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In 1974 , Boeing began construction of the first major PRT project, designed for West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia . WVU's two original campuses, Downtown and Evansdale, are two disconnected parcels located in the valley of the Monongahela River . Since it proved impossible to expand either of the existing campuses in the narrow valley, WVU built on a separate parcel, eventually called the Health Sciences Campus, above the valley. The WVU PRT has been in continuous operation since 1975 , with about 15,000 riders per day ( As Of 2003 ). The system uses about 70 vehicles, with an advertised capacity of 20 people each (eight seated, the rest standing). The system connects the university's disjointed campus using five stations (Walnut, Beechurst, Engineering, Towers, Medical) and a 4 mile (6 km) track. The vehicles are rubber-tired and powered by electrified rails. Steam heating keeps the elevated guideway free of snow and ice. Most students habitually use it. This system was not sold to other sites because the heated track has proven too expensive. The Morgantown PRT was built in the mid 1970’s and many of its peculiarities are thought to be the result of the management program (apparently the program’s director was changed several times during the construction with the expected bureaucratic nightmare). The system runs boxy rectangular cars on a cement-surface track. The cars are equipped with eight seats, four in the front and four more in the back, and four PVC poles for standing riders to hold onto. The system is powered by a 300 volt direct current electric motor driving the four very small pneumatic tires. Though the motor is direct current, the track uses a three contact system that looks like a three phase system. Steam heat appears to be supplied to the track in part by the riverside power plant that heats the campus buildings during winter with excess or ‘waste’ steam. Additional steam can be provided by several boiler plants along the track. The track itself is made of poured concrete with some spans up to 30 feet off the ground. Instead of rails, the pneumatic tires run on bare cement; presumably because of the very steep climb from Beechurst to Evansdale. (It is suspected that the system uses regenerative braking on the descent due to the loud electrical hum, but it has not been explained to the general population.) In recent years the old automation system has been replaced and somewhat upgraded, and new insulation has been added to the external steam lines for the track heat. The Morgantown system demonstrates automated control, but authorities no longer consider it a true PRT system. Its vehicles are too heavy and carry too many people. During off-peak hours (primarily evenings and weekends), it does not operate in a point to point fashion for individuals or small groups, running instead like an automated people-mover or elevator from one end of the line to the other. It therefore has reduced capacity utilization compared to true PRT. Morgantown vehicles weigh several tons and run on the ground for the most part, with higher land costs than true PRT. Each car has a capacity of 16 individuals. However, during Mountaineer Week , an event called the ''Mountaineer Cram'' occurs where student organizations try to pack as many individuals inside a PRT car. The limit was 97 people set in 2000. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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