Thursday, March 29, 2007

Swedish Government Minister Goes California Gadgetbahning

Andreas Carlgren, an ethically-challenged Swedish Minister for Sustainable Development was in California a couple months ago promoting Personal Rapid Transit to Lt Governor John Garamendi, Energy Commissioner Jim Boyd, Mayor and Council members of Santa Cruz.

Here's a report on the trip (PDF) available on the Pod Car site:

Preliminarily results:

•Initiate city friendship relation between the City of Santa Cruz and the municipality of Värmdö, Sweden. Both cities have in autumn 2006 completed feasibility studies for podcars. Both cities see the benefits of joining forces in their implementation
strategies.

•Initiate West Orange County Group for Podcars. Ten cities, from Anaheim to Huntington Beach, with Fountain Valley as the driving force, are setting up for a large regional feasibility study of podcars. OCTA are positive to fund the work through
their “Go Local” program.

•Irvine sees podcars so interesting that they may defer their decision on which public transport system they will choose for Great Park. The plans of Great Park are to convert a closed airport (the former marine airbase El Toro, e.g. where Nixon landed his Airforce One) into a business and recreation park with strong sustainable profiles. Mr Agran (board of Great Park & council member of Irvine) agreed to come to Uppsala in September to test ride Vectus PRT.

•Cooperation on standardization issues of podcars, “General Transport System”, were further formalized with the University of Irvine.

•The top political officials at the summit meeting, Lt Governor John Garamendi and the Swedish Minister of Environment Andreas Carlgren, were positive to give political support to podcar initiatives.


The Vectus test track looks a lot like the doomed Raytheon PRT track.

Here's a picture of Andreas Carlgren with Lt Governor John Garamendi:

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