Barbara--this site is about the Seattle Greenline Monorail. It is not about PRT. There is a sigificant difference in scale. A 3 to 4 passenger PRT vehicle requires a much smaller support structure than a light rail sized monorail train. There is much more difference here than apples to oranges. (I also thought it was funny that the "loss of trees" section showed before pictures in the summer--with leaves-- and the after pictures in the fall or winter--without leaves).
I find it interesting how PRT has generated a love-hate culture. Either you love it and can not see any of the flaws or you hate it and can not see any of the benefits. I am not necessarily a supporter of PRT--it is one of many options that should be considered.
Lets try to stick with honest comparisons.
I also have a problem with the arguments which started with statements like "PRT has never worked in any city [or anywhere]." That would be akin to NASA saying "we've never been to the moon before so we better not try building a moon mission rocket" or surgeons saying "we've never done a heart transplant before so we better not try." Such an argument is so obviously faulty that it makes it hard for me to get past it and honestly evaluate other arguments against PRT.
As for myself, I'm as yet undecided.
My chief concerns are would it be accepted enough to get well used by the public, and the visual clutter the elevated rails would produce. I greatly like the fact that the cars will run from origin to destination at nearly constant speed without frequent starts and stops. That characteristic saves a tremendous amount of energy. At the same time, it makes riding PRT far more desirable for passengers; they get where they want to go in a very efficient, predictable manner. Trips on PRT would take (on average) much less time than on a bus or LRT, and often quicker than the equivalent automobile trip.
There is no cure-all solution to transportation. People who are dogmatic for or against one particular mode or method are missing the bigger picture.
Let me mention one example where multiple modes are in good use. I won't claim it's perfect or that there is no congestion. The Bonn - Cologne metropolitan area in Germany has sidewalks/pedestrian zones, extensive bicycle paths, taxis, busses, a subway, street cars (rubber tired, overhead electric wires, quieter and cleaner than busses), commuter rail, long-haul passenger and freight rail, a river (the Rhine), and an airport. In my experience, it worked well.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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