Fortunately, personal rapid transit is already available today, in Minneapolis. It's called a taxi cab.
The point of mass transit is the shared infrastructure and operating cost and increased capacity of persons per lane-mile. Personal rapid transit wouldn't do a very good job of any of this. A much better compromise solution is the car sharing program being started up (www.hourcar.org) in the twin cities. -Mike Jensvold Ward 10 --- Steve Nelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Barbara Lickness wrote: > > > In reality PRT has never worked despite over 30 > > years of research and development. > > PRT has never worked because PRT has never been > tried. Every time a system > was to be built those who were going to fund it > called in the "experts" from > mass transit who made the same mistake time and > again. They were hooked on > the "capacity" issue and so they would demand > changes in the size and, > consequently, the weight of the vehicle and what > came about was closer to an > El but definitely NOT PRT. > > >Combining the small > > carrying capacity of a small car, with > > the expensive infrastructure of mass transit, PRT > > offers the worst of both worlds. > > Both assumptions are in error here. > A) It is not the "capacity" that is important > DESPITE the fact that PRT is > perfectly capable of matching bus or LRT capacity, > it is the FLEXIBILITY > combined with the fact that it interferes with no > ground traffic and no > ground traffic interferes with it along with the off > line stations that > permit freeflow from destination to destination. > B) Because TRUE PRT is lightweight the > infrastructure is very INEXPENSIVE > compared to LRT and it can be manufactured right > here in Minnesota creating > much needed jobs. > > > Plus, it's the > > brainchild of Ed Anderson's private corporation > Taxi > > 2000, who has already made a bundle of cash by > > convincing city and state governments that it is > in > > their best interest to hand over phat research > checks. > > Utterly wrong! PRT grew out of research at the > University of Minnesota. > Taxi2000 was formed by investors who believe in the > technology and continue > to believe in the technology. Unfortunately they > have been doing battle > with the oil companies of mass transit--bus > companies and LRT backers with > massive amounts of public subsidy money to throw > into lobbying to keep a > real PRT system from being set up. > > > Although Los Angeles and Santa Cruz California > have > > voted down proposals to allocate money to study > the > > futuristic transit system, New Jersey, which has > > already appropriated $75,000 to PRT, plans to up > that > > by $100,000 this coming year. > > $100,000?? OOoooooo!!! That would have been > what---5 minutes of lobbying > time for LRT? > > > The state of Illinois and Raytheon, the maker of > > "Bunker Buster" bombs, Tomahawk, Patriot missiles, > and > > other assorted weaponry -- has invested > > over $38 million to study PRT in the Chicago metro > > area. > > Raytheon. Interesting choice. One of the companies > intent on building a > heavyweight El instead of lightweight PRT. They > could never get their heads > around a small capacity vehicle capable of handling > high capacity movement. > A problem that seems to be evident in this post as > well. > > > "Though it all sounds very gee-whiz innocent, PRT > is > > a major scam," writes Naparstek in NY Press. "In > > Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Seattle, Chicago and > > elsewhere, PRT has burned through tens of millions > of > > dollars of public and private investment. The only > > tangible result has been to clear the way for > highway > > construction and make legitimate mass transit > projects > > more difficult to build. In at least a few cases, > > after finally running PRT out of town, citizens > > learned that the public officials most > enthusiastic > > about PRT had financial stakes in the companies > > developing it. > > In spite of the fact that Cincinatti rejected PRT > based on Raytheon's > erroneous figures, many of the local luminaries who > actually looked at what > PRT is SUPPOSED to be became and continue to be > investors in Taxi2000. > INFORMED investors that is. > > Steven M Nelson > Willard Hay > http://citizenshipchronicles.blogspot.com/ > Get UP! Get OUT! & GET INVOLVED!!! > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the > list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing > it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: > http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: > http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic > Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
