Public Transport (II)

I've given it one more try - to catch the bus. This time I attempted to take it in the centre of campus, where there can be no mistake about its route and where it's bound to stop anyway - if it weren't to pick up people, then at least to avoid running into the crowd of students that is always present at this location. In order to make sure I wouldn't miss an early bus, I came ten to fifteen minutes early - allowing me a thorough inspection of the wide variety of buses that do pass through: purple, gold, ... several colours came by, especially those not part of the rainbow; the red bus, however, didn't.

After waiting about 20 minutes past the bus's due time, my main problem with the system became obvious: I'd rather walk for an hour than to risk waiting 30 minutes for a 15 minute ride. Simply put: if buses aren't any more reliable than this (which they cannot really help because, unlike trains and trams, they do get stuck in traffic), then I don't see the point in taking them.

On a positive note, Morgantown has an extraordinary alternative form of transport: the PRT (or Personal Rapid Transit). These are nice little carriages that - in theory - get you to select where you want to go; and then take you there. (While awaiting my next technological advancement, you'll have to do with this for a picture.)

Like just about anything of value in Morgantown, the PRT belongs to the University (notice the WV logo on the carriages - this isn't the state logo but actually the -registered trademark- university logo). A child of its time, the PRT was first proposed in the late 1960s - and during the first year of its term, gained national financing from the Nixon administration. After six years and heaps more money than predicted, it was ready to start operations in 1975.


As if having a Republican-funded mode of public transport in the United States (not to mention WV) isn't surprising enough in its own right, the PRT further exceeds expectations by actually working. While service isn't instantaneous (the software behind the system clearly attempts to optimise something, though I haven't totally figured out what), so far I have always had a car leaving well within 15 minutes - often after no more than 5 minutes. With their own set of tracks and viaducts, these carriages are unaffected by traffic lights or competing traffic and can simply amble along at speeds up to 48 km/h (according to Wikipedia) - which makes them clearly faster than the cars stuck on the crowded roads. What's more, even after functioning in a University town for more than 30 years now, the PRT still looks good: the carriages look like they're newly painted, they have carpeting on the inside (which isn't stuffed with chewing gum and the like but is actually neat) and the windows have not (or hardly) got graffiti scratched in or painted on them. Either the students here are incredibly well-behaved, or the cameras in the stations do an incredibly good job, or the system is maintained superbly. (Probably a combination of the latter two.) Finally, using the PRT is free (for staff and students but I doubt there's anyone in this town who isn't either). The only real downside is that there are only 5 stations and about 13 km of track - so it doesn't get you everywhere.


Having said all that, I doubt I'll be seeing too much more of the PRT in days to come, since I've bought a bike on Saturday - reducing my total travel time to a third of what it used to be. (There's nothing like bicycles for commuting, is there?)