Selected PRT System

As mentioned in the Introduction, the Sky Loop Committee, under its earlier name the Advanced Elevated Rail Committee (AERC), sponsored the Symposium on Elevated Rail Transit for Northern Kentucky which was held on June 13, 1998, in Covington. This symposium marked the first time anywhere in the world where, on one occasion, many diverse advanced elevated rail technologies were presented for specific applications. These technologies included suspended, supported and cable monorail, high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) monorail, and personal rapid transit (PRT).

Following the Symposium, an evaluation committee was assigned the task of reviewing all RFQ responses and the oral/visual presentations made by participants in the symposium. From this evaluation process recommendations were made as to which systems have the most potential to meet the vision set forth in the 1997 Forward Quest report entitled Quest: A Vision for Northern Kentucky. That report envisioned a people mover system, referred to as the "Loop", that would link together the business districts of Covington, Newport and Cincinnati.

From the AERC Evaluation Committee report (September, 1998):

"The committee has concluded that, among these [technologies considered], PRT will serve the best for the lowest cost. Working toward implementing the downtown people mover is timely. The committee believes that it should be designed before the new downtown development is completed and that the routing for this transit system should be planned for soon."

With regards to the specific PRT technology for the "Loop", the AERC Evaluation Committee report states:

"The Committee is impressed with the depth of knowledge of PRT which Dr. Ed Anderson, the developer and CEO of Taxi 2000, demonstrates. We also believe that this system is the most thought out in terms of design, concept, computer controls, and safety features. Because of its essential advantages and the depth of its engineering, we prefer the Taxi 2000 system."

Sky Loop Networks

The guideway routing of a personal rapid transit installation is often called a network for several reasons:

• Unlike conventional line-haul or corridor rail transit, PRT routing mostly consists of a series of loops covering a wider geographic area,
• Unlike conventional transit the routing is a unified whole,
• Transport is made non-stop from originating station to destination without the need to make any transfers.

A final Sky Loop PRT network serving the central business districts [CBDs] and riverfronts of Covington, Newport, and Cincinnati will result from study and engineering effort to be performed in the next couple of years. Any resultant Sky Loop network from these studies will be based on a number of considerations, including such factors as ridership estimates, costs, feasibility, and Stakeholder interest. The following Sky Loop networks are preliminary and have been used only for system comparisons and general illustrative purposes.

The Sky Loop Committee continues to investigate possible network routing alternatives. Our latest version [February 2000] is depicted on the map at right.  In contrast to previous alternatives, this map reflects the many new projects currently under construction and/or proposed for development on both sides of the river, including the new Ft. Washington Way alignment, both new stadiums, the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, "The Banks" riverfront development, the Convention Center expansion, and the Newport Entertainment complex.  It also features a revised Cincinnati CBD loop with seven (7) stations, directly linking downtown Cincinnati's hotels, convention facilities, and transit centers to the attractions of Northern Kentucky and the central riverfront. For a listing of stations click here.

Click on image to see large version [220KB].

Subsequent to the Symposium on Elevated Rail Transit for Northern Kentucky (June, 1998) the Taxi 2000 Corporation prepared the network illustrated on the right for use in the simulation described on the Simulations and Video page of this website. Without the guideways that access off-line stations, the guideway is 24.6 km (15.3 mi) long. The network has 30 stations, of which 4 are vehicle storage stations and 26 are passenger stations. The demand scenario depicts a Friday evening "peak hour" before the start of a Cincinnati Reds baseball game at Cinergy Field. During this hour 5338 passengers enter the various passenger stations, of which 88% are going to the Cinergy Field stations and the balance to other stations in the network.

Click on image to see large version [165KB].

During the Symposium on Elevated Rail Transit for Northern Kentucky (June, 1998) and subsequent evalution, the network illustrated on the right was used to establish a baseline for comparison of the PRT systems considered, both in terms of cost and routing feasibility. This "baseline" network consists of 9.2 miles of mainline guideway (excluding off-line station guideways) and 15 passenger stations. Passenger demand was given at 3000 trips per day, 1,100,000 vehicle trips per year, and 1,600,000 passengers at an average of 1.5 passengers per trip.

Click on image to see large version [171KB].

A couple of additional advantages of PRT networks are:

• Since PRT stations are off-line, the addition of new stations to the network does not impede the transit times to and from existing stations and enhances the overall ridership level.
• The network can grow incrementally with the addition of new loops and stations.

Copyright © The Sky Loop Committee of Vision 2015