Leading PRT Systems

There are many companies and individuals working separately to design Personal Rapid Transit systems. These creative teams are located around the world in North America, Europe, and Asia. Get There Fast has selected the following four systems as the most advanced, and likely to be ready within the next 5 years to be considered for use in Seattle.

Skyweb Express
Taxi 2000 Corp.
8050 University Avenue North
Fridley, MN 55432

Taxi 2000 Corp., a technology spin-off of the University of Minnesota, was formed around patented technologies developed at the university by a team led by Dr. J. Edward Anderson, who is generally recognized as the leading theorist in Personal Rapid Transit. The Skyweb Express design reflects Anderson's 30+ years of scholarship and design in the field.

In 2002 Taxi 2000 constructed a first-stage working prototype, consisting of a functioning vehicle and a 60-foot section of guideway. In 2007 the project consultant named it the preferred internal passenger transit system for Masdar, a new zero-carbon, zero-waste city in Abu Dhabi being planned by reknowned architect Norman Foster. Taxi2000

Urban Light Transport (ULTra)
ATS Ltd.
Unit 5
Brunel Way
Thornbury
Bristol BS35 3UR, England

ULTra was developed by the Advanced Transport Group at the University of Bristol, then spun-off to become Advanced Transport Systems Ltd. An ULTra demonstration and testing facility was constructed in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, in 2002, and opened in 2003. Approval was subsequently granted from the UK rail safety agency.

ULTra is supported with funds from the British government's National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Environment,Transport and the Regions, and the county government of Cardiff. The airport company BAA (formerly British Airports Authority) became a major investor in 2005. Previously, the European Union also favorably evaluated ULTra under the program Evaluation and Demonstration of Innovative City Transport (EDICT), seeking to identify new and sustainable forms of transit.

A pilot installation with 18 vehicles is now being prepared for the new Terminal 5 at BAA's Heathrow Airport. In addition to Cardiff, candidates for follow-on ULTra systems are EDICT participants Bristol; Eindhoven and Almelo, the Netherlands; Huddinge and Sigtuna, Sweden; Ciampino and Cesena, Italy; Olomouc, Czech Republic; Marousi, Greece. Daventry in Northamptonshire, UK, is also considering a town-wide ULTra system. ATS (USA site)

MicroRail
MegaRail Transportation Systems Inc.
P.O. Box 121728
Fort Worth, TX 76121

MegaRail was established in 1997 to create transportation systems developed around patented components designed by company CEO Kirston Henderson. It is a privately held company.

The company has produced a mockup of its MicroRail public transit vehicle and guideway (right). In addition, MicroRail guideway will also accommodate special street-capable electric vehicles, which will also be produced by MegaRail.

If a near-term customer for the first MicroRail system can be found, MegaRail Transportation indicates that it could have the system in service in a manually operated "train mode," with later upgrade to single-car fully automated operation after control system testing. MegaRail

Vectus
Vectus Ltd.
Korea Office
Shinan Building
Songpa-gu Moonjeong-dong 89-8
Seoul, 138-200 Korea

Vectus is a relatively late entry in the PRT field. The system calls for four-person vehicles, propelled by linear induction motors installed in the slender, minimalist guideway.

Vehicle navigation and control systems have been developed, and now a full-scale test facility is operating in the university town of Uppsala, Sweden (right).

Vectus Ltd. is a division of South Korea's POSCO, one of the world's largest steel manufacturers. In recent years the company has sought to move beyond steel, and is focusing on a long-term strategy of developing high quality products requiring advanced technology and expertise. POSCO made the decision to enter the PRT field in 2002. It is testing in Sweden in order to win regulatory certification for the European market. Vectus (Sweden site)