International Conference on Transportation and Development (ICTD 2024) and the 19th International Conference on Automated People Movers and Automated Transit Systems (APM-ATS 2024)

I attended and presented at the above conference last week. Below are excerpts and or my conclusions from various presentations.

Ian Hodkinson, Alstom. Multi- Technology APM Procurements

The traditional approach is to study the problem and the available solution and select the best technology for the problem and then proceed to procure that technology. An alternative procurement process allowing bidders to propose different technologies was presented. The problems with this alternative seem to outweigh the benefits.

Peter Muller, Advanced Transit Association. Ten Ways to improve Light Rail

Starting with a theoretical $2.5 B light rail deployment in Denver, Colorado, individual improvements were considered and their impacts on performance estimated. The improvements were: driverless; offline stations; track layout; onboard switch; vehicle size; elevated guideway; moving dynamic block; linear induction motors; no brick wall stop; ridesharing algorithm. Findings for the performance criteria analyzed were: passenger trips increased 17X; service area increased 6X; system capability (speed x service area x capacity) increased 6X; reliability improved 4X; safety improved 2X; travel time was cut in half; one third of the energy was used and the footprint was reduced to one tenth. After the first four improvements the light rail had essentially become ATN.

Darin Friedmann, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. Next Generation APM – Making Transit Even Greener

There are currently 750 APM vehicles in operation of which more than 75% are not in airports. On board energy storage that consists of a hybrid super capacitor is lighter than a battery and allows rapid in-station charging. Applicable to ATN?

Chris Riley, Glydways. Personal Rapid Transit – Transforming Mobility, Transforming Communities

Glydways has a capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd). They are presently contracted to provide 5,000 pphpd.

Gerald McDowell, ATL Airport Community Improvement Districts. Personal Rapid Transit – Transforming Mobility, Transforming Communities

We are approaching a transportation crisis, and the public and private sectors must work together to mitigate it. The preferred provider for the Atlanta PRT demonstration system will be announced June 28th. The proposed airport circulator should enter service in 2030.

Cities of the Future (ASCE’s 45-minute documentary).

This movie envisions the transportation future of personal travel being flying cars. A similar, but more practical vision is for the flying cars to be small pods supported by or suspended from elevated guideways. This would provide more capacity and better all-weather reliability at lower costs and energy use while also facilitating many stations scattered throughout the community and the movement of freight.

Eduardo Perondi, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Diego Abs, Aerom Sistemas de Transporte S.A. Automatic feedback cruising control of the AEROMOVEL automated people mover

A steel-wheel steel-rail Automated People Mover (APM) propelled by pneumatic power systems that insufflate pressured air inside a duct where a rodless piston connected to the vehicle is driven, is already in public service. A novel automatic driving strategy, based on feedback control, is being developed to allow for more complex maneuvering of a new system being deployed. This propulsion method is cost effective and results in lighter vehicles cutting capital costs of vehicles plus infrastructure in half. Applicable to ATN?

Keith Forman, Conductix, Inc. An Examination of Factors Affecting APM Conductor Rail System Reliability

Conductor rails are a significant and complex problem.

Brian Gettinger, Flatiron Construction. Building a Bridge to an Autonomous Future, the Role of Dedicated Guideways in ATN Systems

Lea + Elliott did an ATN Technical Readiness Evaluation in 2023 which pointed out ATN benefits such as:

• Flexibility to right size the technology to the demand.

• Operate in a platoon or as independent vehicles.

• Ability to route vehicles around other vehicles.

• Ability to bypass stations.

• Offer point-to-point service.

• Decrease the capital and O&M costs associated with the guideway infrastructure.

• Flexibility to permit shared use of the guideway for one or more system technologies initially or in the future.

• Potential to replace the vehicles with updated technology as the technology evolves without major guideway infrastructure modifications.

Benefits of a Dedicated Guideway for ATN

• Controlled operating environment

• 10x reduction in operational variables, allowing a simplified vehicle operating system to function reliably

• No cross traffic from vehicles or pedestrians

• Faster operating speeds and reliable headways

• Express service offered, inducing demand for the system

Even greater benefits for grade separated guideways:

• Limited to no impact to the existing traffic flow in the right of way

• Additive transportation capacity to the existing right of way

• Limited to no impact to perpendicular traffic flow

• Weatherproof (if enclosed or in a tunnel)

• Significantly reduced risk of vandalism due to limited accessibility

A universal guideway standard would reduce engineering and construction complexity – shortening delivery schedules and further reducing construction costs.

The LAX automated people mover is costing $1 B per mile.

The Lea + Elliott paper referenced in the presentation addresses a version of ATN focused on using standard guideway infrastructure for short distance connections (first/last mile) between various forms of transportation. "To future-proof infrastructure investment for grade-separated (elevated) guideways, these structures must not preclude utilization by various types of ATS vehicles." The resulting proposed modular guideway can accommodate vehicles sized for 6 to 25 passengers and includes emergency walkways. When compared to the Heathrow PRT guideway designed for 4 - 6 passenger vehicles with no need for emergency walkways, it is massive and obviously much more expensive. The idea of modular guideways to save money is flawed because it limits innovations that can reduce costs and increase speeds and all-weather reliability. These innovations include the proven use of 4 passenger vehicles and suspended vehicles.

ASCE APM Standards Committee Meeting

I attended this meeting and indicated ATRA accepts the committee’s previous decision not to switch mean time between hazardous events (MTBHE) from its current system operating hour basis to a passenger mile basis. However, I pointed out that, with its potential for very large deployments, the current criteria could require ATN systems currently under development to assume they will be held to safety standards one or two orders of magnitude higher than APM systems which are already very safe. This makes ATN development (and, in particular, high-capacity development) more difficult, which reduces overall safety if more people are forced to keep using more dangerous modes. I asked that the standards recognize that APM criteria were developed for a typical system size of less than ten stations. The committee postponed considering this until the next renewal process scheduled to start in 2027, when more data and information can be gathered.