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.
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