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Dutch prime-minister Jan Peter Balkenende officially opened the improved version of the ParkShuttle, 2005-12-01. Four days later two automated vehicles collided, halting operations for months. Early February, just before the service would restart, a fire in the ParkShuttle garage destroyed one vehicle and severely damaged another while the two remaining vehicles suffered substantial smoke damage, halting services for at least another six months. Automated This is not the way prime-minister Balkenende had envisioned things. As the most prominent resident of Capelle aan den IJssel he officially opened the second version of the ParkShuttle by placing his signature on one of the vehicles. He praised the ParkShuttle as an innovative, safe and sustainable mode of transport that should be introduced at many more locations in the Netherlands and abroad. ParkShuttle bridges the 1.8 kilometre distance between the metro station Kralingse Zoom in Rotterdam and the Rivium business park in Capelle. The vehicles most striking feature is undoubtedly the absence of a driver. ParkShuttle uses a combination of on board digitals maps, magnets in the road and transponders to keep track, much like its taller brother, the Phileas in Eindhoven. This priciple is called Free Ranging On Grid or FROG. Why using such an advanced system? On average the driver is responsible for 50-60% of the operation costs of bus public transport in the Netherlands. So, the advantage of a system without a driver is mainly financial. First and second ParkShuttle But this was not the first ParkShuttle. An early prototype had been in service since 1999, plagued by technical hick-ups. It only acquired a meagre 10% in the modal split of the people travelling to and from the Rivium business park. In the transition period between the first and the second version of the ParkShuttle the automated vehicle was replaced by a mini bus service with driver. The number of passengers doubled! The new ParkShuttle had to become a much more reliable system than the previous version. The improved design, the increased capacity and the early test drives looked promising. Could the new ParkShuttle live up its expectations to become a truly horizontal urban lift? Connected Cities In the fall of 2004 the municipality of Capelle aan den IJssel approached TU Delft with the request if they could join TU Delft's Interreg IIIC proposal 'Connected Cities'. Capelle is a member of the European New Town Platform (ENTP), another partner in the Connected Cities network. Capelle proposed to contribute with their ParkShuttle showcase and organise a conference in the summer of 2005 in Capelle, celebrating the opening of the new improved ParkShuttle. Although the city council decided favourably, our Connected Cities proposal was rejected by Interreg that winter. When we were offered in the spring of 2005 the possibility of resubmitting the Connected Cities proposal Capelle could not join. They needed another council decision. And the timeframe to bring the expanded network up for approval was to short. But that summer the ParkShuttle was not ready for service. Although a successful demonstration was organised during the conference it would take until December before the prime-minister could officially open the new shuttle service. Collision A small part of the track is designed as a single lane to save costs: the bridge spanning the Rijckevorselweg, a major artery. Four days into the regular service of the ParkShuttle one of the vehicles lost on that brigde its communication with the system and stopped. Two other vehicles halted on both sides of the bridge, waiting for the road to be cleared. After the malfunctioning vehicle was directed to the next stop both waiting vehicles received manually an overriding signal that the road was clear. And although the vehicles were programmed to stop automatically when they detect an obstacle, their reaction time was not adjusted to the speed of an approaching vehicle. The system would not allow two approaching vehicles to use the same lane. Unfortunately they did not take the human factor into account. As a result the two ParkShuttles did what the computer would not allow them to do: they collided and sustained serious damage. Fire The manufacturer (Frog) and the transport operator (Connexxion) decided to update the system in order that such a mishap could not occur again before continuing the service with the remaining four vehicles. No one could imagine a short circuit in the ParkShuttle garage at the Kralingse Zoom metro station would prevent that from happening. Early February, 2006-02-08, fire destroyed one vehicle and severely damaged another. The remaining two vehicles suffered substantial smoke damage. It is not expected the ParkShuttle will continue service before the fall of 2006. Last word If ParkShuttle can carve out a niche in the public transport market is still to be seen. The mishaps happened so far are unfortunate, but can be overcome in time. When all vehicles are back in service it becomes clear if ParkShuttle can attract more passengers than the manned mini bus service. The first ParkShuttle could not. The second ParkShuttle might do a better job. Parkshuttle Factsheet |
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