Preface

Automated People Movers

Edward S. Neumann, Special Edition Editor

This issue of the Journal of Advanced Transportation is devoted to papers concerning Automated People Movers, or APMs. The papers are based on information presented at recent conferences on APMs. The First International conference on Automated People Movers was held in Miami in 1985, sponsored by the Automated People Mover Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Since then, international APM conferences have been held in the United States every four years (1989, 1993, 1997). Two conferences co-sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers and non-American professional and governmental organizations were held overseas between recent American conferences. In October, 1991, the Third International Conference was held in Yokohama, Japan and was sponsored by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers and the Japan Transportation Planning Association in cooperation with ASCE. In June, 1996, the Fifth International Conference was held in Paris, France, and was sponsored by the Conseil National des Ingenieurs et Scientifiques de France (CNISF), the International Union of Public Transport (UITP), the Union des Transports Publics (UTP), the Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Securite (INTRETS-France) and the Regie Autonome des Transports Parisens (RATP), in cooperation with ASCE. The next conference is being sponsored by the Society of Danish Engineers, in cooperation with ASCE, and will be held in Copenhagen in May, 1999. The proceedings of these conferences provide a rich source of information on the technology, planning, design, procurement, construction, and operation of APMs. In fact, the proceedings are the primary source of information on APMs, and are referred to widely by transportation engineers and planners involved with the implementation of APM systems.

The applications of APMs have been in airports, resort/recreational settings, institutional settings, and mass transit feeder and line haul environments. In the first paper in the volume, Larry Fabian provides an overview of APM systems worldwide, and emphasizes mass transit systems applications. The second paper, by Paul V. Didriksen and Kathryn Nickerson, discusses the evolution of APM technology and presents a conceptual grouping of systems based on operating requirements. The third paper, by Dennis M. Elliott and Jack Norton, examines APM systems used in airports. In the fourth paper, Edward S. Neumann examines cable-propelled APM systems, which comprise a significant number of the applications in both urban resort/recreational settings and institutional settings. Andrew Jakes discusses APM procurement methods in the fifth paper. In the last paper, Roxanne Warren examines the opportunities that APMs offer for more dense, pedestrian-oriented, and efficient patterns of land use development.

Collectively, the papers in this volume cover many, but not all, important aspects of APMs. One subject not discussed in any of the papers concerns the effort underway by the Automated People Mover Standards Committee of ASCE to develop a set of APM standards. It is recommended that anyone interested in learning more about the engineering design of APM technology consult the standards, which will be published in separate volumes over the next few years. Part I on Operating Environment, Safety Requirements, System Dependability, Automatic Train Control, and Audio and Visual Communications has already been published, and Part II on Vehicles and Propulsion and Braking will become available in 1999. Part III will cover Electrical Equipment, Stations, and Guideways. Part IV will address Security Requirements, System Verification and Demonstration, System O&M Procedures, and Emergency Preparedness.

The APM industry is continuing to gain insight into the market for short to medium length automated fixed-guideway systems and is working actively to improve existing designs and develop new concepts. As the number of APM systems grows, so will general awareness of the capabilities and potential applications of this form of intelligent transportation. It is hoped that this special edition of the Journal of Advanced Transportation will contribute to the understanding of APMs among transportation engineers, transportation planners, land use planners, architects, land developers, elected officials, and other interested members of the public.

Edward S. Neumann is Professor and Chair of Civil Engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.

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