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November 1981
U.S. Department of Transportation Urban Mass Transportation Administration NOTICE
This document disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. Report No. DOT-TSC-UMTA-81-65
Transit Technology Evaluation A Literature Capsule
O U.S. Department of Transportation Urban Mass Transportation Administration
Introduction
As part of its ongoing commitment to the • Market research to ascertain the nature and principle of technology sharing, the U.S. Depart- magnitude of the potential market for ment of Transportation has initiated a series of pub- technology deployment; lications based on research and development efforts • Impacts investigation to determine how the sponsored by the Department. The series comprises technology will affect users and the sur- technical reports, state-of-the-art documents, news- rounding community with regard to aes- letters and bulletins, manuals and handbooks, bibli- thetic, environmental, and social issues. ographies, and other special publications. All share a primary objective: to contribute to a better base of Section I of the capsule contains overviews of knowledge and understanding throughout the selected documents representative of the above transportation community and, thereby, to an im- areas of study. Section II provides summaries of provement in the basis for decision-making within additional Transit Technology Evaluation Program the community. documents. Section III presents summaries of pub- lications which, for the most part, were prepared The Transit Technology Evaluation Literature outside the Transit Technology Evaluation Program, Capsule is designed to make the literature on trans- but which are highly relevant to its work. portation concerning promising new transit tech- Readers seeking more detailed discussions of nology more accessible to users. Most of the publi- the subject matter are encouraged to refer to the cations surveyed in this capsule represent the results original reports, which are available through the of projects funded by the Transit Technology National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Evaluation Program and its predecessor, the Auto- 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia, 22161. mated Guideway Transit Socio-Economic Research NTIS numbers assigned to each report and by which Program, of the Office of Socio-Economic and they can be ordered have been provided whenever Special Projects, Urban Mass Transportation Admin- possible. istration (UMTA). The Transit Technology Evalua- tion Program investigates the technical, social, and economic factors involved in the planning and oper- ation of promising new transit technologies through studies in four basic areas: • Assessments of operational systems to com- pile information on the performance, techni- cal, and economic characteristics; • Cost analyses including capital, operating and maintenance costs, as well as life cycle costing and cost trends;
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• |(#0 #ii.tf ^^a^ i- .’ » Table of Contents SECTION I. Overviews of Selected Documents of the Transit Technology Evaluation Program Review of Local Alternatives Analyses Involving Automated Guideway Transit 3 Assessment of the Phase I Morgantown People Mover System 7 Roosevelt Island Tramway System Assessment 13 Summary of Capital and Operations & Maintenance Cost Experience of Automated Guideway Transit Systems; Costs and Trends for the Period 1976-1979 — Supplement II 17 AGT Aesthetics — A Handbook for Planning and Design of Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) Systems 23 An Analysis of the Market for Automated Guidway Transit 28 SECTION II. Summaries of Transit Technology Evaluation Program Documents Assessment of Operational Automated Guideway Systems — Airtrans (Phase I) 37 Assessment of Operational Automated Guideway Systems — Airtrans (Phase II) 38 Assessment of Operational Automated Guideway Systems — Jetrail 39 Assessment of the Automatically Controlled Transportation (ACT) System at Fairlane Town Center 39 Assessment of the Busch Gardens Automated Anheuser-Busch Shuttle System 40 Assessment of the Mueller Aerobus System; The System Installed and Operated for the Bundesgartenschau 1975, Mannheim, Germany 40 Assessment of the Passenger Shuttle System (PSS) at Tampa International Airport 41 Assessment of the Satellite Transit System (STS) at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport 41 Assessment of the Tunnel Train System at Houston Intercontinental Airport 44 Assessment of the UMI Type II Tourister AGT System at King’s Dominion 44 iii Assessment of the WEDway PeopleMover at Walt Disney World 45 Description and Technical Review of the Duke University Automated People/Cargo Transportation System 45 Description and Technical Review of the Miami International Airport Satellite Transit Shuttle System 46 Development/Deployment Investigation of Cabintaxi/Cabinlift Systems 47 Development/Deployment Investigation of H-Bahn System 49 Life Cycle Cost Model for Comparing ACT and Conventional Transit Alternatives 50 Summary of Capital and Operations & Maintenance Cost Experience of Automated Guideway Transit Systems 50 Summary of Capital and Operations & Maintenance Cost Experience of Automated Guideway Transit Systems: Costs and Trends for the Period 1976-1978 — Supplement I 51 Review of Downtown People Mover Proposals: Preliminary Market Implications for Downtown Applications of Automated Guideway Transit , 52 Automated Mixed Traffic Transit Market Analysis 52 Automated Guideway Transit Socio-Economic Research Program Findings 1976-1979 54 SECTION ill. Summaries of Related Documents Automated Guideway Transit Automated Guideway Transit — An Assessment of PRT and Other New Systems 57 Guideway Transportation, A Bibliography With Abstracts 57 Impact of Advanced Group Rapid Transit Technology 57 AGT Guideway and Station Technology: Volume 1, Executive Summary 58 People Mover Profile 58 Dual Mode Systems Dual Mode Transportation 59 Dual Mode Planning Case Study — Milwaukee, Volume I: Executive Summary and Planning Analysis 60 Dual Mode Planning Case Study — Orange County, Volume 1: Executive Summary and Planning Analysis 61 IV Analysis of Dual Mode Systems in an Urban Area, Volume 1; Summary 61 Accelerating Walkway Systems Accelerating Moving Walkway Systems — Executive Summary 62 Accelerating Walkway System Times Square — Grand Central Station Analysis 64 High-Speed Pedestrian Conveyors — A Review 64 Automated Mixed Traffic Transit Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle Control and Scheduling Study 64 Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle — AMTV — Technology and Safety Study 65 v ' C.* sy V bWI 'W‘1 ...f 0 a! " *•* 'i? . .#>€< ” J - < •'rfv* , vjTi- ••• * -. • • '- .,; V. nr- . Sf ’- 1 SS * *• v • -K -«»yF * i »d>- S--P ^;sis#^ ‘ ‘ '.•• "• i ’i ! ' " "l^v. 'I* 1 ift.! J 'jy.X f’ ^lii’ -i ' ..^ ,|rv , A*‘-4 TtH'K lQw^i^< I0't g^v .-. v-» n ' . . r M n« ' a #' “-r <<‘t* -/‘<\k), . ' ,/ » -utv'T^vy SfiiiiBi -^ii^ A«aiik » , ' ' ‘ 1 :w\ . ..|^ti^ 'V .., * -ww: , , fiwr^;)ri*l^-ciit\o;. v^tHL i'p-- • Oi^ 5HVUH * Hi J .W. tysr^t ".r-* .. I V 1. -=-*, M, *'^iJt^g( V vf lltiJly •^^^^ilV^1M^|W*, t\ ‘I'f ' **y^f .{’, ulvfj ff.irt^n’(u" «hrt AiMii||ifei...^' v.^iHft«^ t • .' ««wn«ti SMy .y t - ’ai*. > IJh -- --; =rT 4J ^ >-M-. ,4lf‘ I SECTION I Overviews of Selected Documents of the Transit Technology Evaluation Program Strt9!TTU , TYPE OF AGT APPLICATIONS CONSIDERED BY CITY* Cities Type of Applications Considered Considered City Center Activity Centers/ AGT Circulation Regional Corridors Airports, etc. Denver X X X X Los Angeles X X X X San Diego X X X Las Vegas X X REVIEW OF LOCAL ALTERNATIVES Santa Clara X ANALYSES INVOLVING AUTOMATED Honolulu X X X GUIDEWAY TRANSIT San Francisco X X Sacramento X R.B. Lee, W. Kudlick, J.C. Falcocchio, E.J. Seattle X X X Cantilli, A. Stefaniuk; Urbitran Associates, Portland, OR X X Inc. and DeLeuw Gather & Co. Aspen, CO X X February 1978, UMTA-NY-06-0057-78-1 Detroit X X Chicago X PB 291-334, 92 pp. Twin Cities X X X X Cincinnati X X In numerous urban areas across the country, Cleveland X local government officials and metropolitan plan- Columbus, OH X X ning personnel have been considering various forms Milwaukee X Kansas City X X X of new transportation systems as a partial solution New York City X X to their urban mobility problems. Automated guide- Wash., DC X X X X way transit (AGT) is one the new transportation of Boston X systems that has been considered in over 30 U.S. Pittsburgh X X cities. The purpose of this study, as part of a broad- Baltimore X X X er effort to determine the future role of AGT Philadelphia X tems in U.S. urban areas, was to ascertain how this Norfolk, VA X alternative mode has been perceived locally and to Buffalo, NY X X Trenton, NJ X X identify problems or barriers relating to AGT imple- Hartford, CT X X mentation. The results of this study helped UMTA ’s Atlanta X Office of Technology Development and Deploy- Dallas X X X ment determine the structure of the Transit Tech- El Paso X nology Evaluation Program. Jacksonville X X Miami X X Study Approach San Antonio X X Of the hundreds of transportation planning Orlando X X X studies made in the U.S. during the 10 years preced- Houston X X ing this study, 23 were identified as having treated Memphis X the consideration of automated guideway transit St. Louis X (AGT) alternatives in some depth. Of these 23 stud- TOTAL 30 15 18 18 ies, 12 were considered to be alternatives analyses in which AGT was considered for corridor or re- *Out of 46 contacted, 39 considered one or more types of AGT applications. gional application. Close examination and analysis of these 12 case studies included local perceptions tions, such as activity-center circulation systems, The most frequently cited positive aspects of of: and possibly as collection/distribution services for AGT were: • Critical issues in mode selection; conventional line-haul systems. • The potential for lower operating costs; • The role of ACT; In the context of regional or corridor applica- • • System characteristics; and tions, the emphasis was on trunk-line use rather A premium level of service and/or conveni- than network Very ence (higher speeds than conventional • Impediments to AGT implementation/need- coverage. few (less than 10%) of transit, potential for higher capacities than ed improvements. those contacted saw a role for AGT as a regional conventional transit, routing flexibility); In addition to examining and analyzing the system, and most (over 50%) believed that, at best, identified alternatives analyses, personal inquiries AGT might provide corridor service if it evolved • Suitability for special applications; and interviews were held with local officials, repre- logically from an initial, more limited application. • Stimulus to the development of specific sentatives of consulting firms involved in the stud- areas (central business district (CBD) revitali- ies, and others, for a total of 99 local officials and Perceptions of System Characteristics zation or area development); others in 46 cities. System characteristics seen as positive aspects • The potential for a wide range of service Critical Issues in Mode Selection of AGT by some of those contacted were deemed inherent in demand-responsiveness and auto- It was found that most issues which concerned negative by others. These contradictions were much mation; the decision-makers contacted are common to all greater in comparisons between AGT and other • The image of modernity and aesthetic value fixed-guideway modes (whether automated or not). fixed-guideway systems than between AGT and provided by AGT in comparison to conven- buses. Thus, the study that, AGT technology differences were of little conse- found to non-technical tional transit; and persons, the real alternatives were bus versus fixed quence to most of those contacted; the real choice • The exclusive right-of-way (ROW) aspects of guideway. seemed to be between bus systems and fbced-guide- an elevated guideway (the lighter guideway way systems, whether automated or not. About 40% of the alternatives studies reviewed structure itself and the smaller amount of The critical issues, in order of importance, as found little saving in overall operating and mainten- ROW required for AGT compared to con- were found to be: ance costs with AGT. Some 30% assumed a need for ventional fixed-guideway transit). a. Capital and operating costs; personnel on the vehicles, even in fully automated A number of these “positive” aspects were b. Acceptability of overhead structures (visual systems, due to the uncertainty of public accept- deemed negative by others, as can be seen in the fol- intrusion); ance of driverless operation, or labor considerations. lowing list of perceived negative aspects: c. Availability of UMTA and local funding; Automation was even perceived as necessitating an • The technical risks involved and the develop- d. Technical risk; increase in manpower to maintain the control sys- ment time and money required for AGT; tem. Other areas of concern involved AGT opera- e. Public and political support; tional performance and reliability; the crime and • High capital costs (operating and mainten- f. Crime and vandalism; and vandalism potential of unmanned vehicles; safety, as ance (0&.M) cost uncertainties, such as the g. Impact on urban form. related to short headways; maintainability of a extent of possible cost savings arising from The Perceived Role of AGT complex control system or large number of vehicles; automation); Over 70% of the people contacted saw the po- and how the system would function in urban appli- • Overhead structures (as a cause of displace- tential role for AGT systems in defined-area applica- cations (as distinct from specialized applications). ment and visual intrusion); 4 • The uncertainty of public acceptance of un- manned vehicles (concerns about safety, AGT can potentially perform better than AGT can potentially perform better bus transit or your next best alternative than rail rapid transit when it crime and vandalism); when it comes to: comes to: • Low speeds and attendant problems of low- 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 speed switching (the general uncertainty of performance levels and reliability); Travel time and level of n transportation service ZI 1 • The limited capacity of AGT systems; • The higher potential for accidents with un- Attracting patronage manned vehicles; Zl 1 • Political and institutional barriers; and Capital Cost SI .ZD • The uncertainty of labor agreements which 1 1 would permit the full benefits of automation Operating & Maintenance L, ,_J Costs 1 to be realized. 1 Favorable influence on 1 EE...,,,,,,,, Improvements Perceived as Needed land use/urban develop- ment .. .1 1 The study determined eight major impediments to the implementation of AGT, ranked in order of Right-of-way required 1 r: , J the number of times they were cited in the personal 1 inquiries and interviews, as: Energy Conservation 1) High capital costs; 1 ^ E.;i 2) Impacts and uncertainties of public accept- Improving air quality ance of overhead structures; =i __ ”ZZ 3) Technical risk, uncertain reliability; Noise problems J 4) Uncertain or excessively high O&M costs; Zl 5) Uncertainty of the availability of UMTA Visual intrusion and local funding; 1 1 6) Political and institutional barriers; Reducing the need for L _J auto travel 7) Uncertainty of public acceptance of un- 1 manned vehicles; and : ' NOTE: Percent Agree | | Totals do not add up to 100 percent because of some as ^ know replies. 8) Others, such Percent Disagree | | • lead time too long Strengths and Weaknesses of AGT as Perceived by Local Officials • negative land-use impacts • limited capacity : • winter maintenance problems • no product uniformity. Since most of these perceived impediments to AGT implementation are of a non-technological nature, the improvements to promote AGT tech- nology perceived as necessary are generally non- technological as well. These included • More desirable design features of overhead structures to reduce or eliminate negative impacts; • Improvement of system reliability and de- velopment of factual performance data; • Favorable publicity for existing systems and demonstration/pilot projects in urban appli- cations; • Higher Federal share of capital costs and longer-term, more dependable Federal com- mitments toward both capital and operating costs; • Streamline the decision-making process; • Longer-term UMTA commitments; and • Consistent application of Federal guidelines and closer cooperation between Federal Government and manufacturers. 6 , ASSESSMENT OF THE PHASE I The transportation problem led the university ter, and a new vehicle-wash and minor maintenance MORGANTOWN PEOPLE to examine some alternatives and an automated facility was constructed. MOVER SYSTEM guideway transit (AGT) system was viewed as a pos- The guideway structure is primarily elevated, al- sible remedy. Morgantown’s needs happened to co- though parts of it are at grade. The running surface C. Elms, H. Merritt, T. McGean, F. Cooke, incide with UMTA’s interest in constructing an AGT is constructed of reinforced concrete. In elevated W. Bamberg H. Theumer, F. Smith; N.D. Lea demonstration system. sections, the guideway is supported by a steel super- Associates, Inc. & Development of the Morgantown People Mover structure mounted on concrete piers. December 1979, UMTA-IT-06-01 57-79-01 (MPM) project began with a feasibility study in June The completely automated, driverless vehicles of PB 80-177926, 400 pp. 1969, This study recommended an AGT solution to the MPM system operate under computer control Morgantown’s transportation problem and in 1970, and monitoring at 15-second intervals. The vehicles WVU submitted a grant application to UMTA. In are relatively small, 15.5 feet (4.65 m) long and 6.7 Early in 1969, UMTA began a major demon- 1970, the Jet Propulsion Lab was selected as the feet (2 m) wide. Each has seats for 8 passengers and stration of new transit technology by constructing first system manager, but was replaced by Boeing space for 13 standees, and travels along the guide- an operational automated guideway transit (AGT) Aerospace Company in 1971. Construction began in way system at speeds.up to 30 mph (48 km/hr). system in a small town environment. Opened in 1971, and was complete enough for a public dedica- Forty -five operational vehicles were dehvered in 1975, the Morgantown People Mover (MPM) is now tion in October 1972. Testing of vehicles in 1973 Phase I. An active fleet of only 29 vehicles, how- the world’s most sophisticated AGT system in regu- led to some substantial system changes which took ever, was maintained in good working order be- lar public revenue service. As a result of intense pub- another 2 years to complete. The system finally cause passenger demand during Phase I could be lic interest in the MPM experiences, a complete opened to the public in October 1975. Following satisfied with 22 vehicles in seiv'ice and 7 vehicles in reserve. II, assessment of the entire project was carried out. All 3 years of operation (Phase I), the system was shut In Phase 28 new veliicles were sup- details of the system were thoroughly reviewed, in- down in July 1978 for construction of additional plied. The 45 original vehicles have been retrofitted, cluding the project history, the technology, opera- guideway and stations (Phase II). This expanded sys- bringing the total fleet to 73. tional experience, cost, and public reaction. tem began operations with the commencement of Unlike most other AGT sy stems in service in the the fall academic term in 1979. United States, MPM provides nonstop seirice from origin to destination in both scheduled and demand Description Project History & Development System modes. During Phase I. scheduled seirice was gen- Transportation in the small city of Morgantown, Phase I of the MPM consisted of three stations, erally used during periods of hea\y travel, witli on- West Virginia, became a serious problem after the somewhat over 2 miles (3.2 km) of two-way guide- demand service available at otlier times. West Virginia University (WVU) expanded its facili- way, and auxiliary support facilities. Completed in Operations during severe winter weatlier require ties to include three separate compuses in different late 1979, Phase II extended the guideway and that the guideway be kept free of ice and snow. This parts of town. As many as 10,000 students and staff added two new stations. The first three stations con- is accomplished by circulating a hot water solution members used automobiles to travel between the nected WVU’s main, downtown campus with both through pipes imbedded in the concrete running sur- campuses, making congestion on the only two street the Morgantown central business district and the face. Natural -gas-fired boilers provide tire required routes almost intolerable. The hilly terrain dis- newer Evansdale campus on the northern edge of energy. The MPM s> stem was severe!)- tested by the couraged walking and bicycling, and the university- the city. In Phase II stations were added at the second two winters of Phase I operations. The 1976- sponsored bus service was inadequate. Towers dormitory complex and at the medical cen- 1977 season was recorded as a “100-year” winter 7 where the temperature fell to -15°F. Though there MEDICAL were some operational problems, on only two days CENTER was the system not in operation due to severe weather. MPM stations were designed differently from conventional rapid transit stations. Each station is located off the main guideway with separate alight- ing and boarding berths and space for storage of ve- hicles awaiting a trip request. The design thus in- cludes island platforms, with multiple straight- through or turn-around channels. The Beechurst sta- tion is the most complex, consisting of two island platforms, six channels, and multiple berths in each channel. Technical Subsystems The MPM has a number of highly technical sub- systems, which the automated nature of the vehicles requires. The most important is the control and communication subsystem which has four principal components. 1. Central control and communication: Dual computers located in the control room mon- itor and manage all vehicle movements at NOTE: Phase II provides a mini- maintenance facility at all times. the Engineering Station 2. Station and guideway control: Station com- SOURCE: Boeing Aerospace Company puters control local vehicle operations such as switching, stopping, collision avoidance and door operation. Information is trans- mitted between vehicle-borne antennae and People Route Morgantown Mover System wire loops embedded in the guideway. 3. Vehicle control and communication: The vehicle executes commands received from guideway wire loops. The vehicle, however, controls all propulsion and braking internal- ly. Once dispatched, vehicle speed and posi- 8 I Exterior and Interior Views of the Morgantown People Mover Vehicle Morgantown People Mover Stations 9 fion are the sole responsibility of vehicle- Slightly more than two employees per active ve- start-up of a very sophisticated first-of-a-kind sys- borne equipment. hicle were required for operation and maintenance tem. As a result, operations and maintenance costs 4. Collision avoidance system: A redundant, in Phase I, a ratio slightly less than that required for for the first year’s operation, as reported by the fail-safe system of electronic blocks along a bus system. This is expected to decrease in the Boeing Aerospace Company, were more than $3.00 the guideway insures that vehicles will not future. per vehicle -mile ($1.90 per vehicle-km) traveled. As run into each other. Availability and Dependability the system matured, these costs decreased signifi- The computer manages vehicles on the guide- Availability and dependability are two items of cantly, and during the operational year, July 1977- using way a series of imaginary, continuously circu- major interest in the MPM project, because of the June 1978, the cost per vehicle-mile was $2.35 lating points, separated per vehicle-km) levels. by 15-second intervals. Ve- innovative automated nature of the project. As ($1.47 at 1978 price This hicles are dispatched to merge with one resulted in a 1978 per passenger cost of $0.65. of these might be expected, the system did have initial prob- moving points. Electric power is supplied to the lems, but improved steadily after passenger service Public Acceptance vehicles through specially designed power collectors. began in October 1975. An attitude survey of both riders and non- System Performance MPM improvements can also be seen in an in- riders was conducted during April and May 1977. crease in the average time between breakdowns: Major results as By the end of June 1978, after 3 years of oper- were follows. first year — 3.3 hours, second year — 6.8 hours, and ation, the system had carried about 4.5 million pas- • Both riders and non-riders considered the third year — 8.1 hours. The third year is a 245% im- sengers and had accumulated over 1.6 million vehi- system to be generally satisfactory. The provement over the first year. Similar improvements cle-miles (2.56 million vehicle-km) in passenger ser- most frequently cited reason for not riding were made in the time required to restore service vice. The system has a theoretical line capacity of the MPM was that it did not take people after a failure occurs. Initially, it took an average of 5040 passengers per hour, but typically carries far where they wanted to go. about 27 minutes to get the system operating again. fewer passengers. After a football game in October • Neither safety nor personal security ap- In the second year this average was reduced to 1976, the MPM did carry about 3200 people in 45 peared to be of concern to passengers. about 22 minutes, and 13 minutes in the third year. minutes, which compared quite favorably with the Reliability and maintainability improved each • Most riders considered the appearance of the design objective. year. By the end of Phase I, the “conveyance de- guideways and stations to be acceptable, but The average number of vehicles operated rose pendability,” or the probability of a person riding a sizeable minority did not. steadily from 17.6 vehicles in the first year to 21.2 the system without delay caused by a breakdown, • Vehicle comfort was found to be acceptable. during the third year. Each vehicle travels roughly was 98.1%. • The most frequent criticism related to sys- 16,000-20,000 miles (25,600-32,000 km) per year. tem reliability. Many of the riders have been Ridership steadily increased over time, doubling Costs inconvenienced by frequent failure, but from the first year to the third year. The average The estimated capital cost of the MPM, Phase I, much of the criticism related to problems weekday ridership in October 1977 was 12,800 adjusted to 1978 dollars and excluding research and encountered during the first year of opera- passengers per day. The highest single ridership development costs, was $66.5 million. This figure tion. count on one day was 18,228. These ridership fig- roughly approximates what a similar system else- ures resulted in an average load factor of 29.2%. where would have cost to build without additional Safety and Security This is considerably higher than typical bus and rail research and development expenses. Initial oper- The MPM system has experienced an excellent transit load factors of 16% to 18%. ating costs were high, as might be expected with the safety record with no fatalities and no major acci- 10 SUMMARY OF MORGANTOWN PEOPLE MOVER OPERATING STATISTICS dents during Phase I. Similarly, no serious security problems or instances of criminal behavior occurred. Sept 1975 thru Sept 1976 thru Sept 1977 thru There were a few incidents with pranksters. Most of Aug 1976 Aug 1977 July 1978* these were successfully handled through the use of the close circuit TV or reports by passengers over Total System Vehicle Miles 542,644 587,073 479,345 the emergency telephone. Rerouting vehicles to sta- Total System Operating Hours 2,856.3 3,513.2 2,649.2 tions or to the maintenance area allowed WVU cam- pus police to apprehend the offenders in several Active Fleet Size (Vehicles) 29 29 29 instances. Average Operating Fleet Size Phase I Assessment Conclusions (Vehicles) 17.6 19.5 21.2 MPM • The MPM system is expected to satisfac- Average Miles Per Operating torily meet the University’s requirements at Vehicle 30,832 30,106 22,611 the conclusion of Phase IT Average Miles Per Active • The off-line station type of operation used, Fleet Vehicle 18,712 20,244 16,529 while necessary for on-demand ser\'ice, in- Total Passengers Carried 771,756 1,885,095 1,817,093 creases the in-station dwell time when the system is in the scheduled mode. Total Passenger Miles 1,249,435 3,051,874 2,941,783 • For Phase I, the MPM system was pro- Average Load Factor 11.0 24.8 29.2 (%) grammed to proUde on-demand service for Average Number of Passengers off-peak periods (evenings) and scheduled Carried Per Academic Year Day 2,691 5,730 7,571 service during peak travel hours. The com- for on-demand service Average Number of Passengers puter algorithms were not efficient, requiring rewriting. Per Weekday Carried in October— A Peak Month Without Holidays 4,071 11,700 12,800 • System reliability steadily improved during Phase I. The time tlie s\ stem was out of op- Average Number of Passengers eration was due, in part, to two factors: the Carried Per Operating Hour 270 537 686 severest winter weather e.xperienced in re- Greatest Number of Passengers cent history and tlte failure of ordinary pro- Carried in a Single Day 17,116 18,228 16,442 duction hardware items such as hydraulic fittings, valves, electrical power pick-up brusltes and switches. *System operated only 3 days in July 1978, after which it was shut down for Phase 11 modification. • The Phase 1 fare-gate and fare-card equip- ment caused more than twice as many main- tenance repairs as the next highest problem 11 area. An improved fare gate was designed for Phase II. Overall user and non-user impressions of the MPM system were favorable; safety and security were not major concerns of the passengers. Negative attitudes appeared to reflect early experiences of frequent breakdowns during the first months of operation. Safety practices for maintenance personnel should also be reviewed. This review should include the adequacy of training regarding maintenance practices and operations in emergency situations. , ROOSEVELT ISLAND TRAMWAY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT W. Bamberg, C.P. Elms, H.H. Hosenthien, W. Voss; N.D. Lea & Associates, Inc. August 1979, U MTA-IT-06-01 89-79-1 PB 80-129224, 209 pp. Aerial Tramway’ transportation via cableway is probably familiar to most people from pictures of ski resorts in the US. or Europe. In mountainous areas of Europe, cableways have been employed for many years, providing reliable local and even inter- city transport. In this country, cableways, some- times called gondolas, have been used in ski resorts and other tourist attractions in mountainous areas. Although cables were used for propulsion in many street railway systems during the early part of the 20^^ century, there was no US. application of aerial cableway technology to urban transportation until recently. In 1976, the first such cableway began operation in New York City, providing passenger service between a new urban community on Roose- velt Island, in the East River, and Manhattan. This assessment of the cableway system investigated the technology, performance and passenger reaction, safety, and costs of construction and operation. Development of the Project Roosevelt Island is a new community which was developed by the New York State Urban De- velopment Corporation (UDC). Situated on a small island, the project will eventually include about 5000 units of mixed-income housing plus some commercial and industrial activities. The entire is- land has been carefully planned as a balanced, inte- appropriated some funds which go to this project. lems, including an auxiliary drive system and a grated “new” community. Part of the entire devel- The cableway, however, is not part of the New York rescue drive system. Normally, panels in the vehicles opment philosophy is that autos do not circulate on City Transit Authority system and is not supported provide semi-automatic control; however, the the island. It is small enough that walking is general- directly by UMTA funds. vehicles can be operated, if necessary, from the ly sufficient, although a fleet of small electric buses central control panel located at the rear of the is also available. All autos entering the island must Roosevelt Island station. Telephone communication System Description park in a mammoth garage at the bottom of the is provided between both vehicles and the stations. ramp from the Queensborough Bridge. Access to The cableway has two stations. One is on System Performance Manhattan could only be gained, initially, by taking Roosevelt Island, the other on Manhattan. The the bridge first to Queens, and then reversing di- cableway is 3143 feet (1037 m) long, spanning the No major problems involving the cableway have rection to Manhattan. This was difficult to do by west channel of the East River. It is parallel with been encountered since the start of passenger service either automobile or by the conventional New York and next to the Queensborough Bridge. As shown in in May 1976. The tramway technology utilized is City transit system. the accompanying map, the Manhattan station is the same as that found in recreational and moun- A transportation solution, therefore, had to be located at the corner of E. 60th Street and Second tainous areas. found which would connect Manhattan directly Avenue. About 5000 passengers ride the cableway each with Roosevelt Island, would not be excessively ex- Two vehicles, each running on a separate, day, or about 1.8 million per year. Much of the pensive, and would be compatible with the some- parallel cable, travel back and forth simultaneously ridership is Roosevelt Island residents commuting to what protected environment of the Island. The in a shuttle service, which operates about 20 hours Manhattan, although some consists of employees aerial tramway system best met all of these require- per day. During peak hours, the vehicles go back who work on Roosevelt Island. (A large hospital is ments. It could be built using conventional tech- and forth every 7.5 minutes, and in off-peak hours, located there.) A fair number of passengers, particu- nology, although urban application of the idea was every 15 minutes. Each vehicle has a capacity of larly on weekends, are tourists who want to ride the new to the U.S. Electrically powered, it is quiet and 125 people and carries one attendant who controls tramway, or who are visitors to Roosevelt Island. non-polluting. Finally, it did not require extensive the vehicle. Ridership shows a fairly normal peaking pattern. capital funds for construction. Three steel pylons, the middle one being 250 System capacity, 1000 passengers per hour in each A new subway station, connecting Roosevelt feet (75 m) high, support the cables. The vehicles direction, is currently adequate for the peak de- Island to the New York subway system, is scheduled themselves are 18 feet (5 m) in the air when they mand. to open on the island in 1984. This will eliminate cross Second Avenue and are 140 feet (42 m) high The system is quite reliable. During a 1-year much of the need for the tramway, although it will when crossing the East River. Loading platforms period, it had a total operating time of 7364 hours, continue to operate as a tourist attraction. at the Manhattan station, which is part of a 6-story and was disabled for only 124 hours. This yielded a The tramway was developed and is owned by budding, are 18 feet (5 m) above ground level. The system availability statistic of 98.3%. When com- Roosevelt Island Development Corporation, a sub- Roosevelt Island station is at ground level. This bined with the possibility of encountering a delay, sidiary of UDC. A private firm actually staffs and station contains all of the drive machinery and con- the average conveyance dependability was slightly manages the system. Construction was part of the trols, while counter-weights for tensioning the lower, 96.7%. These statistics were felt to be well overall Roosevelt Island project, which was mainly cables are located at the Manhattan station. within the range of acceptability. funded with bonds. Operating deficits also come out Several redundant power sources are provided A variety of conditions were responsible for of the overall project budget. New York State has for the electrically powered cables in case of prob- system breakdowns, when they did occur. The most 14 common problem was bad weather, to which cable- BUDGETED OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS FOR THE PERIOD ways are susceptible because of their exposed na- OCTOBER 30, 1977 TO NOVEMBER 1, 1978 ture. Ice and snow accumulations on the cable are always a potential problem, against which most Cost Category 1978 Dollars cableways have set up elaborate precautions. Com- pared to the mountainous areas where most cable- Labor 725,000 ways are found, the climate of New York City is General and Administration (including $800,000 insurance 1,150,000 relatively mild and this is not a serious problem. premium and franchise fee of 7% of revenues) High winds can be a problem since the vehicle may Utilities be bumped against a pylon. Cableway operation is 110,000 halted whenever wind velocity exceeds 45 mph (72 Parts and Supplies 50,000 km/hr). Lightning is also cause for suspension of Repairs and Maintenance 25,000 operation. Passenger reaction to the system was not TOTAL 2.060.000 assessed directly, but the overall ride quality is acceptable. Vehicles experience no vibration and little noise, due to the off-vehicle power source. Al- though many people stand (seating capacity is 10), the trip is only about 3 minutes long. The vehicles are heated but not air-conditioned. Acceleration and Economics deceleration are smooth, and there is httle jerking. The present fare is $.50, about one-tliird of tire As cable systems are “off-the-shelf’ items, costs total cost. At current ridersliip levels, the s\ stem Safety are fairly standard. The Roosevelt Island cableway could pay for itself if fares were tripled. At current Cable systems have evolved over a long time. vehicles and equipment cost $2 million, and con- fare levels, the sj stem would be self-supporting if Generally, they are considered as safe as other structing the stations and pylons cost $4.25 million, the load factor were increased from 20^T to &S.9^'r. modes. Fire potential on board a tramway vehicle for a total capital cost of $6.25 million. Since the is low and no cases of on-board fires on this sys- vehicles and equipment will last an estimated 20 One unusual aspect of the construction cost tem have ever been reported. This is because non- years, and the stations and pylons 35 years, the was the Manhattan station. Not only was the sta- flammable vehicle materials are used and power equivalent annual capital cost is $675,600. tion built on prime real estate, but special anchors systems on board the vehicle are absent. Operating costs are about $2 million per year. had to be drilled into the rock to support the pull- The Roosevelt Island cableway has had no oper- A substantial portion of the operating cost goes to ing of the cables. .\lso, the station was built strong ational accidents. All safety and security incidents, pay for insurance. A $95 million liability protection enough to support a 32-story building tltat is to be of which there were 11 during the 1-year assessment policy has been required, which some consider to be built on top of the station. These requirements in- period, had to do with vandalism, crime, or people excessively high. The total cost per passenger trip creased the cost of tire station. Most otlier costs, falling while using the system. Thus, overall, the (including both capital and operating costs) works however, were standard and probabh' could not be system was quite safe. out to about $ 1 .49 per trip. reduced very much. 15 Potential for Urban Applications As demonstrated at Roosevelt Island, a cable system is suitable to transport people, under certain conditions, across artificial and natural barriers. This technology allows negotiation of steep grades and long spans at almost any height. Bodies of water, tall construction, expressways, etc., can be bypassed with relatively low construction effort. Shuttle service between two stations is charac- teristic of aerial tramways. It is possible to have an intermediate station, but it must be located exactly halfway between the end stations, so that both vehi- cles can stop at the same time. For longer systems with additional intermediate stations, equal dis- tances must separate aO stations. One possible dis- advantage is that each vehicle must stop at each sta- tion, and dwell time for both vehicles is determined by the vehicle with the longest load and unload time. Capacity of aerial tramways can only be in- creased by having larger vehicles or higher speeds. However, speeds are limited. American National Standards Institute specifications allow a maxi- mum speed of only 22 mph (35 km/hr) at clear spans and 17 mph (27 km/hr) when crossing pylons. The largest cable vehicle demonstrated to date holds 140 passengers, which is not much larger than the 125-passenger Roosevelt Island vehicle. Since only two vehicles can be on the system, headways will also increase as system length increases. On the Roosevelt Island system, the maximum line capacity is about 1800 passengers per hour. Thus, cable sys- tems show overall promise in those circumstances where their operating characteristics are congruent with the needs of the application area. 16 , SUMMARY OF CAPITAL AND OPER- tions. Size, configuration, type and cost vary widely are encountered impacting commercial businesses, ATIONS & MAINTENANCE COST EX- among these AGT systems. Adequate and complete disrupting neighborhoods with construction actw- PERIENCE OF AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY data are not available from all of the systems. The ity, or relocating utilities. All of these factors could TRANSIT SYSTEMS: COSTS AND accompanying table shows the characteristics of the come into play in an urban setting and, needless to TRENDS FOR THE PERIOD 1976 -1979 AGT systems for which data were available. Note say, increase costs. that no two of the systems are exactly the same and Finally, urban transit construction is subject to — SUPPLEMENT II. that substantial differences do exist. delays and/or pitfalls during the institutional and Transportation Systems Center, U.S, Depart- Although the systems are not completely com- political decision-making process which each project ment of Transportation, UMTA. parable, efforts have been made to reduce the sys- must run. Typical steps include local goverrunent March 1980, UMTA-MA-06-0069-80-1 tem operations and costs to reasonably similar units. concurrence, public hearings, bond issues, emiron- PB 80-146483. For example, the concept of “equivalent elevated mental impact statements, compHance with state lane-miles” is introduced. An at-grade mile (1.6 km) and Federal regulations, labor union approval, and The technology of automation can lead to is worth only 0.4 “equivalent elevated miles” (.64 UMTA approval. These steps can add time and cost fundamental changes in transit service concepts. Us- equivalent elevated km), but an underground mile is to AGT construction — costs which were not re- ing automation instead of a driver, for example, worth 3.0 “equivalent elevated miles” (4.8 equiva- flected in the “protected” systems assessed in this allows for much smaller vehicles without diluting lent elevated km). This accounts for the differences report. Thus, although data are available on the labor efficiency. Smaller vehicles weigh less and in in cost between at-grade, elevated and subway con- technology, many unknowns remain insofar as turn allow narrower, less bulky, less expensive struction. Also, “equivalent passenger places” is future AGT deployment in urban areas. guideway s. Maintenance of line capacity with small based on the vehicle interior dimensions, rather than vehicles requires shorter headways, which can be the somewhat arbitrary and widely varying seating Capital Costs achieved under automatic control. All these factors arrangements used in the actual AGT systems. Capital costs are those needed to construct and can drastically alter traditional transit capital and implement tlie s>stem. The promise of .\GT has Disclaimers on Cost Data operations costs. Analysis of these costs will help been that lighter-weight guideways would be less ex- determine how extensively ACT systems will be It is obvious that substantial differences exist pensive than conventional transit structures. Of built in the future. This report supplements and between the AGT system settings and the typical course, the automation requires technicall>' sopliis- builds upon the data presented in the original urban environment. Morgantown aside, the AGT ticated command and control systems wliich are not Summary Capital and Operations & Maintenance systems do not reflect many characteristics preva- needed in conventional transit. The trade-off be- Experience of Automated Guideway Transit Sys- lent in urban application areas. For example, the tween these two costs is of particular interest. tems report, published in 1978, and Supplement I, AGT systems do not have to meet urban work-trip The accompany ing chart shows a breakdown of published in 1979. peaking patterns, and, therefore, were not sized for total system capital costs for the .AGT systems. high demand peaks. There is no need for inter- Both Morgantown and .Airtrans cost over S"0 mil- Overview of Systems AGT modal coordination, such as with buses, requiring lion. while some of the smaller sy stems cost less Well over 20 AGT systems have been construct- additional station construction or station spacing than SlO million. Costs have been broken down into ed in the United States. With the exception of the considerations. No park-and-ride lots are needed. the following seven functional areas: guideway. sta- Morgantown People Mover, all are in airports, There is little, if any, vandalism and crime and tions, maintenance and support facilities, power and amusement parks, or similar special-purpose loca- few right-of-way acquisition costs. No problems utilities, vehicles, command and control, and r OPERATING AGT SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS GUIDEWAY VEHICLE LENGTH CAPACITY LANE MILES/* ACTUAL/ EQUIVALENT NUMBER NUMBER EQUIVALENT PERIOD INITIAL SITE GUIDEWAY ELEVATED OF OF PASSENGER OF SERVICE SYSTEM LOCATION SUPPLIER DESCRIPTION CONFIGURATION LANE MILES STATIONS VEHICLES PLACES OPERATIONS DATE MORGANTOWN MORGANTOWN, BOEING COLLEGE DOUBLE LANE 5.26/4.52 3 45 21/23 13 HRS DAILY 9/75 PHASE 1 W. VA CAMPUS LOOP 5.5 WEEKENDS AIRTRANS DALLAS, TX VOUGHT AIRPORT SINGLE LANE 12.8/6.66 28 51 40/42 24 HRS DAY 1/74 MULTI LOOPS TAMPA TAMPA, FL WESTINGHOUSE AIRPORT DOUBLE LANE 1.35/1.35 8 8 100/81 18-24 HRS DAY 4/71 RADIAL PATTERN SEA-TAC SEATTLE, WA WESTINGHOUSE AIRPORT 2 SINGLE LANE 1.71/5.13 6 12 102/81 20-24 HRS DAY 2/73 LOOPS SHUTTLE CONNECTION MIAMI MIAMI, FL WESTINGHOUSE AIRPORT DOUBLE LANE 0.51/0.51 2 4 99/81 24 HRS DAY UNDER SHUTTLE CONSTRUCTION ATLANTA ATLANTA, GA WESTINGHOUSE AIRPORT SINGLE LANE 2.29/6.87 6 17 80/84 24 HRS DAY UNDER SHUTTLE CONSTRUCTION ORLANDO ORLANDO, FL WESTINGHOUSE AIRPORT DOUBLE LANE 1.48/1.48 3 8 100/84 24 HRS DAY UNDER SHUTTLE CONSTRUCTION BUSCH WILLIAMSBURG, WESTINGHOUSE RECREATION SINGLE LANE 1.33/0.84 1 2 90/81 24 HRS DAY 5/75 VA CENTER LOOP DISNEYWORLD ORLANDO, FL WALT DISNEY RECREATION SINGLE LANE 0.87/0.87 1 30^5 CAR 20 TRAIN/ 10-17 HRS DAY** 7/75 (WEDway) ENTERPRISES CENTER LOOP TWAINS 29 TRAIN KING'S RICHMOND, UNIVERSAL RECREATION SINGLE LANE 2.06/0.88 1 6,8 CAR 96 TRAIN/ 10-12 HRS DAY** 4/75 DOMINION VA MDBILITY CENTER LOOP TRAINS 109 TRAIN MINNESOTA APPLE VALLEY, UNIVERSAL RECREATION SINGLE LANE 1.36/1.36 1 3,6 CAR 94 TRAIN/ 8 HRS DAY** 8/79 ZOO MN MDBILITY CENTER LOOP TRAINS 160TRAIN FAIRLANE FAIRLANE, Ml FORD SHOPPING SINGLE LANE 0.61/0.61 2 2 24/27 12.5 HRS DAY 3/76 CENTER WITH DOUBLE LANE BYPASS •To convert miles to kilometers multiply by 1.6. ••Annual average 18 engineering/project management. Guideway costs 80 r are usually the largest of the seven components, but ^ ENG. & PRODUCT MGMT. do not constitute a majority of total capital costs. COMMAND & CONTROL Due to differing dates of construction, all costs in I the chart have been normalized to a uniform 1979 70 lil VEHICLES price level by using the consumer, producer, and ^ POWER & UTILITIES engineering-constmction price indices. MAINTENANCE & SUPPORT placed on a per lane-mhe basis, s\'s- I I When AGT tem costs stUl show considerable variation. The 60 H STATIONS underground Sea-Tac AGT was the most e.xpensh'e GUIDEWAY — $25,391,000 per mile ($15,869,375 per km). King’s Dominion was the least expenswe — 50 $3,355,000 per mile ($2,096,875 per km). When placed on an “equivalent elevated lane-mile” or “equivalent elevated lane-kilometer” basis, some, but not all, variation is taken out. Cost ranges from 40 $8.9 to $15.1 million per “equivalent elevated lane- H- (/) mUe,” to $9.75 o ($5.6 mUhon per “equivalent elevat- CJ ed lane-kilometer”) and averages $9.8 million (S6.1). w AGT systems vary- in capacity, and it would be w 30 > expected that capacity would affect costs. When CO capacity is measured “equivalent < by place-miles per »- O hour,” there is a fairly linear relationsliip between total system cost and capacity. The average was 20 $5000 per equivalent place-mile ($3125 per equiva- lent place-km) per hour. Guideway costs, the single greatest cost com- ponent, do much to determine overall 10 s\stem cost. The .AGT guideways varied in dimension, weight, material, construction technique, and other site- specific factors. The analysis found that some factors correlated better with cost tlian others. NeSOTA^^^p^^NE MIN' Beam shape was important. Longer span lengths led to lower unit costs. Bigger vehicles increased unit Capital Cost Breakdwon of Selected Operating Systems AGT (1979 $) costs. Unit costs increased rapidly it' overall guide- way length was less than 2 miles (3.2 km). 19 Vehicles also affect costs significantly. The ve- 1979 AGT OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COST BREAKDOWN hicle design, weight, and technology varied among sites and thus affected the cost. Vehicle weights AIRTRANS SEA-TAC TAMPA DISNEYWORLD ranged from about 4000 pounds (1800 kg) to over 47,000 pounds (21,150 kg). Most are bottom- LABOR supported vehicles propelled by electric motors; Operations $ 261,510 $ 81,600 $ 4,460 $135,690 however, Disneyworld employed a passive vehicle Maintenance 1,614,300 410,760 11,140 37,670 with a linear induction motor on the guideway. No specific correlations could be calculated for vehicles. UTILITIES Aside from guideways and vehicles, cost differences Electricity 276,300 16,320 76,790 52,660 were due to differing technologies and site-specific Other — — — — situations. MATERIALS & SERVICES Operating Costs Contract Service — 111,830 466,300 13,330 Operating data were compiled for four of the Spare Parts & Materials 895,665 99,190 46,830 five major U.S. AGT systems for 1979. (Morgan- town was not included because it was shut down for GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE 249,225 — 12,770 17,120 expansion.) These four operated 85% of all U.S. TOTAL (1979 Dollars) $3,297,000 $719,700 $571,500 $303,300 AGT vehicle-miles. The four systems have all been operational over 4 years, thus allowing time-series analysis and confidence in the stabilization of the data. The data have been adjusted to 1979 levels 1979 costs per vehicle-mile were actually a bit less • the tendency of AGT system wages to be by using the consumer price index to account for than in 1978, when adjusted for inflation. lower than conventional transit wages; inflation. Operating Cost Trends and Comparisons • lower maintenance costs per vehicle-mile The accompanying tables summarize the 1979 travelled; and The accompanying graph plots operating costs operating costs for each system and some derivative • smaller administrative staffing requirements. per vehicle-mile over time. Both AGT systems and statistics. For consistency, systems are compared on industry averages from conventional transit are the basis of “equivalent vehicle capacity,” assuming Second, AGT operating costs are increasing more shown. Two conclusions can be drawn from this slowly than inflation, and conventional transit costs that 67% of all passengers always stand. The average graph. First, AGT operating costs are lower than weighted operating cost works out to $.99 per are increasing faster than inflation. Much of this is conventional transit operating costs by a factor of vehicle-mile ($.62 per vehicle-km) of travel. The attributable to the same complex of factors and to over 50%. Reasons for this include: total 1979 operating costs are broken down into increasing maturity and experience with AGT • four major cost categories. Most of these costs go lower unit vehicle operating costs because systems. into system maintenance, particularly labor, con- more vehicle miles and hours are generated In summary, this report shows that AGT sys- by the relatively small size vehicles; tract services, and materials. Electricity is also a tems currently cost less to operate than conven- factor. Although 1978 costs are not shown, the • lack of on-board drivers; tional transit services. It is important to recognize, 20 1979 AGT OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SUMMARY Airtrans Tampa Sea-Tac Disneyworld 4 Systems 4 Systems (A) (T) (ST) (D) (Total) (Average) Total O&M Cost (S) 3,297,000 571,500 719,700 303,300 4,891,500 1,222,875 Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) 3,358,000 412,000 528,500 621,100 4,919,600 1,229,900 Active Vehicle Fleet/Equivalent Vehicle Capacity 51/42 8/81 12/81 30/29 101/233 25/58 Active Fleet Capacity (places) 2142 648 972 870 4632 1158 Place Miles Traveled 141,000,000 33,400,000 42,800,000 18,000,000 235,200,000 58,800,000 Passengers Carried 6,745,300 16,356,000 7,011,830 5,017,203 35,130,333 8,782,583 Total No. of Employees 107 7 19 12 145 36 O&M Cost Per V'MT (S) .98 1.39 1.36 .49 N/A .99 O&M Cost Per Vehicle Operated (S) 64,600 71,400 60,000 10,110 N/A 48,915 O&M Cost Per Unit of Fleet Capacity (S) 1539 882 740 349 N/A 1056 O&M Cost Per Place Mile (S) .023 .017 .017 .017 N/A .021 O&M Cost Per Passenger (S) .49 .03 .10 .06 N/A .14 O&M Cost Per Employee (S) 30,800 81,600 37,900 25,300 N/A 33,969 Employees Per Vehicle 2.1 .88 1.58 .4 N'A 1.44 Place Miles Per Employee 1,318,000 4,711,000 2,253,000 1,500.000 N/A 1,633.333 however, when comparing the operating and main- tenance costs of AGT and conventional transit sys- tems, that such comparisons are relevant only when all modes provide the same type and level of service. Existing AGT systems provide circulation service in relatively small, specialized activity centers in con- trast to conventional transit systems which fre- quently provide regional or corridor service. The simplified comparisons on a cost per vehicle-mile basis presented in the report indicate an overall contrast between the modes. Site-specific analyses involving an area’s individual transportation service requirements would present a more accurate picture of costs at a particular location. Operations and Maintenance Cost Trends for AGT and Conventional Transit 22 AGT AESTHETICS - A HANDBOOK FOR facilities. The handbook identifies aesthetic issues different. In downtown areas, streets are frequently- PLANNING AND DESIGN OF AUTOM- pertinent to fixed guideway systems and discusses crowded with utihties, Ughts, signs, traffic signals, ATED GUIDEWAY TRANSIT (AGT) different techniques for solving or minimizing vehicles and pedestrians. The pre-World War II SYSTEMS aesthetic problems. facades in many older areas may be incompatible in scale and texture with the designs that are currently Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Aesthetics, for the purpose of this handbook, available. are defined as the result of the interactions of a February 1980, UMTA-IT-06-01 65-79-2, In corridors, visual compatibihty- is highly de- particular transportation system with its physical PB 80-173584, 114 pp. pendent on the physical characteristics of the in- and social environment, that is, how it is perceived dividual corridor. Construction along rail rights-of- in relation to the particular area through which it way, for example, would usually result in more travels. The major aesthetic effects are visual, al- In spite of its promising technology, whether or visual congestion than construction of facih- though other problems, such as noise, are also ad- AGT not automated guideway transit (AGT) systems be- ties along rail dressed. an expressway, because rights-of-way- come a widely accepted mode in urban areas will de- are narrower. Visual congestion in corridor areas The impact of a transportation system depends, pend in part on how they are perceived by pas- could be caused by buildings close to the guideway-, in part, on its environment. The report describes sengers and the citizens communities which sur- strip development in the area of the guideway- and of three general types of areas in which AGT systems round them. Although AGT systems can be built numerous exit ramps from the corridor itself. could be placed; central business districts or down- underground and at grade level, constructing transit In activity centers, an system not fit town areas; corridors, such as limited access high- AGT may systems as elevated structures is usually less costly with the older historic image of some college cam- ways, arterial roads and railroad rights-of-way; and and less complicated. Consequently, this method is puses, for example, or with fully developed, land- activity centers such as campuses, airports, and currently receiving the most attention from trans- scaped office parks, but can. on the other hand, give shopping and office complexes. Discussions on five portation planners, designers and engineers. Ele- a sleek modern look and a special identity- to a types of aesthetic effects form a major portion of vated public transportation facilities, such as eleva- developing activity- center. the handbook. ted trains, however, have had devastating effects in some communities in the past. The noise, dirt, and shadows cast by elevated structures, as well as bar- Light and Shadows riers created by them, were destructive to neighbor- Two of the most noticeable effects of imple- hoods and some business areas, although the trans- Visual Compatibility menting elevated systems are alterations of hght portation they helped provide was a key to econom- These issues include both questions of visual and shadow patterns. These effects include shadows ic growth in urban areas. Careful planning of AGT congestion, or how cluttered an area looks, and created by the elevated structure and the nighttime facilities, as well as the advanced design character- compatibility or how well the system fits into its lighting on and around tlie structure. Shadows istics of AGT itself, can lessen or prevent many of environment. Compatibility with the environment created by elevated guideways are most likely to be the negative aspects of old elevated transit struc- depends on the size and scale of the system as well troublesome in older downtown areas witli narrow tures and also at-grade railroad rights-of-way. This as adjacent land use and the compatibility of ma- streets and high-rise buildings. Introduction of an handbook provides guidance for architects, engi- terials, colors and textures. elevated system in areas of this type could result neers, planners and others who are concerned with Visual compatibility issues are important in all in tire elimination of all direct sunlight at street designing attractive, non-disruptive fixed guideway three settings, although the specific problems are level. Shadow problems are not as significant along corridors as in downtown areas, except in densely urbanized portions. Artificial nighttime lighting, however, could be intrusive in residential areas adjoining a guideway. Views Fixed guideway systems can affect the view of an area by cutting off pleasant vistas or interfering with important sight lines. The effects of the view from a system itself must also be considered. For those in residential areas adjoining a guideway, the system can mean a loss of privacy. Elevated structures can block views of pleasant ACCESS INTERRUPTED surroundings, historic buildings or places, and fa- miliar landmarks. Negative impacts on views and sight lines are more likely tci be a problem in down- town areas than in other settings because of the higher population and building densities. Disruption Disruption caused by the barrier effects of an elevated or depressed guideway could be a problem in any setting. Elevated structures can create visual barriers while depressed guideways may create physical barriers and access problems across the right-of-way. Significant disruption problems can also be created during construction. Although these problems are temporary, the ripple effects of the temporary disruption can be long term. In downtown areas, the most serious disrup- In elevated systems columns and vertical circulation may be barriers to access. When depressed, the tion can occur where elevated structures divide a co- open cut becomes a barrier to access. hesive residential community or obscure or detract from store fronts. In corridors, guideways can create Barriers Created by Elevated and Depressed Guideway Systems barriers to pedestrian and vehicular transportation, as well as psychological barriers in communities. 24 Development Fixed guideway transit can affect development in all settings. The most significant aesthetic effects on e.xisting development will occur where all or part of the system is incorporated into existing buildings. Joint development, where an AGT system is used as a major feature of new development or where it is integrated into older buildings, is a promising meth- od of making systems work aesthetically. Integra- tion of the s>'stem into buildings will not only hide the guideway and support elements of the system but will also ensure that pedestrian access is fast and easy. Development issues also involve the aesthetic effects of necessary parking and pedestrian facilities. Making the System Work Aesthetically The handbook defines eight areas in which platmers and designers can work to reduce or avoid negative aesthetic impacts caused by fixed guideway system deployments. These eight areas are not mutually exclusive, but overlap. They are; 1. Technology choice; 2. Vertical alignment — will the system be elevated, at grade, or depressed in an open cut or turmel; 3. Guideway location and design; 4. Station location and design; 5. Parking facilities location and design; 6. Landscaping, lighting, and signage; 7. Street and sidewalk modification; and 8. Joint development. The Size and Configuration of the Gutdeway as well as the Number of Lanes will Affect the Amount of Shadow Cast Technology Choice — How much a fixed guideway system affects its environment depends in large part on the type of technology which has been se- provision for pick-up and drop-off traffic for auto- usually involve fewer landowners and developers, lected. Three general types of AGT systems are cur- mobiles, taxis and buses should be made. fewer public agencies and usually a simpler system rently available: suspended or supported small ve- network. hicle systems, supported medium-size vehicle sys- Landscaping, Lighting, and Signage — Although tems, and supported large-size vehicle systems. The guideways and stations are the most prominent Analyzing Aesthetic Effects type of system selected will affect guideway dimen- components of an AGT system, the overall percep- Because AGT is a new technology that has not, sions and station types. Of course, larger, bulkier tion of it is likely to be heavily influenced by the as yet, been deployed widely, transportation plan- systems will have a greater impact on surrounding landscaping, lighting, and signage at ground level, ners and designers do not fully understand its aes- areas than will smaller systems. There are many where it is exposed to both users and the general thetic effects in all possible environments. Several factors bearing on the choice of technology includ- public. techniques, however, have been developed to assess ing climate and safety as well as expected passenger Elevated guideways could be used to carry the and evaluate these effects in areas where they might volume and desired level of service. lighting and signage of a street in a downtown area be constructed. Methods for involving the com- to reduce the ambient visual clutter, although this munity in the study of the effects and for helping Vertical Alignment is of major importance when might make the guideway seem bulkier. The guide- people visualize what systems will actually look like considering the aesthetics of a transit system. The way could carry traffic signs and signals, street light- in a particular setting are discussed in the handbook. impact of an elevated system is greater than those ing, telephone and low-voltage electrical lines and The specific aesthetic analysis techniques are constructed at grade. (At-grade construction is not even commercial signs. similar to those used in other environmental assess- discussed in detail in this handbook.) Guideways ments and urban design studies, such as for a new can also be placed in open cuts, that is, open below- Street and Sidewalk Modifications — Installation of general familiar- grade guideways. Open cut construction will reduce highway. These methods assume a a fixed guideway system may make it possible in the visual impact of the system. ity with environmental planning and urban design. some areas to limit or even eliminate vehicular traf- The handbook identifies a five-step process for an- Station re- parks. Location and Design can be varied in fic, thereby creating pedestrian malls and alyzing alternative applications. They are: sponse to local conditions even more than the guide- Other street and sidewalk modifications can make 1. Assemble data on existing urban design and way itself. Stations can be located out of important pedestrian traffic in the area of the guideway safer, the proposed system; sight lines in less obtrusive areas, balanced with the pleasant, and uncomplicated. 2. Identify potential effects; need to make them visible and accessible to riders. Three types of stations that can be built on two-lane Joint Development — As mentioned earlier, joint 3. Measure these effects; guideways are illustrated. Split station layouts re- development is a highly desirable method of con- 4. Evaluate the significance of the effects; and quire more space than center platform layouts. structing fixed guideway systems. Unfortunately, 5. Identify measures to mitigate the negative it requires a high degree of cooperation among pub- impacts. Parking Facilities are an important part of the over- lic agencies and the private sector that may be very all system design, whether they be a multi-storied difficult to attain in some areas. The best candidate Community Involvement parking garage in a dense urban setting or a simple areas for joint development are in planned new Community involvement is a major source of at-grade lot in a suburban area. Wherever parking major developments. Activity centers such as air- information to designers about how the public per- lots are located, they should be designed to cut ports offer much more joint development potential ceives its environment. Community self-perceptions down noise and visual clutter. In addition, adequate than downtown or corridor facilities because they may be very different from those of transportation 26 planners, and, therefore, community involvement is vital to successful implementation of a transporta- tion system. Both potential users and other resi- dents who would be affected by the system, such as business owners, should be involved in the evalua- tion of various system proposals. Methods of displaying various design alterna- tives to the community and for review by planners for aesthetic issues are also discussed. These meth- ods include scale models, drawings, system mock- ups, photomontages, film, charts and computer graphics. Landscaping Can Be Used Around Fixed Guideway Systems to Ensure Privacy, Cut Noise, and Block Out Unpleasant Views 27 . AN ANALYSIS OF THE MARKET FOR • a national estimate of the potential market At the first meeting specific sites within each of AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY TRANSIT for implementation of automated guideway the cities were selected. A total of eleven sites repre- transit (AGT), based on data from 46 urban senting a variety of potential application areas were G. Kocur, D. Nagin and P. Reid, and D. areas; chosen: four in Chicago, five in Dallas, and two in Smith, R. Henderson; Cambridge Systema- • eleven site-specific alternatives analyses with- Atlanta. Together, the sites represented a wide tics, Inc., and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in three urban areas; Atlanta, Dallas, and range of potential application areas. and National Analysts. Chicago; and The case study techniques used were similar to November 1980, UMTA-IT-06-01 65-79-1 • a two-phased consumer survey to determine those actually used in transportation planning but (3 Vols.) individual preferences toward AGT. with a reduced level of technical analysis and limit- Analyses of where and to what extent auto- ed public participation. The objective of the case mated guideway transit (AGT) systems may be study effort was to obtain local reactions to these The three case study cities selected provide vari- effective, feasible, and acceptable to the general key AGT questions: ety in size, geographical location, density, and insti- public are very to those reviewing current and useful tutional structures Chicago, a large dense metropol- • Are AGT costs, performance and service projected urban transportation needs and potential itan area with a complex institutional setting, is levels appropriate for the sites examined? solutions. Answers to these questions are also useful roughly representative of the class of cities including • Are automated transit and the guideways in transportation planning and as a justification for New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, themselves acceptable to the local public, the directions government transportation re- of which have similar densities and established transit labor, and government? search and development activities. systems. Dallas, the second case study city chosen, • Under what circumstances or policies would Actual markets for AGT systems are subject is a large, lower density city, without an existing local bodies involved in transportation de- to many factors which are difficult to quantify in a fixed -guide way transit system. It has a simpler insti- cision-making implement an AGT system? research report. These variables often involve tutional structure and a healthy economy, which local issues and personalities and may be influenced make it an excellent study of joint public and pri- A series of transit alternatives were defined for by judgements that are not susceptible to cost- vate participation in defined area projects. Atlanta each case study. In activity centers, the alternatives effectiveness analysis. This reviews a document is currently constructing a regional rapid transit were typically the existing transit service, shuttle potential three number of sites for AGT systems in system and can provide realistic assessments of bus systems, and AGT. In corridors, alternatives diverse cities. The organizations directly re- most many issues involved in planning and constructing were existing transit services (usually bus), AGT, sponsible transportation planning decision- for and a major new transit system. light rail, and sometimes exclusive busways. Opera- making in these cities helped choose specific sites ting policies and route alignments were designed A series of meetings was held in each case study and identified issues most relevant to possible AGT to conform with actual operating policies of the city involving a number of local groups. These deployment. These findings form a basis for region being examined. groups often included a metropolitan planning national estimates of the potential market for organization, a regional transportation authority, The AGT mode considered in the market analy- automated guideway systems. municipal groups and private developers. The gen- sis could best be described as a shuttle loop transit Study Approach eral public was not involved in these meetings, al- (SLT) system. The service was presumed to have on- Three general activities were undertaken for the though a home survey was taken to obtain public line stations, minimum headways of 60 seconds or market research performed in this study: opinions. longer, vehicle capacities of between 20 and 50 pas- 28 sengers, and maximum speeds of 40 mph (64 km/ lem were investigated. Demand and costs were are low because there is Httle incentive for the hr) in most applications. estimated and an overall evaluation of AGT poten- transit operator to switch. An east-west alignment Enough data were collected at each site to mod- tial was made. would provide potential for future joint develop- el the cost and travel demand for each alternative. ment in currently under-utilized land. Chicago Case Studies Data which were collected at each site included At the Merrillville site, bus service proved to be Four sites in the Chicago area were considered; zonal trip and socio-economic data, transit and auto more feasible than AGT service under existing con- network data, and current ridership and cost figures. The North Michigan Avenue/Illinois Central Air ditions. Although the area is stiU expanding, de- -A sketch-planning technique using models and Rights site is a busy retail and office area in mand for internal circulation did not justify the cost parametric levels of demand was then used to central Chicago. It encompasses part of the of AGT. Neither the private developer nor the local generate estimates of service level, ridership, reven- residential Gold Coast in the north side and town officials could fully support the costs. An ues, costs, and selected environmental impacts. touches the northern edge of the Loop. Cur- AGT system, however, could be more feasible in the future to its level The results of these case studies were used to rently, it is not served by a fbced guideway due higher of service. determine local reactions to the estimated impacts transit system. The Oak Brook site was considered inappro- and to discuss deployment potential at the case priate for AGT. There is only a single retail center at Merrillville is an expanding suburban center study sites. These findings provided guidance in the site, and consequently little internal travel flow. located in northwestern Indiana. It includes establishing more abstract national market esti- The need for AGT is therefore absent. Also, the lay- low-density, “office-park”-type buildings in- mates. Cost and benefit analyses provided the basis out of Oak Brook is linear and a fixed guideway was cluding hotel, medical, office, and retail facili- of these estimates which also considered impacts of felt to be visually incompatible. ties. the less quantifiable issues. AGT was found to be inappropriate at the Med- The ACT market was estimated in three differ- ical Center site because of the high costs of the s> s- Oak Brook is another suburban center located ent categories; central business districts (CBDs); about 20 miles (32 km) west of downtown Chi- tem, low ridership under current parking policies, corridors; and major diversified centers personal security anticipated lack (MDCs) cago. It includes a shopping maU complex and concerns and of including shopping centers, airports, and medical an office park interspersed with hotel, medical, interest by medical institutions due to their inde- centers. Area-wide applications pendence. in site, is rela- were not specifi- office, and retail facilities. As the Oak Brook there cally included because it was felt that the possi- tively little internal circulation and the system costs The State of Illinois Medical Center contains bUity of such deployments is remote in the near- could not be supported by the medical institutions. 100 health care, educational and research facili- term future. A 15-year time horizon was adopted, ties. It is located on the west side of the city of yielding a relatively short-term market estimate. Atlanta Case Studies Chicago. In each site, an analysis was made of the exist- In Atlanta, two high-density corridors with ing travel patterns via transit and automobile, and The North Michigan Avenue site was found to several major activity centers not included in the possible ways in which an AGT system might be have the highest potential for AGT because of its current regional rapid rail transit network were constructed. Varying alignments were studied and high density land use and resultant high travel de- chosen. compared with conventional bus service. Based on mand. However, the visual impact of an elevated The North Corridor goes from .Atlanta to existing land use and densities, opportunities for guideway running north and south conflicts with the suburb of Sandy Springs. It is 9 miles (15.4 future joint development projects were studied. the character of existing neighborhoods and build- km) long, contains concentrated residential and Also, aesthetic and institutional aspects of the prob- ings. Possibilities for replacing existing bus service commercial activities, and connects to the g proposed Lenox station on the MARTA rapid SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR POTENTIAL AGT USE IN CHICAGO CASE STUDIES rail system. ANNUAL The Southeast Corridor is in a medium-density ANNUAL CAPITAL OPERATING ANNUAL suburban area with single-family, apartment ANNUAL COST* COST REVENUES and retail uses. It focuses on Decatur, a com- RIDERSHIP (1978 DoUars) (1978 DoUars) (1978 Dollars) munity east of Atlanta. The same analytic approach was followed here North Michigan Ave. 16,000,000 4,000,000 1,300,000 550,000 as in the Chicago case studies. The only difference (Alt. 1) was that these case studies were corridors with Merrillville 4,000,000 1,700,000 1,100,000 400,000 travel patterns markedly different from those in (4.8 mil. ft^) activity centers studied in Chicago. Oak Brook 1,100,000 3,600,000 900,000 110,000 In the North Corridor, ACT ridership did not alternatives. differ significantly from the other Most State of Illinois of the travel is CBD-oriented, and passengers are ex- Medical Center pected to rail line. Thus, the use the future MARTA Status Quo 1,200,000 2,100,000 750,000 120,000 alternatives considered — AGT, light rail transit, and Restricted Parking 10,500,000 2,800,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 improved bus — did not differ markedly because their relative differences in service level for a down- ‘Assuming a 10% interest rate and a 6% inflation rate. town trip were small. Improved bus was the least ex- pensive alternative, and it attracted almost as much ridership as AGT and light rail transit. Also, the bus Dallas Case Studies trict to the north. It is 6 miles (9.6 km) long alternative would have the least effect on the com- In the Dallas region, five separate case study and has diversified land uses, but is a predom- munity’s physical character. sites were selected; two corridors and three activity inantly multi- and single-family residential area. centers. The Central Business District covers about 200 In the Southeast Corridor, it is unlikely that acres (80 hectares) and is almost entirely de- AGT or any other fixed guideway system will be The Stemmons Corridor connects the central voted to office buildings. There are also govern- implemented for some time. to the level Due low of business district to the northwest. It is an older, corridor employment ment, retail and hotel facilities. and lack of appropriate rights- fully-developed corridor, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of-way, an fit North is a major regional activity center, AGT system would not easily in this long, containing a freeway (I-35E), a 7,000,000 Park corridor. Most the large centers. It is of region’s resources are concen- square foot (630,000 square meter) wholesale typical of many suburban trated on the task of finishing the rail sys- served by two major expressways. Retail shop- MARTA center, four major hospitals, and many hotels. tem, which will go to Decatur. In addition it was ping is the main reason people travel to North felt the elevated AGT would not be acceptable to The North Central Corridor, focused on U.S. Park (100,000 trips on peak days), followed by the residents of this corridor. Highway 75, connects the central business dis- trips to offices and recreational facilities. 30 COMPARISON OF TRANSIT ALTERNATIVES IN ATLANTA CASE STUDIES plishing this task acceptably, although some ques- tions were raised about the visual effects of the ANNUAL elevated guideway. Costs were felt to be acceptable ANNUAL CAPITAL OPERATING ANNUAL and an AGT system could also be linked up to a ANNUAL COST* COST REVENUES regional transit system. RIDERSHIP (1978DoUars) (I978DoUars) (1978 Dollars) At the Market Center, an AGT system was viewed positively. Its high level of service outranked the bus alternative, and the guideway was viewed as a positive “futuristic” aesthetic image. At North North Corridor Park, an AGT system was also viewed favorably. .AGT 9,000,000 8,000,000 5,100,000 2,700,000 The AGT alternative provided a higher level of ser- vice than bus and was expected to contribute more LRT 8,500,000 12,000,000 7,000,000 2,500,000 to economic development. Aesthetic issues were not Improved Bus 7,000,000 700,000 7,200,000 2,000,000 expected to be a serious problem. South Corridor National Market Estimates The purpose of the market analysis was to esti- AGT 9,000,000 7,000,000 3,500,000 2,700,000 mate the potential national market and indicate LRT 9,000,000 12,000,000 4,600,000 2,700,000 potential cost-effective research and urban deplo\ - ments. Since cost effectiveness has been UMT.A's Improved Bus 6,500,000 500,000 4,800,000 2,000,000 officially stated criterion for awarding capital grants, the methodology- used in this study reUed hea\ily on benefit/ cost (B/C) analysis. •.Assuming a 10% interest rate and a 6% inflation rate. Any national market estimate necessarily re- quires some assumptions and a systematic metli- odology. In this study, separate market estimates The Dallas Market Center is the world’s largest the Central Business District. In general, these two were made for three categories: corridors; CBDs; wholesale merchandise mart at a single location. corridors need transit service, and all of the propos- and MDCs including sliopping centers, airports, and It contains 6 buildings on a 135-acre (54- ed fixed guideway alternatives were beneficial when medical centers. Benefits which were considered in- hectare) site. compared to the present system. AGT was consider- cluded travel time reductions, auto ownership re- The Stemmons and North Central Corridors ed to be a feasible option, inasmuch as the corridor ductions, bus operating cost reductions, reductions were treated together, being served by one system. has appropriate rights-of-way and land use to allow in auto-related problems and economic develop- Alternatives considered were the current public elevated guideways. ment. Costs included capital and operating costs, transit system (local bus), AGT, light rail transit The alternatives analyzed for the Central Busi- visual intrusion, noise and pollution. rLRT), and exclusive busway. In each case, align- ness District were designed to provide internal trip Thirty-seven U.S. cities w'ere considered as pos- ments in the two corridors joined and entered circulation. AGT appeared to be capable of accom- sible sites for a corridor .\GT. This included all 31 cities over 500,000 which do not have or currently COMPARISON OF TRANSIT ALTERNATIVES IN DALLAS CASE STUDIES plan to have a rapid rail system. Ridership estimates were based assumed level-of-service variables. on ANNUAL CAPITAL ANNUAL ANNUAL Benefits were calculated from the ridership and ANNUAL COST' OPERATING COST REVENUES from consideration of consumer surplus theory. RIDERSHIP (1978 Dollars) (I978DoUars) (1978 Dollars) Quantification of the major benefits and costs was accomplished through modeling. Essentially the Stemmons and North same technique was used in assessing potential CBD Central Corridors ACT systems. MDCs were analyzed using more Existing Transit 11,000,000 2,000,000 6,300,000 3,700,000 qualitative techniques. Results were as follows. Transit Way 20,000,000 10,000,000 8,900,000 6,800,000 Corridors: The market for corridor applications of LRT 19,000,000 13,000,000 7,600,000 6,500,000 ACT is constrained because there are few avail- able corridors in which high ridership could be ACT 21,000,000 10,000,000 7,500,000 7,100,000 generated which do not now have a rail transit sys- CBD tem. Where capital intensive systems are attractive, 500,000^ AGT’s lower costs make it a potential alternative to Shuttle Bus 4,290,000 100,000 300,000 conventional technology. If ACT were deployed in ACT 12,000,000 2,800,000 1,000,000 930,000 all corridors with global B/C ratios exceeding .99, Dallas Market Center in 75% with global B/C ratios from .75 to .99 and in 50% with global B/C ratios from .50 to .75, capital Shuttle Bus 4,800,000 0^ 100,000 0 expenditures would total about $3.4 billion in 24 ACT 4,800,000 450,000 150,000 0 corridors. Deployment rates of successively 75%, 50% and 25% for each of these global B/C ranges North Park would generate about $2.4 billion in expenditures in Shuttle Bus 540,000 100,000 400,000 0 17 corridors. If all deployments occurred over a 10- ACT 1,320,000 700,000 500,000 0 year period, average annual capital expenditures for corridor systems would be between $200 and $300 million. Extending the evaluation horizon or doub- ^Assuming a 10% interest rate and a 6% inflation rate. 2 CBD per-mile cost assumed to be $2.50, or 50% greater than the system average. ling the price of gas would increase the market ^Leased vehicles, all costs assumed as operating costs. estimate but total expenditures would still remain modest. Central Business Districts: Analysis reveals that the largest benefit of CBD ACT accrues from a cutback of bus routes which enter the downtown area. The practical possibility of realizing these benefits is in 32 question due to institutional constraints, such as the The total estimate for all markets is approxi- manned, automated vehicles and local officials’ 13(c) provision of the UMT Act. mately $4 billion or about $400 million per year if acceptance of a technology that is largely untested If, however, .A.GT systems were deployed in all implementation of all systems were evenly spread in urban environments. CBDs with B/C ratios greater than .74 and in half out over a 10-year period. Less than half of the of all the CBDs with B/C ratios of between .50 and funds would be for vehicles and control equipment, .74 and if the savings realized from cutting bus ser- since much of the money goes for guideway and sta- vice are included, then the total market is about tion construction. This market is not large, when S990 million in 14 CBDs. If bus service is not placed on a yearly basis. Both the bus and rail eliminated, estimated capital expenditures are transit car industries have larger markets, yet have about S45 million in a single site. had difficulty attracting domestic manufacturers. Thus, it is unclear if potential manufacturers would Major Diversified Centers: Potential AGT deploy- make the required investments to meet the market. ment appears to be chiefly limited to MDCs with at least two major shopping areas. The most attractive AGT Implementation Issues sites would also have at least two other major uses, Several issues are of interest in attempting to such as offices. These criteria typically require at evaluate the future market for AGT. There are least 4 million square feet (360,00 square meters) of limitations on UMTA Section 3 capital grants. space, and it is unlikely that at present there are Only about 20% of these discretionary funds are more than 15 such MDCs in the U.S. The principal used for new rail starts; AGT would have to com- constraint on deployment is capital cost, which is pete with conventional technology for these funds. typically far beyond the reach of private developers. Operating expenses are also of concern. Other is- .Assuming systems can be deployed at five centers, sues, such as personal security and visual intrusion total capital expenditures were estimated to be on communities, could affect AGT implementation, SI 00 million. but these are issues which affect all fixed-guideway Medical Centers: This analysis suggests that it is un- systems. Economic development is often perceived realistic to expect many medical centers to deploy as a major result of AGT and, therefore, a justifica- an AGT system. There does not appear to be tion for its construction. The exact relationship be- enough need for internal circulation at large medical tween better mobility and economic development, centers. Uncertain funding and security are also however, is uncertain. important issues in these studies. Labor is another important institutional issue. Airports: Airports are proven markets for AGT be- AGT’s potential to reduce labor costs and increase cause of their growing size, lengthy distances, and productivity is a distinct advantage, though this high passenger volumes. Many airports have already advantage could be reduced in areas where UMTA carried out expansion plans, however. If 10 to 15 labor protection laws would apply. more airports added AGT systems, capital expenses Other major factors affecting AGT’s potential would range from S200 to S400 million. markets are the public’s willingness to ride in un- SECTION II Summaries of Transit Technology Evaluation Program Documents , REMOTE PARKING ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONAL The electrically-powered, rubber-tired Airtrans AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS - vehicles are fairly small, seating 16 people, with a AIRTRANS (PHASE I) total capacity of 40. The vehicles are automatically R. Kangas, M. Lenard, J. Marino et al.; steered using eight guidance wheels fixed to a guide bar in the guideway. Although all vehicles are con- TEXAS Transportation Systems Center, U.S. Depart- INTERN.ATIONAL stantly monitored from a central control, they are ment of Transportation. fully automated. Headways as low as 18 seconds are September 1976, UMTA-MA-06-0067-76-1 possible. Frequency of service on each of the vari- PB 261-329, 294 pp. ous routes is about 5 minutes, yielding a maximum One of the largest, most sophisticated autom- trip time of 20 minutes between terminals and 30 ated guideway transit (AGT) systems in the world is minutes to remote parking lots. There are 14 pas- an inter-terminal transportation system located at senger stations, 10 of which are off-line. the Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport. Airtrans It cost about $64.5 million (1971 dollars) to consists of 13 miles (20.8 km) of single-lane guide- build the system. Operating and maintenance costs CONTIN’ENTAL way connecting 53 stations (14 passenger, 14 em- for 1975 were about $.68 per vehicle-mile ($.43 per ployee, and 25 utUity) throughout the airport and vehicle-kilometer) and were expected to decrease. FUTURE TERMINAL 68 vehicles (51 personnel and 17 utihty), plus 13 Overall reliability and maintainability of the system DELTA gasohne-powered service tugs. The layout encom- are now good. passes five separate service routings for passengers, The assessment documents the system through four for employees, two for trash, and two for com- 1976. A detailed technical description of the sys- missar\’ supphes. Additional routes were originally tem is given, including project evolution and the planned for baggage and mail distribution, but have performance specifications. The assessment also not been implemented. covers operating data and statistics, passenger trip Airtrans and the Dallas/Fort Regional Worth times, system dependability, ride quality, and safe- REMOTE both operations 1974. PARKING Airport began on January 13, ty and security. The different freight and utility Because of a hasty construction schedule, the sys- subsystems planned for Airtrans are also described. tem was “broken in” only after operations began. A discussion of economics, cost, and management The manufacturer, Vought Corporation, had a work leads to a general evaluation as well as suggestions TRANSPORTATION CENTER force of 800 people assigned to troubleshoot during and recommendations for the future. the initial months of operation. This “trial by fire” + Supplies ind Trash Station approach resulted in a rapid decrease of equipment # Passenger $tati and operational problems. By April 1976, the sys- A Employee Station tem had carried 5.6 million passengers over 6.4 Q Baggage and Mail Station million vehicle-miles (10.2 million vehicle-kUom- eters). Airtrans is now operating successfully, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Airtrans Guideway and Station Layout 37 , 1 ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONAL AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS - AIRTRANS (PHASE II) C.W. Watt, D. Elliott, D. Dunoye et al.; Transportation Systems Center, U.S. Depart- ment of Transportation, and Ministere des T ransports (France). January 1980, UMTA-MA-06-0067-79-1 PB 80-182538, 347 pp. This assessment covers the Airtrans operations from September 1976 through July 1979, in which services were expanded beyond those in Phase I. The level of passenger service was almost as high as originally planned. The system reached maturity, ridership and availability were up, and operating costs were down. Several changes which were in- troduced included computer redundancy in central control, improved ability to reset vehicle functions automatically, improved station stopping accuracy, improved traction, and successful testing of an obstacle detection system. Preventive maintenance was improved, allowing the total maintenance force to drop from 125 in 1975 to 86 in 1978. Airtrans Vehicles at the Dallas/ Fort Worth Regional Airport This report presents in detail the availability, reliability, maintenance, and operational safety aspects not documented in the Phase I report. Most of these measures had improved substantially, show- ing a classic case of reliability growth through design whom was injured. Airtrans proved to have lower and better and more systematic record-keeping. changes and system maturity. System availability, passenger accident rates than conventional rail Appendices include sampling data on malfunctions, defined as the percentage of scheduled time in and bus systems. reliability data, and cause and nature of malfunction which the whole system was operational, was The Phase II report concludes with a series of in the two key accidents. Also described is the Air- 98.5%. The average vehicle operated about 82 hours recommendations for future AGT implementations. trans Urban Technology Program, an UMTA re- between malfunctions. The average malfunction These include guidelines for smoother construction search effort to improve Airtrans for future urban lasted only about 3.9 minutes. Fifty -eight accidents and design work, better planning, caution in requir- service that was conducted from late 1976 to late were recorded; six related to passengers, one of ing multi-use capability, additional safety measures. 1979. 38 , ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONAL Airport. The system was designed and partially ASSESSMENT OF THE AUTOMATI- AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS - constructed by the Stanray Corporation; Braniff CALLY CONTROLLED TRANSPORTA- JETRAIL completed construction and operated it. TION (ACT) SYSTEM AT FAIRLANE During the 4-year period of operation, over TOWN CENTER G. Anagnostopoulos, P. Wlodyka, I. Mitro- 6 million passengers were carried over 1.3 million poulis et al.; Transportation Systems Center, A.M. Yen, C. Henderson, M. Sakasita et a!.; mUes (2.1 million km) without a fatality or a major SRI International. U.S. Department of Transportation. mishap. Jetrail operated 24 hours per day, 7 days December 1977, UMTA-MA-06-0067-77-1 per week, and high levels of overall system avail- December 1977, UMTA-IT-06-01 35-77-2, PB 278-521, 280 pp. ability and reliability were reported. Problems with PB 286-524/AS, 120 pp. the propulsion and control components were Another in the automated guideway transit Jetrail was the first operational, completely experienced. (ACT) assessment series, this report documents the automated demand-responsive, group rapid transit Jetrail was an elevated, suspended monorail sys- automatically controlled transportation system at (CRT) system in the country. It operated success- tem with three on-line stations and storage, main- Fairlane Town Center at Dearborn, Michigan. The fully from April 1970 to January 1974, connecting tenance, and bypass facilities. Each of the 10 vehi- system is a shuttle operating two vehicles on an ele- the Braniff International Airlines terminal at Love cles in the system was powered by 2 single-speed, vated guideway between a large shopping center and Field in Dallas, Texas to a parking lot .75 mile (1.2 three-phase electric motors. a hotel about .25 mile (.4 km) across the parking km) away. Passenger service was discontinued when lot. The design was an integral part of the center' Braniff moved to the new DaUas/Ft. Worth Regional The assessment found that Jetrail technology, hotel development, which began in 1970. The ACT with some modifications, would be suitable for system itself began in 1973, and was the second pro- applications in other types of areas. Necessary totype demonstration of Ford Motor Company’s modifications include the addition of fire safety ACT system, first displayed at TR.ANSPO '72. features, development of a capability to operate Each car holds 24 people and travels at about 20 under snow and ice conditions, and changes in the mph (32 km/hr) maximum. The guideway is a single vehicle propulsion and control components to im- lane, except for the double-lane bypass area located prove reliability and maintainability. midway between the two stations. Overall, tlie s> s- The study found that insufficient time and ef- tem is technologically sophisticated, using state-of- fort were spent in the initial design, development the-art “intelligent” vehicles which control and and testing phases of Jetrail. This led to cost over- switch themselves. runs later on. The operating costs of the system, The report gives a technical description of the however, were found to be acceptable. system, describes its operational performance, and The Jetrail system has, after 1974, been used as analyzes the costs and economics. The development a testing ground for a prototype linear induction process is also reviewed. .\s a whole, the system motor propulsion system. This new system, called works well and is popular with passengers. The re- Astroglide, has improved on some of the less suc- port concludes that the engineering aspects of the cessful elements of the Jetrail system and is also system have potential applications to more advanc- Some Details of Jetrail Vehicle and Suspension briefly discussed in the report. ed ACT systems. ASSESSMENT OF THE BUSCH GARDENS agement philosophy of the park. For example, the made during this test, the manufacturer is to im- AUTOMATED ANHEUSER-BUSCH AGT system is closed whenever a thunderstorm prove the design for future applications. SHUTTLE SYSTEM approaches. Safety and security have been handled The Aerobus system consisted of an elevated, by the park security patrol with little problem. double cableway supported by pylons with fixed- H.A. Theumer and C.P. Elms; N.D. Lea & Passengers react well to the system since it is quite rail sections in curves and at switches. The cableway Associates, Inc. comfortable and air conditioned. The system is passed over a variety of urban barriers without in- November 1979, UMTA-IT-06-01 88-79-4, completely accessible to elderly and handicapped terference. Eight articulated vehicles with capacity PB 80-127384. 166 pp. persons via ramps. for 100 persons provided fixed-schedule service at A single-loop, two-station automated guideway roughly 3 -minute headways. The electrically power- transit (ACT) system has been in operation since ed vehicles were not automated, but were controlled 1975 at the Busch Gardens theme park in Williams- by an attendant located in the center of the vehicle. burg, Virginia. A two-car train carries passengers ASSESSMENT OF THE MUELLER AERO- Ridership on the Aerobus system was quite from the park to an Anheuser-Busch brewery and BUS SYSTEM: THE SYSTEM INSTALLED high. Passenger waits often averaged 20 minutes in the peak periods. Line capacity was only about hospitality center a mile (1.6 km) away. Westing- AND OPERATED FOR THE BUNDES- 1440 passengers per hour. This is low for urban ap- house Electric Corporation designed and con- GARTENSCHAU 1975, MANNHEIM, plications, but capable of being increased with sys- structed the system. GERMANY tem redesign. The system achieved an overall avail- About one-third of the guideway is elevated W. Bamberg, C.P. Elms, H.H. Hosenthien, ability of 98%. There were no accidents, and pas- and has fairly steep slopes of 10% in three locations and W. Voss; N.D. Lea & Associates, Inc. senger safety and security were exemplary. Capital in order to provide a more exciting ride. There is no costs were about 13 million German marks (DM).* provision for guideway ice and snow removal be- September 1979, UMTA-IT-06-01 89-79-2, Operating costs for the 6-month period were about cause of the seasonal nature of the park. Each ve- PB 80-130636. 262 pp. 2 million DM. hicle can carry up to 96 passengers and can travel up The Mueller Aerobus Cable System was install- The assessment report gives a complete system to 30 mph (48 km/hr). ed and operated for about 6 months in 1975 in description, including technical and engineering is to The system reported have cost $4,320,000 Mannheim, Germany, specifically to serve the 1975 details on the vehicles, the cableways and stations, operations (1975). The estimate of annual and Bundesgartenschau (Federal Garden Show). The controls, steering, propulsion, and power. System maintenance cost is about $166,000. This works out Aerobus shuttled visitors back and forth between performance is evaluated based on data on operating to about per vehicle-hour per passen- $60 and $.11 the two sites, which were about 2 miles (3.2 km) energy consumption, reliability and maintainability, ger based ridership (in on an estimated annual 1977) apart and separated by the Neckar River. The Aero- and safety and security. Costs are listed in detail and of 720,000. Load factor is .314. bus was an experimental application of a cable the system development process is discussed. The system performance has been quite accep- technology that was originally constructed and table for the park’s purposes, but is modest com- tested in Switzerland. Important in the decision to pared to other AGTs. Overall system availability in use the Aerobus was the fact that there would be 1977 was established as .915 and the time be- little disruption of existing urban structures; it mean *To avoid inaccuracies caused by fluctuating currency ex- tween failures was only 2.2 hours. This low per- would use existing rights-of-way, and would bridge changes and infiation rates, costs are presented in 1975 formance is due, in part, to the operating and man- the river. As a result of operational evaluations German marks. 40 , ASSESSMENT OF THE PASSENGER Each vehicle has a capacity of about 100 SHUTTLE SYSTEM (PSS) AT TAMPA standees and travels at about 30 mph (48 km/hr). INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Because of the mild climate, no weatherization mea- sures were built into the guideway. Simple stations A.M. Yen, C. Henderson, M. Sakasita et al.; are integrated into the terminals. In 1976, the PSS SRI International. logged about 400,000 vehicle-miles (640,000 December 1977, UMTA-IT-06-01 35-77-4, vehicle-km) and carried about 14.5 million passen- PB 285-597. 109 pp. gers. The estimate of annual passenger-miles of travel was about 2.47 million (3.952 million passen- ger-km), yielding an average load factor of .061. The Tampa airport has a modern design which This indicates a large amount of excess capacity, includes one central terminal for passenger baggage, which is desirable for handling sudden influ.xes of ticketing, and ground access, and four “airside” people whenever several planes land similtaneously. terminals, handling actual aircraft boardings. To provide passenger access from the central terminal to each airside terminal, the passenger shuttle sys- tem (PSS) was installed. It is an elevated, fully automated guideway transit (ACT) system, very ASSESSMENT OF THE SATELLITE much like a two-stop horizontal elevator on wheels. TRANSIT SYSTEM (STS) AT THE The guideway “legs,” or sections between the SEATTLE-TACOMA INTERNATIONAL central and each of the airside terminals, range from AIRPORT 779 to 1002 feet (234 to 301 meters) in length. A.M. Yen, C. Henderson, M. Sakasita et al.; There are eight vehicles, two for each shuttle. Each SRI International. pair occupies two lanes; movements are automati- cally synchronized so that the two vehicles leave the December 1977, UMTA-lT-06-01 35-77-1 Mueller Aerobus System opposite terminals simultaneously and pass each PB 281-820. 132 pp. other in the middle. Average dwell time is about 30 Since 1973, an automated guideway transit seconds, and travel time about 40 seconds. (AGT) system has been operating at the Seattle- Improvements in system design and technology The simplicity of the design has helped to Tacoma International Airport between tire central would be required before the system could be used create a good record for reliability. The per-lane terminal building and each of two satellite termin- successfully in urban areas. These include higher availability was .995 in December 1976. Even if one als. It was built by the Westinghouse Corporation speed and capacity capabilities, accessibility features vehicle is down for some reason, the adjacent vehi- and is called the Satellite Transit System. The 9007- and a more comfortable ride. The basic concept, cle can easily be used as a shuttle by itself. Thus, al- foot (2729-meter) guideway is completely under- however, of point-to-point service in urban areas though the Tampa airport has one of the first AGTs ground and consists of two loops, one for each with special natural or man-made barriers with in regular operation, there have been no major prob- satellite terminal, and a connecting shuttle path. minimal environmental impact is a sound one. lems with it. The system is tire only link among tire terminals. 41 J AIRSIDE r c since the latter are surrounded by aircraft loading and unloading areas where it would be unsafe to walk. Since there is no other access to the satellite terminals, except for a narrow emergency walkway in the AGT tunnels, primary emphasis and major ' LEG C resources are directed toward maintenance and reliability. This strategy has been successful; system availability in 1976, for example, was about .998. When an interruption does occur, it takes less than 3 minutes, on the average, to restore service. AIRSIDE Vehicles travel around the loops in a clockwise direction, but can reverse direction if some point becomes blocked so that service is not interrupted. The system contains 12 vehicles which can travel both singly and entrained. They can carry up to 102 LEG B r 1 passengers each and travel along the guideway at speeds over 20 mph (32 km/hr) between the sys- tem’s 6 stations. The maximum capacity of the system is about 8000 to 9000 passengers per hour per loop. Yearly ridership was 10.1 million passen- gers in 1976. The costs of the Sea-Tac AGT were high be- cause of the required tunnel construction and were difficult to gauge because the system was built in conjunction with an airport expansion program. It is estimated that a duplicate system would cost over $22 million to build. Operating costs are about $500,000 per year, resulting in a cost per vehicle- ENTRANCE mile of about $1.83 ($1.14 per vehicle-km) in 1976. DRIVE (Not to Scale) Plan View of Tampa International Airport 42 Taxiway CONCOURSE B STATON PASSENGER TERMINAL STATION STATON STATON shuttle, SOUTH LOOP NORTH LOOP north satellite south SATELLfTE PARKING TERMINAL STS Routes and Stations: Sea-Tac 43 ASSESSMENT OF THE TUNNEL TRAIN Records show that in 1976 the system traveled Although designed to go 15 mph (24 km/hr), SYSTEM AT HOUSTON INTER- 366,000 vehicle-miles (585,600 vehicle-km). The the maximum operating speed employed is 6.5 mph CONTINENTAL AIRPORT annual ridership is estimated at 1.2-1.4 million pas- (10.4 km/hr). This yields a fairly low line capacity sengers. The exact cost of the Rohr Houston AGT is of 1800 passengers per hour, even with all 6 trains A.M. Yen, C. Henderson, M. Sakasita et al.; not known because of the lack of historical data. operating. A round trip takes about 20-25 minutes. SRI International. In 1976, the airport reported about $328,000 in The system only operates in the summer and is, December 1977, UMTA- IT-06-0 135-77-3, operations and maintenance costs, resulting in a per- thus, not winterized. Estimates were that the sys- PB 286-641. 98 pp. passenger cost of about $.25. tem traveled 228,000 vehicle-miles (364,800 vehi- The Rohr system has since been removed from cle-km) in 1976, which when combined with the The Houston airport consists of two separate the Houston Airport and is being replaced with an- estimated fee-paying ($1.50) ridership of 872,700, terminals, a hotel, and a parking facility laid out in a other AGT system manufactured by Walt Disney yielded a load factor of .74. Of course, this high linear fashion. Because of the long walking dis- Productions. ridership statistic is a result of the fact that this is an tances, an entirely underground automated guide- amusement ride and trains are always held at the way transit (ACT) system, a Rohr P-Series Mono- station until reasonably full. train, loops 6080 feet meters) through all (1842 System reliability is fairly good, and there have four facilities. Each of the three-car trains traverses been few shutdowns. The overall availability can be ASSESSMENT OF THE UMI TYPE II the loop in an unscheduled mode at an average TOURISTER AGT SYSTEM AT KING'S calculated at .993. Comfort and convenience are speed of about 3.7 mph (6.2 km/hr), slightly faster DOMINION also quite good because of the tourist orientation of than an average walker. Since the trains travel along- the ride. Safety and security have not been prob- et al.; side an underground pedestrian walkway, use of the A.M. Yen, C. Henderson, M. Sakasita lems, in part because of the presence of operators, ACT is not mandatory, but is more of a conveni- SRI International. park attendants, and security police. One incident ence for those with baggage or longer trips. All sta- December 1977, UMTA-IT-06-0 135-77-6, occurred when lightning damaged a length of track tions are on-line and there is no fare. Each car holds PB 286-513/AS. 65 pp. and several trains were stranded among the lions for 12 passengers, producing a normal line capacity of several hours. 480 passengers per hour, too low for direct urban Cost data are not readily available since the sys- applications. The slow speed and resultant high The King’s Dominion Amusement Park, near tem manufacturer considers the information to be headways are primarily caused by the system design Richmond, Virginia, operates an unscheduled, 2- proprietary. However, the estimated capital cost is and the fairly narrow tunnel. mile (3.2-km), largely at-grade, loop automated around $5.5 million (1976 dollars). Operations and Because the ACT is not an absolute necessity, guideway transit (AGT) system through its Lion maintenance costs are about $156,000 per season very high availability is not required. Consequently Country Safari. Passengers are carried through the (1976 dollars), yielding a per trip cost of about there is no comprehensive preventive maintenance habitat area to view the animals in 9-vehicle trains. $.18. It is not possible to ascertain the ability of program. Mean time to restore service is 2 hours, Each train contains a passengerless lead vehicle with the tourister AGT system to be transferred to urban which is high compared to other AGT systems. This controls and equipment, and 8 passenger vehicles environments because of the unusual operating is due to design; however, the system has met most carrying 12 people each. There is an operator on environment. of the functional requirements stipulated before board who describes the animals and avoids colli- construction. sions with them. 44 ASSESSMENT OF THE WEDWAY loading is also unique. The vehicles travel around a suspension system recently began operation at the PEOPLEMOVER AT WALT DISNEY revolving platform through an arc of 300° at about Duke University hospital complex in Durham, WORLD 2 mph (3.2 km/hr). Thus, the vehicles and rotating North Carolina. This is also the first commercial platform are synchronized for 1.5 A.M. Yen, C. Henderson, M. Sakasita, about minutes, application of an Otis Elevator Company AGT de- ample time for the average passenger to board or M. Roddin;SRI International. sign. This report describes the design, technical sub- alight safely. systems, and performance, reliability and maintain- December 1977, UMTA-IT-06-01 35-77-5, The system is heavily used, and carried about ability specifications of this system. No perform- PB 268-935. 108 pp. 4.66 million passengers in 1976. The average load ance evaluation, however, is contained because the factor was about .28. Both system safety and relia- people/cargo transportation system began operation The WEDway PeopleMover is located at the bility have been quite good. For example, in a 20- in May 1980— after this study had been completed. well-known Walt Disney World recreational complex month period there were only 49 failures, totaling The system was designed to satisfy transporta- in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It consists of a single about 20 hours of downtime. Downtime has consis- tion needs of patients, visitors and persormel be- 4600-foot (1380-meter) loop with one station. Its tently averaged less than 1% per month. There have tween two hospital buildings and a parking area at function is not transportation; rather, it is one of been no accidents or other incidents. the Duke University Medical Center. Cargo is also many attractions at the Magic Kingdom Theme The capital costs of the system have been es- carried on the system. A 1207-foot (368-meter), Park. Located near the park entrance, the 10-minute timated at slightly over $10.5 million (1976 dol- double-lane concrete guideway connects the hospi- ride allows passengers to view a exhibits, number of lars). Annual operations and maintenance costs tal buildings with one another and a 560-foot (171- such as the Space Mountain and the Flight to Mars. were about $350,000 in 1976. This works out to meter) single-lane guideway connects one of the The PeopleMover systems are WEDway con- about $.07 per passenger trip. The overall trans- hospital buildings with the parking facility. The structed by the Walt Disney Corporation, and are ferrabUity of the technology to the urban environ- guideway contains elevated, at-grade, and below- used in several areas. is WEDway a passive vehicle ment was not addressed in this assessment. grade sections and a drawbridge which was installed system. The vehicles have neither motors nor elec- as the lowest cost alternative for crossing an e.xisting tronic guidance elements; they have only limited railroad spur. suspension, and no lighting, climate control, or com- On-line stations are located at each of the hos- munication equipment. Propulsion is through single- DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL RE- pital buildings and at the parking area. One of the sided linear induction motors (LIMs) with the active VIEW OF THE DUKE UNIVERSITY hospital buildings also has an off-line cargo station. elements mounted in the guideway. LIMs are placed AUTOMATED PEOPLE/CARGO TRANS- The stations are incorporated into tire buildings along the guideway at about 10-foot (3-meter) inter- PORTATION SYSTEM they serve and the station doors are coordinated vals, and determine the vehicle acceleration and with the vehicle doors. deceleration as the vehicles pass over them. The H.A. Theumer and C.P. Elms; N.D. Lea & The system operates with three passenger ve- speed profile for the entire loop is wired into the Associates, Inc. hicles and one cargo veliicle wliich can also be used system. Since each vehicle receives the same com- July 1979, UMTA-IT-06-01 88-79-2, to transport passengers when necessary. The passen- mands when in the same area, collisions are un- PB 80-159734. 139 pp. ger vehicles can carry up to 37 people and can be likely. attached to fomi two-vehicle trains. The system is The travel time is 10 minutes. Speeds vary from The first automated guideway transit (ACT) automated and under tire supervision of one dis- 2 mph to 6.8 mph (3.2 to 11 km/hr). Passenger system using an air levitation feature as part of its patcher. 45 . I The report suggests that this technology could be adapted for use between buildings in an office or shopping center, or, in an expanded form, in a cen- tral business district. It recommends that an energy- efficient way of removing snow and ice from emer- gency braking surfaces may be required in northern climates and that larger vehicles may be needed for urban applications. I DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL RE- VIEW OF THE MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SATELLITE TRANSIT SHUTTLE SYSTEM H.A. Theumer and C.P. Elms; N.D. Lea & I Associates, Inc. September 1979, UMTA-IT-06-01 88-79-3, PB 80-158892. 1 15 pp. The Miami International Airport installed a shuttle automated guideway transit (ACT) system in the late 1970’s, connecting the International Satellite Building with the main terminal one-fifth mile (320 meters) away. The 1358-foot (407-meter), double-lane ele- vated guideway simply extends between the two buildings, entering the upper floors of the terminals where the stations are located. The system can carry up to 16,000 passengers per hour, based on regular I 5-minute headways. The vehicles can accommodate about 100 pas- sengers each, mostly standing, and are joined in two- Duke University People/Cargo Vehicle car trains, one train for each guideway lane. 46 The shuttle is a relatively simple operation; technik and Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB), basically a horizontal elevator, it has some features and the German government. The program is de- that make it especially suited to its environment. veloping the components which can make up a Through an interlock and door control feature, the variety of AGT systems. The program is still evolv- system can separate free passengers from “sterile” ing; while most component subsystems have reached passengers who are headed for the Customs and a high level of maturity, others are only in the early Immigration Service at the main terminal. There is a stages of development. Although the Cabintaxi/ part-time central control supervisor, but otherwise Cabinlift system is not fuUy operational, there is the system is completely automatic. one prototype development using this technology in The 1976 adjusted capital cost of the system a shuttle configuration at a hospital in Ziegenhain, was $9,883,000. The most expensive components West Germany. A large, sophisticated, and unusually were the guideway, the stations, and the engineering extensive test facility operating in Hagen is an im- and project management. Since the assessment took portant element in the program. place before operations began, no operating data The system has three types of vehicles: a 3- were available. passenger vehicle; a 12-passenger vehicle; and a slightly larger vehicle which will, unlike the other models, accommodate standees. The vehicles are propelled by linear induction motors. The guideway DEVELOPMENT/DEPLOYMENT INVES- is typically elevated and can be constructed to carry TIGATION OF CABINTAXI/CABINLIFT two-way traffic on the same beam utilizing both SYSTEMS suspended and supported vehicles. The report focuses on a description of the V.J. Hobbs, W. Heckelmann, N.G. Patt, J.H. technical concept, the degree to which various sys- Hill; Transportation Systems Center, U.S. tems and major subsystems have been developed, Department of Transportation, and the the experience gained in design refinement through Federal Ministry of Research and Tech- realistic testing, and theoretical and feasibility stud- nology, Federal Republic of Germany. ies. The report concludes that this type of con- December 1977, UMTA-MA-06-0067-7702, centrated ongoing research may yield long-term benefits for future AGT deployment and that the PB 277-748. 432 pp. design philosophy to fabricate AGT modules has This report, a joint U.S./German effort, pre- resulted in a system that can potentially be applied sents the results of an investigation of the Cabin- in a wide variety of locations. taxi/C abinlift automated guideway transit (AGT) systems under development in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Cabintaxi/Cabinlift program was developed by two manufacturers, DEMAG Forder- 48 DEVELOPMENT/DEPLOYMENT INVESTIGATION OF H-BAHN SYSTEM L. Silva, T. Comparato, C. Watt and W. Heckelmann; Transportation Systems Cen- ter, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Ministry of Research and Tech- nology, Federal Republic of Germany. January UMTA-MA-06-0069-81-1 PB 1981, , 81-214991. 362 pp. This report presents the results of a joint U.S./ German technical assessment of the H-Bahn auto- mated guideway transit (AGT) system under de- velopment in the Federal Republic of Germany. The assessment focused on technology tested and observed on the 0.84-mile (1.4-km) loop system at the Erlangen test facility. Although not yet de- ployed in revenue service, the H-Bahn system is currently under construction at Dortmund Uni- versity, and installation of a demonstration system in Erlangen is planned. In addition to a detailed description of the H-Bahn system and a techno- logical assessment of the system maturity and design, this report presents information about effects. It is suspended from columns, steel or con- In contrast to extending the state-of-the-art in system, capital, and operation costs. crete, which are spaced at about 100-foot (30- automated systems through innovative concepts and The H-Bahn is an automated transit system meter) intervals at a normal height of 30 feet (9 new hardware, the H-Bahn approach has been one comprised of various sized vehicles suspended from meters). A significant cost-saving feature of the of utilizing existing technology, witlt emphasis on running gear units (bogies) which travel inside a H-Bahn guideway system is the ability to prefabri- simplicity, flexibility, and extensive testing. The narrow, slotted box track beam. At a headway of cate the track beam sections and columns. The developers, Siemens and DuWag. have relied heavily 60 seconds, lane capacities ranging from 1000 fabricated guideway components can then be trans- on an extensive test progrant in order to evolve and passengers/hr with the smallest vehicle to 15,000 ported to the construction site, where they are mature their system design. With such a high level of passengers/hr with large articulated vehicles can be assembled and erected on concrete foundations. dependence on conventional technology, the obtained. The closed track beam arrangement This time-saving feature reduces overall guideway emphasis has been and is anticipated to continue shelters the internal hardware, critical to safe and cost as well as urban disruption and traffic con- to be focused on the integration of hardware into reliable automatic operation, from environmental gestion during construction. applications representative of revenue operation. 49 , LIFE CYCLE COST MODEL FOR COM- of input assumptions regarding the time-value of cribed and related to the AGT characteristics. Also, PARING AGT AND CONVENTIONAL money, inflation, and discount rates. The model performance measures are developed. Unit cost data TRANSIT ALTERNATIVES predicts the future timing of costs, and shows the are calculated and cost trends are extracted. impact of alternative courses of action, such as de- The total cost of all 10 systems was about $203 J.F. C,A. Graver and Jenkins-Stark; General layed purchase of an AGT system. Since different million (1976 dollars). Operating costs plus the time Research Corporation. types of costs are increasing at different rates, re- value of the capital yields about $30 million per February 1976, UMTA-CA-06-0090-76-1 sults of the cost analysis can change significantly de- year. About 44 million passengers were carried in averaging about $.70 per passenger trip. Of PB 259-529. 86 pp. pending on when the AGT purchase is made. That 1976, is, a cost-effective purchase in 1975, might not be so this, operating cost was about $.17 and capital in 1985. The study did not reach any overall conclu- about $.53. This reveals the capital intensive nature In implementing any kind of transit system, sion on the cost merits of AGT systems; rather, the of AGT systems. Total cost ranged from $.03 per capital acquisition costs must be balanced against model can be used in other situations to evaluate trip in Tampa (where the trip is quite short), to future operating costs. For example, high-quality, AGT proposals. about $.72 in Morgantown. high-cost equipment require less maintenance may There were, of course, wide variations in costs, and could last longer than less expensive products. depending on system capacity, size, length, tech- the other hand, higher initial costs are not al- On nology, site factors, etc. Rough orders of magnitude ways offset by lower operating costs. Government SUMMARY OF CAPITAL AND OPERA- are $7.3 million per lane-mile ($4.56 million per procurement regulations which place sole emphasis TIONS & MAINTENANCE COST EXPERI- lane-km) of guideway and $215,000 per vehicle, upon low capital costs sometimes result in purchases ENCE OF AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY again in 1976 dollars. Costs for research and devel- which have unusually high operating costs or short TRANSIT SYSTEMS opment and right-of-way acquisition were excluded. lives. Life cycle costing attempts to address this The report also compares certain AGT informa- question and determine the lowest total cost of a F.A.F. Cooke, C.P. Elms, T.J. McGean, H.W. tion with data from conventional transit service. product by adding all expected operating costs to Merritt; N.D. Lea Associates, Inc. & The average AGT cost of $1.13 per vehicle-mile the capital costs and distributing these costs over June 1978, UMTA-IT-06-01 57-78-2, ($.71 per vehicle-km) is less than the comparable time. PB 294-306. 66 cost for bus or rail transit. The comparison, how- Accurately comparing automated guideway pp. ever, should be treated with caution because of the transit (AGT) systems with non-automated systems differing environments in which AGT and conven- requires the use of a life cycle cost model because tional transit are now found and differing vehicle AGT systems replace labor or operating costs with This report summarizes cost data on 10 differ- sizes. capital costs. For example, high automation costs, ent automated guideway transit (AGT) systems at which would include computerized command and Morgantown, Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport, control and possibly a higher number of vehicles, Love Field (Dallas), Ziegenhain Hospital (West Ger- are offset by lower labor costs because drivers are many), Tampa Airport, Seattle-Tacoma Airport, not required. Houston Intercontinental Airport, Fairlane Town The computerized model calculates the total Center, Disney World, and King’s Dominion. The life cycle cost of an AGT system, based on a series capital, operations, and maintenance costs are des- 50 , SUMMARY OF CAPITAL AND OPERA- TIONS & MAINTENANCE COST EXPERI- ENCE OF AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY TRANSIT SYSTEMS: COSTS AND TRENDS FOR THE PERIOD 1976-1978 -SUPPLEMENT I F.A.F. Cooke, C.P. Elms, D.U. Muotoh et al.; N.D. Lea & Associates, Inc. October 1979, UMTA-IT-06-01 88-79-1 PB 80-146483. 60 pp. This report extends the information reported in the first cost summary. Operating and maintenance costs for 1976-78 are analyzed for five systems; Air- trans, Morgantown, Sea-Tac, Tampa, and Disney- World. Capital cost is reviewed for the above and for the following: the people mover under construc- tion at the Atlanta Airport, and existing automated guideway transit (AGT) sy'stems at Busch Gardens (Williamsburg, VA), the Miami .Airport, Fairlane Town Center, and King’s Dominion. The first five systems listed above are the major U.S. AGT systems in terms of ridership. In 197S. the average operations and maintenance cost was $.17 per passenger trip, considerably lower than that of the conventional transit industry. The sys- tems, however, are not completely comparable be- cause of the differences in trip lengtlt and opera- ting environments. Overall, the systems perform quite well. Over 5.7 million velticle-miles 19.12 million vehicle-km) were operated successfully in 1978. Despite automation, labor is still a major com- ponent of AGT operations and maintenance costs. 51 , By and large, labor is dedicated to maintenance and by other cities. Also, a second tier of cities was AUTOMATED MIXED TRAFFIC management. The AGT systems use about 1.6 em- granted Federal funds to continue preliminary TRANSIT MARKET ANALYSIS ployees per vehicle operated, which is less than the studies. C. Chung and T. Anyos et al.; The MITRE transit industry’s figure of 2.6 employees. Capital This report contains brief summaries of each of Corporation and SRI International. costs are roughly comparable to light rail installa- the 38 DPM proposals. The proposals are broken September tions, about $25 million per route-mile ($15.6 into two groups; the 19 final candidates and the 19 1980, UMTA-VA-06-0056-80-3, million per route -km). remaining proposals. Each proposal is described ex- PB 81-105801. 194 pp. actly as submitted in each city’s original documenta- tion. Included for the final candidates is a sketch of the route alignment, quantitative data on the DPM’s Although automation of vehicle operator func- characteristics, narrative on expected demand, re- tions can result in significant operating cost savings, REVIEW OF DOWNTOWN PEOPLE lated transportation and land use information, and the high cost of the exclusive guideway and station MOVER PROPOSALS: PRELIMINARY possible institutional considerations. structures associated with conventional automated MARKET IMPLICATIONS FOR DOWN- Profiles of all proposals are presented based on guideway transit (AGT) systems has limited their TOWN APPLICATIONS OF AUTOMATED the individual city summaries to provide an over- application. A need was thus perceived for a less GUIDEWAY TRANSIT view of the various ways that the cities had ap- capital-intensive automated vehicle mode that could proached the DPM subject. Generally, finalists utilize existing rights-of-way with relatively minor N.B. Mabee and B. Zumwalt; The MITRE the had better documentation and justification, which modification. This system concept. Automated Corporation. was one reason for their selection. Route lengths for Mixed Traffic Transit (AMTT), refers to a system of December 1977, UMTA-IT-06-01 76-77-1 finalists ranged from 4.7 miles (7.5 km) in Memphis driverless electric vehicles which move safely at low PB 281-068. 137 pp. to 1.09 miles (1.7 km) in Houston. Estimated week- speeds over surfaces shared by pedestrians, and day ridership varied from 61,700 in New York City (possibly) move at higher speeds on a pedestrian- The Downtown People Mover (DPM) program to 12,560 in Bellevue, WA. Capital cost ranged from free path protected by suitable side barriers. was initiated by UMTA in April 1976, to demon- $167 million in Los Angeles to $25 million in Balti- The development of the AMTT system reached strate the urban applicability of people movers. more. Other aspects included functional purpose of the stage where it became necessary to examine and Letters of interest were originally submitted by 65 circulation, peak-to-base ridership ratios, system identify the potential market for this technology. U.S. cities, 38 of which later submitted formal capacity, operating cost, value capture, social accep- This report examines the characteristics and associ- proposals. A three-step site selection process was tability, access to the handicapped (12 of the 19 ated costs of AMTT vis-a-vis its conventional trans- then undertaken to determine the four cities which finalists included elevators in all stations), security, portation alternatives. Parametric analyses were would be awarded the first grants. After the first safety and labor issues. The evaluation process also performed between electrically powered driverless step of the evaluation, which involved a preliminary considered the amount of citizen input in preparing AMTT and internal combustion conventional bus review and site visits, 19 of the cities were selected the DPM proposal, the likely environmental impact transit to identify appropriate service and operating as preliminary final candidates. Cleveland, Houston, on downtown, energy consumption, downtown conditions for AMTT. An examination of potential Los Angeles, and St. Paul were announced in De- revitalization, and the degree to which the DPM application areas and the results of economic analy- cember 1976 as the ultimate selections, although could be integrated with the regional transportation ses indicated that AMTT would be less costly on a two of these cities later withdrew and were replaced system. total annual cost basis than conventional bus 52 Avg. RL (8.5 km) 600 transit in areas where fleet requirements are relative- ly low and a high amount of service, as measured in vehicle-kilometers, is desired. This can best be il- lustrated by the analyses of airports and medical 500 centers. The information gathered and the analyses performed during this study indicate that AMTT may also find potential application in selected cen- Denver CBD tral business district malls, some universities and col- O leges, new towns, large shopping centers, and in a 400 number of recreation areas and amusement parks. E > 300 (AMTT Zone) 200 (Bus Zone) 100 - 10 20 30 40 Fleet Size (No. of Veh.) A — high service level, high speed B — high service level, low speed C — low service level, high speed D — low service level, low speed Isocost Lines between Near-Term AMTT and Bus (Large-Sized Vehicles) —CBDs Market Analysis , AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY TRANSIT • Market studies/local alternatives analyses, SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESEARCH which consider AGT deployment potential PROGRAM FINDINGS 1976-1979 in cities. Using data from the assessments, this report R. Nawrocki and B.A. Zumwalt; The MITRE compares many of the features in the different AGT Corporation. settings, operating characteristics, and public per- February 1980, UMTA-IT-06-01 76-80-1 ceptions. This yields a useful summary reference PB 80-184633. 96 pp. source which cuts across all of the systems, high- lighting the most relevant data and conclusions. Summaries of the national markets and generic alternatives project are presented. Although no new This report summarizes findings from the ACT conclusions can be reached save those in the individ- Socio-Economic Research Program. Begun in ual reports, this synopsis of findings provides a use- response to a Senate recommendation in 1976, ful reference on AGT impacts. the program addressed performance, social, econom- The report’s principal conclusions are that AGT ic, institutional, and environmental issues associated has potential for urban applications. The final de- with ACT technology to determine where and termination on AGT’s usefulness, however, must under what conditions ACT would prove to be a await additional implementation of AGT systems in feasible urban public transportation mode. The pro- actual urban environments. gram included feasibility studies of ACT; assess- ments of existing ACT systems, recommending hardware and technology improvements; and plan- ning and analysis techniques. The report summarizes 3 years of research which resulted in over 35 reports on ACT systems. The Research Program comprised four substantive areas: • Assessments of many existing ACT systems, including engineering, system, and human factors data; • Costs of ACT systems, both capital and operating; • Generic Alternatives analyses, which ex- amine the relative ability of different modes — auto, rail, ACT, etc. — to meet different types of urban travel needs; and 54 SECTION III Summaries of Related Documents ' m- m-t TFmnim* >j^{ ^ 'LiK f-rrmJL-'\\ m ' .'v#'vjB,*'^"i'»*''-.T‘?tji4 • iirAtrt'^j^ "1 . ^,v4^ At :^9 ^ ^ v;ti ' ^ v*^- I r . , y^>iy '-.It *» '. «ifildssf !ft» A**-: u c.F'^. -r'-m:^ j 5 l^v*. 1^'i •i.K-L ^,. ..»J‘ilL Tli.t'*^' T ' ;^ ww, i^; m. - • -’i < lil fe P?tjV. ''?? I )->43S'A^;'. VS'-'' W* '!, , vi' I #'" NT^ :Vt'* '€% '..f V'-V.-.:'-^:3 i*i J * -’Wiii JliS^ '^fej^ii, !(>!t>^. J^> . '*^ j T^r ’ff. t; ;* '. , ‘ ^'twV/i Automated Guideway Transit anism for transferring research and development re- There are 157 abstracts of about one page each sults to the capital grant program. which list bibliographic data and give a brief sum- In assessing the status of group rapid transit mary of each report’s contents. The types of sub- (GRT), the report found that some cities had shown jects - covered in these abstracts include almost all AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY TRANSIT interest in GRT but existing installations had shown possible aspects of AGT, such as technology, de- AN ASSESSMENT OF PRT AND OTHER serious technical problems. The report urged a mar- mand, design, urban impact, etc. A variety of NEW SYSTEMS ket and economic research program on GRT, and government sponsors, not limited to UMTA, are suggested monitoring Airtrans and Morgantown. Office of Technology Assessment, Congress included here. The report stated that expansion funds for Morgan- The bibliography includes PRT, dual-mode, of the United States. town should be withheld (this conclusion is now general AGT, monorails, high-speed ground trans- June 1975, PB 244-845. dated) and that UMTA’s High Performance Personal portation, magnetic levitation and palleted sys- In 1975, the Congressional Office of Tech- Rapid Transit (HPPRT) program (later changed to tems, among others. (Air cushion vehicles are ex- nology' Assessment undertook a comprehensive the Advanced Group Rapid Transit program) seem- cluded.) assessment study of automated guideway transit ed unjustified. Also, further preliminary studies of (.\GT). Buttressed by several panels of experts, the PRT and cooperation with foreign governments study documented the status of AGT development, were recommended. IMPACT OF ADVANCED GROUP RAPID problems, research and development and possible The report also assessed the overall manage- TRANSIT TECHNOLOGY governmental approaches for fiscal year 1976. Sub- ment of the UMTA research and development stantial supporting panel reports documented inter- program and analyzed four different budget alterna- Office of Technology Assessment, Congress national developments, the economics of AGT, its tives for fiscal year 1976. of the United States. social acceptability, and technological developments U.S. Government Printing Office, Number in the AGT field. The report serves as a good ex- 052-003-00736-3, PB 80-153323. planation of government AGT policy decisions The simplest form of automated guideway made at that time. GUIDEWAY TRANSPORTATION, A BIB- transit (AGT), shuttle-loop transit (SLT), been The major findings of this assessment con- LIOGRAPHY WITH ABSTRACTS has cerned UMTA’s research and development program demonstrated and has been in use for several years. Edith Kendon, editor. second generation, called group rapid transit as it was then structured. The report found that A National Technical Information Service. shuttle-loop transit (SLT) deserved careful consider- (GRT), is operating at Morgantowm, and at tire May 1978, NTIS/PS-780402. ation as a solution to urban transportation prob- Dallas/Fort Worth Regional .\irport. third genera- lems, but that the UMTA research and development The National Technical Information Service tion, called advanced group rapid transit (AGRTj, is currently being developed a large research program did not sufficiently emphasize evolutionary (NTIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce is a by L^MTA improvements in SLT technology. Also, UMTA was central repository for U.S. Government-sponsored program. This document assesses proposed changes in the scope and cost of UMT.\’s found not to match its technical research and devel- research reports. The collection exceeds 800,000 AGRT program and also addresses three major issues; opment with a corresponding program to study the titles. This document is a bibliography of research economics and public acceptance of AGT. An urban on automated guideway transportation (AGT) • the need for more advanced automated demonstration of SLT was urged, as well as a mech- placed in NTIS between 1964, and April 1978. systems; • prototype development; and AGT GUIDEWAY AND STATION TECH- ities and using at-grade alignments or joint develop- • government-industry relationships. NOLOGY; VOL. I, EXECUTIVE ment. SUMMARY Weather protection is one of the most critical The report briefly discusses the history of the issues in AGT design. Despite the fairly large num- AGRT research program, the needs of urban areas ber of U.S. AGT systems, experience with severe R.D. Dolan, R.J. et al.; related to AGT, various transportation options Stevens, C.W. Pour weather conditions is limited because most AGTs which are available, and the impact of AGRT tech- DeLeuw Gather & Co. and ABAM Engineers, are placed in southern climates or in amusement nology. Aside from these system-oriented aspects, Incorporated. parks operating only in the summer. After assess- the report also delves into government-industry re- July 1979, UMTA-IT-06-01 52-79, ing existing data, the project made recommenda- lationships, barriers to innovation, and foreign trade PB 299-553. (8 vols. in complete study.) tions in three most significant weather problem aspects of AGT. (The U.S. no longer has a technical areas: icing of signal and power rails; loss of traction lead in AGT technology.) Several market scenarios due to ice, etc.; and freezing of guideway switches. are put forth. The main objective of the AGT Guideway and Solutions include pavement heating, abrasives, still has The report concludes that automation Station Technology studies was to develop guide- chemicals, and traditional snow removal methods. untested potential and that more study is needed. way, station, and weather protection concepts The project also analyzed and discussed guide- Development of multiple prototypes is suggested to which would reduce the cost and implementation way components and arrangements; structure avoid the possibility of choosing the wrong tech- time of future AGT construction. There are eight weight and cost relationship; optimal cross-sectional nology. The introduction of innovative systems is volumes in the series, of which this is the executive designs for guideways; station schematic layouts; somewhat constrained by institutional factors and summary. The other seven volumes are: escalation of construction costs; evaluation of po- an alternative arrangement for managing transit tential designs; factors influencing ride comfort; and Volume 2, Weather Protection Review; research and development is worth consideration. other data on materials and vehicle/guideway rela- The report also analyzes four different options for Volume 3, Guideway and Station Review; tionships. Methods for modifying existing AGT future AGT research. These include: Volume 4, Design Guidelines; guideways are also described. 1 . Emphasis on short-run improvements in SET Volume 5, Evaluation Models; and technology; GRT Volume 6, Dynamic Model; 2. Long-range development of critical sub- Volume 7, Guideway and Station Concepts; PEOPLE MOVER PROFILE systems; and Transportation Systems Center, Technology 3. Subsystem validation in an integrated system Volume Weather Protection Concepts. 8, Office, U.S. Department of environment; and Sharing Program According to the conclusions reached in the T ransportation. 4. Development of prototype AGRT systems. study, it is possible to reduce the costs associated May 1977. The report recommends that the first policy is with building AGT systems. For example, optimiz- appropriate as a continuing objective; that policies ing guideway designs is estimated to save 15% over This report, introductory in nature, is a general 2 and 3 are the best way to ensure orderly long-term existing designs, mainly by increasing the span interest publication designed to aid the reader in development; and that policy 4 is premature at this length, Other suggested modifications could cut gaining a basic familiarity with and understanding of time. costs even more such as by eliminating off-line facil- people movers, one of the categories of automated 58 guideway transit (AGT). The profile consists basi- Dual Mode Systems presented in this document include the most knowl- cally of three sections. The first section defines and edgeable researchers, planners, and government of- differentiates the various types of systems, AGT ficials. Specific topics which were covered in the including; people movers, or shuttle and loop tran- DUAL MODE TRANSPORTATION conference include a broad range of engineering, sit; group rapid transit; and personal rapid transit. architectural, conceptual, and behavioral aspects. In addition, the physical components of a people Special Report 170, Proceedings of a Trans- Several papers give broad overviews of the cur- mover system — vehicles, guideway, stations, and portation Research Board Conference held rent status of dual mode research and discuss po- control system — are described. in May 1974. The second section tential urban applications. (Since little research in provides detailed technical Transportation Research Board, National data and photographs of operational people mover the area has been done recently, much of what is Academy of Sciences. systems, including; Boeing’s Morgantown system; reported here is still current.) A description of the PB 262-257. the DEMAG/MBB Cabinlift; Ford Motor Company’s 1976, government’s overall research program is given, as .ACT System; the Rohr Industries, Inc., P-Series Dual mode transportation employs vehicles well as several different promising conceptual Monotrain (Houston Tunneltrain); the Universal which operate manually on existing streets and approaches. Several authors address the question of Mobility, Inc., UnimobU Type II; the Vought automatically on special purpose guideways. Vehi- potential user reactions to dual mode. Many sepa- Corporation’s Airtrans; Walt Disney Community cles may be either privately-owned “autos” or com- rate engineering aspects are also addressed, such as Transportation Services Company’s WEDway Peo- mon carrier “buses.” Collection and distribution of command and control, lateral control, station plan- ple Mover System; and the Westinghouse Electric passengers off the guideway may be either fixed- ning, reliability and maintenance, longitudinal con- Transit Expressway. route or demand-responsive, and guideways trol, propulsion and energy, capacity, safety, and The third section contains supplementary ma- may guideway design. Thus, the document is a useful terial on UMTA’s efforts and involvement in people have on-line or off-line stations. Vehicles can also mover research and development and a glossary of be driven onto pallets which are in turn transported reference work to substantive areas of interest terms used in the document. on the guideway. regarding dual mode transportation. Dual mode is a theoretical system which has received research attention because its attributes appear favorable compared to the automobile. Re- search began in the 1960’s with a series of concep- tual studies. In 1974, the first general conference on dual mode was sponsored by the Transportation Research Board. This document presents papers, abstracts of papers, and speeches by participants of that conference. Taken as a whole, the report is an excellent overview and summary of the body of knowledge available on dual mode at that time. The authors , DUAL MODE PLANNING CASE STUDY- MI LWAUKEE Volume 1: Executive Summary and Planning Analysis G. Kocur, E. Ruiter, and D. Stuart; Cam- bridge Systematics, Inc., and Barton-Asch- man Associates. August 1977, UMTA-MA-06-0056-80-1 PB 80-193956. 428 pp. (3 vols. in complete study.) This study analyzes the operations, economics, and impacts of alternate dual mode transit systems for Milwaukee, Wl. The dual mode systems employ public vehicles capable of automated operation on the guideway and manual operation on streets. The three different dual mode concepts in the study use hardware suggested by three manufacturers. Differ- ent network configurations and operating policies were tested to address a variety of system design issues. The three different modeling elements used were a supply procedure model, a demand model, and an evaluation model. Three different networks were tested in con- Dual Mode Transit System Using Pallet Transporters (Otis/TTD) junction with four potential operating strategies. Networks varied the extent and spacing of guideway coverage. Operating strategies included fixed-route, fixed -schedule, demand-responsive, nonstop, and subscription services. Combination of networks and operating policies yielded five “best” dual mode systems which could be considered as cost-effective candidates for development and demonstrations. The report analyzes the cost, demand, economic 60 benefit, environmental impact, and many other work of dual mode service was designed and evalu- There are two additional volumes to this report. aspects of all five “best” systems. The range of un- ated. Both bi-modal and pallet systems were in- Volume II (appendices) describes the methodology' certainty around the estimates is also calculated. cluded, and different levels of network coverage and background data used. Volume III describes the The report concludes that both the fixed- were also tested. Using modal split models from quasi-manual initial screening procedure, which can schedule and the demand-responsive policies are in- other urban areas, local trip distribution patterns, be used as a sketch planning model in other applica- appropriate for a dual mode system as an “end- and manufacturers’ assumed service characteristics, tions. state.” The reason is that with the presence of many a set of baseline demand forecasts was made. Costs stations in the design, over 90% of all passengers will were also based on manufacturers’ estimates, as make at least one transfer, and the dual mode capa- well as policy fare levels. bility' is not effectively utilized. Other conclusions Results of the study showed that while dual ANALYSIS OF DUAL MODE SYSTEMS IN involved the 10 to 15% decrease in driver utilization mode had considerable potential for attracting more AN URBAN AREA due to guideway automation, transfer policy, mixed trips than conventional transit, it could not compete Volume I: Summary fleets, and system capacity. Apparently, most other with the auto. Optimistic forecasts yielded an over- P. Benjamin. J. Barber, R. Favout et al.; potential system users (i.e., goods delivery) would all transit mode split of 8%, up from today’s 1%. Transportation Systems Center, U.S. Depart- not be able to remove the driver at both ends of the Local collection and distribution proved to be the trip and would, therefore, not utilize the full dual most important single component of the system. ment of T ransportation. mode capability. During peak periods, fixed-route collection and dis- April 1973, DOT-TSC-OST-73-1 6 A,l, tribution proved more effective than demand- PB 236-425. 40 pp. (4 vols. in complete responsive collection and distribution. Maintaining study.) high operating speeds proved to be important. Only DUAL MODE PLANNING CASE STUDY - in certain areas did off-guideway operation of dual This report summarizes one of the earliest ORANGE COUNTY mode vehicles appear fruitful. Only about 25% of attempts at analyzing the costs, impacts, and bene- the peak-period trips did not involve transfers. fits of dual mode transportation. The objective was Volume 1: Executive Summary and Planning Larger vehicles offered the potential for lower costs to assess overall dual mode potential by simulating Analysis without serious effect on service levels. several different dual mode systems in a case study' Overall potential benefits were judged to be city — Boston. Three dual mode technologies were P. Costinett, W.G. Hansen, J. O'Doherty; substantial but uncertain. A total operating cost re- tested and compared against the official 1990 plan Alan M. Voorhees & Associates, Inc. duction of 15 to 20% could be achieved with only a for the Boston region as it existed at that time. The June UMTA-VA-06-0030-80-1 10% increase in capital cost to account for the technologies tested were a pallet system, an auto- 1977, . (3 automation. These data, however, assumed that mated highway vehicle system, and a new small vols. in complete study.) dual mode reliability can be assured. The bi-modal vehicle system. The latter system included specially vehicle concept was superior to the pallet vehicle deisgned, system-owned, electric 4-passenger vehi- In this report, a full scale planning study of concept in both cost and performance. Overall, the cles and 12-passenger minibuses. This system in- dual mode was carried out for Orange County, CA. dual mode studied in this case could be more attrac- corporated a dial-a-ride function for off-guideway Based on existing and projected population, land tive than either conventional rapid rail or busway collection and distribution, while tlie other two sys- use, and socio-economic data for 1990, a basic net- systems. tems utilized fixed routes and schedules. 61 , One dual mode network of roughly 250 miles Accelerating Walkway Systems This report summarizes the results of a series (400 km) of guideways was designed for the Boston of six feasibility studies on these five systems and region. It provided access througliout the region and on the potential of AWSs in general. These studies was integrated to serve the existing public transpor- were the first phase of a program leading to a tation system. Results of the simulation showed ACCELERATING MOVING WALKWAY demonstration of an accelerating walkway system. that all three dual mode technologies had the po- SYSTEMS - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Accelerating walkways could be useful in mov- tential to be comparable with the officially antici- ing pedestrians faster through high-traffic areas- pated investment in new highway and transit sched- J. Fruin and R. Marshall, Port Authority where vehicular transit may be undesirable. Po- uled by 1990. Dual mode provided better accessi- of New York and New Jersey. tential markets for these systems include airports, bility to desired locations, reduced travel time and transit systems, and other urban activity centers. highway congestion, increased energy consumption November 1978, UMTA-IT-06-01 26-78-1 Under certain conditions AWSs offer lower life (due to greater speeds), and reduced pollution in PB 290-682, 31 pp. (7 vols. in complete cycle costs and lower energy requirements than the small vehicle system. Revenues were found to study.) vehicular systems providing a similar level of ser- meet or exceed system operating costs, but fairly vice. In high-volume pedestrian corridors these sys- large capital subsidies, ranging from $1.6 to S4.2 tems are shown to be cost effective. A safety eval- billion, were needed. The report also suggested that Variable-speed, accelerating walkway systems uation, done as part of this study, concludes that total regional benefits of dual mode were roughly (AWS) resemble conventional, constant-speed mov- the five systems could operate at acceptable safety twice the costs, and that there were no equipment ing walkways in appearance. However, they accel- levels. areas considered to be technically infeasible. Dual erate after a passenger enters the walkway to speeds The reports in the AWS series include: mode systems with private vehicles and public buses four to five times that of conventional systems and Accelerating Moving Walkway Systems — Tech- were evaluated as more effective than systems con- slow down again as the passenger leaves the walk- nology Assessment, UMTA-IT-06-0126-78-2; sisting of either type exclusively. way. Accelerating Moving Walkway Systems — Safe- Five AWS developers had systems at or near the ty and Human Factors, UMTA-IT-06-0126- prototype state of hardware development and 78-3; testing at the time this document was written. These include: Accelerating Moving Walkway Systems — Mar- ket, Attributes, Applications, Benefits, UMTA- 1. The Speedaway system by Dunlop; IT-0 126-784; 2. The TRAX system by Regie Autonome Accelerating Moving Walkway Systems — de Transports Parisiens (Paris Transit Au- Demonstration Plan, Procurement, UMTA-IT- thority); 06-01 26-78-5; 3. The Applied Physics Laboratory system by Accelerating Moving Walkway Systems — Johns Hopkins University; Demonstration Plan, UMTA-IT-06-01 26-78-6; 4. The Boeing system by Boeing Aerospace and Corporation; and Accelerating Moving Walkway Systems — 5. The Dean system by Dean Research Corpo- Safety Seminar Proceedings, UMTA-IT-06- ration. 0126-78-7. 62 ACCELERATING WALKWAY SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT - COMPARATIVE SUMMARY MODEL DUNLOP SPEEDAWAY RATP TRAX JOHNS HOPKINS A.P.L. BOEING DEAN RESE.ARCH ITEM 1. System Type and One directional, abutting Two directional loop, inter- One directional, intermesh- Two directional loop, inter- One directional, abutting Current Status pallet treadway; fully tested meshing pallet treadways; ing leaf treadway, partially meshing leaf treadway, re- roller treadway, prototj'pe prototype, near production. partially tested full scale tested, reduced scale proto- duced scale prototype under segement partiaU>' tested. prototype. type. construction. 2. Siting Characteristics “S” shaped alignment, 30 ft. Linear 14-16 ft. width Linear, 6 ft. approx, width Linear, 14 ft. width Installation envelope not wide ends, 57 in. subgrade, throughout, 7.4 ft. subgrade throughout, 15-24 in. sub- throughout, above grade defined, linear, 6 ft level sites. at ends, 20 in. on line, grade, some grade and align- installation, some grade and approx, width, promising some grade and alignment ment variability. alignment variability. grade and alignment variability. variability. 3. Passenger Service Motions treadway and hand- Motions treadway acceptable Motions treadway acceptable No testing at time of report. Treadway motions Characteristics (all rail should be acceptable to based on tests, handrail based on tests, handrail reported as acceptable systems continuous) public based on tests. undergoing tests. designed but not tested based on limited tests. 4. Estimated Total Costs (Equipment, Site Con- struction and Installa- tion) per lineal foot or route installed, based on 1000 ft: grade S3474/LF* S4430/LF $2560/LF $3030/LF S2860/LF bridge S4194/LF $5650/LF $3440/LF $4250/LF S3740/LF subway S5864/LF $7020/LF $4530/LF $5620/LF S4830/LF 5. Developer FuUy qualified moving way U.S. Licensee, possible con- U.S. licensee, possible con- Qualified transportation Industrial conveyor manufac- Qualifications system manufacturer. sultant assistance required. sultant assistance required. system manufacturer, pos- turer, possible consultant sible consultant assistance assistance required, mosing required, moving way pas- way passenger systems. senger systems. 6. Safety and Human Handrail proximity at wide Bunching, treadway mesh- Bunching, treadway mesh- Bunching, treadway mesh- Treadway rippling, vibration Factors Potential entrance and exit, multiple ing, handrail synchronicity ing, handrail not tested. ing, handrail detailing not and other affects, handrail Problem Areas handrails, pallet movement with treadway, handrail known or tested. detailing not known or beneath balustrade. detailing under test. tested. *LF — linear foot. 63 ACCELERATING WALKWAY SYSTEM ing site preparation costs. Total capital costs range Automated Mixed Traffic Transit TIMES SQUARE - GRAND CENTRAL from $5,000,000 to $13,000,000. Total operating STATION ANALYSIS costs for power, maintenance and insurance would range from $500,000 to $750,000 per year. Life C. C. Chung; The MITRE Corporation. cycle costs work out to about $.04 to $.08 per pas- AUTOMATED MIXED TRAFFIC VEHI- senger. The accelerating walkway’s system level of CLE CONTROL AND SCHEDULING December 1978, UMTA-VA-06-0041-78-3, service is approximately equal to today’s transit STUDY PB 80-181795. 40 pp. alternatives. One major advantage is the complete elimination of waiting time. The report did not, T.K.C. Peng and K. Chon; Jet Propulsion however, evaluate the effectiveness of replacing the Laboratory, California Institute of Tech- An accelerating walkway system (AWS) is a existing subway shuttle, with its costs, with an nology. high-capacity, continuously available mode of accelerating walkway system. transportation. Potentially, it can fill the gap be- December 1976, UMTA-RD-CA-06-0088-76 tween walkway and conventional vehicular systems. -1, N77-14945. 65 pp. Its potential seems greatest in cases of very high, short-distance demand. A prime example of this is HIGH-SPEED PEDESTRIAN CONVEYORS the distance between Times Square and Grand -A REVIEW An Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle (AMTV) Central Station, in New York City. locations, is a driverless transit vehicle designed to share its These A. Naysmith; Transport and Road Research only about 2500 feet (750 meters) apart, draw guideway with pedestrians and other vehicles. It is Laboratory, Department of the Environ- heavy crosstown traffic, as well as transfers between designed to carry passengers from one station to an- ment, Department of Transport, England. various subway lines. Today, there is a subway shut- other following an electrical guidewire buried in the tle between the two points which carries about 1978, ISSN 0305-1293. 33 pp. street or right-of-way while automatically slowing 90,000 passengers per day. Also, a second through or stopping to maintain safe distances from This report summarizes 10 years of research on down subway connects the two points one level further objects in its path. Collisions are avoided through high-speed pedestrian conveyors in England. The down, as do two surface bus routes. use of proximity sensors, automatic control mech- high-speed conveyors, known in the U.S. as accelera- The report works out the cost and service anisms and wayside signals. AMTV systems are ting walkways, were reviewed in terms of tech- characteristics of accelerating walkway systems as thought to have some potential for urban applica- nology, design constraints, and comfort. Specific built by five different manufacturers, if placed be- tions since they require neither human operators safety problems relating to boarding, acceleration, tween Times Square and Grand Central Station. nor exclusive guideways and therefore could have a passengers moving from one belt to another on the With a treadway width of 3.3 feet meter), the cost advantage over conventional transit systems. (1 walkway, among others, were also discussed. practical capacity is about 7200 passengers per A low-speed, experimental AMTV system is The market in the United Kingdom for acceler- hour. This is adequate for current peak loads. Costs currently operating at the Jet Propulsion Labora- ating walkways was assessed and it was concluded are speculative only, and assume that accelerating tory in Pasadena, CA. Although its top speed is that there are few areas where they would be cost- walkway systems could be placed inside the exist- 7 mph (1 1 km/hr), this could be suitable for use in effective and feasible. ing subway shuttle tunnel. Equipment costs range public malls, shopping centers, and some industrial from about S2800 to $5700 per lane-meter, exclud- parks. A higher-speed model 15-20 mph (24-32 64 , km/hi) is mentioned, but no prototype has yet been produced. Substantial development work is required before a prototype higher-speed AMTV system is possible. This study gives a brief history and background of .AMTV systems, analyzes their operation, and evaluates the expected performance of a transit system using low-speed .AMTVs. A simulation model developed to compare passenger waiting times and system load factors for various headway and control policies is described. The report concludes that a high level of ser- vice and efficiency can be provided through effec- tive scheduling and control policies. It also reports optimum speed control parameters for safety and comfort and recommends ways to minimize inter- ference from pedestrains and other vehicles. AUTOMATED MIXED TRAFFIC VEHI- CLE - AMTV - TECHNOLOGY AND SAFETY STUDY A.R. Johnston, T.K.C. Peng, H.C. Vivian, P.K. Wang; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. February 1978, UMTA-CA-06-0088-78-1 N78-25257. 126 pp. This report discusses current Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle (AMTV) technology and safety issues related to implementation of an AMTV sys- tem. Also identified are specific areas where further fc«^ development is needed before a low-speed (7 mph or 11 km/hr) AMTV system can be demonstrated, which is possible within 3 to 5 years of this study. A low-speed AMTV system could be demonstrated in a pedestrian mall or recreation area, and subse- quently used in shopping areas, campuses, and other special types of urban centers. Hybrid AMTV systems are also discussed. These are designed to operate at low speeds in mixed traffic areas and at high speeds (20 mph or 32 km/ hr) in protected rights-of-way. Hybrid systems may be used, after much further development, as shuttles or where longer distances are a factor in the service area. The physical elements of an AMTV system, both moving and stationary, are described in terms of system requirements and subsystem specifica- tions. The reasons for hardware failure and other safety concerns unrelated to hardware failures are analyzed. The study recommends both design modi- fications and improvements, and operational proce- dures to remedy or prevent potential safety prob- lems. Urban applications of AMTV technology, be- yond the initial demonstration, will require engi- neering, development and long-term research. The specific subsystems that require this work are enumerated. 66 * U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1981 500-276/210 TOTAL PRICE « 5 w ® 8 > o ^ w *o 5 ^ISll 0 « ° :$ I £ 8 I .Sac 1 •S ® I «» ” « £ MAIL SERVICES i| % <0 5 PRIORITY* = s-s ® £ € a g>-g g> ® ® M e'€ •e £ c « O Enter Total o S = S .£ §1 Grand fc- * •Co ^T - s o e $00t: — o 3 I ffi s PRICE O g'=-So.£ UNIT** o> > "» - “ ® SSl Quantity a Micro- fiche c N o o o H reverse reverse) ROUTING America. see (se« « please « ? o o USER North 'Z £ CODE 0 (j America; E ^ tape, < 2 £ n outside 5 1 magnetic North 0 1—1 In 1 ? Delivery a 3 > 0 is ® CH Delivery CHANGE. ordered 1 i Airmail S’ ^ Q. 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E.II 0) E a X 0) ' O ^ Contract O is o ^ o £ ® C X 0) c ^ 0) o c ' - 0) (D o X E : •D « c k- £ 1= r«. o 3 w'o) ag h- ” - ' t-t E u 1 Q.<-oZ X UJ C 0. < 1- u 0) llj o o llj w o UJ 4) -J 5 u > X H X z o # O o UJ o E - ;x z (/) s tj > * CD Series I- 4> 3 •J o X O o o O 00 z Z oc c £ o oB Sponsors oc UJ UJ c UJ X Q Q 3 M X K CC I- 3 O O X i m G — Transit CC ; evalnat >-S • 1 1 tac no \ This report was prepared by the Technology Sharing Office of the U.S. Department of Transportation, which periodically issues documents on a variety of transportation Technology topics. For a list of recent publications from the Sharing Office, or for additional copies of this publication, please contact; Office of Technology Sharing U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Special Programs Administration Transportation Systems Center — Code 151 Kendall Square Cambridge, MA 02142