PRT System Capacity March 6, 2009 J. Sam Lott, P.E. Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Presentation Overview Capacity – Defining the Issues Station Operations Main Line Station/Main Line Transition Zone Vehicle Occupancy Conclusions Capacity – Defining the Issues Station Operations Main Line Station/Main Line Transition Zone Vehicle Occupancy Conclusions

CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Capacity – Defining the Issues

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Capacity – Defining the Issues Safety Operational sustainability Failure mode recovery/work-around Redundant elements: More is not necessarily better Public perception may negate some solutions Safety Operational sustainability Failure mode recovery/work-around Redundant elements: More is not necessarily better Public perception may negate some solutions

CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Station Operations

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Station Operational Capacity – A premise for the near term As important as line capacity issues are, the successful application of PRT systems will be determined by the practical and sustainable operational capacity limits of the stations serving the peak demand conditions of the system. Ref PT Expo “PRT Stations – System Capacity Implications” by J. Sam Lott and Jill Capelli As important as line capacity issues are, the successful application of PRT systems will be determined by the practical and sustainable operational capacity limits of the stations serving the peak demand conditions of the system. Ref PT Expo “PRT Stations – System Capacity Implications” by J. Sam Lott and Jill Capelli

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Operational Concept and Station Configuration Serial Station Berths –FIFO with head-end loading position(s) –FIFO with platooning and simultaneous loading positions Parallel Station Berths –Parallel In-Line –Parallel Only Berths Serial Station Berths –FIFO with head-end loading position(s) –FIFO with platooning and simultaneous loading positions Parallel Station Berths –Parallel In-Line –Parallel Only Berths

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Serial Berths - Head End Load Load and Unload Positions Unload only Positions

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Serial Berths – Platooning Receiving Track Staging Positions Dispatch Track Staging Positions Unload/ Load Berths

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Parallel Berths – In Line Parallel Berth Station Guideway Mainline Guideway

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Parallel Berths – With Reversing Receiving Track Staging Positions Dispatch Track Staging Positions Unload/ Load Berths Parallel Berths Serial Berths

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Conclusions on Station Capacity Dwell time is #1 variable 2 to 20 sec. in theoretical studies, but passenger interactions could increase these values Communication of loading berth location is complicated for visually impaired passengers Extended dwell times required for elderly and handicapped Loading and unloading of baggage significantly impacts dwell times Dwell time is #1 variable 2 to 20 sec. in theoretical studies, but passenger interactions could increase these values Communication of loading berth location is complicated for visually impaired passengers Extended dwell times required for elderly and handicapped Loading and unloading of baggage significantly impacts dwell times

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Conclusions on Station Capacity Number of loading berths #2 variable Station dimensions are a practical limit Berth configuration (serial berths versus parallel berths) is #3 variable Parallel berths reduce dwell and reliability impacts, but slow down operating speeds Number of loading berths #2 variable Station dimensions are a practical limit Berth configuration (serial berths versus parallel berths) is #3 variable Parallel berths reduce dwell and reliability impacts, but slow down operating speeds

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Conclusions on Station Capacity For the first PRT Systems we will implement (i.e., next ten years), the following are proposed practical maximums for planning purposes: –Single-sided stations –6 to 8 berths –500 to 1000 vehicles/hr –1000 to 2000 passengers/hr For the first PRT Systems we will implement (i.e., next ten years), the following are proposed practical maximums for planning purposes: –Single-sided stations –6 to 8 berths –500 to 1000 vehicles/hr –1000 to 2000 passengers/hr

CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Main Line

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Main Line Capacity Mainline throughput capacity issues include: –Sustainable operating headway –Empty vehicle mix –Average passenger occupancy of loaded vehicles Ref TRB “Capacity Analysis of Demand Responsive Systems” by J. Sam Lott and David S. Tai Mainline throughput capacity issues include: –Sustainable operating headway –Empty vehicle mix –Average passenger occupancy of loaded vehicles Ref TRB “Capacity Analysis of Demand Responsive Systems” by J. Sam Lott and David S. Tai

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Operating Headway Determined by: Synchronous control means that provides space (or “slot”) for merging vehicles to enter the Main Line flow Brick wall stop safety criteria Sustainable average spacing between vehicles that accounts for operational perturbations – i.e., the real world Determined by: Synchronous control means that provides space (or “slot”) for merging vehicles to enter the Main Line flow Brick wall stop safety criteria Sustainable average spacing between vehicles that accounts for operational perturbations – i.e., the real world

CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Station/Main Line Transition Zone

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Designations of Operating Zones Station Guideway – Low speed operations with special train control considerations Main Line Guideway – Full speed operations under ATP safety functions Station/Main Line Transition Zone – Acceleration/deceleration zones where hand-off occurs between Station and Main Line control functions Station Guideway – Low speed operations with special train control considerations Main Line Guideway – Full speed operations under ATP safety functions Station/Main Line Transition Zone – Acceleration/deceleration zones where hand-off occurs between Station and Main Line control functions

CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Vehicle Occupancy

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Vehicle Occupancy Determined by the local demographic effect on travel party size (e.g., % of families) Shared ride options heavily effected by: –Safety culture and physical context –Trip patterns conducive to shared ride –Surge flow characteristics Empty vehicle management and storage locations drive the mix of empty vehicles A new ASCE APM Conference paper by Ingmar Andréasson addresses some of these aspects Determined by the local demographic effect on travel party size (e.g., % of families) Shared ride options heavily effected by: –Safety culture and physical context –Trip patterns conducive to shared ride –Surge flow characteristics Empty vehicle management and storage locations drive the mix of empty vehicles A new ASCE APM Conference paper by Ingmar Andréasson addresses some of these aspects

CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Conclusions

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Is Capacity a Big Deal? YES Message to Owners/Developers – PRT is ready for consideration, however: Suitability must be determined for each specific application Operations are very complex Hidden capacity constraints can exist Solutions applying redundant elements may penalize PRT effectiveness Message to Owners/Developers – PRT is ready for consideration, however: Suitability must be determined for each specific application Operations are very complex Hidden capacity constraints can exist Solutions applying redundant elements may penalize PRT effectiveness

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Is Capacity a Big Deal? YES Message to Planners/Suppliers – PRT is ready for consideration, however: Don’t force fit PRT to all applications Be patient and let PRT technology mature before assuming capacity capabilities Listen to what transit professionals have learned through experience Message to Planners/Suppliers – PRT is ready for consideration, however: Don’t force fit PRT to all applications Be patient and let PRT technology mature before assuming capacity capabilities Listen to what transit professionals have learned through experience

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE Is Capacity a Big Deal? YES Message to Transit Professionals – PRT is ready for consideration, however: Capacity vs. safety issues are critically important to understand Consider the world-wide design context Be open minded, while remaining protective of passenger safety Message to Transit Professionals – PRT is ready for consideration, however: Capacity vs. safety issues are critically important to understand Consider the world-wide design context Be open minded, while remaining protective of passenger safety

CARBON-FREE MOBILITY CONFERENCE PRT System Capacity March 6, 2009 J. Sam Lott, P.E. Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.