The Chicago Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) investigated the development and installation of a demonstration Personal Rapid Transit system in the Chicago area. The RTA’s project goals were as follows:

• To conceptualize a new mode of public transport; one that combines right-of-way technology, and type-of-service in non-traditional, creative, and unique ways;
• To develop this new mode and successfully demonstrate its applicability to markets in the Northeastern Illinois region and elsewhere;
• To show that this new mode is safe, reliable, and efficient, and is an effective complement to existing transit modes;
• To provide strong evidence that this mode may be deployed with a minimum of disruptions to the community. Disruption is minimized by civil works that may be constructed relatively quickly and inexpensively, by environmental impacts during operation that are acceptable to the community, and by guideways that are aesthetically unobtrusive and easy to maintain.

In support of a private client, JAI conducted an overall system feasibility study and preliminary design activity. As part of this study, JAI’s activities included: routing assessment and ridership modeling; preliminary design (including station and maintenance facilities location); capital and operational order-of-magnitude cost projections; system reliability, availability, and maintainability analyses, capacity demand analysis and ridership modeling; and development of a proposed management structure for the system operating company.

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