Robot taxis coming to Heathrow and other airports

December 27, 4:59 PMAirlines/Airport ExaminerJoel Siegfried

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Robot taxis, known as pods, are part of a personal rapid transit (PRT) system which will be operating at Heathrow Airport outside of London by Spring 2010. Other airports and municipalities are studying the system, which is ideal as circulator transit for airports, office parks, universities, and other major activity centers.

The UK based parent company behind this project is Advanced Transport Systems, Ltd. of Bristol, or simply ATS ULTra. They also have offices in Berkeley, California.

The company touts that ULTra is a battery-driven, 200-mpg-equivalent, elevated personal rapid transit system with multiple four-person vehicles.  It is faster than a car. In many applications, ULTra solves the "last mile problem".

CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT & BELOW RIGHT) ATS ULTra robot taxi; ATS ULTra  interior (Photo Credits - ATS ULTra); (BELOW LEFT)  Groundbreaking for SAN Green Build (Photo Credit - Joel Siegfried)

Two videos and a slide show follow this article about the ATS ULTra system.

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The pods run on a fixed track right of way, and can be individually programmed for specific routes and stops. They are environmentally friendly and sustainable, leave no carbon footprint, and take the place of taxis, buses, and automobiles.

San Diego International Airport has recently launched an $853 million airport expansion project known as the Terminal Development Program (TDP) or Green Build, the largest improvement project in the airport's history. It will include 10 new jet gates at Terminal 2 West, expanded dining and shopping options, and terminal, roadway, parking and airfield improvements, including an inter modal transit center.  A program such as ATS ULTra might be a perfect application for San Diego Airport, linking its three separate terminals, and possibly extending to the downtown city center, or the nearby Old Town Transit Center.

According to David Holdcroft, BAA's PRT Manager, "This innovative system forms part of BAA's plan to transform Heathrow, improve the passenger experience and reduce the environmental impact of our operation through the development of cutting edge, green transport solutions. It offers a completely new form of public transport - one that will deliver a fast, efficient service to passengers and bring considerable environmental benefits, saving more than half of the fuel used by existing forms of public or private transport." BAA was formerly known as British Airport Authority.

Another agency looking at this system is the City of San Jose, California, which has allocated $4 million to conduct an economic and technical evaluation of PRT for San Jose Airport and surrounding destinations. In September of 2008, the City of San Jose issued a Request for Interest for an Automated Guideway (PRT) system for San Jose Airport.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation held a symposium in November 2009 with over 60 agencies attending. It is now in the process of soliciting letters of interest from Minnesota cities interested in studying PRT feasibility for their city. Similar interest has been expressed by the cities of Ithaca (NY), Atlanta (GA), and St. Louis (MO).

PRT is catching on. There are now three PRT customers: BAA for the "ATS ULTra" system at Heathrow Terminal 5, Masdar Ecocity (Abu Dhabi, UAE) for the "2getthere" system, and Suncheon (South Korea) for the "Vectus" system. ATS UTLra was founded by Martin Lowson, who is also the UTra PRT inventor. He is a rocket scientist and has worked extensively with NASA on the Apollo Space Program’s Saturn Rocket.

CAPTION: (ABOVE RIGHT) Projected San Jose ULTra PRT stations (Photo Credit - ATS ULTra)

Combining environmental sustainability, cost effectiveness, user friendly options and reliability sounds like a winning combination.

Please leave comments below or by email and subscribe to get future updates. We would especially like to know your thoughts about the PRT ULTra system, and wish our readers a very Happy New Year.