Systems Analysis of Personal Transport

摘要

Analysis of current types of public transport shows that they are mismatched to geography of modern towns, the form of which is dominated by the availability of the car. The requirements for a future urban public transport system are defined in general terms. The requirements cover those of the user, the urban environment, and technical requirements. It has been found that exploitation of existing technologies can meet these requirements in a new type of transport. This can be described as a personal automatic taxi system running on its own guideway network. The new transport system, which is an improved version of types previously proposed under the general description of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), appears to offer an attractive and sustainable alternative to the car for urban transport in the next century.