The pods ran individually suspended from a narrow monorail. The footprint could be as small as a square meter every 10 meters for the supports. Between stops the pods could ride above vehicle traffic allowing for widespread use with minimal impact on city traffic. They would descend to street level to drop off passengers. A simple touch screen with the name of the stations overlaid on a map made for easy use. Changing languages would be at a touch.
The design proposal was thinking of high volume usage from the start using IP routing logic and collision avoidance radar in the pods to manage the traffic with automated switching to route traffic around congestion. The rail plan was elegant in its simplicy. The pods would be equipped with fully surrounding airbags that would protect the occupants from a fall of over 20 feet.
Each station would hold a few empty pods. Additional empty pods would be stacked on coils of rails in simple circular garages to keep them out of the weather when not in use. Stratigicly placed holding garages as such could be used to pre-stage pods near popular stations before rush hours or major events.
Major factories could have spur lines to carry cargo pods to and from USPS of FedEx or UPS facilities taking hundreds of trucks off the roads.
It started in London’s Heathrow airport last year when ULTra opened the first personal rapid transit system to shuttle people from parking lots to terminals in electric pods. And now this idea of a “subway car on-demand” is spreading to other parts of the world including the U.S., South Korea and Canada as a way to better connect cities and suburbs while reducing air pollution and operating costs.
Here’s how it works: A customer calls for a pod to come to the station - if it is not already waiting - and types in a destination. The pod then takes the person directly from point A to B with no stops.
GOOD reports that “the system is cheaper to install than light rail, and at 5 feet wide, the guideway is narrow enough to be accommodated by many city streets.”
The UK-based company ULTra believes that these pod cars are the solution to our transportation woes, which include longer commute times due to urban sprawl and high gas prices.
Of course, coming from a city girl’s point of view, the concept of public transportation makes perfect sense. But if there’s a way to get to my destination without making other stops and without having to fight for a seat, well, I’ll take it.
Driverless Transport Pods Finally Starting to Catch On [GOOD]
Photo via ULTra
