After 30 years of laboring to perfect and sell the world on his futuristic public transit system, Minnesota inventor J. Edward Anderson on Thursday presented a shiny red cab that moves people along a silver track.

      Asked what he was feeling during the first public demonstration of his vision, Anderson, 75, a former University of Minnesota professor, responded with an engineer's reserve: "To me it's kind of like an afterthought. I knew it would work."

      But his supporters did their best to inject the moment in a Fridley office complex with drama befitting the kind of transportation breakthrough they believe it will be.

      Fridley Mayor Scott Lund said: "It's very exciting to have this here in good old Fridley. I feel like I'm George Jetson."

      Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake, said: "This is unprecedented in the world. It's a great day in Minnesota."

      Anderson's invention, known as PRT (for personal rapid transit) and more formally named SkyWeb Express, continues the tradition of Post-it notes, pacemakers, Honeycrisp apples and other Minnesota inventions, Olson said. "The problem with clogged streets has never been solved but I believe there is hope for that today," he said.

      Olson predicted that the privacy and convenience of PRT would compete with the car in a way that current forms of public transit do not.

      And he said the development of PRT here promises jobs in making and selling the cars, tracks and system components. "What you are looking at is the Microsoft of public transit," he said.

      As Anderson envisions it, cabs would operate on a guideway system elevated about 16 feet above clogged streets. Riders would mount a station platform, swipe a fare card through an electronic reader, punch in destination numbers on a keypad and then climb inside a three-seat cab slightly smaller than a Volkswagen Beetle.

      The system would be fully automated by computer, taking riders to their destinations nonstop while bypassing other stations along the way.

      Anderson can see it working as a people-mover at the State Fair, in downtown Minneapolis or even in place of a freeway expansion. He said an 11-mile system in downtown Minneapolis could cost $95 million.

      The cab demonstrated Thursday had a quiet and smooth ride on the short, 60-foot track. The door opened and closed automatically and it was easy to get in and out.

      Those bitten by the PRT bug include Richard Ojard, president of Krech Ojard, the Duluth engineering company that designed the track.

      All of the technology necessary to operate a larger system has been included in this demonstration, he said. "It's not an abstract vision anymore. This truly is the future of transportation. Our company is just pleased to be part of it."

      Edmund Rydell, a member of the board of directors for Taxi 2000, the company behind the invention, said he has known Anderson for 20 years through the period when Anderson left a position in Honeywell weapons development to pursue something helpful for mankind.

      Once he settled on PRT, Rydell said, Anderson methodically studied all other similar systems and discovered that each had a flaw that had been missed by inventors. "Ed decided not to make the same mistake," Rydell said. "That's why it's taken him some 30 years of development."

      Anderson said that there are about 14 groups working on personal transit systems but that his weighs less and is more affordable than the others.

      Signing on

      Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislators have been invited to see and ride the PRT. Among those who have seen the demonstration are Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, and Richard Braun, a former state transportation commissioner.

      Chaudhary, who counts himself as an objective, slightly skeptical supporter, said: "In my heart it was gratifying to see something that you could get your arms around after all this talk, and I'm excited to see it move to the next stage.

      "The fact that there are real private dollars being put into the prototype shows the seriousness of the potential."

      The next step would be to build a larger, 2,200-foot oval test track with three cars and a station, Anderson said. That would cost $15 million -- a sum that eludes him now.

      Thursday's demonstration at the headquarters of Taxi 2000 was financed by individual investors who bought small shares in the company totaling $680,000. Anderson says he hopes the demonstration will inspire more investment from individuals, a company or a government entity to pay for the next step. For a detailed look at Anderson's plans, the Web site is taxi2000.com.