Morgantown Personal Rapid Transport - Way beyond SA: 1977

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monotonehell
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Morgantown Personal Rapid Transport - Way beyond SA: 1977

#1 Post by monotonehell » Tue Feb 23, 2016 12:52 am

Stop talking about trams. What we need is some good, old fashioned, slightly rusty, but still good after nearly 40 years, forward looking, people movers!
(Nb this is not a monorail so stop singing the song.)

Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
The WVU PRT system is a personal rapid transit/people mover system in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University (WVU), as well as the downtown area.

Developed as the Alden staRRcar, the Morgantown system was built, starting in 1970, by a consortium led by Boeing Vertol as a government-funded experiment in personal rapid transit (PRT) systems. It had a fitful start, and entered operation in 1975, three years behind schedule. It cost three-to-four times more than had been estimated. Except for a short closure for a major expansion, the PRT operated continuously with 98.5% reliability from 1975 to 2005.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgantow ... id_Transit

The system is "personal" because a car will take you directly to your chosen destination, skipping any intervening stations. Fully driver-less and computer controlled, it's still running today servicing something like 16,000 filthy students... I mean, riders a day.

Sit back and let the faded celluloid and 1970's twiddly synth music take you way back...
(Did the past really happen? I mean I look at this promo and these people are so alien.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEgboXXflwo

And it's still groaning along today... despite all the rust from the snow and ice...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsnqvAmyBHw

A more recent installation of the concept (however unrelated) is at Heathrow Airport...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn5N_UYe5kU

Patronising bloody computers...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Knmgr2Ge8
Exit on the right in the direction of travel.

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