[AutonomousVehicles] article about new autonomous system to be build in San Jose

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Everyone,
Here is an article about the new system in San Jose that will be built
soon. Article Text and Link are below.

Article Link:

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/20/san-jose-chooses-a-network-of-autonomous-prts-for-airport-connector-route/

Article Text:

San Jose Chooses A Network Of Autonomous PRTs For Airport Connector Route
Personal rapid transit vehicles– PRTs — are appealing to municipalities due
to their sustainability and lower costs. Are they viable?

The city of San Jose, California, caught a lot of people off guard when it
granted authorization to develop a network of autonomous cars that will
travel on their own dedicated narrow 5.5-foot-wide paths. The personal
rapid transit, or PRT, system will kick off with 4-person electric pods
that will transport passengers between San Jose Mineta International
Airport and two city central areas.

A 2019 San Jose request for information (RFI) generated 23 submissions,
most of which fit into an existing and expected paradigm of buses, trams,
and minibuses — with several electric and/or autonomous options. Loquacious
Elon Musk even made sure his Boring Company sent along an idea to dig a
tunnel between the airport and the train station for the autonomous
vehicles that the CEO continues to insists are coming soon, very soon.

he question that prompted the robust San Jose response field mused, Could a
a new transit connection between Mineta San José International Airport
(SJC), Diridon Station, and west Santa Clara Valley cities be faster and
cheaper than conventional approaches?

When discussions turn to (above ground) autonomous vehicles, it’s generally
assumed that they’ll travel on the same roads as current autos. The
deduction, then, is that, if widely deployed, self-driving cars will only
increase congestion on regular roads.

Instead, San Jose designated officials chose a team led by developer
Plenary Americas — long-term investor, developer, and manager of public
infrastructure — and Glydways — a company that offers an on-demand,
anytime, high capacity mobility system. The South San Francisco-based
company says that their system has:

high capacity — up to 10,000 passengers per hour
less capital expenditure — 95% less than traditional mass transit
a low operating expense — typically $0.25 for each passenger mile traveled
Bloomberg calls Glydways “untested,” albeit with a 7-year startup history.

The novelty, efficiency, low carbon footprint, and promised savings from
Glydways appealed to the San Jose decision-makers. Glydway’s bidirectional
pods operate only when passengers summon them with a smartphone app — a
ride will cost about $6.


Ramses Madou, who manages the planning, policy and sustainability division
in San Jose’s transportation department, told the San Jose Spotlight that
it’s too early to estimate how quickly the airport connector could be
built, but if the city gives the go-ahead signal in the next few years,
construction on the automated guideway could begin by 2026-2028.

Proponents of the airport connector contend that this automated connection
could help ease growing congestion along San Jose roads and freeways while
providing riders with a swift trip to their destination. An estimated 9,000
to 20,000 passengers would ride on the airport connector daily once it’s
completed, according to Brian Stanke, San Jose’s project manager for the
airport connector.

The San Jose City Council has authorized what’s called a “predevelopment
agreement” with Plenary Americas, Glydways, and their partners. Next on the
itinerary are environmental and engineering reviews. Plus there’s a
validation report in which the companies and the city will jointly review
the business case.

Personal Rapid Transit, or PRT, is a public transit system of small (3 to 6
passengers) vehicles traveling automatically on exclusive guideways
separated from street and pedestrian traffic. The travelers are taken on a
nonstop, no-transfer trip from their point of origin to their destination
station anywhere in a large urban area. The capital cost is much less than
that for urban rail, and the operating costs are far below those for buses.

Original perceived problems such as safely achieving adequate line
capacities with small vehicles, vehicle traffic management on large
networks, reliability, guideway aesthetics, and system cost were worked out
in a program of study and research from 1968-1976 conducted at The
Aerospace Corporation.

Specifically, economic issues persisted as a main concern when considering
PRT for a transportation solution ever since the concept was developed.
Several energy architectures for PRT systems were researched, including
magnetic-levitation, overhead catenary line, third conductor rail, and
battery storage similar to electric vehicles (EVs). However, battery
storage and third conductor rail are the only technologies, up to date,
that meet Technology Readiness Level 7 in PRT systems. Furthermore, mobile
pods must be of low weight. Because the PRT track is confined, the vehicle
kinematics are automatically controlled, and most of the trip is carried
out while cruising,with a moderate power or power density requirement.
Thus, for PRT systems, the weight energy density — the energy capacity per
unit mass — is most critical, pointing to Li-ion batteries as state-of-the
art.

PRT today is conceptualized by an array of autonomous pods, providing
shared riding service to a small number of travelers per vehicle, on a
dedicated guideway. PRT is considered by many to be a travel mode that
reduces energy use and emissions levels, compared with traditional cars.

Today only a few sites incorporate PRT networks, including Heathrow Airport
and Dubai.

Heathrow Airport: The fleet of 21 pods, each capable of carrying 4
passengers and their luggage, travel along a dedicated guideway, reaching
speeds of up to 25 mph on the mainly elevated route. The 21 on-demand
vehicles serve 800 passengers per day and  and help reduce emissions by
replacing a fleet of shuttle buses. The pods are battery-powered,
driverless vehicles offering a convenient and novel way to travel to and
from the terminal. The small footprint of the Heathrow pod system enables
it to fit within the tight constraints imposed by the airport
infrastructure. The pods travel a total of 3.8 kilometers of one-way
guideway to 3 stations. By 2013, the system had celebrated reaching its 1
millionth autonomously driven passenger.
Dubai: These pods are part of the city’s 2030 Dubai Future Accelerators
program, with a goal of making 25% of daily transportation fully automated.
In order to do this, the RTA is spending $410,000 (1.5 million dirhams) for
further research and development of the pods. Emirate’s Roads and Transport
Authority (RTA) is heavily involved in autonomous applications and says
that 5 self-driving Chevrolet Bolts are also testing in the Jumeirah 1 area
of the city, collecting data on Dubai’s roads and familiarizing themselves
with signage, traffic signals, and drivers’ behavior.

About the Author:

Carolyn Fortuna
Carolyn Fortuna (they, them), Ph.D., is a writer, researcher, and educator
with a lifelong dedication to ecojustice. Carolyn has won awards from the
Anti-Defamation League, The International Literacy Association, and The
Leavy Foundation. Carolyn is a small-time investor in Tesla. Please follow
Carolyn on Twitter and Facebook. Comments
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