British public transportation faces significant challenges. High-cost trains and slow buses often make cars the preferred mode of transport, offering door-to-door convenience, flexible schedules, and ample luggage space. Rather than directly competing with cars, current public transportation policies often attempt to balance the system by making car use less attractive. This mindset stifles innovation and leaves public transportation stagnating. However, there is a potential solution.
Narrow, automated, electric, and quiet
The key is to develop a narrow vehicle that accommodates two seats without a center console, making it slimmer than a typical car. A lighter vehicle causes less road damage and reduces the need for rigid road foundations, lowering both maintenance and construction costs. Consequently, material and engineering expenses decrease, leading to more efficient infrastructure such as single-lane bridges and flyovers.
Initially, these narrow vehicles could operate on dedicated routes alongside existing roads or on disused railway lines, minimizing disruption. As automation advances, these vehicles could gradually integrate with conventional traffic, filling a gap unaddressed by other transportation systems.
Automation
Buses and trains are large because they need to transport many passengers safely with minimal drivers. Their fixed routes, schedules, and fares are rooted in the past, but automation offers the opportunity for a more flexible, personalized approach. By leveraging the right data, routes, stops, and timings could be adapted to accommodate passengers’ needs. With smartphones now commonplace, passengers could request destinations and times through an Uber-like interface. The network could then optimize routes, considering network load and other passengers’ destinations. A fleet of smaller, automated vehicles could provide faster journeys, a more comfortable ride, and reduced energy consumption. Additionally, they could be quickly redirected to high-demand areas and eventually offer door-to-door service on regular roads.
Electrification
Existing buses, trains, and cars were not designed with battery power in mind. To create exceptional electric vehicles, it’s crucial to harmonize components and design. Tesla’s ‘Battery Day’ revealed that batteries can be rigid and serve as structural components. By considering the specific use cases of vehicles, designers can capitalize on the benefits of batteries, such as a lower center of gravity that allows for greater stability and speed around bends. Combining this stability with an appropriate tilt system, like the Advanced Passenger Train, could result in unparalleled ride quality.
The concept is clear: a narrow, electric, automated vehicle that could revolutionize public transportation and garner significant public support.
John Ewbank
Flying Ferret Q & A
Q. What is the main advantage of these vehicles?
Two vehicles can fit side by side in a standard carriageway, allowing dual-directional running on a road with the width of a single bus lane.
Q. Do these vehicles run alongside existing traffic?
In the first iteration, they won’t, but they will as the concept evolves.
Q. Do these vehicles require a driver?
These vehicles will be fully autonomous from the outset. The initial vehicles will most likely run on dedicated roads, reducing the complexity of implementation.
Q. How is the vehicle so compact?
It is only slightly longer than a car, as it doesn’t require a long bonnet or boot.
Q. How do these vehicles differ from small buses or trains?
These vehicles function as autonomous on-demand transport, similar to Uber, but stop at designated locations like buses or trains. Instead of adhering to a set timetable, passengers select their destination and preferred travel time in advance via an app. The network, built on machine learning algorithms, plans optimal routes and stops based on passenger needs, minimizing travel time.
Q. Where will these vehicles operate if not on roads?
Initially, the vehicles should run on simple routes, preferably on disused railway lines, with potential for building routes alongside active railways or roads.
Q. What is the rationale for using disused railway lines?
Numerous groups are trying to reinstate disused railway lines with light or conventional rail. Given the high costs of rail construction, many of these initiatives are unlikely to succeed. By incorporating their projects, this vehicle concept could launch more rapidly and garner public support.
Q. What are the drawbacks of light rail?
Light rail shares many disadvantages with conventional railways, such as expensive, hard-to-maintain vehicles and costly track construction and maintenance. Additionally, light rail vehicles are produced in small batches, limiting economies of scale.
Q. What are the limitations of guided busways?
Guided busways, like the Cambridge example, have proven to be costly with limited functionality. The high capital cost of dedicated tracks and roads highlights the need for cost-effective solutions like asphalt roads, which are more affordable to build and maintain.
Q. How can infrastructure costs be minimized?
To keep costs down, it is suggested to consult with historic canal and railway restorers who have experience reinstating miles of infrastructure economically.
Q. What other advantages do small vehicles offer?
Small vehicles can provide a more tailored service by responding to passenger needs and network load. They can maintain a higher average speed than buses, requiring fewer vehicles to achieve the same capacity. Moreover, autonomous vehicles can operate on demand, allowing for efficient use during peak and off-peak times.
Q. Why is this better than a bus on a road?
Buses often face traffic congestion due to the limited capacity of existing road networks, which makes adding new bus lanes challenging. On the other hand, the narrow carriageways of these vehicles can be more easily integrated into the current road network. Footpaths could be built on viaducts above the carriageways, with minimal elevation required compared to traditional traffic.
Q. What other problems does rail have?
One of rail’s main issues is line usage efficiency. Due to the long stopping distances required by trains, there is a significant gap between each train on the tracks. This lack of buffer makes the system vulnerable to delays and breakdowns, causing a domino effect on train schedules. Vehicles with tyres can follow more closely, as their shorter braking distances and faster acceleration enable them to maintain a smaller safety margin.
Q. How will single-track issues be addressed at stops?
All stops will have dual-track sections with appropriate acceleration/deceleration zones, allowing vehicles to leave and join the line at speed. Additionally, the network will continuously monitor vehicle locations, enabling adjustments in anticipation of slowdowns.
Q. Why do people dislike buses?
Buses often provide an uncomfortable ride due to their large, heavy wheels and stiff suspension. The inconsistent acceleration also contributes to passenger discomfort. The declining quality of UK roads exacerbates these issues.
Q. How does the ride of these vehicles differ from a car?
Since these automated vehicles will initially run on dedicated tracks, their suspension setup can be optimised for a smoother, more relaxing ride, similar to trains. A tilt system could also be implemented to further improve passenger comfort.
Q. How loud are these vehicles?
These electric vehicles are expected to be quiet. Road noise primarily results from tyre-road interactions, so using a smooth, small aggregate tarmac for vehicle routes will further reduce noise levels.
Q. What about seating?
The seats in these vehicles will resemble front car seats rather than upright train or bus seats. Lightweight materials such as net or Kevlar can be used to reduce weight. Surveillance and passenger identification will help deter vandalism and ensure accountability.
Q. Will seatbelts be necessary?
Seatbelts may be required, depending on the vehicles’ following distances and maximum deceleration.
Q. How will storage and accessibility be addressed?
The on-demand nature of the network allows for specialised units tailored to passengers with specific needs, such as airport travellers, people with disabilities, or families with children. This flexibility ensures high efficiency and capacity across the network.
Q. Can passengers reserve adjacent seats or sit next to passengers of the same sex?
Yes, passengers could pay a premium to reserve adjacent seats or request seating next to passengers of the same sex.
Q. What will be the vehicles’ speed?
To outperform cars, these vehicles must maintain a faster average speed, especially on long straight routes.
Q. How can this platform be integrated into the larger transportation network?
Current transportation systems typically rely on spoke and hub designs, which necessitate travel to the centre of the network to access different routes. This limits the effectiveness of the system and can make travel between nearby towns difficult or time-consuming. By contrast, this vehicle platform can provide more direct connections between locations, improving overall network efficiency.
Q. Why has nobody done this before?
Only now are automation, electrification and computing power sufficient for this all to work.
Q. What else needs to be solved?
A non-exhaustive list of things to think about are: charging points, dedicated gritters or snowploughs for cold weather, winter tyres, parking for people travelling to stations, school routes, how to clean robotically, station and vehicle design to stop rain ingress, who owns vehicles or routes, open lines / level crossings in built up areas.
Q. What other things could be looked at?
A pantograph powered version of this vehicle could be built, which could reduce, or eliminate, the batteries. This increase infrastructure capital costs, but reduce vehicle construction costs and complexity. They would be lighter and therefore might be useful for dedicated viaducts where cost and weight is paramount.
The Extent of The Beeching Cuts
Many of the railways that the UK once had were torn up in the 60s and 70s. The routes they ran along have been forgotten about. Below is are figures comparing pre and post Beeching cut railway networks. The railways post-Beeching cuts were designed to make travel to London easy. Routes that ran perpendicular to the London routes were largely ripped up. This is why public transportation doesn’t work, people can’t get between medium sized towns on trains.
The Flying Ferret could relink these smaller towns, by building duel-directional routes on disused railway lines.
