"This is not a transportation mode for Winona ever," council member Gerry Krage said.
"Right now, we're looking at $24 million for a showroom to bring people here."
[Winona wants to become the Uppsala of American PRT. -Ed.]
A company on Taxi 2000 Corporation's supply team has completed a feasibility study for an unnamed
client in the United Arab Emirates. Business
North reported May 5 that engineering/architecture firm Krech Ojard & Associates —
recently conducted a
feasibility study for developing a Personal Rapid Transit system in United Arab
Emirates, an oil-rich Middle Eastern nation of seven political territories.
Personal Rapid Transit is a system of lightweight, three-person vehicles
under independent or semi-independent automatic control, running on a network
of fixed guideways. If approved, this would be the first system of its kind.
For more than three years, Duluth has been considered a potential location for
a Personal Rapid Transit testing facility, but funding has not been
available.
The article mentions neither Taxi 2000 nor the Skyweb Express system by name,
however the description of PRT using "three-person vehicles" is almost certainly in
reference to Skyweb.
A notorious critic of PRT has posted on the internet a message purportedly from
Morrie Anderson, CEO of Taxi 2000 (Skyweb Express PRT) of Fridley, MN.
It reads in part:
"...PRT
has to prove itself by moving beyond concept to reality. That is the path
that Taxi 2000 is currently on. We are
about to move forward with a project and will let the results
of this effort speak for us."
Source
This critic has a long history of inaccurate claims, so take this one with a boulder-sized grain of salt.
(Dec. 21, 2005 0900PST)
J. Edward Anderson announced today that he and Taxi 2000 Corporation have
settled their differences over issues involving intellectual property, and Taxi 2000
has agreed to end its lawsuit filed against him. "Both Taxi 2000 and I will and can
continue to pursue our mutual goal of the wider development and deployment of Personal
Rapid Transit systems without fear of further law suits," Anderson wrote in an e-mail.
The suit was filed in April of this year after Anderson, former Taxi 2000 CEO, left
to form his own company, PRT International, LLC.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey kick-started a study of
next-generation transit technology by signing a law Tuesday that appropriates
$75,000 to conduct the research.
The technology, known as Personal Rapid Transit, consists of fully automated,
driverless vehicles that run on elevated guideways and offer customized trips
without intermediate stops.
The study by the state Transportation Department and New Jersey Transit, will
consider viability of the system, projected traffic-congestion relief, and
possible route options.
"There is no doubt that New Jersey needs to examine carefully every possibility
for enhancing our current rapid transit systems and alleviating congestion on
our roads," said Deputy Assembly Speaker John S. Wisniewski, who sponsored the
legislation.
Dec. 11, 2003--
The group
Sustainable Monterey Bay
has proposed a Personal Rapid Transit system for the Fort Ord area north of the city of Monterey,
California. The fort has been decommissioned by the military, and the site-- which borders the town
of Marina and the campus of California State University's Monterey Bay campus-- is to be
redeveloped into five "village" communities.
Ted Lahti of SMB's
Soltrain says his group is working with
the three master developers in charge of the redevelopment, he reports all seem to be
receptive to the PRT concept.
Soltrain is a proposal to design and build a solar powered "ultra-light rail" line in the Monterey Bay
area; the intention is that the additional PRT system would run on solar power as well. It is
envisioned that a combination Soltrain-SolarPRT system will solve congestion and pollution
problems in the Fort Ord area, as well as save energy.
At this time Lahti indicates his group likes Taxi 2000 Corporation's Skyweb Express PRT,
but that they are open to learning about other PRT systems as well.
November 5, 2003-
On January 1, 2004, Taxi 2000 will begin its Phase 2 prototype program
to build a working, full-scale, outdoor demonstration of SkyWeb Express.
A substantial investment was recently received, and the company has
sufficient funding for all of stage one and some of stage 2 of the
four-stage Phase 2 program.
According to founder and inventor Dr. Ed Anderson, "This is a great day
for us, a great day for transportation, and a great day for the planet.
In 30 months we can have a working demonstration model of our system.
If any customers want to plan in parallel with our Phase 2, the first
SkyWeb Express system could be operating in four years."
Taxi 2000 Corporation Newsletter - Vol. 2 No. 6
Skyweb "underway"
Nov. 1, 2003-
This has been a great week for us. After a two-day visit, an out-of-state
investor wrote a check for $200,000 and pledged an additional $1,800,000.
Thus, as you might say, we are underway! Also, this week we had a two-hour
visit from the Minnesota DOT Commissioner, which resulted in specific action
items. Next week we will be visited by the Minnesota Governor's
transportation aid, and on the same day by a high-level staff person
assigned to work with us by the Minneapolis City Council. Later in
November, the Minnesota Transportation Alliance has planned to hold its
monthly meeting at our facility, and staff from Metro Transit have booked to
visit us. Things are looking up very much in Duluth where a high-level
committee, with representatives from all of the important governmental
bodies as well as investors, has been meeting and is poised to invite us to
meet with them soon. In New Jersey, our affiliate MidAtlantic SkyWeb has
developed a detailed plan to start with a system in Longbranch. Several
other excellent opportunities for investment have showed up.
Test of the linear induction motor.
Ed Anderson takes the first 'ride', on a temporary platform attached to the top
of the chassis. "The motion was smooth and eerily silent," he reported. Note the
guideway is now enclosed by metal covers. 2/20/2003
