Supporters range from Minneapolis City Council member Dean Zimmerman, a Green Party member, to Republican Sen. Michelle Bachmann of Stillwater. Bachmann says personal rapid transit, like many political issues, creates strange bedfellows.
"People on the right, people on the left, we have the common goal of moving people with transit, but doing it in the most cost-effective manner, in fact, in a manner that may end up costing no government subsidy, it may end up paying for itself," she says.
Reporters never bothered to ask Bachmann exactly how PRT could pay for itself. The media never bother to ask questions like that. Reporters rarely mention the long and sorry history of PRT flops and fiascos. And so, the PRT boondoggle goes on and on to waste time and money. How many chances do these PRT guys get?
Bill James, founder and CEO of the would-be Personal Rapid Transit vendor Jpods, dropped in on the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority meeting yesterday to urge the county to adopt a resolution to give Jpods the right-of-way to build PRT in Hennepin County.
James cites the Morgantown WVU PRT as a big success. The Morgantown PRT (not really a PRT) is in fact a dangerous and expensive boondoggle that has prompted students to create a Twitter account to keep track of the PRT's frequent breakdowns.
James said there there are three companies in Minnesota that can build PRT and create "several hundred jobs in Minnesota in the next 12 months" - that's total nonsense.
Bill James then asked for "a favor" - a resolution that would give companies that claim they could build transit systems that are privately-funded, getting all their revenue from the fair-box "non-exclusive access to rights-of-way". Bill James also claimed he has agreements to build Jpods in China.
Bill James said he wants to build Jpod "feeder lines" to connect to the Hiawatha LRT.
Commisioner Jeff Johnson asked Bill James about PRT in Winona. Bill James says the PRT project in Winona is "progressing" and the city of Winona is "going forward" with the PRT project. It is doubtful that the Winona PRT project can go forward without money.... and there is none. The Winona Daily News reported August 31st that federal funding for PRT was nixed. The Winona PRT project failed to get an earmark. The project could not get any money from the legislature either.
And the commissioners listened to this wacky stuff for 5 minutes... Hilarious!
Here's Bill James pitching Jpods in Cupertino, California:
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