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Ultra originally stood for Urban Light Transport
 
Ultra PRT Global website

Ultra was spun off from Bristol University

A test facility is in Cardiff, Wales

The first public system is at Heathrow Airport

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Compiled by D.S. Gow, MPA

      Items in Date Order ↓
             • Threads in date order ↓
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  • Heathrow personal transport pods are coming 1-23-2009

  • PRT in MIT Technology Review 2-8-2009

  • Podcars inch from myth to reality 2-11-2009



  • Google Street View: Heathrow guideway visible from Western Perimeter Rd.

    View Larger Map


    •Opposition to Daventry PRT planning Schism grows between District Council and Town Council. 4-10-2009
          • Pod row 5-7-2009
          • Town Council's Feb. 2009 position 5-11-2009
          • District Council's public PRT documents


  • Podcars in the movies 4-15-2009

    • Brief video from Heathrow PRT, 4-21-2009


  • Asko Kauppi's photos from LHR conference

    • First video of ULTra passenger experience: Trip to T5 (Some videos being redone)
    Try this one

    All the videos


  • Pick Of The Pods 5-7-2009

  • "PRT Capital Costs Likely Understated"; math by rail advocate PublicTransit.us 5-14-2009. Devises scenario under which vehicles must be heavier, leading to higher guideway cost.
          • Response by Dr. Ross-Martin of ATS 5-19-2009

  • Light Relief

  • ULTra Heathrow system handed over to operations 7-9-09
          • Ceremony photos, video

  • Heathrow Tests Personal Rapid Transit Jul-Aug 2009

  • "Personal rapid transit" (Number Crunching blog)

  • Daventry PRT on hold due to global recession 8-10-09 Permalink

  • ULTra on display at the Science Museum in London (BBC)
           +

  • ULTra in Popular Science 8-19-2009

  • "Heathrow travellers get a robot chauffeur" New Scientist, 8-27-2009

  • ULTra batteries and charging described 8-28-2009

    • ULTra debut delayed to Spring 2010 9-4-2009 "Testing of the PRT System is continuing and, with all installation and communications challenges now resolved, we anticipate commencing passenger services in late Spring 2010."


  • "Bold new transit system" (South Bay, SF area) 9-16-2009

  • San Jose sustainability officer visits Heathrow 9-18-2009

  • Futuristic ULTra Sustainable Transport in the Here and Now 10-4-2009

  • ULTra featured on The Discovery Channel ←multiple segments on podcars

  • Flight innovations you'll love (CNN Budget Travel) 10-16-2009

    • Rider experience video (Cardiff, Apr 2009) No audio:
                :: 2009 pod choreography video (Apr 2009)

  • Civitas news release on Bath UK PRT design expo 11-16-2009
  • ULTra inspires kids to design 'light rail' line (Sammamish,WA) 11-20-2009
  • Councilman Koretz blows Curbed LA's mind with PRT 11-20-2009

  • Heathrow ULTra coming to BBC One's "Inside Out" 11-23-2009
          :: Transcript and stills

  • Meet the Mod Pods 12-2-2009
  • Heathrow throws the driver out 12-9-2009
  • Heathrow Central Terminal Area study by ATS
  • Video: What a round trip on the Heathrow PRT looks like
  • Video: ULTra demos multi-pod operation 12-24-2009

  • Daventry Town Council meeting: "hundreds" in "almost unanimous opposition" to District Council's PRT plan 1-15-2010
  • "Futuristic transport for Cardiff still on hold" 1-25-2010
  • Results of the Bath design competition 2-2-2010
  • After Heathrow, Pod Cars may well hit the Millennium City (India) 2-18-2010
  • Passenger pods without a driver are almost ready for take-off at Heathrow 3-9-2010
  • 53rd annual Viva Award (UK livery guild) 3-15-2010
  • Future transit could connect Shoreline, Moffett businesses (Mountain View, CA) 3-23-2010
  • Futuristic Luxury Pods 4-5-2010

  • Video: Trial handles 48 riders in 5 minutes 4-6-2010

  • ULTra to begin public operations in June 5-8-2010

  • Civitas seeks public comment in Bath 6-10-2010
  • "Follow that Pod Car!" ("World Business" video, 5 min.) 6-25-2010



  • Pod Cars Start to Gain Traction in Some Cities, New York Times. Increasing interest, and relevance to green objectives; special attention to Heathrow program. 9-20-2010

  • ULTra in Intersection design magazine 10-19-2010

  • ULTra Heathrow begins public service 10-19-2010

  • Smooth ride to Golden Temple (Amritsar) 10-25-2010

  • Exhibition for Gurgaon mobility conference (Times of India) 12-5-2010
    • "Answer to the urban chaos" Gurgaon (NewsX cable news)
    • Bandra-Kurla Complex Mumbai commercial zone (Times of India)


  • Snow no problem at Heathrow. Flights at London Heathrow airport are getting back on schedule after recent heavy snow and arctic conditions -- but the weather has been no problem for Heathrow's ULTra PRT. Sources tell the NewsCenter that the new automated pod transit system is handling the snow well. The open mesh guideway allows snow to pass through, and it is hard for ice to form on the pebbly surface. 12-22-2010

  • ULTra reports results of a trip capacity test conducted Jan. 11, 2011. 1. 18 people performing the test were able to make 164 journeys in one hour. 2. This is a total capacity of 656 passengers per hour for the fleet of 18 four-seat pods. 3. No technical issues were reported

  • The Times of India reports the state of Haryana has approved the study of a PRT system in Gurgaon, outside New Delhi (see earlier). 1. The study will be carried out by ULTra and the local firm Fairwood; 2. A 143-station network is foreseen; 3. the state feels PRT is best option because there is little remaining space for surface transit. 1-17-2011

  • "Pod conference to be held in town" 2-7-2011. 1. District Council Daventry UK to host another innovative transport conference, 2. PRT and GRT to be discussed Feb. 8; 3. a featured speaker will be the Hon. Norman Baker, Liberal Democratic MP from Lewes. 4. Conference page. There was an earlier conference in 2007.

    • Daventry drops PRT effort 2-17-2011

    Daventry Express reports: "Council puts brakes on pod plans". 1. The "Gusher" column cites unnamed persons speaking for the Daventry District Council. 2. Only last week DDC stated PRT was still its preferred option. 3. DDC's focus now shifts to driverless Group Rapid Transit cyberbuses [presumably 2getthere]. 4. Costs of podcars vs. GRT and residents' concerns are reasons given for the change in policy.

    Northants Patriot item: "Cyber buses to replace Daventry pod plan". DDC claims the £85 million needed for PRT would have come from an EU sustainable transport fund, not local taxes.

    Northampton Chronicle & Echo: "Pod network shelved due to its £85m cost". "...concerns have been raised that [GRT] would also run into several million pounds, at a time when financial austerity is the buzzword for local authorities up and down the country."


  • Capacity test time-lapse 2-18-2011

    Note the sidewalls have been finished and lit
    Mobile version

  • ULTra cited in preliminary proposal for Coon Rapids, MN Robert Jacobs of Smart Infrastructure. 3-9-2011


  • ULTra announces start of 3-week test open to traveling public at Terminal 5; anticipates going "fully live this summer." 4-19-2011

  • Railway Gazette: Now expected to launch in July 5-5-2011

  • Video: PRT can make other transit modes, such as High Speed Rail, more effective by improving rapid access 5-5-2011

  • "Monorail plan back on track?". The uniquely planned southern England city of Milton Keynes is hoping PRT can be the elevated transit system it had hoped for 40 years ago, when monorail had been considered. 6-12-2011

  • Public feedback "overwhelmingly positive" on new Heathrow pod transit (EU CityMobil) 6-27-2011

    • India projects make progress. 7-13,15-2011


  • "Pod Cars, Moving Silently at Heathrow's Terminal 5" 8-5-2011

  • "Pod Cars Make Their Debut At Heathrow Airport" by Graham Webster 8-18-2011

  • "Many vendors may get on board" 8-25-2011

    • "A concept whose time has come" - includes Martin Lowson. 6 min. segment from Urban Mobility 2011 series on Current TV (former Vice President Gore's network) 9-6-2011




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