MISC | PRT General Discussion

[Bremas]

Originally Posted by lkstrknb

I’m very curious about the software behind the ULTra PRT system in London and Amritsar. I am guessing that the lengthy delays opening the system at London Heathrow was due to software issues and wonder if expansions on the current system at Heathrow or completely new systems will have the same software issues. Does each new system require software tweaks or has ULTra perfected the software which can be applied to any network, track arrangement, number of stations . . .

It would be fantastic if all they had to do with the new Amritsar system was to build the track, stations, and vehicles and press ‘GO’ with minimal programming.

Any thoughts?

My understanding of the Heathrow delays had more to do with Radio Frequency issues around the airport. (and reprogramming and testing along those lines.) Don't remember where I saw this.

But yes, I would assume that as they get better at this it will be more along the lines of pressing 'go'.

[lkstrknb]

Originally Posted by Bremas

My understanding of the Heathrow delays had more to do with Radio Frequency issues around the airport. (and reprogramming and testing along those lines.) Don't remember where I saw this.

But yes, I would assume that as they get better at this it will be more along the lines of pressing 'go'.

It had to me more than that. Construction was completed in October 2008 but the system didn't open until September 2011. That is nearly 3 years!! The problems had to me more than just radio frequency issues!

[lkstrknb]

http://www.skyport-heathrow.co.uk/20...brate-1st.html

Futuristic pods celebrate 1st birthday

By Salina Patel

DRIVERLESS pods at Heathrow celebrated one year of rolling out a green passenger service.

The 21-electric powered vehicles which carried 370,000 people between the Terminal 5 business car park and Terminal 5, has also gained global status over the past year.

.

To mark the occasion, Heathrow announced plans were underway for potential expansion to T1, T2 and T3, resulting in a fully operating system at the hub airport.

As the airport gears up for the Olympics, athletes and spectators, arriving at Heathrow will find the pods sprinting off the block at 25mph, working in relay, without any stopping or waiting.

John Holland-Kay, BAA commercial director, said: "We are delighted with the fantastic service the pods have provided for Heathrow's passengers over the past year.

"It is a reliable service, reduces waiting time and offers a quicker, smoother journey - there's an enormous sense of pride for all staff who played their part in turning this science fiction dream into a reality at Heathrow and creating the best in British innovation.

"The positive feedback from our passengers continues to come through in abundance which is why we believe this service truly does 'make every journey better'.

The emissions free, four-person cart, which was launched on May 7, has replaced buses on the route saving more than 50,000 bus passenger journeys, and removed 200 tonnes of C02.

The environmentally-friendly pod is programmable to go where and when you want, and uses 70 per cent less energy per passenger to power than a car, and 50 per cent less than a bus.

The creation of Ultra Global PRT, the Heathrow pod operates 22 hours weekdays, 20 hours on Saturdays, 21 hours on Sundays - longer periods than many other public transport systems.

In the past year it has proved to be have better than 99 per cent reliability, is free from increasing petrol prices and transport disputes, and has built up a following across the globe.

Fraser Brown, managing director of Ultra Global PRT, said: "For those who bemoan the time spent waiting for the next bus/train/tube or their dependability, listen to this - pod users turn up at a station, programme their pod, hop in and are off - usually within 30 seconds.

"And with a reliability of more than 99 per cent, they leave other transport modes standing - literally."

In the last few months the Heathrow pod has bagged awards from London Transport Times, Business Parking, AirRail News and Climate Change (shortlisted).

Meanwhile, the largest pod transport system of its kind is under construction in Amrtisar, India.

A sister system it is 10 times larger than the one at Heathrow, and will feature an eight kilometre track, 240 vehicles, carrying up to 100,000 passengers a day, and is due to completed in late 2014.

[Bremas]

Town on southern edge of New Delhi has green-lighted a large Ultra project.

"According to the detailed project report, there would be 143 stations in all and the entire length would be around 105km."

http://articles.timesofindia.indiati...project-report

[lkstrknb]

This is great news, if it can be believed. I've checked the Ultra PRT website and they don't have any news about this. http://www.ultraglobalprt.com/

I hope this becomes a reality!

[Ruston]

Originally Posted by lkstrknb

Futuristic pods celebrate 1st birthday


The 21-electric powered vehicles which carried 370,000 people between the Terminal 5 business car park and Terminal 5, has also gained global status over the past year.

370.000 people/year are slightly more than 1000 pax/day ...
Would like to know operational and maintenance costs, because with such a limited number is impossible to break even on capital costs even in many years.

[Bremas]

Originally Posted by Ruston

370.000 people/year are slightly more than 1000 pax/day ...
Would like to know operational and maintenance costs, because with such a limited number is impossible to break even on capital costs even in many years.

Does the airport shuttle break even on capital costs? It was a proof of concept; they do not charge at Heathrow.

In Amritsar, on the other hand, Ultra is paying to build it itself and then make money on its operation. I believe the new location will work the same way. They definitely believe it is profitable.

I've seen a number of discussions about the new project. There has been more then one Indian newspaper article about it. The consensus so far is that the map labelled 'urban city' at the bottom of this Fairwood page is the preliminary layout.
http://www.fairwoodindia.com/persona...ansport-system

[Bremas]

Another Ultra feasibility study in Trivandrum India.

http://www.yentha.com/news/view/1/th...re-of-pod-cars

[Ruston]

Originally Posted by Bremas

Does the airport shuttle break even on capital costs? It was a proof of concept; they do not charge at Heathrow.

Lot of money literally thrown away - the Heathrow PRT serve just the terminal 5 business parking that should be no more than 500 places , with the two parking stations that are 300 metres distant each - a single station located centrally would have even shortened the walk for many !

3 20 places electrical shuttle busses would have offered a similar level of service at a 2-digit fraction of cost.

[Bremas]

Originally Posted by Ruston

Lot of money literally thrown away - the Heathrow PRT serve just the terminal 5 business parking that should be no more than 500 places , with the two parking stations that are 300 metres distant each - a single station located centrally would have even shortened the walk for many !

3 20 places electrical shuttle busses would have offered a similar level of service at a 2-digit fraction of cost.

Yes, but..... it's a proof of concept (I repeat). BAA not only signed Ultra for the project, they bought the company. The plan is to run the pods to all the terminals and even some outlying regions......... and to make lots of money in the long run by selling this technology around the world.

Proof of concept

[Suburbanist]

Originally Posted by Ruston

3 20 places electrical shuttle busses would have offered a similar level of service at a 2-digit fraction of cost.

Did you factor in the cost of drivers for 20 electric buses, round the clock, 7 days a week, 365 days per year?

That is when automated transport systems start getting interesting.

[Ruston]

Originally Posted by Suburbanist

Did you factor in the cost of drivers for 20 electric buses, round the clock, 7 days a week, 365 days per year?

That is when automated transport systems start getting interesting.

Ok, i buy the "proof of concept" thing - but the result proof seems very, very weak to me :

- PPH (person per hour) are very low, less than 1/10th of alternatives
- Dispatching to different stations (the "high point" of PRT) in this case is practically useless



This is the Terminal 5 Business parking, the two white trapezoidal small buildings are the two different stations - its clear that a single central station would have changed literally nothing on accessibility, nor that a possible different traffic load (another plus cited by PRT) is a real possibility in this environment .


If they would seriously try to demonstrate something, why just don't connect the other adjoining parking?

[Bremas]

Originally Posted by Ruston

If they would seriously try to demonstrate something, why just don't connect the other adjoining parking?

I can only take educated guesses as to what they are thinking. My guess is that their longer term plan for the airport itself will involve more than just running prt lines.

As for whether this has proved anything, I believe that if the Indian projects go forward then it already has.

The Indian projects will prove scalability and capacity.

Keep in mind that in Amritsar Ultra is footing the bill for construction; so for the people spending the money (the people that really matter) enough has already been proved to go forward.

[Bremas]

Originally Posted by Ruston

This is the Terminal 5 Business parking, the two white trapezoidal small buildings are the two different stations - its clear that a single central station would have changed literally nothing on accessibility, nor that a possible different traffic load (another plus cited by PRT) is a real possibility in this environment .


If they would seriously try to demonstrate something, why just don't connect the other adjoining parking?

Why did they use two stations in the one car park?.... I do not know. Once again I can only make guesses. (one would be that they needed 3 total destinations to prove the concept without going to other car parks)

The other parking lots you show have been linked in other plans. This post from 2010 shows some of them.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=245
There have been more inclusive maps floating around, but I cannot find them at the moment.
One showed the system also connecting to local apartment complexes.

Why are they not building the Heathrow system out further right now? I do not know. But if you look at the end of the 'main line' at the parking lot you can see that it was built to be ready for added extension.

[trainrover]

Originally Posted by Ruston

Is this car park built over the "Balancing Reservoir"? What is/was the reservoir for?

[lkstrknb]

Heathrow announces plans for an additional Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system

on: Feb 13, 2013

http://www.ultraglobalprt.com/heathr...stem-heathrow/

Ultra Global are delighted to see that plans for an additional Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system at Heathrow have been included in Heathrow Airport Limited’s business plan for the next five years (April 2014-2019, also known as Q6) which was announced this week. The proposed system which will run from Terminals 2 & 3 out to the terminal’s own particular business car parks will aid Heathrow Airport Limited in its vision to create a far simpler Central Terminal Area for passengers.

The new Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, which will be the second installed at Heathrow, follows in the path of the hugely successful Heathrow POD system that currently connects the Terminal 5 Business Car Park with Terminal 5 itself. The system at Terminal 5 which has been operational since May 2011 has carried over 600,000 passengers to date, has removed the need for 70,000 bus journeys on Heathrow’s roads each year and has maintained impressive availability figures of around 99.7%.

In response to the news, Ultra Global Managing Director Fraser Brown commented, ‘We are thrilled to hear of Heathrow’s inclusion of a further PRT system in Q6, the success of Heathrow POD has demonstrated the huge potential in PRT to deliver an effective sustainable first/last mile solution around campus locations such as airports as well as providing a distributor service from ‘heavier’ transport interchanges such as rail stations. It is an endorsement of the Ultra system that less than two years after opening the world’s first airport PRT system, Heathrow wants to build more.’

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will now publish a consultation on their initial proposals for aeronautical charges at Heathrow before making a final decision in January 2014. The Q6 Period will begin in April 2014 and run through to 2019.

The full Heathrow Airport Limited Q6 Business Plan can be found here.





Notes to Editors:

Ultra Global Limited

Ultra Global Limited designed and operate the Heathrow POD system at London’s Heathrow Airport. Ultra Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a new and innovative on-demand system for developed or urban environments. It is designed to meet the need for congestion free, multi origin, multi-destination public transport. Using small driverless electric vehicles that run on guideways, the lightweight and flexible nature of the system enables it to be retrofitted into a broad range of environments and provide transportation that is environmentally friendly and operationally efficient. For more information please visit www.ultraglobalprt.com

Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited

Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited (formerly BAA) owns and runs London Heathrow Airport, Britain’s aviation hub, as well as a number of other UK airports – Aberdeen ,Glasgow and Southampton. For more information please visit www.heathrowairport.com.