by Raymond 

MacDonald October, 2003; 315 pp, paperback

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, 4 pp

 1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF PRT 

CHARACTERISTICS, 8 pp
 2. THE SOCIO-ECONOMICS OF PRT, 9 pp
 3. TECHNICAL 

CHARACTERISTICS OF PRT,10 pp
 4.  OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF PRT,18 pp
 5.  

MAINTENANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF PRT, 6 pp

 6.  PRT INVESTMENT PROCEDURES - 

COSTS & FINANCING, 14 pp
 7.  PROTOTYPE PRT TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, 

25 pp
 8.  COMMERCIAL PRT TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, 7 pp
 9.  PRT 

PLANNING PROCEDURES, 10 pp
10. PRT DESIGN PROCEDURES, 15 pp

11. PRT 

CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES, 8 pp
12. PRT VEHICLE DESIGN, 13 pp
13. PRT CHASSIS 

DESIGN, 41 pp
14. PRT GUIDEWAY DESIGN,14 pp 
15. PRT STATION DESIGN, 10 

pp

16. PRT FARE COLLECTION 

SYSTEM DESIGN, 8 pp
17. PRT POWER SUPPLY DESIGN, 7 pp
18. PRT CONTROL SYSTEM 

DESIGN, 14 pp
19. PRT STORAGE DEPOT DESIGN, 5 pp
20. PRT MAINTENANCE DEPOT 

DESIGN, 7 pp

21. SAFETY & SECURITY DESIGN, 5 pp
22. RESCUE & 

RECOVERY VEHICLES, 6 pp
23. PRT FREIGHT SYSTEMS, 9 pp
24. WHY HAS PRT NOT 

BEEN DEVELOPED YET?, 12 pp
25. 20 DIFFICULT QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT PRT, 

20 pp

INDEX, 7 pp

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS, 3 pp
    

About the author:

Raymond MacDonald has a very broad experience in the field of Transportation Engineering including the planning, design, construction, economic evaluation and technical development of fixed guideway systems such as High Speed Railways, Metros, Light Rail, Monorail and Personal Rapid Transit as well as Bus Systems.

His work has included the design of major stations in San Francisco BART, San Francisco Muni- Metro, station design for Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro Metros in Brasil, Seoul Subway in Korea, planning and design for underground and elevated elements of Taipei Metro in Taiwan, High Speed Railway planning and design in Korea and Taiwan, urban railway planning studies in Honolulu, Hawaii and in Chiang Mai Thailand, design for the Kennedy Airport Express in New York, Pearl Ridge Monorail in Hawaii. He conducted Railway Feasibility studies in Brasil, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, China and Austria. He also conducted technical evaluations for Eurotunnel and the US Maglev Initiative.

In particular Mr. MacDonald has pursued the goal of developing Personal Rapid Transit since 1971. His work included technical evaluation of Aerospace Corporation for Los Angeles, participation in the PRT development project in Denver,Colorado, a PRT planning study for Indianapolis, PRT marketing and proposals in Chicago. He led a PRT development team in Korea for over 4 years that included several planning, design and technical development studies. Most recently he participated in the Taxi 2000 Corporation’s development program of SkyWeb Express in Minneapolis.

He has written several papers on PRT including the need for technical standardization, land use implications, airport applications and market evaluations.

Throughout his career Mr. Macdonald has stressed the importance of maintaining personal and professional integrity in the transportation engineering field which is so often characterized by major cost over-runs and non-cost effective projects that inevitably require large operating subsidies. It is his view that PRT will offer cities the chance to create cost-effective transport systems that are sustainable and provide a serious alternative land use opportunity. The development of this technology on a large scale will create a huge world market and a new paradigm in urban design.