Oct. 23, 2004
Post-Bulletin, Rochester, MN

Minnesota Transit Firm Develops Technology to Make Sci-Fi Transport a Reality

A commuter slides a coded card into a control box, and in a minute or two, a three-seater cab pulls up.

It's big windows on an egg-shaped frame. No engine, no driver, and -- this is what the rider likes -- a non-stop trip ahead.

The trip is computer-controlled, individually set to the rider. There's no traffic congestion, because it's all happening on a mini-monorail about two stories overhead.

Sound futuristic? It is, in a sense. There are no "personal rapid transit" systems like it in commercial operation today.

But the technology exists. In fact, visitors can climb into a demonstration cab on a 60-foot track at the offices of Taxi 2000 Corp. The Fridley, Minn.-based company invented it and now is trying to build a full-scale prototype of its SkyWeb Express system.

"We're working on getting a test facility funded and put together now," said Trevor Westrom of Knutson Construction Services in Rochester, a Taxi 2000 board member.

He is director of business development for Knutson, which is among a group of companies that are supporters of SkyWeb Express. "We've committed to the project," Westrom said.

"From a selfish standpoint, I'd like to see it in Rochester," he said. But Rochester is not seeking the system.

"From a business standpoint, it could go in a lot of different places," Westrom said. Such as Duluth.

A joint Duluth-Superior, Wis., metropolitan commission supported a local SkyWeb prototype in January. They are apparently among other suitors. "We are having some ongoing discussions and presentations in different parts of the country, but there is nothing final at this point in time," Taxi 2000 chief executive officer Morrie Anderson said.

Although the city is not pursuing the system, Rochester's transit and parking administrator has been keeping tabs on the personal rapid transit technology. Nonetheless, in spring 2003, Tony Knauer included a visit to the Taxi 2000 demonstration track on a Twin Cities trip to view park-and-ride networks.

City council members got called away at the last minute and couldn't go, but Knauer still thinks it's worth a look. "We're going to do another one, if not this fall maybe (the) first quarter next year," he said.

At one time, SkyWeb Express also apparently caught some passing interest from the Mayo Clinic. "I don't think it was a formal study," said Anderson. It may have been "more in the range of a conceptual design," he said. "If and when they're ready to look at something, we'd be very happy to ... tell them what's possible, but to this date, they haven't asked us."

A Mayo Clinic spokesman said a people-mover like SkyWeb Express is not on the horizon.

Showing off

At the same time, Taxi 2000 has been talking up its system occasionally around town. The company exhibited in last October's Energy Fair, staged by Rochester Public Utilities and University of Minnesota-Rochester. It was a natural fit since personal rapid transit uses electricity to power its magnetic propulsion system.

Company representatives also have previewed the personal transit line at Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce events and for at least one local engineering group, said Westrom.

Efficiency and more

Like other transit concepts, personal rapid transit is designed to make commuting more efficient and benefit the environment by limiting auto travel. It differs from other mass systems because passengers would be able to ride at their convenience and travel direct to their destinations. Passengers call the vehicles instead of waiting for a one to arrive at a scheduled stop.

The small, 1,000-pound cabs ride on a guideway perhaps 14 to 16 feet above the street.

"It's only 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall, so it's a very low-profile monorail," said Jeral Poskey, Taxi 2000 director of applications.

The best places for the personal rapid transit system are when it can be put directly adjacent to a building, he said.

"It (the rail) could be adjusted to be a little higher or lower to avoid a skyway or to protect a view," he said.

A small system -- perhaps two miles of track -- might have dozens of individual cabs available. Hundreds might be needed on a large, heavily used system, Poskey said. Computers would direct traffic. "During rush hour, the goal is to keep the waits down to two minutes," Poskey says.

"The vehicles only move when they're needed," Poskey said. If there are multiple routes, the computers also choose the least busy one.

The magnetic propulsion system uses cars with rubber tires run on copper-plated rails that the magnets push against. Except for rubber tires, there are no moving parts, as in an auto engine.

"Generally we would think that we could run them pretty safely at 40 miles per hour. In some downtown environments, it would probably be more like 20-25," Anderson said.

Personal rapid transit works well in a high-traffic corridor between two busy destinations. For example, Mayo Clinic operates shuttle services between its downtown campus and Saint Marys Hospital.

At this point, the clinic sees no immediate reason to take on the expense of personal rapid transit. "We've got a bus system that's working really well and that's carrying lots of people," Mayo spokesman Lee Aase said.

Going into the future

Even a short system would be expensive. The cost for an early system could be $15 million to $25 million a mile. "In the long run, $10 million a mile is achievable," Poskey said.

"The smallest we've looked at would connect one building with a remote parking lot three blocks away," the technical manager said. "It completely made sense. It was cheaper than building a skyway that distance."

A large developer, an airport and several cities all are interested in systems, Poskey said. One city in Sweden is serious, but "they're waiting for us to build" the prototype, he said.

That's Taxi 2000's immediate goal. The prototype would answer some questions too.

"Can we operate the vehicle(s) within safety parameters and with the consistency of a quality transit system?" Anderson asked. "We simply think we need to be in a position to demonstrate that all of that works and it works fairly well."

Taxi 2000 wants to pick a prototype location within a year and start running it within three years, Westrom said.

MONORAIL POSSIBILITIES: Conventioneers flow a few blocks from their downtown hotels to events at Mayo Civic Center.

Doctors and other Mayo Clinic staff members board a continuous parade of shuttle buses between Saint Marys Hospital and the downtown Mayo campus on work days.

Daily commuters park their cars in lots away from the downtown core and take public transit to their jobs; others might like to avoid parking in the congested downtown area if a quick, convenient ride were available.

How about a monorail? An automated people mover?

A Twin Cities company has designed a system generically known as "personal rapid transit." It's in the sky, but, from a technological standpoint, it's not pie-in-the-sky.

Taxi 2000 Corp.'s SkyWeb Express could travel above the street at speeds between 20 and 40 mph. Passengers summon its small cars, which are magnetically propelled. The computer-controlled cabs travel nonstop to the passenger's destination.

The company now is seeking a site for a full-scale test track. Neither the city of Rochester nor Mayo Clinic are actively considering a SkyWeb Express system, but at least one Minnesota metropolitan area has placed itself in the running.