ULTra PRT at Heathrow - POV ride

The ULTra Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system is a revolutionary new transportation technology which is currently being tested at Heathrow Airport, and will open to the public in the spring of 2009. The PRT consists of a system of fully automatic, zero-emission electric vehicles. These vehicles will be available at the stations, 24/7. Using them is as simple as walking up to a vehicle, selecting your destination, and pressing the "Start" button.

This raw footage from November 2009 shows the view out the front of an ULTra vehicle as it makes the return journey from Terminal 5 to the short term business car park.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• PRT
• pod car
• podcar
• transit
• public transit
• environment
• transport
• public transport
• electric vehicle
• zero-emission

[nathankoren]

@sadhaklal - All I can say about India is to keep watching the ULTraprt.com website for official news; as for Heathrow: it's free to use, and open 22 hours per day. Just go to T5 and follow the signs for Business Parking.

[wrcousert]

My biggest concern is battery life. How far can it go on a single charge? How long does it take to recharge?

Will an Ultra PRT system in a large city be able to handle the demand?

[nathankoren]

@wrcousert The vehicles are recharged every time they stop at a station - so they're constantly receiving rapid top-ups, and don't need a large battery to last the whole day, like a normal electric car. Even in a large city, individual trips are small (avg. 4-8 km), which the ULTra vehicle can easily handle.

[rklaehn]

Very impressive. But it is a shame that the guideway fences are so ugly. They have kept the construction fences due to cost reasons, but since this is the showcase for future PRT systems they should have invested into more appealing fences.

Maybe once the system has a proven reliability record, they will be able to build guideways without fencing. After all, an elevated railway track usually does not have fences either.

[nathankoren]

I don't think it should be any secret that we feel much the same way about the fencing. It's certainly possible to make far more attractive and unobtrusive fencing then this! And yes, once ULTra has a well-established operational record, we do expect that it will be possible to remove the fencing entirely -- but for now, given the newness of the technology and the cautious nature of the transport industry, it's definitely better to be safe than sorry.

[rklaehn]

@nathankoren Good to know that you are aware of the issue. Maybe retrofitting a small guideway section with a more attractive fence would be good to convince future investors.

By the way: do you need a plane ticket to ride the system, or will it be open to visitors?

[nathankoren]

@rklaehn We've talked about doing exactly that - retrofitting a small section of guideway with something more attractive. We've got other priorities at the moment, but that may well happen at some point.

Anybody will be able to ride the system - no ticket required. However, during peak periods, we will deploy station hosts to ensure that the car par users it is meant to serve are not overwhelmed by idle curiosity-seekers.

[73elephants]

Yup - increases station capacity per given length and at same time reduces risk of vehicles being held up in queue at station. Plus it's kinda cool.

[sadhaklal]

@nathankoren I've heard that Ultra is building this system in Amritsar and Delhi, India. Any updates on that? 

[wrcousert]

@nathankoren Won't the frequent top-ups shorten the battery life and prevent them from being fully recharged? Most batteries have a memory problem.

[wrcousert]

@nathankoren Why not use a catenary wire and switch to battery only where absolutely necessary?

[sadhaklal]

@wrcousert I heard in another video that it can go 60km at a stretch and then needs to be charged for 1 hour.

[samwula]

@rklaehn mmm true i thumbed up, I think however maybe a little low rail is needed, because the vehicle size is small, so the proportional weight of the passengers is high, so if you have people messing around in there, it could tip on a fast corner, but I feel a 1 1/2 foot high tempered glass solution would be better. :D

[Balarick]

@KooKas2oo8 from maps you can see it is. maybe they have an expansion schedule.

[taztaz79]

@iwonttell19888 I think its about time UK learns to drive on the right (right) side... Sweden converted many years ago... :)