Personal Rapid Transit in New Zealand - Future Transit Now

The paper reviews the evolution of the PRT concept from its modern beginning in 1953.  The early inventors, the projects, and the response of government are discussed.  PRT activity diminished to almost nothing by 1980, but then revived strongly as a result of activity by the Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority.  Their interest ignited enthusiastic activity on a growing front to the point that today one can truly say that the concept is coming of age

The Intelligent Transportation Network System (ITNS) is a totally new form of public transportation designed to provide a high level of service safely and reliably over an urban area of any extent in all reasonable weather conditions without the need for a driver’s license, and in a way that minimizes cost, energy use, material use, land use, and noise. Being electrically operated it does not emit carbon dioxide or any other air pollutant.

This remarkable set of attributes is achieved by operating vehicles automatically on a network of minimum weight, minimum size exclusive guideways, by stopping only at off-line stations, and by using light-weight, sub-compact-auto-sized vehicles.

With these physical characteristics and in-vehicle switching ITNS is much more closely comparable to an expressway on which automated automobiles would operate than to conventional buses or trains with their on-line stopping and large vehicles.  We now call this new system ITNS rather than High-Capacity Personal Rapid Transit, which is a designation coined over 35 years ago.

A complete list of publications on PRT by JE Anderson Ph.D., P.E.