ULTra PRT – Steve RaneyPersonal Rapid Transit – video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PyUQuWmt2M

• PRT intro• Heathrow PRT system• PRT for LAX• PRT for SFV

3 PRT companies, 4 customers

• Amritsar, North India tourist site

• Heathrow & Amritsar – private sector funded.

2getthere – MasdarEco-city, Abu Dhabi

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

• 1995: ULTra development starts. Academic and UK government funding. • BAA: privatized British Airports Authority

• 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 .

• No-wait, 5-min journey between T5 and the T5 Business Car Park. • Bus journey was 15 minutes.

• Eliminates 50,000 bus trips per year, 213 tons of CO2Eliminates 50,000 bus trips per year, 213 tons of CO2• Zero local emissions, zero NOXZero local emissions, zero NOX• 900 passenger trips per day, 22h operation

Overview

Benefits

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.”

ULTra LHR Terminal 5N

Parking to T52.4 mi of track21 vehicles500,000 pax/year expectedT5: 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• $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

GalleriaWillis Hsng

Hazeltine

National U.

Town Cent

WestField

Plaza

Hospital

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• 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• {

– 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:

• 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: – 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

• Completely

SJC: APM v. PRT

San Jose Airport

• Green transit is crucial. PRT: 200 mpg– PRT “last mile” makes LRT, bus, BART, Caltrain commuter rail & ACE commuter

rail more effective• 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.

APM PRT

cost $664M $95-190M

wait, trip, walk, transfers 10+ min 4 min

# stations 3 21

length 1.8 mi x2 12.6 mi

construction disruptive legos

lay-down large small

tunnel yes no

Comprehensive, Integrated iMobilityDoor to Door

Delivery services, Personal activities, Business services

first mile Train, HSR

first mile Bus

•Web/wireless coordination•Supportive policy context•Scale!

Short carpool pick up

first mileLong carpool

•Improved match-making•Shared pkng, AndroidPooling

PRT system LAST MILE mid-day trips

Centralized Cars:share, rent, ride home

Walk

Bike, scooter

AndroidPooling

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 capacityCapacity per PRT "loop"

Headway (seconds)4 3 2 1

vph (20% MT) 720 960 1440 28804 ppv 2880 3840 5760 11520

Capacity per station berthload/unload 30 sectrips/hr 120pax/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 Track1 km Figure 8 track

1 station4 Test Vehicles

Supported by• UK Dept for Transport• UK Dept for Trade and

Industry• European Commission• Cardiff County Council

1995 Founded, University of Bristol1999 UK Dept of Trade: Grant to build prototype2000 Winner UK DOT Innovation Competition2002 Test track launch. Deputy Mayor for Environment2002 European Union: EDICT PRT study2003 First safety clearance - UK Rail Inspectorate2003 BAA transport study: PRT bests APM and bus2005 ULTra wins BAA PRT vendor competition2005 BAA invests in ULTra2011 Opened for passengers

ULTra: Milestones

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? .