PRT revisited

Since my last post on PRT and why it would be a good idea in Alta de Lisboa, the Heathrow project has gone ahead and construction is under way. Great news. Let’s hope this spreads (at the very least to the plans for the new airport). One would really hope that the new system is used more widely in Portugal and we will begin to see the beginning of a new era in transport.

There are some new videos on youtube which demonstrate ULTra’s and other’s offerings to the market.

Ultra’s commercial presentation

BAA’s Heathrow presentation

West Virginia’s PRT that has been running since the 1970’s

The last is video is the most inspiring as it’s been running for so long. Let’s hope our politicians and town planners see some merit in this.

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT)

In the light of the never-ending quest to have a Metro Station in Alta de Lisboa, it may be better if the planners think about a new form of public transport being piloted in London’s Heathrow Airport.

As you can see in the picture the PRT (Personal Rapid Transport) vehicles are basically cars (a popular name for them is Podcars) which are driverless and follow a narrow road specifically built for them. The idea, in terms of public transport for the user, is absolutely ideal. It’s fast, about 7 kilometres will take a little more than 12 minutes, it’s personal, you can get in alone or with family or share with friends (or others if you want) and 2nd to best of all you don’t have to wait for it. The idea is that the cars will be waiting in stations along the network and you get in, communicate your destination with a touch screen, (pay) and off you go. The best point is that they run very quietly on batteries (solar powered anyone?) so therefore are low polluters.

This would be very good in Alta for those days for people carrying lots of shopping (or kids), or those who need to get to the metro quickly, or simply want to go to the park but don’t have time to walk all the way there (ok this last one seems a little lazy I admit). More importantly it would be extremely useful in 1) bringing more people to the area (to visit) and (2) linking Alta with all four metro lines and (3) linking the main shopping areas of Alta de Lisboa, Carrefour and Colombo.

I have drawn up a quick Google map with an idea of how a network could do such a task (assuming the airport Metro station is built soon)

Click on map for more details of my very incomplete imagined solution.

The company which is supplying the system to Heathrow airport is Advanced Transport Systems Limited and the vehicle solution is ULTra and their site has many videos and pictures of projects underway.

I’ll link to some here for easy access.

Sweden

Heathrow

Trial drive

One final thought… think how many cars could be kept off the roads for school runs were this implemented city wide.

Come on, if they can pull off building a monstrous concrete railway in Oeiras, I’m sure Mr Costa can drum up some enthusiasm for a light, cheap, people friendly transport system ( especially after his recent remarks).

UPDATED SEE LATEST POST: here

Cycling in Lisbon (from MyTechVision)

One the strongest cases against cycling in Lisbon is the hills. While Lisbon is said to be built on seven hills most of the city is in fact fairly flat. This, however, does not stop politicians claiming that Lisbon will never be a city for cyclists because of the hills.

Here you can see one of the hills in question.

Thankfully we can rely on the Norwegians for a solution (Found by Tiago on Viver Alta de Lisboa) .

This is the obvious answer to Lisbon’s hills for cyclists. Now there is no excuse.

For all Lisboners (and any visitors in Lisbon) there will be a city bike ride for the European Mobility week on the 16th September:

A Federação Portuguesa de Cicloturismo e Utilizadores de Bicicleta page

The ride goes from the centre of town near the river to the centre of town in the north of the city (Alta de Lisboa) and back again.