www.advancedtransit.org Produced by: PRT Consulting, Inc.

DECEMBER 2015

From the President....

Podcar City 9 was a great success with many interesting papers. My biggest regret was that there were two tracks and tough choices had to be made. I know I missed some great presentations.

Tubenet Transit showed illustrations of their vision of a future city where all transportation is elevated and the ground surface is a park replete with wild animals. As long as the wild animals are contained, I personally would love to live in such an environment.

The day before the conference the ATRA Board held a joint strategic planning effort with ATRA Industry Group members.

This resulted in a long list of things we can and should be doing. I am working to make this list into more of a coordinated plan that can be supported by a budget and presented to the ATRA Board at the meeting on January 9 after Technix. One of the key ideas was to make more of a concerted effort to raise money to get things done. The plan I present will therefore show what we can do with present levels of funding as well as what could be done if much more were made available.

Don't forget our annual Technix Conference (Envision Automated Transit - EAT) January 9 in DC. I hope to see you there.

As always, enjoy reading!

Best regards,

Peter Muller, ATRA President

ATRA NEWS

Founder and Developers

(from left):

Tony Wooster, Nathan Koren, Devon Barrett

PRESS RELEASE:

A British company, Podaris Ltd., has announced the first public release of their online transport-planning software, which includes support for Personal Rapid Transit systems. Podaris was founded by former transport planner Nathan Koren, who previously led PRT feasibility and engineering studies in the UK, India, and elsewhere. Read More...

Proposals for Driverless connections between Stockholm and Liding� Centre

By G�ran Tegn�r, Transek Company

The municipality of Liding� is an island northeast of Stockholm inner city with 45,000 inhabitants. It is connected to Stockholm via a 6-lane 0.7 km long road bridge and an old tramway and bicycle bridge. The 101 year old Liding� tramway line has just been re-opened after a two-year upgrading into a modern LRT line. The LRT line connects to the Stockholm metro on the other side of the bridge at Stockholm city border. Read More....

The ATRA Award for Outstanding Contribution to Advanced Transit - DEADLINE: DEC 31, 2015

We are accepting nominations for the ATRA Award for Outstanding Contribution to Advanced Transit. The award acknowledges individual contributions towards awareness, development, planning, operation or acceptance of Advanced Transit. The award is in recognition of the outstanding contribution made by an individual and the influence he or she has had on Advanced Transit. It includes a prize of $500 and will be presented at the bi-annual ASCE Automated People Mover conference in April 2016. Deadline for submission is December 31, 2015. More Details....

OTHER NEWS

Gondola Monorail Could Ease Mexico City Traffic
Mexico City is considering a novel transit idea: two-person gondolas gliding along an aerial track. The costs of such a system may be far lower than extending the subway system. Read More...

Research To Drive Singapore's

Transport Future

AsianScientist Newsroom

The Land Transport Authority of Singapore will work with three local universities to conduct research into improving the country's transport system. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is setting up Transport Research Centers with three Singapore universities, and establishing a Research Advisory Panel to chart research directions for the future of transport in Singapore. Read more...

Dutch autonomous vehicle project to develop platooning

ITSInternational

The i-CAVE (integrated Cooperative Automated Vehicles) research program, led by Prof. Dr H. Nijmeijer of the Technical University of Eindhoven and funded through a recently awarded grant of US$4.2 million, aims to develop vehicles that can run both autonomously on dedicated roads or cooperatively on public roads. i-CAVE focuses on all important aspects involved in the development of such dual mode systems. Read More...

GSP moving toward automated transport

By Matthew Clark

The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport is moving one step closer to an automated transportation system connecting various parts of the airport campus located near Greer. Dave Edwards, president and CEO of GSP, said a consultant has been hired by the airport to look at technical specifications and design needs for an automated transit system that could potentially transport passengers from the airport parking to the terminal and back. Read More...

2tetther in Driverless Cars Research

2getthere

As a leading company in the field of automated transport systems based on self driven vehicles, 2getthere will contribute its' knowledge, skills and experience to the i-CAVE (integrated Cooperative Automated Vehicles) research program. This program will be led by the Technical University of Eindhoven and is funded through a recently awarded grant of 4 million euros. Read More....

Podcar City 9 - Silicon Transportation!

Podcar City 9 was held as scheduled November 4-6, 2015. The first of the conference presentations has been posted into the Documents section to the right -- look for the prefix 'After'. The others will follow over the next several days. View Presentations...

City Deal to explore potential for Glasgow Airport rail link
Scottish Construction Now!

A scheme to build a tram-train link is one of two options being put forward for a new connection between Glasgow city centre, Paisley and Glasgow Airport. The flagship project in the �1.13bn Glasgow and Clyde Valley City Deal, would see tram-train carriages would operate on the heavy rail network between Glasgow Central Station and Paisley Gilmour Street before moving on to new tram rails running between Paisley and the front of the airport terminal building. Read More...

This Futuristic Maglev Pod Transit System Will Soon Be a Reality

By David Z. Morris

It's fast, smart, and, maybe most importantly, it's really cheap. The still-speculative Hyperloop and the slightly more imminent self-driving car have dominated conversations about the future of transit lately, but there's another next-gen concept that's closer to becoming a reality than either of them. Read More...

California technologists are developing the Podcar

By Mark Niu

Technology has evolved in so many ways and we're seeing that impact on transportation with ride-sharing services and the development of self-driving cars. As vehicles largely remain the same, some technologists believe it's time to invest in another mode being called the personal rapid transport, a.k.a the Podcar. Read More...

VIDEO: LaGrange factory prototyping novel JPods transit idea

Spearheaded by JPods, Inc. CEO Bill James and Atlantis Energy Systems CEO Frank Pao, this solar-powered transit network would reduce Poughkeepsie's carbon footprint and car traffic.

Alex H. Wagner/Poughkeepsie Journal. Bill James now has something to show for all his years of advocating a novel form of personal rapid transit. He has a prototype in a factory in Poughkeepsie. View Video...

Podcar proponents tout futuristic transit vision

Mark Noack

/ Mountain View Voice
Mountain View hosts international expo for personal-rapid transit systems...

Mass transit is ripe for a revolution, but a new wave of speedy and specialized systems to move people still faces high hurdles in the quest for government grants and private investment. Figuring out how to break that stalemate was the big question at this year's Podcar City, an international expo held last week at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Read More...

Board discusses aging staff at WVU

By Corey McDonald

The West Virginia University Board of Governors was given a presentation and overview of the University's classified staff during their meeting Nov. 6. Classified employees are employees assigned to specific job titles and pay grades in the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission's pay system. Read More...

These flying pods could make driving in the city history

By Leanna Garfield

Imagine if, instead of wasting hours in gridlock, you could fly above it for the same price as a bus or subway ride. That's the idea behind skyTran, a self-driving monorail that would hover 20 feet above roads and travel up to 150 mph. According to CEO Jerry Sanders, the system could turn a two-hour car commute into a 10-minute trip. "Everyone hates commuting, but there are no solutions," Sanders tells Tech Insider. "The only way to get around traffic is to literally go above it." Read More...

Engineers Flock to Mountain View to Discuss Future of PODCARS.

By Johnathan Bloom

Google isn't the only company in Mountain View working on new forms of transportation. Engineers from around the world Thursday met just a few miles from the Google to discuss podcars. A 3D printed model, painstakingly assembled with little people towering structures and aerodynamic vehicles -- it's not just an idea. They're actually designing this for the city of Richmond, Calif. Read More...

Right Out of 'The Jetsons:' SJSU Students Demo Futuristic Pods for Silicon Valley

Riya Bhattacharjee and

Scott Budman

Exciting things are happening in a repurposed warehouse in downtown San Jose. Remember those crazy park-cruising hamster balls in Jurassic World? A group of San Jose engineering students are working on getting Silicon Valley commuters their own pods to roll down Highway 101. The Spartan Superway isn't quite a hamster ball, but it's still pretty cool. Read More...

Five mega Dubai projects with Metro link, tram, rail, personal transit podsDevelopers now ensuring projects connected to mass transit options.

Emirates24/7-Parag Deulgaonkar

Developers across the UAE have started working on incorporating mass transit systems into their mega developments to help communities avoid traffic snarls. "In Dubai you would have seen in the past 24 months that there are congested roads," Abdulla Mohammed Rafia, Assistant Director-General for Engineering and Planning Sector, Dubai Municipality, had said. Read More...

"Air Taxis" Could Be The Answer To San Jose's Crazy Traffic Problem

QCostaRice - Rico

QCOSTARICA - The lack of a proper infrastructure and the large number of vehicles on our roads are the leading cause of massive traffic congestion and craziness lived through daily, in particular in the San Jose greater metropolitan area. But building more and bigger roads only attracts even more vehicles. The answer, however, may be overhead. Skytran, a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system first proposed by inventor Douglas Malewicki in 1990, and under development by Unimodal Inc, may be the solution for Costa Rica. Read More...

Cardiff Central Square will draw on architects' experiences from around the world.

Wales Online-Liz Day

Architect Foster + Partners has buildings on six continents and will be using lessons learnt in Abu Dhabi to inform its designs in Cardiff. Developers hope it will be the new "gateway to Wales" but Cardiff Central Square will draw on its architects' experience from all over the world. Architect Foster + Partners has buildings on six continents, with projects ranging from an eco city in the United Arab Emirates to a roof garden at Battersea Power Station. Read More...

Austin's futuristic rapid transit pod system: Can Garriott pull it off?

Austin Business Journal-Michael Theis

Richard Garriott

wants to build a futuristic pod-based transit system in Austin

. But first, he has to pitch it to the public and win them - as well as key policymakers - over.

On Thursday, he got the chance to do just that, pitching his idea for the personal rapid transit system, or PRT, to an audience of business and policy leaders at a luncheon hosted by the

Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce

focused on innovative transportation solutions. Read More...

The above links are to articles that appear relevant to advanced transit but no guarantee is made as to their accuracy and no verification of the integrity of the associated websites has been made.

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December 2015 - In this Issue

ATRA News

Other News

Website Updates

Press Release from

Podaris

News Articles by Goren Tegner

PodcarCity9 Presentation Links

View our Website for the latest ATRA news updates.

Upcoming Conferences

Technix 2016: Envision Automated Transit(EAT)