(Sources contributing to this hybrid report: Boston.com, ULTraPRT.com & ABC7)

The city of San Jose is planning to build a PRT system that will run between the airport and a Bay Area Rapid Transit station as well as a nearby light rail station. They say it will include up to five stations, but this and other details are still being worked out.

Back in 2008, the city has issued a request for proposals and allotted $4 million to conduct an economic and technical evaluation, and then to work with a vendor. When San Jose compared PRT with an automated people mover, the kind of large, driverless shuttle that is common at airports, officials decided that PRT would be cheaper and more convenient for passengers. The government has not sworn off other options during this exploratory phase, but officials say they will most likely proceed with a PRT system.

Image Courtesy: ULTra PRT - Click the image for more details

One of the vendors, ULTra PRT whose first deployment is scheduled for London Heathrow Airport in Spring 2010, expected to serve Heathrow’s new Terminal 5, has published more details on this project.  The website notes ULTra PRT is an electric, 200-mpg-equivalent, elevated transit system with many 5-person vehicles.  Working as circulator transit for office parks, airports, universities, and other major activity centers, PRT is faster than a car. In these applications, PRT makes carpooling and transit more effective, by solving the “last mile problem.”

Laura Stuchinksy is a sustainability officer for San Jose’s Department of Transportation. She and other city officials are considering the idea of having such a public pod system link the Mineta San Jose International Airport with area businesses, hotels and other nearby transit options, like Caltrain, BART and the VTA Light Rail.

PRT also enables longer bike commutes and shopping trips.  The only existing, functioning example in the world is an eight-mile network built in the 1970s to move people around the West Virginia University campuses (which also happens to be TransportGooru’s Alma Mater; enjoyed riding this system while studying there back in the 90s).

San Jose is anticipating population growth of a half million people over the next 30 years, so an automated pod transit system could certainly improve quality of life in the city – plus generate thousands more clean-tech jobs. Here is a video  coverage of this story (courtesy of ABC 7).