Towards Sustainable Transportation Towards Sustainable Transportation

The Future is NOW!Unknown doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist

Personal Rapid TransitPersonal Rapid Transit

• Personal Rapdi Transit (PRT)

– a transport method that offers personal, on-demand non-stop transportation

between any two points on a network of specially built guide-ways.

– Basically: automated taxi service

• True PRT vs. PRT like systems

– Ride Sharing during peak hours makes sense (?) to decrease the fleet size

required and the capital costs associated with projects

– To what degree is a separate infrastructure required? In existing build up

areas there is not much space available and elevated systems are often met

with objections of visual intrusion?

Automated Taxi ServiceAutomated Taxi Service

Introducing PRTIntroducing PRT

• Carbon Neutral = Zero Cars

– Masdar City will feature public transit with a private character (PRT) alongside

light-rail, metro and other environmentally friendly means of transit (e.g.

Segway).

– Mobility and accessibility are ensured, but not at the expense of space and

living comfort.

• Urban Planning

– A dedicated, grade separated guide way ensures system throughput, safety

and availability of space at grade for other purposes.

– An ‘undercroft’ (with a raised pedestrian level) was selected over an elevated

or underground infrastructure, as a result of the thickness of the network, the

(visual) impact on the fabric of the city and the improvement of energy

efficiency with the system sheltered from the elements.

To the Sustainable CityTo the Sustainable City

Masdar City Carbon Neutral, Zero Waste

AdvantagesOf GRT and PRT Systems

• To Passengers:

– High Frequency (Short waiting times)

– Higher Station Density (Short walking distances/times)

– Direct Connections (Short traveling times)

– Higher Service Level / Quality (Privacy, comfort)

• To Operators:

– Capacity (Shorter cycle time allows for more trips per hour)

– Costs (Lower operational costs because of automation)

– Others such as operations, image, vulnerability, etc.

Network DesignNetwork Design

• Basis of the Network Design (Systematica):

– Stations need to be featured near main attractors of traffic

– Stations need to be spaced such that the walking distance is minimized

– The exact location for a station is based on the space available locally

– The corridors must follow the boundaries of the plots in which the city is

divided

– The PRT running surface must be accessible to other vehicles in case of need

– The intensity of traffic does not allow for at-grade intersections

– Maneuver lanes are required along most of the network (as acceleration and

deceleration on through lines constrains the network capacity)

• The complexity in the design is matching the architectural needs of the city

with the attraction of traffic to the characteristics of the PRT system.

Ensuring optimum accessibility and throughputEnsuring optimum accessibility and throughput

Distribution of FunctionsDistribution of Functions

• Multiple Iterations to define the use of land and network, to achieve a

satisfactory distribution of functions on a network with the least number of

stations and lines preventing congestion in any foreseeable situation

• Principles:

– Main attractors positioned along the “spine” served by both LRT and PRT

– Business Districts along straight roads being served by better connections

– Light Industry at city’s edge allowing direct supplies/shipping

– The design follows the layout of the pedestrian-network, constrained by

building plots, resulting in the fastest and most direct PRT connections

established in SW-NE direction.

Balancing use of land and networkBalancing use of land and network

How Automated are we already?Technology History

Automated People MoversFrom Personal to Mass Transit

Personal

MassTrue-PRT

PRT-like

GRTBRT

Automated MetroBike

Car

Taxi

Car-pool Train

(Electric) Mini-busBus Light-Rail

‘True-PRT’ is:

- Dedicated Guide Ways

- Network Configuration

- On-demand Transit

- Direct Origin to Destination Transit

- Maximum 6 passengers

‘PRT-like’ can incorporate:

- Ride Sharing

- Scheduled operations (in peak-hours)

- Line Configuration

- >10 passengers

Concept ApplicabilityFactors to determine (the most) suitable system(s)

1. Function

– Local Area Transit / Feeder System / Corridor Transportation System

2. Intensity of transportation

– Required capacity / Minimum headways possible / Station capacity & lay-out

3. Spreading in time

– Transportation Request Pattern

4. Spreading in Space

5. Spatial planning

– Spatial limitations in construction of the track and stations

6. Customer requirements / preferences

7. Application environment characteristics

– Noise and air pollution regulations / Visual Intrusion

8. Application Specific Issues

– 3rd Party Interests / Political Influences

9. Costs

Concept ApplicabilityMatching Demand and System Characteristics

Business/Industrial ParkPRT (Area-wide System)

Business/Industrial ParkGRT (Feeder System)

Transportation CorridorMRT (Line Haul System)

Residential SuburbGRT (Feeder System)

City CenterPRT (Network System)

Application SectorsWhere to apply what?

OutlookPRT and the Sustainable CityPRT and the Sustainable City

• Systems that combines the characteristics and the service of the car with the

qualities of public transit, have the potential to alter the way cities (and

private developments like e.g. airports) are planned, designed and build.

• Despite its small footprint, integration in the spatial planning and finding a

balance between architectural design and system optimization are key for

both greenfield and brownfield applications.

• The technology is here, studies are performed; which customer has the ‘guts’

to make a decision and move forward with PRT?

• From the perspective of sustainability and costs: will PRT in its most pure

form ever be realized? Ride sharing during peak hours makes sense!