The closest analogy to a SkyTran station is not a bus stop, where people gather and wait many minutes, because there will always be vehicles waiting between the exit and entrance platforms. It is much more like a taxi stand (except that the computer "drivers" aren't worrying about losing fares). SkyTran's designers put considerable effort into streamlining the boarding process. As you (or you and your spouse or friend or child) approach the car, its door opens automatically. Seats are at the ergonomic height, and the floor is the same height as the platform, with no "lip" at the bottom to trip over. Elderly and mobility-impaired people will find it especially easy to climb into SkyTran -- far better than into a taxi or bus today. For all of us, getting on and off SkyTran will just become effortless and thoughtless, like hopping into our cars today.

Automation makes all kinds of hassles of today's public transportation much easier to manage. If the car isn't acceptable to you for any reason, just send it off to the maintenance depot and take the next one. Your lost cell phone can be tracked in real time. Load your groceries or scooter or wheelchair into one SkyTran vehicle and ride in another; the vehicles can switch enroute; so you arrive first to take them out.

As soon as you put your seatbelt(s) on, the door closes automatically. The car moves off the platform even while you are choosing and confirming your destination (by voice input or touchscreen). (If you choose to let the system remember your usual or recent destinations, it will be very quick to choose one of them.) The computer "driver" waits for a gap in the oncoming traffic; then it accelerates up on-ramp and merges precisely into the flow of traffic on the high-speed guideway.

Like most modern public transit, SkyTran will accept a Radio Frequency ID (RFID) payment card or keychain token (like the Mobil SpeedPass(TM) that you loaded with cash online or at a kiosk. Many public transportation systems have a standard fare, but because SkyTran is fully automated, you will only pay for the distance you actually travel. Employers of mobile professionals, from police to visiting nurses to cleaning crews, will give their employees company accounts and get an itemized bill. Parents can give their pre-teen and teenage children payment cards that only take them to the destinations they approve (perhaps changing with the time of day).

A computer-generated voice reminds you as you approach your destination -- perhaps waking you up if you were dozing. Take a quick glance at the station surveillance video just to make sure no suspicious characters are hanging around; if you are worried, you can re-route your vehicle to another station and call the police or a neighbor to check it out. Perhaps "You have mail" at a post office kiosk near the station, or a package held for you at your neighborhood convenience store. When the vehicle reaches its destination, it exits the main guideway and starts decelerating toward the exit station. After the passengers exit, the vehicle moves forward to wait in line with other vehicles for another passenger at the entrance station about 50 feet ahead. SkyTran stations in urban areas will often have "bike share" rent-a-bike (or scooter, or Segway) racks nearby. You can check what's available online before you go and bring your folding bike or scooter only when it will be needed.

Standard public boarding platforms are on platforms above sidewalks. Other stations will be attached to the sides of buildings at different levels, with easy, all-weather access (including handicap access) from inside the building. In a few high-traffic areas like stadiums or conventional mass-transit stations, there may be multiple boarding platforms in series. More commonly, the off- and on-ramps will fork to parallel boarding platforms, and vehicles will need to coordinate merging (as they do merging onto the high-speed guideway). Parallel platforms not only avoid problems if one passenger has trouble boarding, but they can also accommodate specialized vehicles like handicap access or freight, or people's personal vehicles (expensive in the early stages, but perhaps the dominant form of ownership in a mature SkyTran system.)