Personal rapid transit concept picks up speed

Invasion of the pod cars? The concept of personal rapid transit (PRT) is picking up speed in San Jose, Calif. where they're crafting small electric vehicles, also known as "pod cars," designed as an eco-friendly commuting solution for those trying to avoid the elbow-rubbing annoyances of mass transit while circumventing gas-guzzling cars.

Communities throughout the United States, including Chicago's less-than-stellar test run in the '90s, have been kicking around the automated, driverless solution since its conception in the '50s.

City officials in San Jose have allotted $4 million to spearhead a personal rapid transit system connecting the airport and a Bay Area Rapid Transit station. The proposed set-up will include five stations. Other details involving the "pod cars" will be hashed out with the vendor.

“We have cities all around us who are watching to see what happens with this project,” says Laura Stuchinsky, the sustainability officer for San Jose’s Department of Transportation. “The process we are planning to use will help us develop the standards for this kind of technology.”

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