ATRA Pulse - September 2017

www.advancedtransit.org Produced by: PRT Consulting, Inc.

September 2017

From the President....

ATRA board member, personal friend and long-time PRT proponent, Dennis (John) Manning passed on last month. Dennis was friendly, thoughtful and knowledgeable with a good understanding of the overall transportation picture. He was involved in ATRA for decades and could be counted on to follow through with his commitments. Dennis will be sorely missed. Our condolences go out to his family.

Early-bird registration is being extended for Podcar City so you can still get a good rate if you register soon. I am on the program committee and can assure you that the program will be very interesting with lots of high-quality speakers

The deadline for students to submit their papers for the Martin Lowson Award has been extended to September 22nd. In addition the the prize money, the winning student will be sponsored to attend and present their paper at the Podacr City Conference.

The International Conference on Transportation and Development 2018 with the theme of "Emerging Technologies - Impacts on Transportation and Development" is scheduled for July 15-18, 2018 in the Wyndham Grand Downtown Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA. The deadline to receive abstracts is September 15, 2017. Details here.

As always, enjoy reading!

Best regards,

Peter Muller, P.E., ATRA President

ATRA NEWS

Spartan Superway Speeds Ahead

by BJ Furman

A previous ATRA newsletter article in January 2016 described the genesis of the Spartan Superway project and its first three years of development (2012 - 2015) largely by students at San José State University. Since 2015 there has been significant progress in developing and demonstrating solar powered automated transit as well as presenting the technology at professional meetings and exhibitions. Read more...

Impact of Driverless Cars on Congestion

The Driverless Taxi, Driverless Transit Nexus

by Peter J. Muller, P.E.

Mercedes just announced they will start building driverless taxis in the 2020 - 2025 timeframe. These vehicles will cost far less than conventional taxis to operate and will likely provide an affordable means of transportation for many people who could then forego car ownership and save substantial money. Read more...

The History of the Advanced Transit

Association (ATRA)

Chapter Five

by Dr J. Edward Anderson

1981- The Sixth Year

OTHER NEWS

The Race to Build the Rail of the Future Heats Up: Hyperloop Startup Signs Deal Overseas

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, one of the startups trying to build a high-speed tubular rail, announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement with the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Read more...

New pod transportation system a no-go for Marlborough

MARLBOROUGH - City councilors upheld Mayor Arthur Vigeant's decision against sending a letter of interest about a new podcar transportation system, but the mayor and Transit X founder did not shut the door on revisiting the idea in the future. Read more...

WVU Discusses Future of PRT After Smoky Incident

MORGANTOWN - What seemed like a normal PRT shutdown at West Virginia University had some students worried after a video showing one of the cars smoking circulated online last week. Read more...

Metrino calls off partnership with Indian firm on pod taxi project

New Delhi: New Zealand's Metrino Personal Rapid Transit, one of the three international front runners chosen for India's first pod taxi project-has decided to withdraw and called off its joint venture with an Indian partner it declined to name.

BBMP FINDS A POD-HOLE, NEEDS RS 10 LAKH TO FIX IT

The ambitious pod project of the Bruhat Bengaluru M a h a n a g a r a P a l i k e (BBMP) has hit a speed bump before getting off the drawing board: It doesn't have the elbow room to pay the consultancy fee for evaluating the bids submitted.

Self-driving vehicles coming to ICAR

Two self-driving vehicles will begin operating from Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville as part of a demonstration project, organizers disclosed.

Pivot point: Transit system idea worth a preliminary look

A 24-hour personal rapid transit system costing $56.3 million (ballpark) and connecting Wichita State University campuses with the KU School of Medicine and Intrust Bank Arena is a long shot. A long, long shot. Read more...

In Paris, a Glimpse of Public Transportation's Driverless Future

France may be famous for its cheese and wine, but it's also a longtime leader in driverless transit. The country boasted one of the earliest models of automatic trains in 1983. In Paris, two metro lines currently run without a conductor onboard. Read more...

The above links are to articles that appear relevant to advanced transit but no guarantee is made as to their accuracy and no verification of the integrity of the associated websites has been made.

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