, on a network of specially-built guideways. more...
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Originating in the mid 1960s, the design concepts and engineering challenges of PRT are well understood. Elements of PRT design have influenced the design of some existing people mover systems, and many fully automated mass transit systems exist. However, as of 2006, questions still remain concerning production and operational costs, safety, aesthetics, and public acceptance of PRT, since there are no completed installations.
In 2005, the two most advanced projects were small-scale schemes: ULTra at Heathrow Airport in London, which is scheduled to be the first public PRT system to open, and one at the Dubai International Financial Center in Dubai. Both are scheduled to come into operation in 2008. Although generally promoted as a potential wide-scale urban transport system, to date only small scale systems and pilot programmes have been constructed.
PRT is one of a number of schemes being proposed to solve urban traffic problems, with competitors including light rail, monorail, modern trams, bus rapid transit, guided busways and conceptual systems such as "driverless car" systems and auxiliary wire guidance for private motor vehicles.
Overview
PRT is a system of small vehicles under independent or semi-independent automatic control, running on fixed guideways. The idea attempts to address a number of perceived weaknesses of public mass transit including fixed timetabling, limited routes, and sharing travel space with unrelated travelers (see comparison below).
In 1988, The Advanced Transit Association (ATRA), a group which advocates the use of technological solutions to transit problems, published a definition for PRT as follows :
Fully automated vehicles capable of operation without human drivers.;
Vehicles captive to a reserved guideway.;
Small vehicles available for exclusive use by an individual or a small group, typically 1 to 6 passengers, traveling together by choice and available 24 hours a day.;
Small guideways that can be located aboveground, at groundlevel or underground.;
Vehicles able to use all guideways and stations on a fully coupled PRT network.;
Direct origin to destination service, without a necessity to transfer or stop at intervening stations.;
Service available on demand rather than on fixed schedules.;
The definition does not specify a particular technology, such as electric motors, linear motors, magnetic levitation, or rubber wheels. It does not specify whether vehicles are to be supported on the guideway or suspended from the guideway. Instead, it is derived from analysis of the functionality, efficiency, scalability, and service provided by the total engineering and design of the system.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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