Personal Rapid Transit Systems
by Gerald Trites

One of the greatest consumers of energy, and one of the dirtiest, is transportation, especially planes and cars. Each year, the numbers of cars on the road has grown and especially in the cities have become a major problem. It is clear that major change is called for. Consequently, cities have built better rapid transit systems, but this has been slow and expensive. And it doesn't get some (read a lot of) people, especially North Americans, out of their beloved automobiles.

Personal rapid transport systems are a possible answer that has been kicking around as an idea for decades, but which has considerable appeal. Utilizing small private cars, driven by battery and electricity, and controlled by computer systems, PRTs can be a solution that not only provides people with a mode of transport that is quite similar to private automobiles, but also provides it in a manner and with environmental impact similar to that of mass transport.

New large scale experiments are beginning with these systems, a notable one being at Heathrow airport. If it is successful, one can see ultimately the system spreading through London, a city long plagued with car polution, not the least of which is of the noise variety, and which already levies taxes and fines on cars entering the city core. There is more on this in the current issue of Technology Review. There is also a pretty good explanation of PRTs in Wikipedia.