Legislature 2004: Lawmaker pushes for personal transit

Kirsti Marohn
kmarohn@stcloudtimes.com

       ST. PAUL -- It's straight out of a science-fiction movie: Small, egg-shaped cars that carry riders along an elevated track above traffic-clogged roads. A group of state lawmakers, led by Rep. Mark Olson of Big Lake, insists it's sound logic to imagine personal rapid transit in Minnesota's transportation future. They are asking the Legislature to approve funding for a pilot project in Duluth.
       "It's Jetson-esque, but not a cartoon," Olson said, referring to the animated series about a futuristic family who traveled in hovercrafts.
       Olson, a Republican, also wants the state to give local governments authority to borrow money for local PRT systems and exempt those systems from property and income taxes.
       Supporters of PRT say it's a better solution to traffic congestion than light rail or commuter rail because riders get their own computerized cars that take them directly to their destination with no stops in between. The cars run continuously, so there's no waiting for the next train or transferring to another one.
       "It's a nice, smooth, quiet ride to your destination," said Tom Miler, chairman of Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit, a Minneapolis-based organization.
       PRT is intended for urban and suburban areas, not for connections between regional centers such as St. Cloud and the Twin Cities.
       Olson, an opponent of the Northstar commuter rail project, said he envisions PRT supporting commuter rail, not replacing it.
       The technology was designed largely by University of Minnesota researchers.
       Supporters say PRT is relatively inexpensive to build and could attract enough private investment to operate without government subsidy. They say Minnesota needs to act now or risk losing the homegrown technology to other states or countries.
       "I think this really is like a space race -- the space race of the 21st century," Olson said. "Once this is done here in Minnesota, I personally believe it will go worldwide almost immediately."