Download - “Walk to Work” Housing Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) Group Rapid Transit (GRT)

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Leading Edge Transportation Planning and Transportation

Steve Raney, Executive Director, Cities21.org

• “Walk to Work” Housing

• Personal Rapid Transit (PRT)

• Group Rapid Transit (GRT)

• Digital Hitchhiking

• Oil price spike planning.


Walk to Work Housing• Inefficient U.S. settlement patterns

• For U.S. suburbs, we drive everywhere– 12,000 km commute per year per person.

Home Job

Grocery, recreation

20 km

5 km5 km


Walk to Work Housing• U.S. Policy solution: “walk to work housing”

– Apply to large, new housing developments– Housing prioritized for short commutes

• Commute distance verified by employer / tax records

– Monthly 400Y tax for long commutes

• Best traffic reduction solution ever.

Home Job1 km


Walk to Work Housing - Tianjin• Government strongly influences residential location,

but not as much as 20 years ago• Beijing study: Commute time increased by 30%.

Home Job distance increased. "Transportation Implications of

Land Development in a Transitional Economy: Evidence from Housing Relocation in Beijing, China" (TRB 2006, #06-0670)

• Tianjin government could exert stronger influence over car owners’ residential location selection– Tax long commutes

• Comments?.


PRT – Personal Rapid Transit• Similar to a monorail. Video, MS Campus

• No waiting, cars wait for you

• 50 km/hour

• Bypasses intermediate stations – Non-stop

• 3 person, electric vehicles

• Automated, driverless, 24x7.


PRT – Proposed for Microsoft Campus• See map

• 40,000 employees, 4 square km

• Train, bus, carpool PRT network– Distribute bus passengers to 29 PRT stations

• 17 km elevated PRT guideway

• Cost estimate: 48MM Y per km.


4 PRT Developments• For 2010 operation

• “ULTra”, Cardiff, United Kingdom– 80 MM Y British Airport Authority

investment for small Heathrow airport system

• Korean steelmaker Posco, 320 MM Y – First system: Uppsala, Sweden

• Korea Railroad Research Institute: 240 MM Y

• Dubai has a PRT procurement.


PRT – Proposed to Guangzhou

• Proposed to Nansha Vice Mayor– Develop as Chinese export industry

• Vice Mayor said, “China will have much lower cost than 48 MM Y per km”

• Vice Mayor said No to proposal. No good local application. Driverless is too advanced

• Comments?.


GRT – Group Rapid Transit• GRT: Morgantown, West Virginia

• 13 km, 5 stations, 71 23-person vehicles

– third rail, rubber tires, steer

• 2.5 BB Y (2006 $)

• 30 years automated operation

• Heated guideway melts snow.


GRT – Morgantown: station design


GRT: Cybertran - SF Bay Area• Development has stalled

• 15 passengers, 12 m vehicle

• Steel wheel on steel rail

• Third rail

• Columns on railroad ballast– Upon earthquake, realign.


GRT• Bishop Austrans – Australia

– Under development– 9 passenger vehicles – Steel wheels / rail– Third rail

• Megarail – Texas– Under development– 16 passenger vehicles– Rubber tires– Third rail– Can couple vehicles.


GRT - Tianjin• As feeder for metro

• Could have drivers

• Couple vehicles into trains

• Could stop at every station– Online stations

• Simple stations

• Export industry

• Comments?.


Digital Hitchhiking Proposal

• Leaves: Microsoft campus

• Trunk: 6 km, 30 minute bus, 400 workers

• Roots: 2,000 cars enter trunk, pick up workers. High frequency

• RFID & cellular..


Oil Price Spike Planning• Dirty bomb at Saudi oil fields

– Gas price doubles

• U.S. does not plan

• United Kingdom does plan:– Increase biking, telecommuting, transit service– Restrict driving, reduce speed limit

• Tianjin?

• THE END