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ACADEMIC EDITION
                 October  2016  
From the Academic Chair....
  The ATRA ACADEMIC
COUNCIL members have been hard at work teaching the newest generation about Personal Rapid Transit/ or Automated Transit Networks as they are often called today. As automated vehicles (AV), not automated transit, are a very hot topic around the world, almost all major vehicle manufacturers and many software tech companies are actively developing competitive self-driving control platforms and even complete vehicles.  Also known as "driverless", autonomous" and "connected-automated" vehicles, the AV technology field has been described as the "wild west" of transportation technology at this point in history.  Many are making comparisons to the early rise of internet technology companies, and in fact Google is one of the companies leading the charge in pursuit of AV technology deployment with their own robot vehicles now being tested.  However, automated transit has been leading the way since the first PRT application at West Virginia University, Morgantown WVA in the 1970's. 

Enjoy this inaugural set of articles just focused on the ATRA ACADEMIC COUNCIL with more to come in the Spring.

Assistant Professor Shannon Sanders McDonald 
ATRA Academic Council Chairperson


ATRA ACADEMIC NEWS
Report on the Second Martin Lowson Paper Award
 
The second Martin Lowson Award which is donated by the Lowson Familiy, encourages young researchers to perform  high quality research in the field of ATNs. This year, the award has been presented to Waldemar Grabski, a PhD student at the  Warsaw University of Technology in Poland.  The award has been handed over in a ceremony during the PodcarCity10 conference in Antwerp, Belgium. Read more...  


Texas Southern University Studying the Impacts of
Automated Roadway Vehicles on Public Transit

TSU's Center for Transportation Training and Research (CTTR) is well underway on an NCHRP sponsored study of the future of autonomous vehicle transit systems. Read more...


Preliminary Personal Rapid Transit
Feasibility Study for Park City, Utah

During the Summer 2016 term, a team of sixteen students in a capstone civil engineering design course at the University of Utah developed a preliminary feasibility study for a personal rapid transit (PRT) system serving the Park City area of northern Utah.  Read more...

Jerry Schneider: An Academic Ahead of his time

A founding member of ATRA and an academic in the research area for many years, Dr. Jerry B. Schneider was awarded by ATRA for his Outstanding Contributions for creating the world's leading source of information on innovative transit technologies, thereby attracting interest in transit solutions for livable cities and a better world. Read more...

Editor's Note: Please consider sending an Abstract under the Call for Papers to the 2017 International Rail Conference in Chengdu, China to be held in July, 2017. The deadline has recently been extended. Since there are few abstracts from the United States, there is a strong chance that a good abstract from one of ATRA's members will be accepted.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI) is a co-sponsor of this event. ATRA Board Member, Walt Kulyk, is the Chair of T&DI's Rail/Transit Council and is reaching out to colleagues and organizations that may have an interest in the conference.

It will certainly be a good opportunity for ATRA's members to collaborate with colleagues around the world on the latest advances and practices in rail transportation, including those on Automated Transit Networks.

More information is found on the Conference Website at http://www.icrt-swjtu.org/.

Mr. Kulyk also plans to participate and will be submitting an Abstract.

OTHER NEWS
Railway station -Huda City Centre pod taxi route soon to clear snarls

Gurgaon: MCG has proposed a Personal Rapid Transit System (PRTS) to join old and new Gurgaon. This, while the earlier plan to connect the two Gurgaons via Metro hangs fire. Read more...

Metrino Driverless Pod Taxis To Come Up In Delhi-Haryana: Government

NEW DELHI: The government will soon implement the ambitious Personal Rapid Transit or Metrino project in the National Capital Region, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday.

The pilot project, which will cost Rs. 800 crore, will let passengers use India's first driverless pods - suspended on a ropeway - on a 12.3-km stretch from the Delhi-Haryana border to Badshapur via Rajiv Chowk in Delhi and IFFCO chowk and Sohna Road in Gurgaon. Read more...

View a 30-minute studio interview of Mike Stanley about TransitX on Innovation Showcase. View video...

NHAI to execute India's first 'driverless' pod-based Metrino project

So far, four global firms have qualified in the initial round of bidding for the Metrino project worth Rs 800 crore.

India's first pod taxi project received the green signal when the government on Sunday decided to execute the project under National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). So far four global firms have qualified in the initial round of bidding. Read more...

New California law allows test of autonomous shuttle with no driver

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A bill signed into law on Thursday by California Governor Jerry Brown allows a self-driving vehicle with no operator inside to test on a public road, a key step enabling a private business park outside San Francisco to test driverless shuttles. Read more...

The wizarding world of the Personal Rapid Transit

With an increase in breakdowns, students who use the PRT call on its staff for answers about the system, and they have come out from behind the curtain to respond.

The PRT is an unmistakable landmark of West Virginia University. Used by students during their class commute, the transportation system performs anywhere from 16,000 to 18,000 rides per day. It's a one of a kind transportation system for a college, intended to reduce Morgantown bus and car traffic while still getting students to class across the three large campuses on time. Read more...

Could driverless cars and people movers be part of the Meadowlands' future?

EAST RUTHERFORD - Jim Kirkos, CEO of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, thinks the region should come up with a plan for its future growth, especially with things like American Dream Meadowlands and possibly a casino opening up. Read more...

POTENTIAL OF PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM TO MEET THE URBAN TRANSPORT DEFICIT
There is a rapid increase in the use of personal modes of transport over public transport. In spite of tremendous efforts to promote public transport by the authorities; the personal mode users still prefer their own vehicles for transportation. The personal mode users resist the public transport for various reasons like comfort, waiting time, sense of privacy and access-egress trips. This study focuses on the access-egress trips and how Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) can be used to meet this deficit in the urban transportation system. Read more...

Belgian Design Competition Invites Podcar Innovation

Antwerp is known for many decadent things, chocolate and beer chief among them. Now the city adds podcar innovation to that list.

Automated city buses, taxis, and other public transit advances and prototypes will be highlighted at the  Podcar City & Advanced Transit competition Tuesday and Wednesday. Read more...

INSIGHTS INTO THE FIRST DUTCH DRIVERLESS VEHICLES

Utrecht, 19 September 2016:

Earlier today 2getthere hosted ' insights in driverless transit' at business park Rivium in the City of Capelle aan den IJssel, providing information about the key aspects related to the realization of automated vehicle systems. The ParkShuttle system at Rivium remains the only automated vehicle system operational at grade, featuring at grade intersections with other traffic, which doesn't require a safety driver or steward on each vehicle to warrant the safety. Read more...

Nitin Gadkari's 5 innovative initiatives for roads, transport & inland waterways

Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, is coming up with some interesting initiatives to deal with the chrinic problem of traffic congestion across the country and use infrastructure in mutiple ways to better cater to transportation needs of both urban and remote areas. At a time when pollution levels globally are under focus, Gadkari is looking to introduce driverless pods and build a robust network of inland waterways for environment friendly solutions to transport issues. We take a look at some initiatives that have grabbed the limelight recently: Read more...

Work to start on pod taxi project in three months: Gadkari

GURGAON: Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said the work on pilot project of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) - the proposed  pod taxi  service between Sirhaul and Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon - will begin within three months. Earlier, there was confusion among the agencies - NHAI, Railways and Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon - as to which of them will carry out the project. However, after the recent meeting of the stakeholders, it was decided that NHAI will build PRT. 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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October 2016 - In this Issue
Letter from the Academic Chair
ATRA Academic News
Other News
Website Updates
Upcoming Conferences


Website Updates
Twitter news feed has been reinstated.

2016 Membership Renewals Due Now!


PodcarCity9 Session Papers and Videos available.

View our Website for the latest   ATRA news updates.


Upcoming Conferences

October 14th-15th 
Southern Illinois University

SmartTransit Congress 2016 . October 25 - 26, 2016, Elizabeth, New Jersey.


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