Olson's Wife-Beating Trial is June 7th... Crank Up the PRT Publicity Machine!

When Rep. Mark Olson's PRT pal Gary Dean Zimmermann got into trouble before his election in 2005, the PRTistas were there to help out with press releases about PRT projects in Dubai and Heathrow.

My prediction then:

Of course ULTra runs on batteries and will likely end up on the trash-heap like the other PRT projects, but it will serve as a reliable engine of anti-transit propaganda for many years to come.

Now, on the eve of Olson's trial... just in case any reporter asks about Olson's PRT scam, we now have this article about the ULTra Heathrow project in the Sunday Times. It's a very silly article.

The electrically powered “pod cabs” will allow users to key in their destination and be carried there automatically along special roadways at speeds of up to 25mph.

... up to 25 mph doesn't qualify as "speed". The article insists that ULTra "is already being built and has completed trials." The article also says ULTra's Heathrow debut won't be until the end of 2008... then there's this weasel-worded statement:

The pods are seen as more economical, more environmentally friendly and less prone to being stuck in traffic than existing transport inside the airport.

..."environmentally friendly"? Says who?

Martin Lowson, founder and chief executive of Advanced Transport Systems, the Bristol-based manufacturer, said it would be far more convenient for users than conventional airport transport.

... Martin Lowson? Didn't he leave ATS? I guess ATS couldn't find a suitable crackpot or con-artist to replace Lowson.

We get some specs:

The pods will be guided by infrared sensors along 7ft-wide concrete roadways.

... picture that 7ft-wide concrete roadway in front of your home or business...

For the 2.6-mile-long terminal 5 section, they will be raised above existing roads, swooping down as they near their destinations.

... "swooping down"?...

In later phases the taxis will travel along ground-level routes separated from other traffic by 8ft walls.

... so if your battery-powered, glorified PRT golf cart breaks down, you'll either be up in the air or trapped between 8-ft walls.

Also, just in time for Olson's trial, the New Jersey PRT report (PDF HERE). It's filled with the same weasel-worded baloney you find in all the PRTista-generated literature. It's main argument is that after many decades of failure we should waste even more time and money on PRT research.

And there's a new You Tube video of the ugly, automated bus on concrete guideway called the Morgantown WVU PRT.

From the memory hole... here's a vintage video of Olson riding in J. Edward Anderson's toy PRT pod... enjoy:



Ken Avidor blogs about the Personal Rapid Transit.