BIKE: Re: Monorail, Transit, rails-with-trails

[Mike Dahmus]

Nick Dalton wrote:

> I agree with Eric on this one.  Personal Rapid Transit is the only thing
> with even faintly offers a service which can break even from the 
> ticket cost. The more miles of cheap transit we can build the more 
> space on the ground for everyone else.

PRT is kook transit - pushed by 2 groups:

1. well-meaning eggheads who watched too many episodes of The Jetsons
2. road guys who know that they can get enough of #1 to kill the 
momentum for more realistic alternatives.

The only real PRT system in the world is a demonstration project at West 
Virginia University, and it's just plain awful. If you think what we 
have now wastes a lot of money, you ain't seen nothing yet.

http://www.roadkillbill.com/PRTisaJoke.html makes my eyes bleed, but is 
a good collection of stuff showing where most of PRT's backing comes 
from. This guy makes the unfortunate (in my opinion) judgement that PRT 
and monorail are pretty much the same thing; I disagree - I think PRT 
makes monorail look quite respectable.

- MD