ULTra News & Intel

ULTra UK site • ULTra USA site
Green = dead link

Get On Board! PRT
Home

Your browser doesn't understand Object elements

Skip to Latest
↓Threads in date order
       ↓Sub-threads in date order

  • Work starts on Cardiff's driverless transport system, from NewsWales, June 19, 2001
  • Cardiff pins hopes on new transport system, from icWales (Western Mail), Aug. 9, 2001
  • ULTra Transport System, NOW.COM
  • A Public Pod At Your Service, The Independent, London
  • ULTra model goes on public display
  • ULTra's Cardiff test-track completed, UK Foresight Clear Zones September 2001 newsletter, Page 2 (pdf p. 28)
  • Hail, tomorrow's driverless taxis The Engineer (UK) Jan 11, 2002
  • Driverless rail system to be unveiled, Construction News Jan 16, 2002
  • Supertram test to ease traffic, BBC Jan 16, 2002. Audio report and brief glimpse
  • Driverless train system revealed, Press Assn Jan 16, 2002
  • Cardiff first with driverless taxi loop, The Guardian Jan 16, 2002
  • Dream transport system on track, Press Assn Jan 16, 2002
  • ULTra cool driverless taxi goes on show, NESTA Jan 17, 2002
  • "Successful cities innovate"-- Driverless taxi trial being launched in Cardiff, icWales (Western Mail) Jan 17, 2002
  • Ultra Culture, Beyond 2000 Jan 17, 2002
  • Hey Taxi! Globe Technology Jan 17, 2002
  • Driverless taxi goes for test run, The Guardian Jan 18, 2002
  • Cab of the future boffins weave synthetic web, South Wales Evening Post Jan 18, 2002. (Boffin: a scientific expert, esp. technological research)
  • EU-funded project launches driverless taxis, European Union, Community R&D Information Service Jan 18, 2002
  • ULTra unveiling eyewitness report, Cities21. Includes photos and an AVI format video.
  • Meet the world's first driverless taxi, Motoring@iAfrica.com Feb 1, 2002
  • Experts assess Cardiff's driverless transport system, NewsWales Feb. 4, 2002
  • Cardiff's ULTra Scheme Goes European, Capital Times Feb 7, 2002
  • Driving the wrong way, icWales Feb. 19, 2002
  • ULTra gets £18m boost, Capital Times Feb. 21, 2002
  • ULTra: Travel pod adds new twist to transit, MSNBC Feb. 25, 2002
  • ULTra lines up funding, service details, Cities21 Mar. 12, 2002
  • Welsh Assembly opposition members attack ULTra Mar. 16, 2002
  • Travel Pod, NPR Living On Earth, Mar. 22, 2002
  • Item: Spirited debate over ULTra. Apr. 5, 2002
  • Shape of Things To Come? news@TTR, June 2002
  • ULTra Vehicle at Alternative Transport Day, Winchester UK, Sept. 2002
  • BBC Wales ULTra page
  • EDICT website. The D stands for Demonstration
  • "It has all gone to plan" ULTra passenger trials to start, Jan. 10, 2003
  • Tomorrow's taxi starts trials today, Jan. 15, 2003
  • Youngster rides ULTra while critics cry 'low capacity', Jan. 16, 2003
  • Jan. 2003
  • ULTra dropped from Welsh Assembly budget, want private funding assurances. Launch delayed 1 year? Jan. 31, 2003
    First photo of ULTra on elevated guideway
    Note Welsh winged dragon symbol, briefly visible in BBC video, but not in older publicity photos.

    HAIL THAT CAB: This alien-looking pod is a new driverless taxi in Cardiff, Wales. Rides on the ULTra, or Urban Light Transport, will cost £1 (S$2.64) when the first system is up by, possibly, 2004. Created by Bristol University's Martin Lowson, it travels at a speed of 40 kmh. -- AP/New Straits Times
  • Pod transport system is shelved, Cardiff Council furious. Jan. 31, 2003
  • Assembly shelves grant for Ultra taxi Jan. 31, 2003
  • ULTra Passenger Trials report Feb. 19, 2003
  • Cardiff gridlock is also political Feb. 22, 2003
  • Travelling Light May 2003
  • Welsh still "very supportive" of PRT. June 19, 2003
  • ULTra: New hopes; back on track? one | two July 17, 2003
  • ULTra opponents want expensive light rail trams, already proven ineffective at reducing congestion- one | two
  • ATS Ltd. (ULTra) is fastest growing company in southwest UK Oct. 20, 2003
  • M11 corridor town Harlow, Essex UK... figure 4.7
  • Rider response to ULTra PRT February 2004
  • Study of ULTra PRT for Heathrow Airport February 2004
  • Wales government rejects ULTra funding again, but 'could still happen.' 3-18-2004
  • Driverless cabs Part 2 of GGR series. March 2004
  • Idea: driverless cabs BBC, Mar 30, 2004
  • ULTra dual mode questionnaire July 2004
  • New ULTra video—PRT works! :07 Quicktime. May 2004
  • Transport for the city of the future
  • Could taxis solve traffic traumas? 5/14/2004
  • Electric taxi scheme is on track (BBC) 5-11-2004
  • Futuristic transport system to be trialed in the South West 5-11-2004
  • Rapid transit: not rapid enough 6-27-2004
  • ATS in talks with Heathrow for an ULTra system 7-23-2004
  • The UK Design Council studies ULTra
  • EDICT survey results from Cardiff conference. 11-12-2004
  • Car Ports Salon.com 11-19-2004
  • Taking the mass out of transit by Rachel Petkewich. Environ. Sci. Technol. 39 (3), pp 61A–62A. 12-15-2004
  • ULTra interest in Finnish project? Image depicts ULTra cab at "APGM" station. 6-14-05
  • Moving ahead with PRT Summer 2005 (European Commission Environmental Research)
  • Agreement reached for Heathrow Airport PRT
  • Driverless pods to get airport users off to a flying start up to 30 mile system & 500 vehicles. (Wired forum, scroll down) 1-20-2005
  • BAA sees future in electric driverless taxis
  • University firm flying high 11-16-2005
  • Cardiff misses out on ULTra and PRT industry 11-18-2005
  • Telesanterno report: Innovative transport conference, sponsored by road fatalities group (Italian) Nov. 2005

  • New ATS montages of restyled ULTra in Heathrow Airport setting. ULTra pictures page 12-5-2005 →

  • ULTra passes first three testing milestones 12-8-2005

    		• ULTra navigation/guidance system developed in-house

    (Dec. 9, 2005) The technology plan for the ATS Urban Light Transport (ULTra) PRT program originally featured the Free Ranging On Grid (FROG) system produced by FROG of The Netherlands. However, a careful reading of the revamped ATS website does not mention FROG in the context of the current version of ULTra.

    Sources knowledgeable about the ULTra program now confirm that indeed FROG had been replaced on the project in 2003.

    It appears that initial ULTra testing in Cardiff showed that the FROG system was unable to meet the level of reliability desired by ATS. The solution for ATS was to develop its own guidance in-house, it is this system with which ULTra successfully completed its trials, reporting no failures in the last two years.

    Although for the time being ATS declines to publicize exactly how the guidance system works, other than that it is sensor-based, they report a very high level of accuracy—better than 1cm laterally. Timing accuracy during whole trips is better than 0.1 seconds, and longitudinal docking accuracy better than 2cm.

    A recent announcement from ATS states that their system has been able to complete trials even with one of the sensors intentionally disabled.


  • Meeting with Swedish PM pair of stories in Swedish business paper. 2-15-2006
  • "Meet M.I.S.T.E.R. PRT, A proposal for a cost-effective Personal Rapid Transport system" (EV World) Author is designer of a Polish PRT concept. 5-10-2006
  • Emergency stop system successfully demonstrated for BAA, regulators
  • ATS launches production program for ULTra vehicle
  • ULTra starts work program for Heathrow
  • Derbyshire councillors to visit Cardiff ULTra 7-6-2006
          • Public funding linked to congestion pricing 7-11-2006
          • "personalised rapid transit is probably the future" 7-12-2006
  • Movers & Shakers: Martin Lowson interview
  • Major investment planned in trams to help beat city centre congestion (ULTra) Rail Industry International 8-12-2006
  • EU picks ULTra for CityMobil project
  • Driverless Taxis of the Future (Der Spiegel) 9-7-2006
  • Lowson to step down from CEO post ATS girds for transition away from R&D, toward marketing and sales. 9-24-2006
  • Cheap smear against ATS board member 9-26-2006
  • ULTra meets 2 more milestones. Headway maintenance and multi-berth stations demonstrated. 10-30-2006
  • ULTra receives construction go-ahead:
    Pod power for airport
    The Engineer Online, 21 December 2006

    BAA has been granted planning permission to begin construction of the Arup-designed infrastructure for an automated Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system at Heathrow Airport.

    By 2008, passengers will be able to use driverless pods for the journey from a car park to Terminal 5. The pilot system has been designed to extend along the northern perimeter to link hotels, car parks, rental car depots and offices with Terminal 5 and the Central Terminal Area.

    The electric-powered system consists of driverless taxis running on concrete tracks which are automatically routed according to passenger demand. Each pod carries up to four passengers at speeds up to 40kph. The pods use 70 per cent less energy per mile than a car and the system can move up to 4,800 passengers per hour.

    The BAA pilot contract is the first commitment in the world to a small car PRT system.
  • Cardiff ULTra now visible on MS Virtual Earth 1-10-2007

    Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
  • UK city masterplan examines PRT
           Background: Daventry "set to move swiftly"
           "Masterplan of the future of the town unveiled, Transport pod network to link up to rail station" 1-19-2007
           Daventry PRT planning documents (link updated 2-4-09)
           Green Light for pod test track? Report completed; Daventry joining EU CityMobil 2-23-2007









  • "How will you get to the terminal?" (ULTra PRT Heathrow):
    In the summer of 2008 you will be transported from the N3 Passenger Car Park to the new Heathrow Terminal 5 in an unmanned light rail vehicle - or ULTra (Urban Light Transport)... [more]

  • Moving more people, making less impact (Business Week, 5-14-2007)
  • "Robocabs" await at Heathrow (Times of London) 5-26-2007
  • Made to Measure Transit (IEEE). Vukan Vuchic of UPenn states same objections as 11 years ago 6-1-2007

  • Masdar Initiative: zero-emission car-free city to include "personalised rapid transport."
    Foster+Partners, led by the reknowned architect Norman Foster, has announced plans for a "zero carbon and waste free" city in Abu Dhabi. An ULTra PRT is visible in the changing Flash graphic.

  • Construction Underway at Terminal 5 6-8-2007
           Photos show guideway footings underneath the elevated roadway.
  • Coming to an airport near you: The next pod revolution - "Pretty Reliable Transport." (June 2007)
  • ATS Inc. hires Principal Consultant
  • First ULTra production vehicle delivered Cardiff test site now replicates Heathrow conditions. 8-20-2007
  • ULTra Aims To Prove Pods Are The Transportation of Tomorrow



  • Forbes: ATS signs Benelux deal with Heijmans 9-25-2007
  • Daventry "resounding success" "the only place in the world where we are looking at putting a network across the town"; worldwide media exposure 10-4-2007
  • Liberal-left The Guardian reports on PRT: Welcome to the Transport of Tomorrow 10-11-2007

  • New transport system for Heathrow Dec. 2007
           • Are driverless pods in the future?
           • BBC Video: WMP | Real
  • New terminal to have travel pods
  • Futuristic transport pods to serve Heathrow passengers
  • Work starts on new transport at Heathrow
  • Futuristic transport for Heathrow Terminal 5
  • Heathrow electric pod transport system
  • World's first PRT system
  • ITN video report (CNN)
  • Airport casts pods in future transport role (Railway Gazette)

  • New CEO for ATS Ltd.

    •Brief intro to PRT on ZapRoot, an online/podcast eco-zine (starts around 30 sec.).


    •Heathrow PRT video by BAA


  • PRT to the sea (L.A.) 1-18-2008

  • The Cleantech Show interviews ULTra's Martin Lowson (podcast)

  • Queen opens Heathrow Terminal 5 (remember, no PRT until 2009)

  • Photos of ULTra taken in early March. (London Connections blog) One vehicle is displayed on guideway as construction continues

  • ULTra photos on Flickr -- (1) Guideway passing below roadways, (2) parked ULTra cab
           :: PRT station in Heathrow T5 under construction

  • Bath studies PRT To receive EU funds to combat pollution, congestion. (Bath Chronicle)

  • Mix a car, a train and an elevator, and get this (Kansas City Star, 7-5-2008)

  • Daventry: People's pod panel meeting - Citizens getting involved in PRT planning. 7-30-2008

  • Prof. Burke's ambitious podcar vision (LA Times) 9-8-2008
           • Is PRT for real? (LA Times transportation blog)

  • NY Democrat praises PRT efforts - Rep. Hinchey Visits C.U. For Podcar Convention "a transportation bill is long overdue... because this administration is not willing to deal with the economy, [and] because they're not interested in reducing our dependence on oil"

  • Ithaca Takes a Hard Look at Pod Cars (NY Times)

  • Heathrow ULTra guideway completed, Aug. 2009 launch planned -report, 10-10-2008

  • FlightGlobal.com report from Heathrow on ULTra Link to just the video 10-14-2008

  • Pod makes first transit of Heathrow guideway Photos and brief account of Sept. 21, 2008 test

  • Photos of ULTra post-construction testing 12-12-2008

  • "South Bay considering pod travel" 12-15-2008

  • PRT on display in Almelo (NL) 8-22-2008
        EU "EDICT" program study city; "Heijmans cabins" (ULTra)
          • Display at municipal center
          • See 2007 article on Heijmans deal

  • Heathrow personal transport pods are coming 1-23-2009

  • PRT in MIT Technology Review 2-8-2009

  • Podcars inch from myth to reality 2-11-2009

  • Space-age pods could transform Cambridge (UK) 3-6-2009
          • Major Cambridge-based corporation is supportive 3-10-2009

  • Google Street View: Heathrow guideway visible from Western Perimeter Rd. Mar. 2009.
    Substituting view from Bath Rd. (June 2009)

    View Larger Map

  • Opposition to Daventry PRT planning Schism grows between District Council and Town Council. 4-10-2009
          • Pod row 5-7-2009
          • Town Council's Feb. 2009 position 5-11-2009
          • District Council's public PRT documents

  • Podcars in the movies 4-15-2009

  • Brief video from Heathrow PRT, 4-21-2009


  • Asko Kauppi's photos from LHR conference

  • First video of ULTra passenger experience: Trip to T5 (Some videos being redone)
    Try this one

    All the videos

  • Pick Of The Pods 5-7-2009

  • "PRT Capital Costs Likely Understated"; math by rail advocate PublicTransit.us 5-14-2009. Devises scenario under which vehicles must be heavier, leading to higher guideway cost.
          • Response by Dr. Ross-Martin of ATS 5-19-2009

  • Light Relief

  • ULTra Heathrow system handed over to operations 7-9-09
          • Ceremony photos, video

  • Heathrow Tests Personal Rapid Transit Jul-Aug 2009

  • "Personal rapid transit" (Number Crunching blog)

  • Daventry PRT on hold due to global recession 8-10-09 Permalink

  • ULTra on display at the Science Museum in London (BBC)
           +

  • ULTra in Popular Science 8-19-2009

  • "Heathrow travellers get a robot chauffeur" New Scientist, 8-27-2009

  • ULTra batteries and charging described 8-28-2009

  • ULTra debut delayed to Spring 2010 9-4-2009
    "Testing of the PRT System is continuing and, with all installation and communications challenges now resolved, we anticipate commencing passenger services in late Spring 2010."


  • "Bold new transit system" (South Bay, SF area) 9-16-2009

  • San Jose sustainability officer visits Heathrow 9-18-2009

  • Futuristic ULTra Sustainable Transport in the Here and Now 10-4-2009

  • ULTra featured on The Discovery Channel ←multiple segments on podcars

  • Flight innovations you'll love (CNN Budget Travel) 10-16-2009

  • Rider experience video (Cardiff, Apr 2009) No audio:

                :: 2009 pod choreography video (Apr 2009)







    Back