Podcar.

Personal rapid transit (PRT), also called podcar, is a public transportation mode featuring small automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guide ways. PRT is a type of automated guideway transit (AGT), a class of system which also includes larger vehicles all the way to small subway systems.


In PRT designs, vehicles are sized for individual or small group travel, typically carrying no more than 3 to 6 passengers per vehicle. Guide ways are arranged in a network topology, with all stations located on sidings, and with frequent merge/diverge points. This approach allows for nonstop, point-to-point travel, bypassing all intermediate stations. The point-to-point service has been compared to a taxi or a horizontal lift (elevator).


 

Existing and planned networks

Currently, two PRT networks and one quasi-PRT network are operational, and several more are in the planning stage.

Location	Status	System	Date	Guideway	Stations / vehicles	Notes
Morgantown, West Virginia, US	Operational	WVU PRT	1975	13.2 km (8.2 mi)	5 / 73	Up to 20 passengers per vehicle, some rides not point-to-point during low usage periods
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE	Operational (first phase)	2getthere	2010	1.5 km (0.9 mi)	5 / 13	Initial plans called for automobiles to be banned, with PRT as the only powered intra-city transport (along with an inter-city light rail line) Masdar is now considering allowing other motorized transport modes, such as EVs
London Heathrow Airport, England	Operational	ULTra	2011	3.8 km (2.4 mi)	3 / 21	Currently a pilot system, connecting Terminal 5 with a long-term car park. If the pilot is successful, BAA plans to extend it throughout the airport.
Suncheon, South Korea	Under Construction	Vectus.	2013	9.8 km (6.1 mi)	2 / 40	Will connect Suncheon to the future site of the International Gardening Festival.
Amritsar, Punjab, India.	Under Construction	ULTra	2014	7.0 km (4.3 mi)	7 / 200	Will be the first urban PRT system when completed in late 2014.

Travel speed

For a given peak speed, nonstop journeys are about three times as fast as those with intermediate stops. This is not just because of the time for starting and stopping. Scheduled vehicles are also slowed by boardings and exits for multiple destinations.
Therefore, a given PRT seat transports about three times as many passenger miles per day as a seat performing scheduled stops. So PRT should also reduce the number of needed seats threefold for a given number of passenger miles.
While a few PRT designs have operating speeds of 100 km/h (60 mph), and one as high as 241 km/h (150 mph), most are in the region of 40–70 km/h (25–45 mph). Rail systems generally have higher maximum speeds, typically 90–130 km/h (55–80 mph) and sometimes well in excess of 160 km/h (100 mph), but average travel speed is reduced about threefold by scheduled stops and passenger transfers.