April 27 2013
APM engineers take a serious look at airport pods
Will the operating base of podcars in 2020 be as broad as the reality of airport APMs, such as this control center at Miami?
The 13th APM (Automated People Mover) conference through the auspices of the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) took place last week in Phoenix under the shadow, so to speak, of the $1.6-billion elevated airfront spine recently opened at Sky Harbor Airport. The lower unit costs and flexibility of PRT are getting serious attention. Martin Lowson described the positive acceptance of its pod shuttle at London Heathrow.
The April event in Phoenix was well attended, and featured a hard O&M workshop for airport APM managers. APM13’s location reflected the airport-oriented nature of the US APM industry. There was a pervasive undertone about how high costs (and other factors) have dried up the US airport market. A $1.6 billion for a 3.5km spine linking airport terminals to remote parking, transit and future car rental center is a major financial burden – even for an airport with rich cashflows. The price jumped from $1.1 billion announced in 2011. Bombardier’s supply contract was “only” $186 million. Most resources went t heavy guideway structures – were they specified to withstand a crashing 747 or direct terrorist attack? Other costs were in stations, electrification and softer project elements.
Supplier Presence
MHI, Doppelmayr, Leitner and other industrial players were also there. One new technology developer surprised with a booth among the lively APM exhibits. SwiftTram entrepreneurs from Boulder CO may be harbingers of a new spring of American R&D. For now, better airport and other APM project prospects are in Asia and maybe Latin America.
Vectus was supposed to start service on installation in a nature preserve in Suncheon, South Korea in April. The Korean speaker failed to show. Perhaps it was North Korean antics, but the Vectus opening has reportedly been put off until fall. There was no presentation on San Jose’s airport-serving ATN plans, although Laura Stuchinsky was present, engaged in lively exchanges in the hallways.
To podcar-oriented minds, much of APM-Phoenix last week was “same old, same old”. Stirring much attention were challenges from Silicon Valley entrepreneur Brad Templeton. After analyzing markets for PRT – at least in the pricey, hyperactive climes of the southern tip of San Francisco Bay – Templeton concluded that the cost and ugliness of elevated infrastructure are just too much. He argued that the future is not in guideway and station infrastructure that was clearly the heart of PHX and the civil engineers of ASCE.
Sadly, there was little or no Swedish presence in Phoenix. Lea+Elliott was, as always at the APM series, a major force. The ASCE series launched in the 1980s. L+E’s national and international APM accomplishments are well known. It is significant that they are also sponsors of the 7th Podcar City conference to take place October 23-25 within the Washington DC Beltway.
Visit the detail page to comment, to rate or to share this article!'
Previous Podcar News
Boston’s Infrastructural Moment There are growing signs that Boston, which likes to think of itself as the city that led the American Revolution to become the Hub of the Universe and continue that role as a world research and academic center second to ...more
Sweden did not play a visible role in government-sponsored PRT in the 1970s when American R&D was in full bloom. However many in Sweden – especially at Volvo -- watched closely and talked and shared sketches and numbers. Then came Washington’s policy ...more
Airport officials have announced a $5-billion Q6 Plan which includes a second, larger installation of PRT at Terminal 2. What is perhaps most significant is that no one in the mainstream media even noticed. Not a peep. Q6 will run from 2014 through ...more
Tillsammans! It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the relaunch of this website as a reformatted and revitalized international platform for news and views on urban mobility innovation. We have assembled a team of podcar-inclined professionals ...more
Chronic congestion and the rising cost of owning and operating a car are calling into question the 50-year love affair with the car. Hurricane Sandy has literally pushed the reality of the obscure link between intensifying weather patterns and the ...more
Two years after the opening of two modern PRTs (short, battery-powered shuttles), there has been no follow-on. This is disappointing to those who heralded these driverless vehicles systems in the Masdar complex of Abu Dhabi and at London Heathrow’s new ...more
It may well be that a small public policy change can transform the fundamental structure of the marketplace. Isn’t that what national banks – such as the Federal Reserve in the US – do? They tweak the prime interest rate up or down a notch, and that ...more
Podcars Move Out of Infrastructure Problems So fast are transformations sweeping our world forward into the 21st century that it is difficult to imagine where will be in ten years. What infrastructure will we need? How can we move forward to a 2020 with ...more
If Chicago developers are considering PRT and the Obama Presidential Library in the same project, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that design students have visualized podcars for a pivotal stretch of the River Thames in London where a new US Embassy will ...more
The current New Yorker shows the White House with front columns in a rainbow of soft colors, a symbol of President Obama’s new gay marriage stance, ratcheting out from ‘evolving’ status. Are subtle signals also hinting at a softening of FTA’s ambiguity ...more
Latest Network News
KOMPASS will hold its next yearly conference in Stockholm on May 16, 2013. Work on implementing the first podcar system in Sweden is making significant progress. Several ...more
Last January 13 Technix set off advanced transit sparks of international dimensions in a small incubator park owned by the University of Maryland, Twenty ATRA members and guests exchanged news and ...more
Several activities are planned for this year. First, a trailer-able Podcar with be available for members and other interested cities for this year. The Expo kit contains a full-scale professional ...more
Next Events
Annual meeting of ITS-NY with presentation on autonomous road vehicle transit applicationsmore
Second symposium of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles at Rutgers Universitymore
ElevatorU the annual meeting of American elevator managers for large universities and medical complexes. A session will focus on horizontal circulation for professionals who are used ...more
Urban Mobility 3.0 Frost + Sullivan's interactive workshop on car-sharing, on-demand solutions and Ultra.more
The Advanced Transportation Symposium with Podcar City 7 will take place at George Mason University, Washington DC, October 23-25, 2013. Please visit the conference website for more information.more
No comments