ULTra (Urban Light Transport) System

ULTra Urban Light Transport System

Source: Ultra Global Prt.

ULTra is an automated light transit system, a form of rapid transit, composed of small vehicles with a maximum of 4 passengers. It operates on its own guideway, which can be elevated or at ground level. The system is accessible through a set of stations, which are off-line, involving that loading and unloading have no impact on the flow of other vehicles (unlike a subway or LTR). The major difference with regular transit systems is that the vehicle is on-demand, semi-private, and will service only the requested destination, bypassing all the stations in between. It thus offers the potential of flexibility and privacy which is lacking in standard mass transit systems.

In 2011, the first commercial application of the technology was inaugurated at Heathrow International Airport. The system, through a 4 km guideway, links a car park to Terminal 5 and has proved to be highly reliable. Technological advances in self-driving vehicles are likely to make guideway-based systems obsolete since it would no longer be required for the vehicles to operate on a separate system of circulation.