How would MAIT be introduced ?

No advanced new technology is needed to introduce MAIT ; the innovative aspect of MAIT is a clever synthesis of control technology (used for robotics or aviation), networking logistics (used for organizing data packages on the Internet), and conventional mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering. There is a lot of development in progress in a variety of advanced, usually automated, transportation technologies such as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) ¹ The new features specific to MAIT , namely the transferrer mechanism and the necessary logistics, will be an extra development added to the already substantial body of automated transport technologies.

A small MAIT network could be installed first and tested on private property, serving initially as a flexible on-demand light-weight freight transportation system, possibly within a larger industrial complex. This would provide a realistic proof of concept and allow an early profit. As soon as the system satisfies all expected performance and safety criteria, it could be made available for passenger transport inside the industrial complex. The test track could then be extended to surrounding residential areas and activity centres in order to study the reaction of people to the novel transportation system.

The next logical step would be its deployment in urban areas, with the objective of providing access for MAIT to all premises in limited areas of towns, which may include the major activity centre(s). Since city centres are characterized by high traffic density and little space, medium- to high-capacity carriers would be required, running on overhead or underground guideways for total separation from pedestrians and road traffic. Flexible, suspended-type guideway loops would be added to take cabins automatically to and even inside individual establishments in town centres. In some cases it should be possible to place this guideway at the back of rows of premises with a stop or transferrer for each delivery point. This will allow car traffic to be greatly reduced or even eliminated in these areas, thus providing an immediate tangible benefit. The regime in the areas fully served by MAIT will be similar to a large building served by lifts (elevators), which people use to move about within a building, leaving their cars or other transport outside. In city centres people will move about in MAIT cabins with the same ease as they do using lifts, and it will become as inappropriate to bring cars into the central area as to bring them into a large building.

In these early stages, travel outside the areas served by MAIT will continue to depend on roads and rail. There are several options, allowing a coexistence during that phase:

• Park&Ride (P&R) places could be provided at the major arterial roads of towns, where people have the choice of transferring from car to MAIT .
• the local MAIT network could serve as a feeder for railway stations.
• it would be feasible for passenger and freight cabins to be carried by conventional transport (vans, trucks or rail) for most of the journey, transferring them to automated carriers only for the last leg into the centre of towns. The cabin is a passive container and can therefore be cheap to use in this way. The cabin transfer from conventional transport to MAIT could be automated and the organisation of vans or trucks put under the logistic control of the MAIT system, resulting in a better traffic coordination.

As the system develops, the car-traffic-free area will expand to connect all activity centres and spread into adjacent residential areas with low traffic density. An effective solution for residential areas would be the road carrier, because it has low infrastructure costs and is flexible enough to stop in front of any front door. During a transient phase people should have the option to use either MAIT or their own car. As the car becomes increasingly unnecessary for inner town trips, conventional road traffic will decrease, which would free some of the road-lanes for the MAIT system; existing bus lanes, metro lines or trams could also provide space for the system.

The next stage will be when neighboring towns are linked together, with high-capacity guideway carriers, running at speeds of up to $130$km/h. This inter-town network will have fewer branches and MAIT vehicles will have time to form platoons in order to save energy. The volume of traffic that can be carried by a single bi-directional guideway would be comparable to a motorway with four lanes per direction.

Gradually, car traffic will be eliminated from towns and the city environment consequently improved. Town planning issues will become better understood and provided for by appropriate legislation. For more distant inter-city connections, cabins could be loaded onto specially designed railway carriages or ferries where passengers will be able to emerge to access toilets, refreshments and entertainments. Eventually, MAGLEV carriers could provide long-distance national or trans-national links at speeds greater than $500$km/h.

Finally, individual cabins will be carried anywhere by being transferred automatically from one carrier to another, providing a seamless, door-to-door journey for both passengers and goods. It will take some decades to build up a comprehensive MAIT system but tangible benefits will be obtained early on.