PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT (PRT): SOLVING TRADITIONAL MOBILITY PROBLEMS WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY--THE CHICAGO RTA EXPERIENCE

The Regional Transportation Authority's (RTA) Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) development effort began as a vision. Guided by statutory mandate, staggering gridlock and the unique travel demands of emerging suburban activity centers-- all against a backdrop of declining ridership on conventional transit modes, the RTA turned to technology for solutions. Known as Personal Rapid Transit, PRT attracted the attention of the RTA because it promised to be an innovative addition to the existing family of mass transportation services. This paper covers the RTA's experience with a new transit technology, PRT, as a solution for the traditional mobility problems.