FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23 - TRANSPORT pods have received the green light in a new report which recommends Daventry District Council presses ahead with building a test track in the town.

The study, prepared by transport consultancy Colin Buchanan for Daventry District Council (DDC), looked at the relative benefits of upgrading the town's bus network compared to various forms of a personal rapid transport (PRT) network.

The report shows pods would take up to a third of cars off Daventry's roads, generate more money than bus services and reduce carbon emissions. The conclusion of the report is that the council should press ahead with plans for the pods – with an assumed opening date of 2011.

On the back of its involvement with PRT, Daventry has now been asked to join the city reference group of the EU-funded CityMobil project, which is looking at new forms of transport in urban areas.

DDC's economic and regeneration portfolio holder Cllr Chris Over said: "We want to see Daventry known as a place where high technology, leading-edge companies come and invest, creating good and interesting local jobs.

"Instead of simply holding up a sign saying 'innovative companies please come' – you have to show them why, and that is what we have been doing."

The next step is to secure funding to build a test track – making Daventry the first town in the world to have a pod network. The proposed test system has one-way loops around the Norton Road and Middlemore areas linked by a two-way track along the old railway line.

The current roadworks at the Northern Way/Eastern Way roundabout include plans to install underpasses suitable for pods.

The electric pods can carry four people and are driverless. Passengers would call a pod to a stop, and be taken directly to where they want to go at speeds of up to 40 mph.

According to the report, a pod system where people had to wait just over a minute and pay 80p a trip would take 33 per cent of vehicles off Daventy's roads.

Depending on the options building the system could cost £66.6 million, and over 60 years running costs could be £96.9 million with revenues being £150 million.

The report also looked at plans to put a pod line out to Long Buckby station, which would put most places in the town within 10 minutes of the station day or night.