Taxi 2000 unveils prototype, seeks $15 million in funding

By Dave Price/F&C Senior Writer
April 11, 2003

A Twin Cities company that believes it has designed the next breakthrough in personal transportation will soon be again courting investors to get on board.

The fare on this trip likely will approach $15 million, although executives of the firm are willing to let passengers share the cost of a ride.

Officials of Taxi 2000 Corp. expect to file registration documents within the next few weeks for a private placement of company stock to finance construction of a small test track for their SkyWeb Express project — a network of driverless, three-person vehicles to complement and expand existing transit systems.

SkyWeb got its first public demonstration Thursday at Taxi 2000’s facility in Fridley. On display was the company’s first working prototype, quietly shuttling riders across the room along a 60-foot segment of elevated track. The confined space made for a slow ride, but a structural engineer who helped build the bright red test model said the vehicle easily could top out at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.

Getting SkyWeb up to full speed, however, will require at least a 20-fold leap in available capital. The prototype came together on a shoestring, funded with $680,000 from investors last year.

Taxi 2000 CEO Ed Anderson said it will be hard to build a suitable test track for much less than the $15 million the company now wants to raise.

“There may be ways to do this in slightly smaller pieces, but to do this right and have a facility where we can really put [the vehicles] through their paces, we’re going to need to raise all of the money pretty much at the same time.”

That may be a challenge in the current environment for startup companies, but Anderson and Taxi 2000 officials said they already have gotten some interested early replies in their bid to secure funding. Real estate developers, in particular, are intrigued by the concept and have indicated they could consider including SkyWeb vehicles as part of their future development plans.

“They might not necessarily understand all of the mechanics behind the system, but they see the opportunity,” Anderson explained. “Designing car-less communities is something they would really like to pursue.”

Anderson said at least one Twin Cities-area developer, whom he declines to identify, has expressed an interest in helping finance the test facility, which would encompass a 2,200-foot oval and the manufacturing of three additional vehicles. The company already has secured use of a site near 150th Street and Central Avenue in Blaine if the project proceeds.

A handful of state lawmakers also are slowly warming to the idea of personal rapid transit. Bills were introduced earlier this year in both the Minnesota House and Senate that would permit a privately managed system, operating similar to a public utility with rates controlled by state regulators.

House sponsor Mark Olson, R-Big Lake, who was on hand for Thursday’s demonstration, said neither bill got a hearing in time before the Legislature’s committee deadlines, although he was to meet with the House Republican’s executive committee this week, which could move his proposal forward yet this year.

DFL state Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, whose district includes Taxi 2000’s facilities in Fridley, also has proposed a measure that would allow the state to use its bonding authority to help finance the infrastructure for SkyWeb or a similar system.