Emeryville - next generation elevated shuttle

• Paper: Personal Rapid Transit for Emeryville. Some background information by Cities21, July 26, 2005. This introductory paper:
  • Describes PRT technology
  • Explains an associated out-of-the-box paradigm
  • Describes how PRT fits within a larger "comprehensive door-to-door mobility" service
  • Comments on the status of PRT technology development
  • Explains the main implementation challenges
  • Comments on PRT's visual impact
  • Provides supporting quotes
• 2.4MB PowerPoint presentation for Emeryville General Plan Update Steering Committee, July 26, 2005
• Transportation Research Board peer-reviewed national conference paper: Conference Paper (TRB '03).
  • "Small-Suburb PRT Ballot Initiatives." Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) has been rapidly eliminated in three recent U.S. major investment studies. PRT is burdened by a past history of un-commercialized government demonstration projects. In the current political climate, a more effective approach uses a ballot initiative to advance a planning study in a city with a small voting population, but many potential transit riders. Two victorious Seattle Monorail initiatives provide examples of successful techniques and avoidable perils. An initiative provides a mandate to advance new transit strategies; however, an initiative cannot advance towards victory or successful implementation without the backing of skilled local politician. The initiative serves as an effective tool for political leadership, not as a substitute.
    An Emeryville (California) initiative, with budget, timeline, and initiative text, is provided as a model for similar initiatives. For Emeryville, a San Francisco suburb with 6,900 residents and a daytime population of 27,700, a $17,000 initiative budget can sway 1,300 votes, affecting 27,700 potential riders. Rather than PRT serving as both trunk and feeder, a smaller feeder-only system is proposed to serve Emeryville's activity centers while complementing existing transit infrastructure.
• Emeryville Proposal Summary
• PDF Map, 372KB: emery150dpi.pdf. 2.4MB JPEG map.
• Relevant Emeryville facts