Energy Efficiency of Personal Rapid Transit

Panel: Panel 6: Transportation, Urban Planning and Land Use

Author:
Eva Gustavsson, Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute

Abstract

Personal rapid transit (PRT) could contribute to solving the crowdmg and pollution problems in our cities, as well as saving energy. The concept of the PRT system, which provides individual journeys in public systems, is about a duarter of a century old. However, when implemented, it ~111 be a completely new element in urban transportation.

The result of our calculations is that the propulsion and heating of PRT vehicles may require less than a fourth of the energy used by passenger cars and less than half of the energy required by buses, all comparisons being based on energy use per passenger-kilometer. The energy required for construction of the guideway could also be quite Iow compared to road construction.

By introducing PRT, the modal split and probably also the total amount of travel will change. If travel increases strongly, less energy will be saved, if any. On the other hand, questionnaire studies and experience from existing transport systems indicate that the proportion of car drivers who could be attracted to PRT is so large that the energy used for construction may be saved in 4-5 years, even if the existing road capacity would have been sufficient without PRT.

The conclusion is that low energy use and moderate energy investments are typical characteristics of the projected PRT system. The type of system we have studied is very energy effkient in operation, and in a future with ever increasing traffic, PRT will be extremely profitable with regard to energy.