Yes, that is Nixon's face in the photo.
Showing posts with label J. Edward Anderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J. Edward Anderson. Show all posts
Sunday, December 30, 2007
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.
Yes, that is Nixon's face in the photo.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
PRT Promoters' LinkedIn Profiles
David Maymudes:
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:
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:
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:
...and another page HERE.
Jeral Poskey:
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.
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.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Minnesota History Center's Misleading Exhibit on Transit
My Uptake video about misleading exhibit at the History Center on LRT and PRT:
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
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
Saturday, November 24, 2007
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Rep. Mark Olson's PRT Helping to Greeenwash Airport Expansion
From the website of the No Third Runway Action Group:
PRT... once again helping to pave the way for more paving:
"...The option, as far as we know right now, would cause the demolition of some 700 homes. This number of properties does not include the land take required for roads or other ancillary buildings that may be required for the runway. It does not take into account the realignment of the M4 airport spur."
PRT... once again helping to pave the way for more paving:
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Another PRT Puff Piece
The publicity barage continues. This puff piece in CNN Money.com reads like it's transcribed from the same press release as the others.
I thought this was interesting:
So, Anderson isn't saying he was a professor at the U of M anymore?
Anderson forgets a few more things. He fails to mention Raytheon going way over budget, that he was sued by his own company, that he picked three of worst politicians in Minnesota to lobby for Taxi 2000... maybe he's going senile?
Ken Avidor blogs all about Personal Rapid Transit
I thought this was interesting:
So why aren't cities already filled with PRT tracks and pods? "The real problem was political, not technical," recalls John Edward Anderson, a former professor at Boston University who has worked on PRT for almost 40 years. Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle killed PRT projects, fearing opposition from transit drivers and the embarrassment of failing with an untested system.
So, Anderson isn't saying he was a professor at the U of M anymore?
Anderson forgets a few more things. He fails to mention Raytheon going way over budget, that he was sued by his own company, that he picked three of worst politicians in Minnesota to lobby for Taxi 2000... maybe he's going senile?
Ken Avidor blogs all about Personal Rapid Transit
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