The world need for Sky Train overhead-suspended systems (Rev 10/17/2000) The following texts give quotations from published documents that confirm the growing need for light rail systems in metropolitan areas across the world. In many places, all available rights of way have been used up. Trying to insert new light rail lines in streets removes capacity from existing street traffic, so it only worsens congestion and does nothing to overcome pollution at ground level. Communities no longer have space to put more transportation at ground level. Find raw detail articles for this text The cost of tunneling to put new lines underground is truly exorbitant. Clearly the future of transit is elevated light rail. Elevated tracks overhead for bottom-supported vehicles are placed on viaducts more than 30 ft wide and only 20 ft above the ground, thereby casting wide shadows, and sterilizing land uses underneath. Sky Train puts the same tracks in a duct only 8 ft square and 33 ft in the air, leaving the ground below just as useful as it was before. The many other advantages of suspending the bodies beneath the trucks are listed elsewhere in this document. Clearly the future of transit is Sky Train. APTA December 13, 1999. The U.N. has launched a Business Development Website, that monitors the tenders and contract awards of the World Bank; the Inter-American Development Bank; the Caribbean, Asian, and African Development Banks; and U.N. agencies. In total, these banks and institutions have projected loans totaling $230 billion in the five-year period from 1998 to 2002. We are in a time period heralding the massive rebirth of mass transportation. The positive cash flows in most of the free world countries are creating an opportunity for the transit-starved communities to refresh their infrastructure with planned communities that control density of land use. In the whole world there is an ongoing definition of social needs. The "Developing Countries", now produce much of the free world hard goods. These products must be shipped over great distances, creating an opportunity to earn huge profits, as well as increasing employment. They now have the capability to, make and export goods as they import other products. Now there is an interest even in third world countries to address productivity based on energy consumed, available time to work and time to commuting. This affects the attitude and output of their citizens, and limits their growth. Seeing the positive cash flows of the free world countries, they analyze and emulate their mobility needs. Creating a new order in growth December 13, 1999 In 1998, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) invested $56 million in 419 new activities, including feasibility studies, technical assistance, conferences, and orientation visits (reverse trade missions). From Latin America to the Far East, we worked with U.S. businesses to export the very best of American technology to 62 countries around the world. Mass Transportation and some freight, which are Sky Train's markets, require analysis of the needed corridors and projections of future transportation growth. These studies have recently been enhanced by advances in the computer field, and require consultants and universities that avail staff to do them. One of this year's Nobel Prizes went to Nobel Laureate McFadden (Microeconometrics), who was credited in generating the accurate ridership model for the BART transportation system in California. Studies of mass transit, that include rail data, are now becoming available. This change in planning means that the qualified input requiring local and national criteria will be met more quickly. Most of these studies show rail systems as a solution. This means that the surge in transportation studies of corridors has been building up and now is emerging in dedicated corridor demands for new services such as rail and monorail systems. Quality of life drives "people needs" APTA's passenger Transport issue 9/18/00: The International Union of Public Transport conference in conjunction with the Asia Pacific Congress will be held in Melbourne Australia. "Melbourne has been voted one of the most livable cities for its attractive suburbs, clean air, vast expanses of park land and diversity of lifestyle choices. However, it is the cities efficient public transport network that brings the city together and makes Melbourne unique".. "A renaissance for Light Rail. As in many parts of the world, Australia is experiencing a renaissance in the role of transport for its major cities, encouraging urban renewal and giving support to the ongoing trend toward inner city living. Transport planners in Australia realize that light rail has the potential to stimulate redevelopment of commercial, retail and entertainment centers and conveys major benefits to the tourism and business sectors.. They have found that light rail systems represent a modern, advanced form of transport, which creates benefits through reduced air and noise emissions, condensed traffic volumes and decreased congestion". |
These studies and long-range transportation plans, along with the Internet, have encouraged the education of like-minded citizens and intellectuals to meet and form groups. These advocates want improvements in their own and their children's quality of life. It has created a movement indicating the need for "Livable Communities". This desire to improve the quality of life for the individual members and their offspring insists on an environment that is less polluted with less traffic congestion. All over the world rail transit data is being heralded as a key component to solutions.
Massive market growth and spending in rail transport
March 2000: The Railway Gazette International: Under a Clinton plan funding is boosted for 11 US cities. Funding is at record levels of $6.3 billion out of a $7.3 billion authorized. Announcing the proposals, Vice President Al Gore said 'investing in important mass transit projects like these is the key to rebuilding our cities and creating livable communities'. The public transport allocation is part of the 'Livable Communities Initiative' which aims to ease traffic congestion and reduce pollution in cities. Its budget for 2001 has been raised by $1·1bn to $9·1bn. From this, Congress will be asked to appropriate $211m to fund start-up costs for the 12 schemes, whose total value is more than $6bn.
APTA's passenger Transport issue 9/18/00 reviewing the Transportation Planning under TEA 21 regarding "Funding flexibility. The clear majority of funds delivered under
TEA 21 can be used for virtually any transportation capital purpose". TEA 21 is the largest highway and mass transit bill in history, coming to a total of $217.573 billion over six years. In the act are provisions which encourage employers to subsidize transit and vanpooling.In the web site of the UK, http://www.detr.gov.uk/itwp/paper/foreword.htm a white paper states:
"The package is valued at 180 billion pounds, or approximately $271 billion. According to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, the "Transport 2010" plan aims for reduced road congestion; modern trains with better services and reduced fares, and up to 25 new light rail projects in major cities, safer roads and railways, with better air quality."Statement by DR. RITA R. COLWELL, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (sent via email to Sky Train Corporation on 10/14/2000)
On NSF Funding in FY2001 VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Legislation "I am very pleased by the Fiscal Year 2001 funding levels for the National Science Foundation provided in the VA-HUD consensus agreement passed by the Senate today. It is truly an historic action, for which I am extremely grateful.
The agreement passed today recommends $4.424 billion for NSF overall in Fiscal Year 2001 - $526 million over Fiscal Year 2000.This represents the largest dollar increase the Foundation has ever received, in real or constant dollars. This increase also puts us on the path towards doubling the NSF budget in five years"…
Sky Train, by using standard light rail components, will be easily accepted and funded. Sky Train is visiting and making presentations to cities in the UK for use of its non-invasive technology.
The light rail industry had an exceptional year in 1999 - 2000, and looks forward to building on the recognition that light rail offers a new choice for travel in the cities of the world.
The past years of transportation by lobby groups
The American Automobile Association, in 1998 estimated, the annual commuting costs to a single-occupant driver to be $4,660 for a compact car, and up to $9,441 for a sport utility vehicle, Depending on the mileage driven. Every $1.00 invested in public transit results in a $3.00 - $3.50 increase in nationwide business revenue. Cost to the Government is estimated at $2,500 per automobile in service and there are 7 parking spaces reserved for each car in the community. These facts will eventually convince the consumer of the need for alternatives to the car to enable trade-off of potential savings for other more pleasing "quality of life" items.The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTA) Annual Report 1999 Figure seven quotes: "Transportation is a major sector of the U.S. economy. It moves people and goods, employs millions of workers, generates revenue and consumes resources and services produced by other sectors if the economy. In 1998, transportation-related goods and services contributed $950 billion to a $8.51 trillion U.S. Gross Domestic Product". This amounts to 11.2 % of total GTP. Also table 20 shows that the Federal, State and local transportation expenditures increasing close to a 7% annual rate. Figure five shows that Bus riders have increased 43% and train 23% over the last 18 years.
Railway Gazette International of October, 2000, on page 665, reports that: Portland's (Oregon) light rail commitment has more than paid for itself in terms of urban regeneration. In the first 12 years, the Eastside line attracted more than $1.3bn of investment along the corridor - more than six times the cost of the line itself. One landmark scheme saw $800m spent to revitalise the ageing Lloyd District just across the Willamette river from the city centre, now home to prestigious office and housing developments and lively shops.
Reflecting on published findings we can easily see the need for public transportation of a premium nature.
In the past, railroads arrogantly dominated the scene. The steel wheel dominance was subdued through a taxpayer and Government effort, and a lobbied effort by many anti-rail agencies. Since roads were never questioned as to cost or route, they were built with tax dollars. Finally, private automobiles and freight trucks were able to compete with the rail transport on a profitable basis using the free road infrastructure. The end result is massive urban sprawl.
This privatization of railroads under competitive pressures resulted in mass discontinuation of passenger services that could not compete with the subsidized bus and aviation systems. This created more than twenty years of confusion resulting in the subsidized creation of Amtrak in the US with similar results in other countries.
Now with accurate databases, consumer education and studies concurrent with higher energy costs and shortages, rail is clearly seen as the "missed link".
This shift continues rapidly towards a more even playing field. Examples from just one location in Denver are transportation facts below that are becoming available to consultants and the public.
Special to Passenger Transport, "APTA" September 25, 2000.
Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) announces record rider-ship on the 14-mile-long RTD light rail system, which now includes the new 8.7-mile Southwest Light Rail Line. By mid-August, light rail system boardings were 30 percent above projections.Second article
Denver RTD Light Rail Ridership Continues To Grow According to RTD General Manager Cal Marsella, "These ridership numbers confirm that people have readily embraced light rail for their daily transportation needs. Coupled with the fact that it costs RTD substantially less to carry a passenger aboard light rail than aboard a bus in revenue service, light rail is a huge success now and will be an even bigger hit in the future". All told, RTD provides nearly 5,000 parking spaces along the entire 14-mile light rail system. Over the past six years since the original line opened, RTD has repeatedly expanded parking along the light rail line as property became available.
"The demand for light rail parking is virtually insatiable. The same day we open additional spaces, they fill up completely. This is further evidence that people will choose to take light rail as opposed to having to drive," Marsella noted.
This insert from: Tramways and Urban Transit October 2000 Page 387
DENVER, COLORADO. The number of riders using the Southwest Corridor extension is more than six times the number who rode the express buses using the same route prior to 14 July (11,264 compared with 1,870). The owners of Union Station have agreed to allow the Central Platte Valley light rail spur to terminate there.
Other forms of propulsion
In the USA, 42% of the population now lives in non-attainment areas. From "APTA information on safety and pollution" in Transportation 9/12/2000.
Air quality is now also a major topic. The U.S. Department of Interiors "Grand Canyon Transit Concession" (a 9 mile system) specifies having steel wheels and a self propelled vehicle. Because of the strength of steel wheels, Sky Train's monorail can meet this specification. We can apply hybrid technology for our system because it allows the energy of braking to be captured and easily reused. It uses a small and lightweight internal combustion engine or turbine accompanied with low pollution compared with direct propulsion used by most vehicles. Many rail systems are totally electric!
Why select Sky Train over other transit modes?
"South Florida Commuter Services" of September 1, 1999, in an article entitled "Transit Eases Traffic Congestion" "One full, six-car train is equivalent to a line of 900 moving cars stretching 95 city blocks (about nine miles) if traffic is moving at 25 m.p.h., and 68 city blocks (about seven miles), if traffic is moving at 15 m.p.h."SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN October 1997. If Schafer's trend holds true, it could have important implications for the developing world and those who share its atmosphere. Many Third World mega-cities already face huge transportation snarls. Cars in Manila average seven miles (11 kilometers) per hour, reports Ralph Gakenheimer of M.I.T. A typical auto in Bangkok is stopped in gridlock the equivalent of 44 days each year; the congestion eats 35 percent of the city's gross annual output. New Delhi already loses six citizens a day on its highways, and air pollution harms many more.
Calculations show that one Sky Train duct (rail lane) can carry the equivalent to 9 highway or 16 city lanes of traffic.
Activity in the transit market has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. The problems created by urban sprawl and highway congestion provoke a demand for premium transit that will take pressure off the highways, not compete with them. Congestion will force building elevated or even more expensive subway systems.
The need for improved transportation is inducing massive investments in new light rail transit systems. The Klages Report for the Pinellas, Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization in 1994 showed, (as shown in the graph below) a distinct desire for monorails by riders, showing 30% more ridership than elevated light rail, and 60% greater than elevated bus ways. Sky Train's system using rearranged light rail components will be a highly demanded monorail, especially since it is price competitive to other elevated systems.
Safety will be the greatest motivation in going to elevated systems.
Injury Facts, National Safety Council, 1999.
Fatality Rates by Mode of Travel, 1995-1997. Average Deaths per 100 Million Passenger Miles are .95 for auto, .04 for railroads and airlines…This means a 24 times higher auto accident rate than mass transportation. In table three, fatalities in 1997 indicate that rail mass transit at grade is a safer mode of travel but that those modes do conflict with autos. It shows that (at grade crossings) 419 in addition to 602 other rail related fatalities occurred.
In the last 100 years on all elevated monorail systems including the major earthquake in Japan, carrying billions of passengers, only two crashes occurred involving 4 fatalities. The risk of death on monorail systems is infinitely small. This will be the primary reason to elevate many future transportation modes. Since Sky Train has more excellent features than other monorails such as; speed, cost, long-lasting standard components and weight carrying ability, it will dominate the market!