Personal Rapid Transit in New Zealand - Future Transit Now

So, what is PRT? Well it's Personal Rapid Transit and it is something that we in Auckland and New Zealand for that matter, should get to know more about. Why? - Because it is a transit solution whose time really has come. That is a bit of a statement to make but I am comfortable in making it. But first a bit more about PRT as a transit technology.

PRT is based on small computer controlled 3-5 person cabs running on an elevated guideway. It is electric so is much greener than existing petrol or diesel transit. Since the whole system is computer controlled, it knows where things are and understands where the demands are. Stations are off-line. In the case of buses and trains, travellers end up going where everyone else goes in stop-start fashion. This is not a particularly efficient way to travel even though we have become quite used to it. It makes for comparitively longer journeys, greater use of energy etc. With PRT on the other hand, off-line stations mean the cabs travel directly to your pre-selected destination. This significantly reduces travel time and all other resource use. The cabs only go into an off-line station to pick up of drop off. So they don't slow or block cabs that are on-line.

My name is Will Wilson. I am the Director of the Dynamicus Foundation, a private trust in New Zealand. Back in November of 2006 Auckland was debating intensely what stadium should be used for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. This was an event for which New Zealand had won the hosting rights and was now required to deliver a world class stadium in a world class manner.

Just prior to that I had been reviewing some research on transit options and had come across Personal Rapid Transit. I knew nothing about transit but nevertheless I was truly inspired by the technology and its potential here for Auckland and the Rugby World Cup. So much so, that I wrote to Dr Ed Anderson, the world's leading authority on Personal Rapid Transit. I described the issues Auckland is facing with transit and the upcoming Rugby World Cup. It was clear he was absolutely passionate about PRT even after 35 years of continous development of this idea. He noted Auckland's transit woes were typical but expressed a keen interest to see PRT established here.

We have established a working relationship a result of which was my decision to create this website www.prtnz.com

The goals of PRTNZ are to

• establish and promote awareneness and uptake of PRT in New Zealand.
• bring up to date occurences in relation to PRT across the world
• address transit issues in Auckland and New Zealand and point to PRT as a solution
• bring about a commercial deployment of PRT in Auckland and across main centres in New Zealand