MA, MSc, MICE, FIHT, MILT
Director Colin Buchanan, London.

Malcolm Buchanan read engineering at Cambridge and began his transport career in the Greater London Council, where he successively headed the highway planning, bus and rail sections within the Transportation Branch. He moved into consultancy in 1974 and has worked throughout the UK, in Europe, the Middle East, India and China on urban transport and planning studies. He was forced into an interest in PRT by developer clients demanding “something better than a bus” and after lengthy arguments and discussions with Martin Lowson.

Abstract

This paper discusses the three main reasons why PRT is now a form of public transport whose time has come. In the first instance the car has created widespread, dispersed forms of landuse which are very difficult to serve by conventional public transport and are becoming increasingly congested with traffic. Secondly global warming requires a major reduction in transport emissions and thirdly we are living at the height of the second industrial revolution, but have yet to see it bring significant improvements to public transport.
The paper then discusses the case of Daventry, describes how the PRT network was designed and tested, outlines the cost, revenue and benefit forecasts and explains why the system is expected significantly to cut car traffic in the town.
The paper finally considers the emerging forms and roles of PRT.