p02 AZ Rebublic 7-16-99

This second article by Jerry Spellman of Mesa, Arizona appeared in the Arizona Republic July 16, 1999.

SkyTran beats light rail,
buses in cost, efficiency

Can you picture a day when Valley commuters will be able to zip around town at 100 mph in streamlined, space-age personal transit vehicles? What's more, these vehicles don't pollute, don't waste energy and cost a fraction of what a light rail and expanded bus system would cost.
The new, revolutionary transit system is called SkyTran. It's revolutionary because it takes the best features of state-of-the-art systems like magnetic levitation, automation, electronics and robotics and blends them together to provide a transit alternative that is not only superfast, but convenient, comfortable, safe and affordable. This is not science fiction, this is science fact!
SkyTran is a concept developed by California scientist Doug Malewicki, who has invented numerous vehicles that integrate the latest transportation technologies and aerodynamic designs, including the California Commuter (a single-passenger road vehicle that holds two Guinness records for energy efficiency) and the popular "Robo- soarus" - a car-eating, fire-breathing dinosaur that appears regularly at monster truck shows to the delight of young and old, and car-lovers and -haters alike.

This week, Malewicki offered to build the first privately funded, owned and operated SkyTran system as an alternative to the proposed, taxpayer-funded $1.35 billion "Valley Connections" light-rail plan. SkyTran would not only match the proposed 35-mile Valley Connections line, but build an additional 142 system miles just to demonstrate how SkyTran can outperform any publicly owned and taxpayer-financed light-rail and/or expanded bus system.
     Some of the features that make SkyTran such an innovative and remarkable transit concept are its lightweight, tandem, two-passenger vehicles, its streamlined and minimalist guiderail support structures/stations, and its ability to move passengers in "three dimensions."
     The SkyTran vehicles hang suspended from overhead guiderails that allow the vehicles to travel either at ground level or above traffic and to turn or move from ground level to above traffic.
     Another feature that makes the SkyTran personal/mass transportation system so special is that vehicles are available "on-demand," meaning there is no waiting, or schedule, or even a driver, for that matter. A passenger simply boards the first vehicle in a line of vehicles always ready at each transit stop, keys in a destination on the onboard computer, and is whisked off non-stop to it.

MY TURN

JERRY SPELLMAN

SkyTran vehicles operate in their own safe environment, separate from pedestrian and surface vehicle traffic, and never have to stop for traffic lights, stop signs or railroad crossings because there are no intersections where vehicles and/or pedestrians can collide.
     The benefits of SkyTran are numerous, especially when compared to other transit modes like light rail and buses. One mile of SkyTran guiderail, including stations/stops, will cost $1 million to $2 million (light rail costs $25 million to $50 million per mile). SkyTran vehicles will cost about $4,000 to $6,000 each (one new 36-passenger transit bus costs $300,000).
     SkyTran magnetically levitated vehicles run on electricity (equivalent to 200 mpg energy utilization), and the maglev propulsion system has no moving parts that wear out (there is no friction) and need to be replaced.
     There is no air or noise pollution, no parking lots or garages, no traffic jams or accidents or road rage. Think of all the extra time and money you'll have from not having to work so hard to own and support two or three vehicles per family.

If you honestly compare SkyTran to the proposed Valley Connections plan for light rail and expanded bus service (approximate I 0-year cost for system construction, operation and maintenance is $3 billion) and spent the same amount developing a SkyTran system, we could have 1,200 miles of guideway and 200,000 vehicles rather than 35 miles of light rail and 500 more buses on our crowded streets.
     And if our Valley and state leaders would only wake up to the economic opportunity of having SkyTran vehicles and system parts manufactured here in Arizona for regional distribution, then we would really have an economic engine.
     A SkyTran system with 1,200 miles of guideway and 200,000 vehicles serving the entire Valley would have the capacity to move an incredible 100 million passengers per day, while our light rail/bus boondoggle will never be able to move more than 5 percent of the commuting public per day.

Jerry Spellman lives in Mesa. He has worked in government and community public relations and served on a Maricopa Association of Governments air quality advisory committee and Maricopa County's air pollution advisory council. He can be reached at gspellman@uswest.net    via email. For more information about SkyTran, check www.skytran.net on the Internet.

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
Incorporating The Phoenix Gazette
200 E. Van Buren, Phoenix AZ 85004
Founded in 1890

Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
EUGENE C. PULLIAM
1889-1975
Publisher, 1946-1975

LOUIS A. WEIL, III
Chairman
JOHN F. OPPEDAHL
President, Publisher, CEO