PRT Industry Status
• Steve Raney, Ultra Global PRT
• Outline
– Technology / what it is  video
– 4 PRT systems {1. Masdar, 2. Heathrow,
3. Suncheon, 4. Amritsar}.
Slide 1
PRT: technology / what it is
• Ultra, 2getthere: robocars (could bump curb)
• Vectus: train-like
• Non-stop origin to destination, bypassing
intermediate stations
– Separate guideway (track) for stations versus main
guideway
• Control system: manage many vehicles
• Driverless / full automation
– Accurate location sensing, lateral and longitudinal.
Slide 2
2 operational systems, 2 more coming
• Several startups working on PRT concepts, with a
variety of speeds, passengers-per-vehicle, and
infrastructure designs.
Miles
Stns
Pods
Trips/day
2getthere Masdar
1.1
5
13
1,000
Ultra Heathrow
2.4
3
21
1,200
Vectus Suncheon
6.0
2
40
many
Ultra Amritsar
4.8
7
240
50K+
Slide 3
Operating From Experience
Slide 4
1. PRT @ Masdar
System Overview
System Performance
First Operations Successful
S U M M E R
Total
12/10
01/11
02/11
03/11
04/11
05/11
06/11
07/11
08/11
09/11
10/11
11/11
Number of
passengers
10,109 16,329 18,521 20,225 24,957 27,117 23,359 19,748 13,986 19,890 23,956 27,828
Average
Occupancy
1.7
2
2.1
2.1
2.3
2.4
2.3
2.1
1.9
2.1
2.2
2.4
Peak-day
passengers
589
1,006
863
975
3,597
1,076
1,043
934
609
1,005
1,182
3,036
Vehicle
availability
99.8%
99.7%
99.8%
99.9%
99.9%
99.9%
99.8%
99.9%
99.9%
99.8%
99.8%
99.9%
System
availability
98.6%
99.2%
99.2%
99.4%
99.1%
99.1%
98.9%
99.4%
99.4%
99.4%
99.5%
99.9%
• Obstacle detection!
– Detects pedestrians and stops in time
2. London Heathrow Ultra System
3 stations
21 vehicles
2.4 miles of guideway
Parking lot: 1,240 spaces
Slide 7
London Heathrow Ultra System
• 5 min PRT replaced 15 min shuttle bus
– Avg PRT wait time: 10 seconds, 80%+ no wait
– Customer satisfaction score up significantly
•
•
•
•
•
Reliable: 99.9% availability in October
Tweets - transportainment
Parking lot daily charge & occupancy up.
Unsolicited Tweets
100% private $
“Best airport transfer devices
ever”
“Awesome sci-fi system”
Customer (BAA) owns 75%.
“quicker, easier and greener
than the buses”
“Geek transportation par
excellence!”
“Soooo cool!! Addicting!!”
“Fantastic. Epochal.
Slide 8 Could not
be more excited.”
3. Suncheon bay coastal wetlands
• unique eco-system
• 5th largest tidal mudflats in the world
• 27 sq km protected flats & reed beds
•158 species of birds
• 2.8 million visitors pa
• PRT will operate ‘park & ride’ service
• harmony between technology & nature
• Garden Expo 2013
Hooded cranes
Vectus Ltd. 2011 Copyright Page 9
Location
Suncheon City
Seoul
Project Area
Suncheon
Suncheon Bay
Station 2
Suncheon
Bay
Natural
Ecology Park
International
Garden
EXPO
Maintenance
shop
Station 1
International
Wetland
Center
Vectus Ltd. 2011 Copyright Page 10
System specification
• Guideway: 4.6km bi-directional
• Number of stations: 2
• Number of vehicles: 40
• Typical headway: 4-5 seconds
• Typical operating speed: 10-12 m/sec - ~25 mph
• System capacity: 1313 passengers per hour
Vectus Ltd. 2011 Copyright Page 11
Alignment
Vectus Ltd. 2011 Copyright Page 12
4. Ultra Amritsar North India
•
•
•
•
4.8mi guideway, 7 stations, 240 vehicles
Up to 100,000 passenger trips per day
100% private finance
Late 2014 passenger service.
13
Slide 13
Ultra Amritsar North India
14
Slide 14
Closing Thought
• Google robocars – more difficult
engineering than PRT
• Thank you.
Slide 15