Planning PRT Systems for Urban Renewal Projects

One of the key concepts of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) systems is the computerized management of all aspects of vehicle control. This paper examines the principle functions of automated systems management and identifies many of the interactions of systems management policies with hardware design criteria, vehicle control requirements, and the overall performance specifications of a PRT system. A computer simulation model is described that has been developed: (1) to evaluate systems management policies; and (2) to perform parametric analyses of individual design elements such as vehicle size and headway. The results of a simulation of an application of a PRT system to a hypothetical urban renewal project are presented. This example shows that automated management policies have major and sometimes unexpected impact on the capability of a PRT design to meet performance specifications.