ULTra (Urban
Rapid Transit) is a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system for Heathrow Airport.
The pod-car
system was developed by a British engineering company called Ultra Global PRT. The pod-cars use
four car batteries as they don’t have any engines; they use 50% less energy
than a bus does, are driverless, computer driven and are guided by lasers on an
open guideway; they also charge automatically at the charging points and instead
of rails, they use rubber tyres.
You can read
more about the pod-cars on their website.
At Heathrow
Airport they are called Heathrow Pods
and are located at Terminal 5. The Heathrow Pods connect to the Terminal’s
business car parks which are located at the north-west part of Heathrow Airport
and they operate for 22 hours a day. They serve Business Car Park A, Business
Car Park B and Heathrow Terminal 5.
The total length
of the Heathrow Pod system is 2.4 miles (3.9km) and was built on behalf of BAA,
which is the owner and operator of Heathrow Airport. The system cost £30
million to develop.
The
construction of the guideway was completed in October 2008, then after
successful trials, it was opened to the public on May 2011. Not long after that
it became fully operational and the diesel bus service between the business car
park and Terminal 5 was discontinued. You can find the Heathrow Pods at car
park level 2 in Terminal 5!
What do I think of them?
I think they
are absolutely fantastic! and we should have them everywhere. These pods are
one of the best “alternative” forms of transport to a bus, tram or train.
There’s very
little waiting time to ride a pod; you make your selection on the touch screen
to where you need to go in the pod and if the pod is not docked at the hub, one
will automatically turn up for you. When the pod arrives, the doors will open
automatically. Once you’re inside you have to press the door close button and after the doors have closed you press the
start button. When the pod starts you sometimes have to wait for roughly a
minute as the pod has to recharge its battery.
When you
travel in a pod, you feel like you’re in your own bubble. Just sit back, relax
and enjoy the ride. J
Unlike waiting
for a bus or a train, you’re in a pod almost instantly. This is one of the
greenest and cleanest forms of transportation I have seen to-date and I
advocate for that type of system to be made available everywhere.
The system
is ideal for towns, cities and suburbs within a borough; it is the best
alternative to a bus as travelling on buses can take a long time due to heavy
traffic and, as most buses still run on diesel, they pollute the environment
and their emissions contribute towards climate change.
London
Transport, county/borough councils and Public Transport Executives should
propose the PRT system for selected towns and suburbs to promote alternative
forms of transport.
It can be
done if the people agree to have that type of system as an alternative form of
transport.
Also, the ULTra
podcar system is not just about transporting passengers, it also has the
ability to transport freight as well.
Here are
some videos of the Heathrow Pods:
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