A Personal Rapid Transit/Airport Automated People Mover Comparison

Abstract

Airport automated people movers (AAPM) typically consist of driverless trains with up to about four cars each capable of carrying 20 to 100 passengers who are mostly standing. They have been successfully used for surface transportation in airports for over thirty years. A new category of automated people mover call personal rapid transit (PRT) is being implemented at London’s Heathrow International Airport. Although the Heathrow system will replace shuttle buses, it may be more pertinent to examine the differences between PRT and traditional AAPM. PRT uses small (3 to 4 passenger) vehicles (transportation pods or T-pods) to automatically transport passenger and their luggage non-stop to their destinations along designated guideways. Trips are typically on-demand and T-Pods are often waiting at stations prior to the arrival of passengers. The resulting short wait and trip times combine with seated travel to provide an exceptionally high level of service. This paper compares AAPM systems to PRT systems similar to the type being installed at Heathrow Airport. Items compared include infrastructure items such as stations, guideways and tunnels; level of service items such as waiting, standing and trip times; cost items such as capital and operating costs; as well as safety and security issues. The paper discusses PRT viability and concludes with a brief discussion of the ability of PRT to facilitate solutions to common airport issues such as in-concourse transportation and curbside congestion. PRT is found to have many advantages over AAPM for transporting passengers and their luggage at airports. It is that PRT alternatives should be included in airport planning projects.