Personal Rapid Transit in New Zealand - Future Transit Now

Well respected consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton provided this report into strategies for advancing state of the PRT industry

In October 2004, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill directing the Commissioner
of Transportation, in consultation with the Executive Director of NJ TRANSIT, to prepare
a report evaluating the viability of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) in New Jersey. The bill
recognized that New Jersey's transportation needs are broad and diverse and noted
that it is in the State's interest to actively improve and diversify a transportation system
that has proven fundamental to its long-term economic success.

In July 2005, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) contracted with
the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University (VTC) and Booz
Allen Hamilton (BAH) to conduct a study of PRT.

This article backgrounds the devolution of the Federal Role in Urban Transportation. The article is important reading to understand the Fed's purported shift away from regulatory role to open market mechanism's and a supposed requirement for greater coverage of costs through fares as opposed to subsidies. Policy also has been to focus on proven systems.

Worth reading to ask the questions

• what mechanisms are in place to prove new systems
• Is the Fed really relying on market mechanisms
• Are fares really covering costs

Lean production theory provides a basis for understanding how Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) improves upon traditional mass transit. Lean production refers to manufacturing processes that improve upon mass production techniques to reduce cost, reduce time to produce, improve quality, and better respond to market demands. The benefits of lean production techniques have been documented in several studies, including an intensive worldwide study of the automotive industry. Those same benefits as applied to transit planning have important implications for the economic development of our communities.

The prestigious Economist magazine has a look at PRT in this article "Beyond the Stagecoach."