Hammonds Point
Proto-Pod Mass Transit
Proto-Pod Personal Mass Transit (PMT)
Our roads are clogged with cars and buses. Commuters spend countless hours sitting in traffic as rail-based mass transit suffers from the same “proximity” problem it always has: people simply do not like to sit next to people they don’t know.
As autonomous vehicles take to the streets in the near future, not even they can overcome our congested streets; granted, people will not have to hold the steering wheel, but they will have to sit with all the other commuters in the same traffic jam.
If we are to re-imagine mass transit, it needs to be done in a way that does not collide with established modes or lessen the accessibility of those already using mass transit.
A better transit system would be one that helps eliminate the “first and last mile dilemma” while also offering both public and private ownership. A transit system that is part of the urban and suburban environment in a way that allows users to get to and from the transit hub while not mandating that they own the vehicle used to get there.
Specifically then, a better transit system would be an on-demand, high efficiency transit system giving riders privacy and ease of use, while at the same time lowering energy consumption, lessening environmental impact and easing congested freeways.
A transit system that would offer two-seater, dual-mode EV pods capable of both local navigation and autonomous transportation on elevated guide-ways.
In other words, offer riders shared-use street legal EV pods that can be used both locally to meet the needs of an urban environment, while at the same time, serving suburban communities needing long range transit to and from the city for work.
Personal Mass Transit is a multi-model, on-demand transit system based on “shared-use” vehicles. Users would quarry the transit system to find the closest available vehicle, reserve it, and pick it up. Local transit at street level would be the first mode of transit.
The second mode of operation occurs when a user drives the EV Pod to a “loading station” where it is hydraulically locked to an Electric Vehicle Transporter (See above).
Once the EVT and EV Pod are locked together, the EVT takes over control of the EV Pod for automated transit. Users enter a destination station and the transit system navigates the EVT over the track network for optimal efficiency.
The EVT is an all-electric destination programmable vehicle conveyor. Each EVT utilizes a hydraulic locking mechanism and redundant systems. An EVT can be stored offline or at larger hub stations where they are available for immediate use.
In this way, the PMT EV pod is different from a standard EV pod in that it is considered a dual-mode vehicle. It can either be driven on the street like an ordinary car or transported on an elevated guideway like a transit train.
PMT is unlike traditional transit systems where operating costs are wasted when buses and trains run routes off-peak. While it is understood that current systems must run “as scheduled” even during low occupancy times, they are doing so because of an outdated model.
Personal Mass Transit redefines that model by allowing users to choose when they travel and where; wasted trips to stops where no passengers need to be picked-up or dropped off are all but eliminated.
