Ithaca's PRT Promoters Know Better Than You

On another blog, a persistent troll accused me of representing the interests of "the light rail lobby".

It's a ridiculous claim, but it gives me an opportunity to say what I stand for.

I am in favor of full and meaningful citizen participation in decisions that effect the neighborhoods they live in. That is why I volunteered to oppose the 35W Access Project.

Meaningful citizen participation requires that citizens be given the power to make decisions based on the best available information.

The PRT promoters of Ithaca seem to have another idea... no meaningful citizen participation.

This is from the local Green Cities blog:

THE GOVERNMENT: Top down approach. This is how any really major change has ever happened in the world of environmentalism. Without governmental guidance or support very little will get done in a short period of time.

And what sort of "major change" do these self-styled "green" tyrants want to force on Ithaca?

Personal Rapid Transit:

Goal 1: To engage the Cornell community in learning, discussing, and eventually approving the vision of Connect Ithaca, which includes collaborative planning for an Ithaca-wide personal rapid transity (PRT) system.

Goal 2: To outreach to the downtown Ithaca community about Connect Ithaca and work with any other parties in promoting PRT in Ithaca.

Looks like the Connect Ithaca Team is going about the business of lining up support for their top-down pod revolution. Here is a resolution passed by the Cornell Student Assembly.

And the Chair of Connect Ithaca Jacob Roberts is also going about the business of lining up support:

Ithaca is well positioned to become a beta-site for one of the first modern PRT networks in the world. Various Industry leaders, International PRT NGOs, and even other US city Mayors are already supporting Connect Ithaca and its effort to situate Ithaca, NY and Tompkins County as the testing, development and manufacturing hub of the first major North American PRT network. Very exciting, indeed!

What Jake means by "beta-site" is that Ithaca is where the PRTistas plan to work out the bugs in their ridiculous concept.

Here's Jake talking about the Podcar Conference:

Click To Play

How Old is Personal Rapid Transit?

In the last post I showed a newspaper clipping that showed that J. Edward Anderson has been wasting everyone's time with his "new" and "innovative" PRT concept since the Nixon Era of the early 1970's.

A PRTista cranked up his keyboard to send me what he thought was a correction:

...PRT ideas trace back to the 1950s....

I suppose he means the sort of "futuristic" crackpot gadgetbahn ideas in this 1958 Disney movie:



... I suppose you could go back to Leonardo's sketchbooks to find a mention of PRT... hey there it is:



.... and look, there's PRT in the caves of Lascaux:



.... wow, they were working on "new" and "innovative" ideas way back then!

Personal Rapid Transit is a Nixon Era Concept

For over thirty years, J. Edward Anderson and his pals have been wasting our time with PRT:



Yes, that is Nixon's face in the photo.

The CPRT's David Gow Calls Rep. Mark Olson a "Certifiable Wacko"

Over at the Dump Bachmann blog, the Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit's Seattle representative David Gow ( Mr_Grant) left this comment:

May I make a strategic suggestion? You should be trying to organize a campaign to recall Slappy Olson. He seems to be the most irrelevant politician in Minnesota and a certifiable wacko, it shouldn't be that hard of a sales job.

It looks as if the CPRT has thrown Rep. Mark Olson under the bus... er ... pod.

The PRTistas were much more loyal to Dean Zimmermann. Even after Zimmermann lost his appeal on his bribery conviction, they still have his PRT plan for Minneapolis on their website.

J. Edward Anderson signed a statement of support for Dean Zimmermann calling the former Minneapolis councilman a "political prisoner".

Not very smart of the CPRT to turn their back on Rep. Mark Olson.

Rep. Mark Olson knows a few things. If the PRTistas turn their back on him, he could find the right publisher for his memoirs and tell all about how the PRT flim-flam operates. It might even become a bestseller.

Heck, I might even help him write it.


Dump Mark Olson in BMRD's Top Seven List

Dump Mark Olson is # 5 on Hal Kimball's years end list of blogs:

5. Dump Mark Olson: Avidor's work this past year on the Mark Olson domestic violence case and his PRT boondoggle have been excellent and consistent. No one is better with photoshop either! I'm looking forward to Avidor covering the Olson House race in 08.

Check out the other blogs on Hal's list.

SD 25 GOP Candidate Ray Cox Supports Rep. Mark Olson's PRT Boondoggle

If anyone you know still has any doubts that PRT is anything but a scam, listen to this segment of an interview I did with the Government's chief witness in the Zimmermann corruption trial.

January 3rd is the SD 25 election.

At the Senate District 25 candidate forum December 20th, candidate Ray Cox described himself and the Independent candidate Vance Norgaard as "PRT guys".

Ray Cox was referring to "Personal Rapid Transit". PRT is an infeasible, controversial transportation concept which has been wasting the time of citizens and public officials for over 30 years. There are no working PRT systems anywhere in the world.

Cox also says there is a 1/4 mile Personal Rapid Transit demonstration project in Duluth. That is not true.

Ray Cox also said PRT has "a lot of potential" and "the State should get behind it".

Ray Cox is misinformed. PRT is a classic boondoggle. There isn't a community in Minnesota that would willingly cut down half the trees on their streets for a monorail-like structure with a view into their second-story windows.

PRT was promoted heavily in 2004 by Rep. Mark Olson (recently ejected from the House GOP Caucus) and former Minneapolis Councilman Dean Zimmermann (now serving a sentence for bribery).

Rep. Mark Olson's PRT bills inn 2004 would have allowed Duluth (or Minneapolis) to bond for PRT, but those bills never made it past the conference committee.

Rep. Margaret Kelliher said in 2004 that PRT had "junk bond status"... she was right then and she is still right. PRT is a boondoggle that has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars in cities around the world.

Even if PRT was everything its promoters claim it to be, PRT is not funded by the Federal Government as they do with conventional transportation infrastructure projects.... Minnesota taxpayers would have to pay for the ENTIRE cost of developing the technology AND building a system (if it were possible) that would cost billions of dollars just for the Metro Area alone.

I hope the voters of SD 25 elect a senator who supports proven, conventional transportation initiatives. Minnesota does not need more fiscally imprudent legislators eager to risk scarce public dollars on pie-in-the-sky concepts like PRT.

Dean Zimmermann Asked Developer for $250,000 for PRT

IN this video interview for Minneapolis Confidential, developer and builder Gary Carlson talked about the trial of Rep. Mark Olson's fellow PRT associate Gary Dean Zimmermann. Carlson briefly mentions that Zimmermann asked him for $250,000 for his PRT project with the Taxi 2000 Corporation... listen:



Longer version of this video at Minneapolis Confidential.

Skytran LTE Claims PRT "... delivers the best transit service in the United States."

Totally bizarre.... even for Skytran promoters who claim their "system" is cheaper to build than LRT because Skytran is built with a guideway-extruding robot:

Another smart way to go

I would like to join the IJ in thanking Supervisors Judy Arnold and Charles McGlashan for inviting Unimodal to share its vision of personal rapid transit with the citizens of Marin on Dec. 5. I also appreciated the public's insightful and at times critical questions. However, an important point went unmentioned in your editorial (Dec. 12, "Public transit and Buck Rogers").

Personal rapid transit is not in some distant future. PRT is here today. And has been for 30 years. As we noted in our presentation, the federal government built the Morgantown, W.Va., PRT system in the 1970s and it is still delivers the best transit service in the United States. Unfortunately, for political reasons, Morgantown remains the best system you've never heard of. In Europe, politics has been swept aside and a second generation of PRT is being deployed in the at London's Heathrow Airport and in Uppsala, Sweden. These systems can be ordered today.

Next generation PRT builds on these proven first- and second-generation systems and will deliver a level of service and performance unmatched by automobiles or transit. As such, Unimodal's SkyTran PRT system is the middle way to the sustainable transportation future the Earth needs today.

Because the stakes are so high, all options should be on the table for Marin, the United States and the world. Planning our future in these dangerous times is not a zero-sum game. The old and new can co-exist and work together side by side.

That would be the smart way to go.

Christopher Perkins, chief executive officer, Unimodal Systems

Chris uses the word "smart" because the proposed rail transit line the local anti-transit group Marin Citizens for Effective Transportation opposes goes by the acronym S.M.A.R.T.

Maybe Perkins is confused by the existence of PRT in "Second LIfe"?

It's interesting that PRT always seems to pop up in places where rail transit is being proposed.

Marshall Independent: "Seifert says expelling lawmaker was right thing"

Column in Marshall, Minnesota's Independent by Editor Dana Yost:





In his first year as House minority leader, state Rep. Marty Seifert has faced some tough moments.



Tense talks over the state budget. Criticism at home from Lyon County commissioners. Telling Republican House staff workers last year before Christmas they were being laid off because the GOP had lost the majority.



In context, that makes what he had to do this month seem not so tough — actually seem like the right thing to do.



In a story that broke this week, Seifert and the House Republican Caucus he leads voted to expel Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake, from the GOP caucus after Olson was convicted on a domestic violence charge.



Olson had already been suspended after the case had gone to court, but the caucus took stricter action after the conviction.



"It's never easy to tell a guy you've served in the House with for 11 years that you're expelling him," Seifert said the other day. "It's never an easy thing to do stuff like this. But this was not as hard as telling good, hard-working people they weren't going to have a job or making budget decisions. This was tough, but it wasn't the worst thing.

"

In fact, it was easy to justify.



Olson was convicted of misdemeanor assault against his wife.



The jury convicted him of causing his wife to fear of bodily harm after an much-publicized incident in which they collided and fell to the ground and he supposedly hit her with a Bible. The jury acquitted Olson of the more serious charge of intentionally harming or trying to harm his wife. The original charges said he knocked his wife to the ground three times.



Olson frequently talked about how he follows the Bible and stresses the importance of family values. Seifert said the criminal conviction points to some hypocrisy the GOP caucus simply couldn't be associated with.



"We certainly have a lot of concern in elected office — are we going to try to keep on a higher ground of ethics?" Seifert said. "If he had been acquitted, it would have been cut and dry (Olson would stay in the caucus). But he was convicted. He's going to appeal, so we put in the caveat that he could be reinstated if he's successful (with the appeal or on Election Day).

"

For now, though, Olson is a convicted wife-assaulter. That alone made Seifert upset. He said he grew up in a peaceful household and lives in one now, and doesn't understand or tolerate domestic violence no matter how angry someone gets.



"People are bothered by the hypocrisy," Seifert said. "You can't have office-holders talking about family values and have a caucus member engage in domestic assault. It's hypocritical and feeds the cynicism people feel about politics.

"

Olson is still in the House and can still call himself a Republican, but by being booted from the Republican caucus he loses all access to staff support and other privileges.



Seifert said Olson was angry when Seifert called him with the news, and Olson told the Twin Cities media Tuesday he will seek re-election — either as a Republican or a third-party candidate. He said he and his wife have reconciled and the issue shouldn't be as big as it is.



Seifert disagreed.

"He may well win his seat again, but that doesn't mean I have to be part of it," Seifert said, speaking as the caucus leader.

Seifert also contrasted the GOP's expulsion of Olson with the way the U.S. Senate has waffled over Republican Sen. Larry Craig's sex-related conviction, and how the state Senate DFL caucus responded to the DWI arrest of Senate

President James Metzen on the final day of the 2007 session.

Metzen was also convicted and apologized. The DFL hasn't called for Metzen to be penalized legislatively, but has supported his treatment program.

"That might be seen as a little different than domestic violence," Seifert said. "But he could have killed somebody (while driving drunk).

But people are saying if the DFL didn't do anything to Jim Metzen, why are the Republicans doing this to Mark Olson.

"Well, we're not the Democrats ... when it comes to domestic violence, that's a big deal."

The Republicans didn't rush to judgment, Seifert said, deliberating Olson's fate over long hours and waiting until the judicial process had run its course.



And this didn't help Olson, either: While Metzen apologized for his DWI arrest, Olson has hardly acknowledged he was wrong in the domestic assault incident, Seifert said.

"I have never seen any sense of remorse from Mark Olson on this," Seifert said. "I've served with him for 11 years and I would have expected some sort of contrition. I haven't seen that at all.

"

Seifert said the GOP has taken some heat that the expulsion could cost the party Olson's seat entirely. Or on the flip side, that it was a calculated GOP step to get rid of damaged goods and clear room for other possible candidates, including former secretary of state Mary Kiffmeyer.



Ultimately, though, something else overrode political concerns, Seifert said.

"At some point, you have to say we've got to do what is right and take politics off the table," Seifert said. "This was right."

H/T Beyond Sound Bites and Headlines

Heathrow Terminal 5 to Open Without ULTra Personal Rapid Transit System

From the BAA 2005:

On successful completion of all the milestones a year long pilot scheme will be introduced at Heathrow airport in 2008.

From the BBC on Monday:

Heathrow Airport operator BAA said the guided vehicles should be up and running in 2009.

No mention in the article or at the ULtra site why the project has been delayed a year (of course).

Mark Olson Says He will Run Again and May Appeal Verdict

T.W. Budig on the ECM website:

Rep. Mark Olson plans to seek re-election, says House Republican caucus vote was academic

Thursday, 13 December 2007

Rep. Mark Olson plans to seek re-election and portrayed the recent House Republican caucus vote to permanently suspend him as academic.

“There’s really no difference between that and what they’ve already done,’ said Olson, speaking Wednesday (Dec. 12).

Indeed, Olson depicts working independently at the Minnesota Legislature — an independence resulting from his being charged with domestic assault last November — as liberating.

“(It’s) very freeing and very beneficial to have my own staff. And I’ve enjoyed working under this situation,” said Olson.

... Olson feels at peace...

“So it’s been very freeing and it’s a more peaceable way of operating down here (at the Capitol),” said Olson. “So it’s been good,” he said.

Olson was temporarily suspended from the Republican House caucus after as his arrest for domestic assault.

Olson was eventually found guilty of one count of misdemeanor domestic assault with the intention to cause fear.

Last Thursday (Dec. 6) the caucus voted to permanently remove Olson, an eight-term Republican lawmaker from Big Lake.

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, explained the vote was to clarify misunderstandings the public might have about Olson’s status with the caucus.

... But, Olson said the vote was unnecessary...

But Olson views the vote, beyond being unnecessary, as a means for the caucus to oppose his re-election.

Olson expects a number of Republican candidates to vie for the District 16B endorsement. “I think it will be healthy,” he said. “With the state (Republican) caucus involved, I think it will be unhealthy,” said Olson.

He is determined to run again for the House, explained Olson.

“ And I’m gearing up for it,” he said.

Olson believes he has support in the district.

“When I came out of jail, I had 53 contacts of support. I had five against,” said Olson. “What happened to my family was the most awful experience I’ve ever had,” he said. “It was tragic. It was wrong, and uncalled for,” said Olson.

Olson is considering appealing the court decision against him, but would not elaborate.

As for last Thursday’s caucus vote, he looks at it as an example of good coming out of bad, said Olson.

Seifert indicated Olson’s status with the caucus could be reexamined were he to be re-elected or if his conviction were overturned on appeal.

... has anyone added up what Rep. Mark Olson's legal problems have cost the taxpayers? Start with the arrest and his arraignment, then add the expense of rescheduling his trial every time he fired his lawyer. Now, he wants to appeal his misdemeanor conviction... how much is the appeal going to cost the taxpayers of Sherburne County and the State of MInnesota?

House GOP Dumps Mark Olson

WCCO:

ST. PAUL (AP) ― State Rep. Mark Olson was already a Republican without a caucus last session.

Now, House Republicans have formally expelled him from their ranks.

House Minority Leader Marty Seifert says the caucus acted at a meeting last Thursday. Olson did not attend.

Olson was suspended from the caucus a year ago while his domestic assault case was pending.

In July, he was convicted of causing his wife fear of bodily harm when they ran into each other and fell down behind their home. He was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay fines and court costs of almost $400. His attorney said Olson acted in self-defense in an abusive relationship.

Seifert says Olson might get back into the caucus if he overturns his conviction on appeal or wins re-election, but several other Republicans are already interested in running in the Sherburne County district.

Olson said he didn't see much difference between suspension and explusion. "It really does nothing more than give these folks license to send people out into the district to run against me," he said.

Editorial: "Transit solutions and Buck Rogers"

Marin County Independent Journal

The Skytran concept is intriguing but untested; Unimodal doesn't have a working prototype, which means its claims and cost projections need to be taken for what they are - optimistic, to be kind.

... of course, the supervisor who brought in the Skytran folks, Judy Arnold is anti-rail:

McGlashan hit the nail on the head when he said in his introduction that such a system might be "pertinent" in 10 or 20 years, but that he feels it his responsibility to share what is out there.

He also said it is his job to worry about the present, which is why he is a strong supporter of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, the proposed passenger rail system.

Arnold is an opponent of SMART, but is willing to discuss such "Maglev" concepts.

PRT has long been an effective tool for the opponents of rail transit, but it hasn't been working as well as it did in the past.

Google Sponsors Organization that Promotes Personal Rapid Transit

The Advanced Transit Association (ATRA) promotes gadgetbahn (gadget transportation). The ATRA gadgetbahn mode of choice is Personal Rapid Transit (PRT).

It was recently brought to my attention that Google's corporate logo has appeared on the front page of ATRA's website indicating that Google is a sponsor of ATRA:



Jeral Poskey's LinkedIn profile says he currently works for Google:

Current: Manager, Automated Operations at Google
Past: Advisor at Message Scape
VP of Sales and Marketing at Taxi 2000
Network administrator at Danka

Why doesn't Jeral Poskey mention that he is the Chairman of the Advanced Transit Association (ATRA). on his LinkedIn profile?



(More about Jeral Poskey and other PRT promoters' LinkedIn profiles in the previous post).

To give you an idea just how bogus ATRA is, ATRA's treasurer Larry Fabian pesters me with emails... here's the most recent one:

Lawrence Fabian

[lfabian21@********]

SUBJECT: Jake Roberts

Dec 1 (1 day ago)

He's a handsome, well-dressed dude -- a hell of lot better looking than you and me.
He's head up the 30th Ithaca Festival in late May. Come on out -- you can exhibit your venom towards innovation.

I wonder how Google's stockholders would react if they knew that Google supported a bogus organization such as ATRA?

To underscore just how bogus ATRA is, Rep. Mark Olson introduced an amendment in 2006 and 2007 that required ATRA to be involved in the Central Corridor LRT Project.

From the Minnesota House Journal for the 12th of April, 2006:

Olson moved to amend H. F. No. 2959, the second engrossment, as amended, as follows:
Page 32, delete lines 15 to 17 and insert:
"(a) For design, environmental studies, and preliminary engineering in the Central Corridor Transitway, if the study and analysis requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) are met. Journal of the House - 89th Day - Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - Top of Page 6648
(b) The Metropolitan Council must approve a study and analysis of transit options, including personal rapid transit (PRT), express bus transit, and light rail transit. A published report of a recent study done of any Central Corridor Transitway transit mode may satisfy this study and analysis requirement for the listed transit option. The study and analysis must:
(1) determine the effectiveness and viability of each transit option;
(2) specifically address whether the Central Corridor Transitway would be a cost-effective and viable site for the PRT option; and
(3) contain an unbiased analysis that is not performed by any party or organization that has a conflict of interest.
(c) The Metropolitan Council must give serious unbiased and objective consideration to implementing PRT, and must ensure that consultants or other persons with expertise in PRT systems, and associated national or international organizations such as the Advanced Transit Association, are consulted and utilized at each phase of the study and analysis. "

The Olson amendment was voted down in 2006 with 26 yeas and 107 nays

Only two DFLers voted for Olson's silly amendment.

Here is Mark Olson introducing (and withdrawing) a similar amendment in 2007:



UPDATE: Larry Fabian has sent me another email informing me that Jeral Poskey is no longer the Chairman of ATRA. The ATRA site still says Poskey is the Chairman.

PRT Promoters' LinkedIn Profiles

David Maymudes:

Summary

Current: Software Designer at Taxi 2000
Past: Development Manager at Microsoft Corp.
Software Engineer at GW Instruments

Software Designer at Taxi 2000 and Computer Software Consultant
Greater Seattle Area

I worked at Microsoft for nine years on Windows, Internet Explorer, and Media Player; I have the dubious distinction of having defined the AVI file format. 

More recently, I have been working on Personal Rapid Transit, see www.gettherefast.org or www.skywebexpress.com for more information.
Specialties:

Systems programming, transportation, mathematics

Maymudes is also a member with some other PRT promoters such as Emory Bundy and Jerry Schneider in CETA which opposes LRT and commuter rail... and the Darwin-deprived think tank Discovery Institute's Cascadia Project invited David Maymudes to give a talk about PRT. More about Maymudes and PRT in this DMO post.



David Gow:

With 14 years of direct experience in nonprofit fundraising, I wish to make a transition to other areas of nonprofts, such as:

- Program officer with a private foundation or corporate foundation.
- Columnist or reporter with an online environmental news organization.
- Executive with an organization involved in innovating mass transit.
- Program development of a new Puget Sound water quality monitoring project involving school-based data collection and dissemination via the Web.

I have developed expertise in the policy side of transportation, going back to 1989, with an emphasis in the nascent area of "personal rapid transit" (PRT). I operate one of the world's leading unaffiliated websites on PRT, kinetic.seattle.wa.us/prt.html . My body of work in transportation analysis and advocacy qualifies me for community relations, spokesperson, executive staff and policy staff positions with public transit agencies and companies involved in advanced transport technology.

At present I write the online column Wiseline Institute NW Presents Mr_Blog's Left Turn (kinetic.seattle.wa.us/blog).

I also have a sideline in design and administration of websites, portfolio available at www.kinetic.seattle.wa.us/hegemony

David Gow’s Specialties:

Nonprofits: typical grants duties from prospect research through annual program design, crafting of project descriptions and budgets, proposal submission, and compliance.

Transportation: education, outreach and community relations work in the field of innovative transit systems. Contributions in that field include spokesperson duties, writing, editing and review of scholarly articles.

Now I know why he calls himself "Mr_Grant". David Gow doesn't mention that he has not one, but two blogs about me... and a few other spamming blogs.

Ed Anderson:

Chairman & CEO at Taxi 2000 Corporation
Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Anderson is still claiming he is the CEO of Taxi 2000? Here's two recent articles HERE and HERE in which he claims to be the managing director of another would-be PRT vendor called PRT International LLC (domain name prtinternational.com, but no website).

J. Edward Anderson has two other LinkedIn home pages HERE with this summary:

Long history in PRT development.
Currently organizing a group of engineers and preparing plans for building a test system.

...and another page HERE.



Jeral Poskey:

Current: Manager, Automated Operations at Google
Past: Advisor at Message Scape
VP of Sales and Marketing at Taxi 2000
Network administrator at Danka

For laughs, read this DMO post about Poskey's days peddling PRT in Minnesota

Poskey doesn't mention that he is the Chairman of the Advanced Transit Association (ATRA). There might be a very good reason for that... but, I'll leave that for the next post.

Another Green Party Personal Rapid Transit Booster

An organization called "Connect Ithaca" promotes Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) in upstate New York, and they recently shared their "JPod" vision on the pages of the Cornell Daily Sun.

The Connect Ithaca Steering Committee's Chairperson is Jacob Roberts(website no longer up).  In 2005, Roberts was a Green Party candidate for Mayor of Syracuse, New York – as shown in this video.  However, his campaign was upstaged by a hockey mascot called Al the Ice Gorilla:

...prominent activist Jacob Roberts "must be burned that Al the Ice Gorilla's late entry into the mayoral race is garnering way more ink than Roberts' write-in campaign."

According to this article, Roberts supported the Destiny mall development:

Roberts, who is running on the Youth Empowered Sustainability (YES!) ticket, proposes partnering with Destiny, while the Greens advocate public development.

The Destiny mall was supposed to have a monorail and a PRT system for its parking lots.

Now, Jake is promoting PRT:

I have just returned from a PRT conference in Sweden and listened to EXPERTS in Global Climate Change, Peek Oil, [sic] Environmental Analysis, Solar Energy Systems, Tranportation [sic] and Urban Planning, Property Development, Citizen Advocacy and more...they all conclude that PRT is a superior solution to mass transit options like the Car, Light Rail, Heavy Rail, Buses, etc...

Readers of this blog may recall that PRT is a bogus, anti-transit scam that was heavily promoted by Gary Dean Zimmermann – who is now serving a federal prison sentence for accepting gratuities.

While Zimmermann sits in prison, his public defender has filed an appeal with the U.S. 8th Circuit Appeals Court.  The judges heard oral arguments on September 24, 2007.  What follows are extended excerpts from Mike Cheever, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who delivered the federal government's case against Zimmermann:



UPDATE:: As you may have noticed, the Connect Ithaca website is no longer up.

Also, from the the Podcar site, a picture of Jake "The 3rd Force" Roberts:

Rep. Ray Cox is a PRTista

From Lloydletta:

Tom Neuville R, Northfield, has been appointed to a judge position. Ray Cox is planning on running for his seat.

MN House website:

NEWS RELEASE REP. COX SAYS PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT WILL IMPROVE JOB CLIMATE (3/19/2004)

ST. PAUL - On the heels of the recent announcement that the state deficit is falling thanks to a rise in job growth, State Representative Ray Cox (R-Northfield) is co-authoring legislation that would create more new jobs, showcases Minnesota technology, and puts consumers in the driver’s seat of public transit services.


“The February budget forecast recently noted the reason for the declining deficit is an increase in new jobs,” Cox said. “The Personal Rapid Transit project will continue this trend by providing hundreds more good-paying jobs for Minnesota workers. At a time when Minnesota is looking to expand its job base and lure new business to the state, PRT already provides all the necessary ingredients: local technology, a willing community, and an eager workforce.”

Cox said Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a very innovative automated transit system developed right here in Minnesota, and the bill he is co-authoring would provide the Duluth Transit Authority with incentives to construct a PRT safety certification facility. It operates on demand; PRT passenger vehicles wait at stations for riders, not vice versa. As designed, PRT passengers would select an empty vehicle; swipe a pre-paid card; and enjoy a private, computer-run trip that would take them non-stop to their selected destination. The computer system automatically selects the fastest, most convenient non-stop route for passengers, and would be available 24/7. In addition, unlike any other system, PRT infrastructure and vehicles are fully mass-producible and can be quickly erected on site.

Cox said there are many benefits to PRT, including its high efficiency and low pollution rate. But Cox said the most important benefit may be a new job base.

“Once I discovered how many new jobs the project could create, co-authoring this bill became a no-brainer,” Cox said. “If we don’t act to keep PRT, this system and hundreds of jobs will most likely be exported to some other state.”



I asked Ray Cox recently if he still supports PRT and he replied that he does.

I recently received this message from a DMO reader:

I was rooting around on Lexis Nexis for info on Taxi 2000. There's very little but there was this one recent article which I paste below. You may know about this already. I also noticed that they have no registered patents ...and only registered two trademarks (skyweb express and Minnesota PRT), the second of which has been "Abandoned".

Interesting.

Discussion About PRT

They're talking about PRT on MN Speak.

Minnesota History Center's Misleading Exhibit on Transit

My Uptake video about misleading exhibit at the History Center on LRT and PRT:

Click To Play

By Ken Avidor

Rising oil and gasoline prices and the collapse of the 35W bridge have made Transportation a very important issue for the next legislative session and for the 2008 election. Northstar commuter line and the Central Corridor LRT line will likely be competing with highway projects for scarce public dollars as lesser-known transit projects such as the Southwest LRT Line get into the queue.

The exhibit on transit at the Minnesota Historical Society's History Center in Saint Paul is a musty time capsule of the debate on transit from the years leading up to the completion of the Hiawatha Light Rail Line in 2004. Much of the information in the exhibit, particularly statements in the videos about Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is either wrong or misleading.

In the years leading up to when the exhibit was installed, there was some debate whether LRT was going to be successful in the Twin Cities. That debate for the most part has been settled and LRT has wide support among public officials and citizens.

The portion of exhibit about Personal Rapid Transit is even more out of date and misleading. For over 30 years PRT seemed to have support in Minnesota from members of anti-transit, pro-highway groups. PRT had no support from traditional transit groups such as Transit for Livable Communities and the Sierra Club North Star, both of which have resolutions opposing the public funding of PRT.

Perhaps the high point for PRT promoters at the Capitol was the 2004 session when a PRT bonding bill for $4 million was passed by the House only to be extinguished in a conference committee. Things went quickly downhill after that.

Late in 2004, PRT "visionary" Professor J. Edward Anderson was prevented from regaining control of the Taxi 2000 Corporation from Morrie Anderson who was also the chair of the Citizen's League's Transportation Committee at that time. The Citizens League is a Minnesota organization that has traditionaly been opposed to rail transit.

A previous CEO of Taxi 2000, Sheffer Lang 1927-2003) was a strong opponent of rail transit at the Citizens League. Lang was known for fierce attacks on transit such as this statement: "The highway sets the standard. ... Behind every single one of these [rail] initiatives is a bunch of people who are convinced... that the automobile is the curse of modern civilization”. It is very likely that the strident Citizen League comment about LRT featured in the exhibit is from Lang.

Oddly, the one quote in the Skyweb Expres exhibit attributed to Sheffer Lang describes Lang as an "engineer" and does not mention that Lang was a professor of transportation at MIT and the prominent and influential role he played in public policy on transportation in Minnesota.

In 2005, the Taxi 2000 Corporation filed a lawsuit and restraining order against J. Edward Anderson and two associates. J. Edward Anderson is still trying to find a city willing to fund a testing facility for his new PRT company PRT International LLC. A recent report in the Springfield News-Leader says Anderson Anderson is trying to bring PRT to the Ozarks

Also in 2005, One of PRT's most energetic promoters, Minneapolis Councilman Dean Zimmermann, was investigated and charged by the U.S. Attorney's office with extorting bribes from a developer. Zimmermann subsequently lost his seat on the council to Robert Lilligren, a supporter of conventional transit. Zimmermann was eventually convicted and is serving his sentence in a Federal prison camp in Littleton, Colorado.

Without Zimmermann, the remaining promoters of PRT in the Minnesota legislature are mostly Republicans opposed to rail transit. PRT has lost its support among liberal and moderate Minnesota politicians. An attempt by Rep. Mark Olson to attach a PRT amendment to a bonding bill in the Minnesota House on April 12th, 2005 was voted down 26 to 107. In the 2007 legislative session, no PRT legislation was voted on.

Five days after his re-election in 2006, Rep. Mark Olson was arrested for domestic abuse and was convicted on one misdemeanor charge of domestic abuse.

The Taxi 2000 Corporation's lawsuit against J. Edward Anderson as well as Olson and Zimmermann's troubles likely sealed PRT's fate at the Capitol, however a far more likely factor was the phenomenal success of the Hiawatha Light Rail Line... unfortunately, none of this history is in the History Center's exhibit.

More information:

Complete History Center video about PRT.

Complete History Center video about LRT.

Transit for Livable Communities resolution against public funding of PRT.

Sierra Club North Star resolution against public funding of PRT .

"Personal rapid transit spending draws fire at Capitol"- Laura McCallum's MPR report about PRT legislation in 2004

Skytran Flim-Flam in Marin County

From the Novato Advance:

Maybe, but Marin County Supervisors Judy Arnold and Charles McGlashan are willing to take a look at technology designed by the southern California company UniModal Inc. that could make these traveling times a reality.

The two supervisors will host UniModal representatives as they discuss their, Sky Tran, at a community meeting Dec. 5 in the Board of Supervisors Chamber in the Civic Center from 4 to 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

“We’ll all learn together. I don’t know if this would work,” Arnold said. “I don’t know enough about it, but I want to learn more.”

Don't waste your time, Judy.

This is what the so-called inventor of Skytran Douglas J. Malewicki said about Skytran on the Skytran website:

"Aaaarrrrgghh! Ain't no such animal - yet. It is still just a concept that makes a lot of theoretical sense. It needs money to tear into it properly - a lot. Why it hasn't happened yet is mostly my fault. I detest paperwork and details. I can't see myself applying for any government energy or innovation grants because of all the bureaucratic crap that I would be stuck with. If they supplied paperwork bozos along with the grants to take care of their required paperwork, it might be more appealing. I guess I also don't want to deal with all their other silly rules either. If I want to hire all black engineers (and I know a bunch of dam good practical ones), to the exclusion of Hispanics, Women, Polaks, etc. the government won't let me. I start reading the grant application forms and rules and never finish - because I toss it all in the garbage first in disgust. Basically, I'm selfish. I prefer to think and create. I have plenty of other non-hassle projects I can be involved in to feed my brain endorphins or whatever. I am definitely not the right kind of personality to carry this project to fruition in the real world!"

That statement was removed the Skytran website, but can be viewed HERE.

Skytran claims it is less expensive to build than LRT because Skytran can be built with... get this.... robots:

The light weight per foot of the track design also allows the use of a semi-automated track forming manufacturing robot (much simpler than the Robosaurus machine) that enables a two shift crew to deploy one mile of two way track per day. This can be compared with proposed monorail trains (weighing 100,000 pounds) which require guideways costing well over $40 million per mile and many years to build.

That statement was also removed the Skytran website, but can be viewed HERE.

Skytran is perhaps the most ridiculous of the PRT schemes, which is why I call it the "Smoking Gun of PRT Absurdity".

J.Edward Anderson in Branson

He's still at it... this time in Branson, Missouri.

Anderson's new company, PRT International has a domain name, but no website:

http://prtinternational.com

Registrant:

PRT International, LLC

5164 Rainier Pass NE

Fridley, MN 55421

US

Domain Name: PRTINTERNATIONAL.COM

The PDF document on the News Leader's website lists the address of PRT International as Minneapolis... in fact, it is Anderson's home in Fridley, MN.

Was Aldous Huxley a PRTista?

Really bad marketing blooper from a Vectus PRT brochure (PDF):

DAVID STROM: PRT "DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME."

FROM THE TAXPAYER LEAGUE'S RADIO SHOW 1/1/2005:

I'll give you my take on this (PRT)...First, Personal Rapid Transit already exists and it's called the automobile. Now, with that said, the argument for the PRT system that exists out there is...well...this is a great way to add capacity very rapidly without...uh...since it's elevated you don't have the same problems with having to knock down houses and various other things...uh...y'know, but if you start looking at the system, the problem is there is no system. It doesn't really... I mean, part of their argument is about how it failed somewhere else, "well, it's not really what we got here"... uh...and I say, well look, let's build it in Dubai. Let's build it where they want to throw tons of money at it... if it's so great, then we'll see. If not, uh... why should we be subsidizing it?... certainly not to the tune of 600 million bucks... that's a ton of money...uh, it just doesn't make any sense to me..

Although I disagree with David Strom on many other matters I have to admit he's consistent in his opposition to transit... even bogus, gadget transit.

Click To Play

In the Dump Mark Olson Mailbox

Email received yesterday:

Dear Mr. Ken,

Your ad hominem arguments against rep Mark Olson are boring.  To continue to discredit PRT efforts because Mark was convicted of a misdemeanor is absurd.

In light of recent evidence of humans affecting climate change, new ways of "greener" public transport should be a universal human concern - don't you think?  Does it not make your stance a mute point?

I am his nephew, and while in no way do I condone his behavior towardshis family, or support all of his political views, it would be nice to see some factual content on your site that would prove PRT to be a
'boondoggle' as you so happily assert (and you can leave the sound effects out this time).

What is your solution for a public transportation system which is economically and environmentally viable?  If you can't provide some substance to the debate, you should probably shut down your website and do something else with your time.

sincerely,

Paul S. Olson

I have always said that I'd go to any public venue in Big Lake or anywhere else in the 6th District and explain exactly why PRT is infeasible and why Northstar, LRT and other real transit intiatives are a good thing.

Steve Andrews to Challenge Rep. Mark Olson

Lawrence Schumacher in his SC Times Blog:

Olson's first challenger

Posted: 11/13/2007 at 5:32 PM

Big Lake resident Steve Andrews announced on Tuesday that he intends to seek the DFL Party endorsement for a House District 16B seat in next year's election.

Andrews, a vice-president of technology for Minneapolis-based Fintegra Financial Solutions and co-owner of Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating of Maple Grove with his wife, Mary, becomes the first candidate to announce a run against Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake.

Andrews is a former member of the Monticello Housing & Redevelopment Authority and a St. John's University graduate.

House District 16B includes the cities of Clear Lake, Becker and Big Lake.

H/T Liberal in the Land of Conservative.

Bigpedia PRT vs Wikipedia PRT

There's something called Bigpedia that uses a lot of the material from the Wikipedia PRT page... but also includes facts that PRT fanatics have kept out of the Wikipedia page including links to skeptical sites like mine and Light Rail Now's "Cyberspace" article.

Go to the Bigpedia PRT page and scroll down to "Disadvantages":

Disadvantages

Most planners say that no economically successful PRT system has been demonstrated, and there have been too many failures for a prudent person to spend public funds. Transit planners normally evaluate a new transport method as part of an intermodal network. In these cases, a PRT line may compete against a rail or bus line. When operated in an intermodal transit network, PRT may not fully realize the travel time reductions advanced by proponents, because connections to other mass-transit modes are only possible when the other vehicle arrives; a disadvantage where infrequent transit can be the weakest link in an intermodal system. Timed connections between conventional mass-transit modes, though rare, can be more efficient than PRT intermodal use.

The claims made by proponents depend on certain reasonable but nonstandard design features (see above). Many planners argue that if conservative ridership, operating expense ratios and inter-vehicle lead distances (for bus and train systems) are used, PRT systems are less attractive than bus and train systems.

In transit planning with standard ratios, if PRT were built in an existing high density corridor, it would be less efficient than trains. Only if additional capacity were required in a low density corridor, would it be more efficient than a bus line or automobile, since the capital costs of streets are already sunk.

Because of network effects, PRT is not fully useful until it is widespread. In this view, a small PRT system will not attract demand because it does not go to many destinations. Many people say that only a large PRT can attract sufficient demand to be self-sustaining. How it could grow from a niche to a local or metropolitan network is unclear to these persons. Growth to a national network is thought especially unlikely.

Skeptics say that PRT just idles entire vehicles, which is true. The effects of vehicular recycling at rush hours are also disputed by some transit planners, because they are simulations. Some skeptics have said that since gross capacities have to be comparable (because the same number of people are being transported in the same time), no advantage can occur. However, comparing capacity (people per hour), and capacity utilization (money per person per hour) is a fallacy.

Some experienced advocates claim that the chief problem is that PRT threatens existing livelihoods associated with cars, busses, trains and related services. Since the market in rapid transit has a limited (government) budget in each city, and existing options are the best-funded, existing options and organizations tend to win political battles. As of 2001, this may be changing, because existing options have been unable to solve traffic problems.

The claimed very high vehicle utilizations (vehicles are usually carrying passengers at full speed, rather than parked), means that there might be less need for, and investment in private vehicles, and auxiliary private services such as repair and insurance. Although these are social advantages, they directly threaten the livelihoods of many persons.

PRT systems may be as unattractive as other public transit. People cannot customize them to their tastes, and therefore rarely have anything approaching the enthusiasm shown for a new car. At Morgantown, most students use, but casually despise the transportation system, and recount stories of its failures. Some jokingly claim the term "PRT" is said to stand for "Pretty Retarded Train."

Some call PRT a prime example of a federally funded "pork barrel" project, one of many located in West Virginia due to the influence of Senator Robert Byrd.

A PRT system is said to have lower costs and automated operations. These could lead to simpler organizations and smaller staff at governmental transportation offices. This directly reduces the responsibility and authority of government officials, which in most civil service systems, reduces their pay. It does not offer much incentive to administrators to adopt it.

Many authorities say that the cost of constructing and operating the system is unlikely to be as low as claimed. Some systems (such as Morgantown) have had much higher costs than planned (Morgantown has to use steam heat to keep its tracks free of snow). Any new technology has to climb a learning curve, and for every new system, promoters must make speculative claims when asserting low construction and operating costs. Historically, costs are underestimated on transit projects and demand overestimated. Further, methods of recovering unplanned cost overruns can cause political and public strife.

The neighbors of such a system could oppose unsightly towers holding an elevated rail system, as well as the guideway itself. New infrastructure is hard to build, particularly without the support of the community.

Dan Severson is Rep. Mark Olson's New PRT Pod Partner

Lawrence Schumacher reports in today's SC Times:

"[Rep. Dan] Severson and Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake, called for new approaches to funding and for studying transportation alternatives, such as a system of elevated rails on which small pods travel a fixed route, known as Personal Rapid Transit."

Rep. Dan Severson R-Sauk Rapids is on the Transportation and Transit Policy Subcommittee and the Transportation Finance Division. I look forward to seeing what kind of legislation Severson cooks up with Rep. Mark Olson.

More Letters Against Pods in Daventry

Good letter in the Daventry Express:

http://www.daventrytoday.co.uk/letters/Straight-out-of-Springfield.3387864.jp

Straight out of Springfield

This whole 'pod' scheme rings a bell to me. I think DDC has been watching too many episodes of the Simpsons. Episode 71 to be exact, entitled 'Marge Vs. the Monorail'.

The plot focuses around the town of Springfield buying a monorail from a conman, which ends in disaster! By the looks of the size of these pods, you won't fit in them with any shopping and if you have a buggy you can forget it! Does this also mean that the Daventry Dart drivers will be out of a job?

I agree with the recent letters in the Gusher – the pods will just get wrecked by the rogue kids of Daventry.

It's about time they stopped skipping with the pixies and thought about a bowling complex, cinema or something similar for families and teenagers alike to do in their spare time. Let's face it, there's nothing else to do in this town!

The pods are just another thing to add onto the 'list of stupidity' by the council alongside a marina with no canal. If it has the money for the pods why doesn't it have the money to build the canal? It's about time it started asking the residents what they would like, instead of trying to get on the 'global map'. We may be on the map as Cllr Millar states, but it will be as a laughing stock, not for anything great.

T Nairn
Braunston Road
Daventry

Anti-Strib Throws Rep. Mark Olson's PRT Pod Under the Bus

"Kermit" in the right-wing blog Anti-Strib:

Earlier today Avidor requested a post and further discussion on PRT, Personal Rapid Transit. We learned that Tracy's wife the LME was in favor, while Tracy himself favored expanding or improving bus service.

... It will be interesting to see if Rep. Mark Olson gets any support from Republicans in the next election for his PRT boondoggle.

PRTista Phil Krinkie, "Pit Bull" (Against LRT)

From a February 2, 2000 City Pages article:

To streetcar fans like Gov. Jesse Ventura and MNDoT commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg, Krinkie has come to resemble a political pit bull with his teeth in his prey's pants leg--an indefatigable yapper who is still fighting a battle many believe he lost long ago.

... Krinkie was furious...

This, Krinkie figured, was the smoking gun. In late September he along with Rep. Tom Workman (R-Chanhassen) and Rep. Carol Molnau (R-Chaska), held a press conference denouncing what he called a cover-up. Though opponents, namely gubernatorial spokesman John Wodele, have referred to the trio as "a small group of disgruntled legislators," the three are not exactly back-benchers: Krinkie chairs the House's State Government Finance committee, Workman the Transportation committee, and Molnau the Transportation Finance committee; in other words, together they control the three panels most likely to consider light-rail funding.

Since then Krinkie has taken to framing the issue in the language of Watergate: "I'm saying [to MNDoT], 'What did you know and when did you know it?'"

.... Krinkie was relentless...

At MNDoT, the mere mention of Krinkie's name is enough to invoke exasperated sighs. "He's received a lot of information," contends engineer Winter, who says staffers have provided plenty of paperwork and spent hours talking to Krinkie. "He's looking for this piece of information that clearly indicates that the department misled the Legislature," Winter maintains, "and it doesn't exist."

Winter adds that Krinkie's crusade has been frustrating for MNDoT staff. "We want to move ahead and it seems like we spend a lot of time rehashing these issues that have been settled, at least in our mind." Krinkie, meanwhile, suggests that he's not about to relent: "The next lawsuit," he announces, "may be with regard to the fact that the department has willfully withheld public data."

That was then.. and now?

Krinkie in an opinion piece in the Saint Paul Legal Ledger (HERE) about Molnau's choice to pick the highest bidder on the replacement for the collapsed 35W bridge, Krinkie sneaks in a jab at the HIawatha LRT:

Let's revisit just how this term "best value" slipped into the state government lexicon? It began with another large transportation project in the Twin Cities --- the Hiawatha light rail line. In order to fast track the construction of the states first light rail line, MnDOT wanted to use the "design-build" process. Under the design-build method, one contractor is selected to do both the engineering design and the actual construction of the project. Under extreme pressure in 2001 to speed the construction of the Hiawatha LRT project, MnDOT was exempted from following the standard procedure of awarding bids to the lowest qualified bidder.

Incidentally, Elwyn Tinklenberg's campaign has informed me that he will make Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's support for PRT an issue in the next election.

Phil Krinkie who like Bachmann has also promoted PRT has even allowed fellow PRTista Rep. Mark Olson to use his name on a recent fundraiser:

Daventry Politicos and Media Promote Pods That Citizens Didn't Ask For

The Daventry Express:

Pods prove a huge hit

By Alice Dyer

MORE than a 1,000 people visited an event to get a glimpse of Daventry's possible future.

The event, which ended on Friday, showcased Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) vehicles, which ran along the cycle path in Eastern Way.

Chris Millar, leader of Daventry District Council, said: “The showcase was a success. Most people, especially the younger ones, loved the concept.

“It was a great success in raising the profile for what Daventry is working to achieve and it’s alerted people to the positives before us.”

Members of the public, local school pupils, businesses, organisations and media from across the world all visited the site to see the driverless vehicles in action and some were given a ride in them.

If plans are given the go-ahead, an £80 million project could be launched to install a state-of-the-art PRT system across Daventry to replace the existing bus network.

It is hoped the scheme will ease congestion and save parking spaces with the town’s population set to increases to 40,000 by 2021.

Cllr Millar added: “The next stage will be looking towards the pilot scheme [which would run from the town centre to Middlemore] in two years time and getting the funding for it.”

... another letter dismissive of Cllr Millar's pod proposal:

Make more of what we have

AS TWO long-serving members of the Grange Residents' Association, we are becoming increasingly concerned with the health and welfare of council leader Chris Millar.

He appears to be suffering from delusions if he believes that the Daventry people share his vision of what we want for the future.

He also appears to be suffering with amnesia, as the promises he made to this estate about investment have been forgotten.
Thereby, the reason for this letter asks one question.

If this vision for Daventry's future, which nobody appears to want, can be achieved with investment, why can't reality come first?

Invest now in what you've got. Bring this estate, and others, up to the 21st century standard we, the people of Daventry, deserve.

Ann Smith (chairman) and M J Coomber (secretary)
Grange Residents' Association

The same old story... Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Duluth, Austin, Denver, Cincinnati, Seattle... citizens ask for a little improvement in their living conditions and the politicians like Rep. Mark Olson, Dean Zimmermann, Phil Krinkie and Michele Bachmann tell them to wait for pods in the sky by and by.

Daventry District Council Promoted PRT While Neglecting Neighborhoods

Alice Dyer in the Daventry Express:

Decay of 'forgotten' estate

WHILE the rest of the town seems to be heading for prosperity, residents living on a Daventry estate feel they have been forgotten.

As Daventry District Council continues to reveal ambitious plans for the future, including state-of-the-art transport systems, new homes, shops and 21st century facilities, residents say The Grange has been left to fall apart.

Ann Smith, chairman of the Grange Residents’ Association, said: “The estates have been left to go into disrepair. Some parts of The Grange look like a slum.

“The council wants the people of Daventry to be proud of the town they live in, but how can they when it’s like this? It’s like a dumping area now and it’s a mess.”

The Daventry Express visited the estate this week with Mrs Smith and Daventry district councillor Colin Poole to see the worst affected areas.

The whole estate is showing signs of serious neglect with broken paving slabs, vast amounts of weeds, broken benches, damage to the children’s play area, inadequate lighting, bushes growing over walkways and litter.

Walls have been smashed, tiles are falling off walkways and garage doors are hanging off. There is graffiti, boarded up windows and doors, broken fences and glass and children’s toys, furniture and other household items which have been dumped in the street.

Mrs Smith said: “I’m angry – we should not have to live in this squalor.

Don't worry, Mrs. Smith you're going to have your pod in the sky by and by.

Pod-Pushing "Dysfunctional" Daventry Disrict Council Reponds to Criticism

Chris Millar, leader of Daventry District Council defends his promotion of Personal Rapid Transit in his LTE in the Daventry Express:

"Be positive about Pods"

IT IS pleasing to note the positive worldwide interest created in Daventry by our recent Transport Conference and Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) Showcase event.

This can only be good news for Daventry district with respect to future investment prospects both from the private and public sectors.

The concept of PRT in a town environment is very futuristic and I can, therefore, understand the concerns of some to its potential future role in Daventry.

However, the fact remains that future transport provision is an important aspect of our planning for growth alongside affordable housing, retail, education provision, jobs, leisure etc.

It is vital that we improve in the longer term public transport across both the town and district.

There are, in my mind, two options to 'tempt' individuals out of their car.
One is to 'tax' them out via higher fuel prices, car tax, congestion charging and high car parking charges.
Or secondly, and certainly far more challenging, is to provide a viable alternative transport option to the car – hence our interest in the concept of PRT.

If a viable, environmentally friendly option was available then I personally would have no problem with the current high costs of motoring!

Cllr Chris Millar
Leader
Daventry District Council

But, the controversy won't go away...

Today's article in the Daventry Express:

'Get off our backs and give us a chance'

By Alice Dyer

DAVENTRY Town Council has hit back at claims it is 'dysfunctional'.
The comments were made in last week’s Daventry Express by Chris Millar, leader of Daventry District Council, following the shock resignation of town mayor Alan Gauton.

He also said there must be something ‘rotten at the core’ of the body, and called for council members to stop squabbling and start serving the public.

Lynne Taylor, town council leader said Cllr’s Millar’s comments were ‘totally unfounded’ and ‘inappropriate’

“To seek to denigrate a public authority and its members without any direct knowledge of the manner in which it conducts its business is improper,” she said.

Mr Gauton quit his role as mayor and chairman of the council because he was unhappy with how the authority was being run.

His departure followed a

string of councillors and staff members quitting the authority.

Cllr Taylor admitted the town council had suffered problems recently, but added Daventry was being served by a ‘dynamic’ mix of people dedicated to serving the public.

“So Daventry District Council get off our backs. Give us a chance to show what we can do for the people of Daventry,” she said.

The town council, which currently has five empty seats, was set up four years ago to look after services like hanging baskets, Christmas lights, the war memorial and allotments. It receives more than £300,000 a year of taxpayers’ money.

....hmmmm.... I wonder if any of that money was spent hosting the PRT pod people conference?

and what did the resignation letter of the former Mayor of Davantry say about the District Council?

"It would appear to be dominated by a self-interest group. This cannot be right, or in the best interests of our community and the people of Daventry."

Letters to the Editor About Personal Rapid Transit in Daventry

Letters About the Daventry Council's plans for PRT in the Daventry Express:

Pod scheme is up in the air

It will be interesting to see how close the test track along Eastern Way for the proposed new transport system comes to reality.
A brief investigation will show that from a safety standpoint any new PRT system will have to be completely separate from existing pedestrian and vehicle routes.

The potential supplier's own web site states that where the track passes over roads there has to be 5.7 metres of headroom and for pedestrian transit 2.5 metres of headroom.

They also estimate that in an urban environment, such as Daventry, over 90 per cent of the system will have to be elevated. So if the system gets approval, much of it including the stations, will be almost 20 feet up in the air!

How much of the test track will be at this level?

Allan Simmonds
Drayton

Living in Disneyland?

I wonder if the people of Daventry share the enthusiasm of the council for the proposed PRT system reported last week.
At an estimated cost of £80 million, which will be inevitably optimistic, the comment "the officers in Daventry have the will and motivation to try something that has never been tried before" raises questions about the council's expertise and judgement.

Coming on top of the proposed marina and canal link, would we be wrong in asking whether the councillors are spending too much time on 'Disneyland' dreams instead of concentrating on the town and county management?

It would also be interesting to hear from them where the funds are coming from for the project; the recent conference and the consultancy firm instructed. Personally, I have considerable doubts about the practicalities of the scheme anyway.

G. Pearse
Highlands Drive,
Daventry

Town is world leader already

Daventry needn't worry about this new pod travel system – as it is already a leader! Leader of the highest petrol prices that is!
For the last four or five months the petrol prices at all garages in Daventry have stayed the same – they do not compete.

The petrol price has gone down everywhere else but Daventry! In the last month I have found petrol in Devon, Somerset, Essex and central London considerably cheaper (up to 5p a litre less) – surprising as the latter two are supposed to be more expensive to live in! Even petrol on the motorway services is the same as Daventry's or cheaper.

Why are we allowing ourselves to be ripped off?
Lets see some competition between the local garages!
G Bottomley
Elder Drive
Daventry

Tackle the real issues

Well done Daventry District Council, yet another brilliant idea...not!
Pods – well at least the kids will have something to do surfing, shooting, burning and wrecking the pods as they go round.

If there's £80 million on offer why not develop something for them to do, bin these crazy ideas and stop this town going completely down the toilet.

There is too much housing, too many people and so very little to do. I've lived in this town for 39 years and watched it slowly be destroyed by the local council who don't have the town's real population at heart. No police, broken roads, run-down estates, feral kids – these are the issues that need addressing not some hare-brained scheme like pods.
Wake up and smell the coffee DDC.

Name and address
supplied

Nice idea but wrong scheme

I have no wish to run down everything Daventry District Council comes up with and indeed it should be applauded for its forward thinking because, like it or not, oil will run out eventually and we must look for alternative soloutions to the car as we know it.
But I have to say I can not really see the pod as a realistic answer because if you think about it a horse and cart, although a lot slower, would be a better form of transport taking you closer to your home and using or causing very little carbon emission.

The pod system is bound to fail while there are still cars giving the public door-to-door conection and if you try to stop the entrance of cars to our shopping centre, people will simply go else where thus killing the town centre.

Leslie Weatherley
Via email

PRT, what a joke.

PRTistas Eating Their Own

The Mayor of Fountain Valley California in the Cyburbia Forum:

Hi,

My name is Gus Ayer, and I'm a City Council member in the fair city of Fountain Valley, California, currently taking my turn in the largely ceremonial position as Mayor.

Recently, I've been working with the Swedish Institute for Sustainable Transportation, which has been working to rescue the concept of Personal Rapid Transit from the clutches of crackpots, ideologues and anti-transit nutjobs. They recently sponsored the PodCar City conference in Uppsala, which I attended and spoke at, and their new Kompass group will help cities interested in new transit solutions to find a common direction.

From the comments of a PRTista's Daily Kos Diary in response to MnRaindog:

I've read your comments in DK history, and I can really appreciate your disdain for Bachman, but PRT as public transit doesn't rely on batshit crazy Republicans. The Swedish Institute for Sustainable Transportation, that has inspired me, is working to reclaim a valid idea form the wingnuts and crackpots.

Congratulations, Gus you're an honorary member of the Pod Squad:



UPDATE: The Daily Kos Diary posts by "Aeolus" on the Podcar Conference have apparently been removed.

Vectus PRT is a Joke

Vectus is the reincarnation of the defunct Raytheon PRT project... with no headroom for passengers!!!

Click To Play

Skyweb Express (Taxi 2000) Scrubs Website

The new Taxi 2000 website is all videos, simulations and a rehash of the usual phony claims. Missing are names of people involved in the bogus PRT enterprise. Catch a glimpse of the old website in this video:

Rep. Mark Olson is Poster Boy for Minnesota NOW

From a recent Minnesota NOW Political Action Committee mailing:

REPRESENTATIVE OLSON CONVICTED OF DOMESTIC ASSAULT!

Representative Mark Olson, District 16B, was convicted of domestic assault in July 2007. The assault against his wife occurred in November 2006, yet Representative Olson maintained he was the battered spouse and he refused to step down from the Legislature. With the conviction, it is hoped that the House Ethics Committee will review Representative Olson’s actions and ask him to resign from the Legislature.

The personal IS political! How can a representative who assaults his wife have any credibility on domestic violence issues? At least 13 women and 11 children were murdered in Minnesota as a result of domestic violence in 2004. In Minnesota, domestic violence crime victims account for over 25% of all crime victims. Minnesotans deserve better representation on this issue than can be given by Mark Olson! The MN NOW PAC demands that Mark Olson resign from the Legislature.

Sweep Out the Convicts!

Daventry Mayor Quits After City Hosts Personal Rapid Transit Conference

Last week the news from the English town of Daventry was:

A UNIQUE public transport system costing around £80million could make Daventry a world leader of innovation, a conference was told this week.

More than 100 representatives from around the globe were in town this week for the much-anticipated Daventry Transport Confer-ence 2007, where talks were given and debates were held over the potential benefits of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) and other related transport technology.

Ian Vincent, Daventry District Council's head of paid service, told the conference yesterday (Wednesday): "We have an extensive growth agenda and we want to demonstrate to the world that we can lead on something as innovative as a PRT system.

"We want people to be proud of the town they live in. It will have attributes that it doesn't have now and we want to be at the leading edge of town development in this country."

This week the news from Daventry is:

The mayor of Daventry has controversially quit his role as the town's civic head.

...and why did the mayor quit?

During the last year the town council has slowly descended into turmoil, with dozens of councillors quitting.
One described the authority as a 'group of people effectively at war', and numerous reports have leaked out about infighting, in-crowds and bitterness between councillors.

The council currently has five empty seats.

In August town clerk Mrs Paddan quit her job and all four administrative staff at the authority handed in their notice a week later.

Chris Millar, leader of Daventry District Council, said: "It's very disappointing news and the town council is becoming a Whitehall farce.

"Individuals need to take a look at themselves, stop squabbling and start serving the public. There must be something rotten at the core of this body.

"The fact that the latest victim is the mayor shows everyone it is very dysfunctional."

...is the PRT Pod Curse at work in Daventry too?.

Editorial Calls on Minnesota Women to "Clean House" of Rep. Mark Olson

by Shannon Drury in the Minnesota Women's Press

Women of Minnesota, it's time to clean House.

Last July, Rep. Mark Olson (R-Big Lake) was convicted of one count of misdemeanor domestic assault with the intent to cause fear. Sherburne County District Judge Alan Pendleton sentenced him to two years' probation and required Olson pay $400 in fines as well as court costs for repeatedly pushing down his wife Heidi during an argument.

That seems like a pretty light sentence, you say. A person convicted of a domestic assault charge ought to draw a stricter punishment, you think to yourself, and you're not alone. In December 2006, not long after the charges against Olson were filed, Gov. Tim Pawlenty was quoted by Minnesota Public Radio: "If it turns out that he's found guilty or pleads guilty to the conduct alleged, then it's just not appropriate for him to be serving in the Legislature." (Fun tip: At MPR's website you can hear this tough talk for yourself.)

So what happened? Nothing. Olson won't quit. Last fall his Republican caucus dumped him, but no one in the party has made another peep about wanting him to resign.

You don't need to be a state officer of a national feminist organization (as I am) to hear this news and want to puke. You don't need to be a victim of domestic assault and/or know someone who is (as most of us do) to feel repulsed. You just need to give a damn about the people of Minnesota to know instinctively that Mark Olson has got to go.

Would a representative convicted of real estate fraud be allowed to serve in a body that determined the laws governing such transactions? If dear Gov. Pawlenty, heaven forbid, had a file full of speeding tickets, would we want him wielding his veto power over a bill that would put such repeat offenders in prison?

The budgets of women's shelters and domestic abuse education programs are determined by the Legislature. Should Mark Olson be allowed to have a vote when such a bill comes before him? Would you trust him with that kind of power?

It wasn't that long ago that a friend admitted to me that the breakup of her long-term relationship was caused by her partner's abuse. "Some feminist I am," she said, laughing bitterly. My response then was that it's not anti-feminist to be abused; abuse can and does happen to anyone. Victims aren't defined by their class, race, gender, sexual orientation, or even political orientation. "It's feminist to leave," I said, and I still believe that now.

For all the endless hand-wringing over what is and isn't feminist (lipstick? "Sex and the City?" hot pink iPods? heterosexuality?), let's all agree on one thing: It's feminist to speak up and speak out. Even a hater like Ann Coulter enjoys the right to press charges against a partner who beats her up, and she has a hundred years of feminists to thank for the privilege.

The home can be a dangerous place. In my last column, I wrote about the little hairline fractures that develop in one housewife, and the devastating consequences of going too long without help. Reactions among my readers ranged from support ("you nailed it") to admiration ("that was so brave") to embarrassment (one woman told me she was "shocked by the nakedness of your despair"). It shouldn't be surprising news that hurt exists, but that's America. It takes disaster to elicit change.

Yet for every single woman who speaks up, hundreds of her sisters remain silent. And why not? Put yourself in the Crocs of a housewife, radical or no, sitting in her living room one evening last summer as she watches Don Shelby deliver the news of Mark Olson's conviction. As part of the story she sees Olson report that he'll remain in the Minnesota Legislature, and the Republican leadership will let him. She has to move the ice pack from the bruise on her cheek; it's getting soaked with her tears. If a public person like Mark Olson won't have to pay for his crime, how will her partner? She might just change her mind and not file that police complaint after all.

Each of us must call our legislators to demand Olson be brought before the Ethics Committee at the start of the 2008 session. (The House switchboard, at 1-800-657-3550 can assist you. Another suggestion: If you're reading this and you live in Big Lake, Becker or elsewhere in District 16B, do not hesitate for a moment. Run against him.

Men need to join women in booting Olson from the legislature. There's a history of good ol' boys at the Capitol like Steve Sviggum allowing Rep. Mark Olson to avoid responsibility for abusing his staff:

Rep. Mark Olson and the Republicans Who Support Him

Curmudgeon at Pubhouse Dialogues:

It's Monday, 1 October. Convicted criminal Republican Mark Olson is still in the State Legislature. Heck, he's even held a fundraiser for his re-election.

How is it that this criminal Republican hasn't gotten a condemnation, especially since condemnation is one thing the Republicans seem to love to do just now?

Oh yeah, the Law and Order crowd, the folks who flout words like 'responsibility' and 'accountability' (without bothering themselves in the slightest to bother knowing what those words actually mean) at every possible turn seem to have no problem with a wife-beater as a Legislator. 

If the Republicans cannot even keep their own ranks in order, and lack the ability to do the right thing and usher Mark Olson from his seat, why should the Republicans be trusted with public office at all? 

The answer is obvious: Republicans cannot be trusted with public office.

To give you an idea how much of a "Law and Order" hypocrite jailbird Olson is, he has no problem executing innocent people with the guilty: