ULTra PRT – Steve Raney
Personal Rapid Transit – video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PyUQuWmt2M
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PRT intro
Heathrow PRT system
PRT for LAX
PRT for SFV
3 PRT companies, 4 customers
2getthere – Masdar
Eco-city, Abu Dhabi
• Amritsar, North India
tourist site
• Heathrow & Amritsar –
private sector funded.
Vectus – Suncheon, S Korea
PRT serves a niche
• Outside-the-box for Valley Mobility Summit ‘11
• Niche: Circulator, feeder/distributor, shuttle bus
on steroids
• Complements line-haul transit: Orange Line
busway, Metro Red Line LRT, Metrolink, bus,
Westside subway extension
• Increases effectiveness of carpooling
• Unique: mid-day trip to Starbucks.
Heathrow PRT
Unsolicited Tweets
“Best airport transfer devices
ever”
“Awesome sci-fi system”
“quicker, easier and greener
than the buses”
“Geek transportation par
excellence!”
“Soooo cool!! Addicting!!”
“Fantastic. Epochal. Could not
be more excited.”
• 1995: ULTra development starts. Academic and UK government funding.
• BAA: privatized British Airports Authority
Overview
• 2003 transport study selects PRT
• ULTra PRT wins 2005 vendor competition
• LHR customer and majority owner of ULTra PRT. 100% private financing.
• Heathrow Phase 1 system: 2.4 miles of guideway, 3 stations, 21 vehicles
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• No-wait, 5-min journey between T5 and the T5 Business Car Park.
• Bus journey was 15 minutes.
Benefits
• Eliminates 50,000 bus trips per year, 213 tons of CO2
• Zero local emissions, zero NOX
• 900 passenger trips per day, 22h operation
ULTra LHR Terminal 5
N
Parking to T5
2.4 mi of track
21 vehicles
500,000 pax/year expected
T5: 10th largest “airport” in Europe
2 Business T5 Parking Stations(2 berths)  T5 (6 berths)
LA Council PRT Support
• A June 2010 Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee
motion requested analysis of applicability of PRT for LAX
• "Councilmember Koretz is always looking for ways to address
traffic congestion and make our airports work more efficiently.
That’s why he introduced a motion to study how Personal
Rapid Transit (PRT) might be used to move people around
Los Angeles International Airport and connect them to the
City’s transit system. … The technology is under serious
consideration in other cities, including in San Jose where city
officials are evaluating PRT for linking their airport with local
businesses, hotels and other regional transit options.“
LAX PRT – 35 stns, 9 mi
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$151M PRT may avoid $XXXM ConRAC
“Faster than a waiting taxi” PRT speed
Diesel bus pollution  electric PRT
Strong business case.
Warner Center PRT
• Increases ridership:
– Orange Line Busway
– Metro bus routes (150,
161, 164, 244, 245,
645, 901
– Etc
• 22 PRT stations
• 7 miles of guideway
• ~$112M (@$16M/mi).
Warner Center PRT
• From the LA Mobility conf PPT
Sherman Oaks PRT
• Galleria: severe congestion
• “PRT where you don’t see trees from above”
• Connect east to Universal City Metro Red Line
– 2 more PRT systems 1.6 mi E on Ventura: CBS & Universal City
• 1.0 mi S from Orange Line busway (Galleria N on Sepulvada)
• 2.2 mi S from MetroLink / Amtrak via Van Nuys Blvd
Hospital
WestField
Galleria
Willis Hsng
Town Cent
Hazeltine
National U.
Plaza
Ventura Blvd: Universal + CBS
• Universal City
• Feed Metro Red Line Universal City station
• Uni. City: Uni. Studios, City Walk, remote pkng, hotels
• Dense housing to the west on Ventura Blvd
• CBS Studios
• + dense housing. Connect 0.8 mi to Uni. City PRT
Thank You.
Guideway
Under the road, on the berm
Heathrow: Future Phases
More Brainstorms
• Van Nuys Civic Center
– Feed Orange Line Busway
• Burbank Bob Hope Airport
– Metrolink station, hotels, parking, rental car
PPP Funding Sources
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Cover annual debt service + O&M: $12M
20K rides per day at $1 = $7.3M/year
Ads: $1M (more annoying, more $)
PBID – property based improvement district
– Emeryville GoRound shuttle bus: $2.3M for 2011
– Value capture is sound
• Creative: like parking surcharge
• More local sources, the better
• Airports have “easier” revenue streams
Safety / Safety Certification
• Automated transit (APMs): 100X safer than driving
& at-grade transit
• US / ASCE APM Standards
– Airport APMs: same safety standard
– BAA & ULTra PRT on the ASCE committee
• 361 ULTra hazard cases
– Earthquake, truck crashes into column, falling debris,
fire, bad people, extreme weather, vehicle fails on
guideway, slipping on stairs, etc..
$7M - $16M Cost per mile
• Cost function = f
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System size (larger is cheaper because of fixed costs)
Station Density (more stations/mile => higher cost)
Peak hour trip demand (more demand => more vehicles)
Guideway:
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Elevated
At-grade
Tunnel
Culvert
Cantilever
Bi-directional
Seismic requirements
“Curviness”
– Stations: “fancy” costs more
– Vehicle customizations.
– Desired average passenger wait time (shorter wait => more vehicles)
• }.
ULTra PRT – London Heathrow Airport
• “Best airport transfer
devices ever”
• “Awesome sci-fi system”
• “quicker, easier and
greener.”
• “Geek transportation par
excellence!”
• “Sooo cool!! Addicting!!”
ULTra London Heathrow Term. 5
• BAA: privatized, owns LHR + 4 airports
– US retail contracts: Baltimore, Logan, Pittsburg
– Grupo Ferrovial acquired for $20B
• 2 year Transport study:
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low emissions, space efficient
high level of service, value
Bus & APM lost
“PRT: only practical soln: 60% travel time savings, 40%
operating cost savings”
– Small starter system, then expand
• Held PRT competition: ULTra won => negotiation
• BAA took equity interest in ULTra PRT.
Silicon Valley PRT
• San Jose Airport PRT Study. $4M
Phase I
– “Very flexible, less expensive”
– SJC Visited Heathrow
– Mayor Reed  DC for $
• Google Co-founder Larry Page:
– At U-M, “I wanted to build a campus
PRT system. It’s a futuristic way of
solving our transportation problem.”
Laura Stuchinsky, SJ
DOT Sustainability Officer
SJC: APM v. PRT
San Jose Airport
APM
PRT
cost
$664M
$95-190M
wait, trip, walk, transfers
10+ min
4 min
3
21
length
1.8 mi x2
12.6 mi
construction
disruptive
legos
large
small
yes
no
# stations
lay-down
tunnel
• Green transit is crucial. PRT: 200 mpg
– PRT “last mile” makes LRT, bus, BART, Caltrain commuter rail & ACE commuter
rail more effective
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PRT: extendible, flexible
SJC Commission: focus on convenience
People like to be above ground, not in a tunnel
Cutting edge transit for Capital of Silicon Valley.
Comprehensive, Integrated iMobility
Door to Door
Train, HSR
first mile
first mile
Bus
Walk
Centralized Cars:
share, rent, ride home
Delivery services,
Personal activities,
Business services
•Web/wireless coordination
•Supportive policy context
•Scale!
Bike, scooter
AndroidPooling
Short carpool pick up
•Improved match-making
•Shared pkng, AndroidPooling
Long carpool
PRT system
LAST MILE
mid-day trips
first mile
Market Research Results
(370 employee surveys)
• Palo Alto, Pleasanton office parks
• Solo commutes: 89%  45%
– Carpool: 9%  32%, train: 0%  15.5% train
– For 20K people, removes 6,600 autos (roughly)
• 50 acres freed  $326M in-fill profit
• 1.32 PRT trips/day/person => 26K trips/day
– Farebox covers O&M, $3M+/yr line-haul transit
• TOD land gain: 100% office, 25% residential.
PRT capacity
Capacity per PRT "loop"
Headway (seconds)
4
3
2
1
vph (20% MT)
720
960
1440
2880
4 ppv
2880
3840
5760 11520
Capacity per station berth
load/unload
30 sec
trips/hr
120
pax/hr
480
ULTra PRT – The Company
• Development funded by $15M investment & $15M contract
revenues
• Based in the UK with 40 employees + long-term contract staff, a US
subsidiary and a joint venture in the Middle East
• Founder Martin Lowson, rocket scientist
– Apollo Space Program’s Saturn Rocket, staff of 50
– Chief Scientist of Westland Helicopters
– Rotor system (patent-holder) for Lynx and EH101 helicopters.
• Absolute world speed record for helicopters
– Fellow: Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Aeronautical Society, and
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Jan 2002: Cardiff Test Track
1 km Figure 8 track
1 station
4 Test Vehicles
Supported by
• UK Dept for Transport
• UK Dept for Trade and
Industry
• European Commission
• Cardiff County Council
ULTra: Milestones
1995
1999
2000
2002
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2003
2003
2005
2005
2011
Founded, University of Bristol
UK Dept of Trade: Grant to build prototype
Winner UK DOT Innovation Competition
Test track launch. Deputy Mayor for Environment
European Union: EDICT PRT study
First safety clearance - UK Rail Inspectorate
BAA transport study: PRT bests APM and bus
ULTra wins BAA PRT vendor competition
BAA invests in ULTra
Opened for passengers
PRT last mile market research
• Predicts large change in commute away from
drive alone
• Ability to re-develop lonely parking spaces 
real-estate “upside”
• Value of time at lunch is 2X hourly salary
– Use PRT to go to lunch? Starbucks? .