If you don’t have a car — or can’t drive yet — getting around Greenville can be tricky. Even car owners have to deal with traffic, drive in circles just to find parking, and incur costs that add up (read: more than 60% of Americans can’t afford to replace their car).
That’s why Fred Payne, Chairman of the nonprofit CarolinaBUY and its partner Carolina RIDES+, has spent 15 years exploring new ways to help Greenvillians get around and tackle transportation challenges.
Enter: Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) — an innovative transportation system that uses small, automated vehicles called podcars. These ultralight podcars run on their own dedicated tracks (think: a horizontal elevator). Fred rode on one in 2013 at London’s Heathrow Airport and in Morgantown, WV. According to Morgantown’s former mayor, Jim Manilla, the system is reliable, safe, inexpensive to operate, and has helped reduce downtown traffic.
Systems like JPods, a similar pod-style network, are being considered by cities seeking new transit options in Texas. Now, the Carolina RIDES+ team and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are exploring whether Greenville could benefit from JPods — and they want to hear from you.
Here’s how JPods could make a difference in Greenville:
- Reduce traffic congestion on jam-packed roads like Woodruff Road
- Reduce the need for parking and free up valuable space
- Lower noise + air pollution
- Offer fast, reliable trips for up to four people
- Help people who don’t have a car or can’t drive get where they need to go
You can help shape the future of Greenville transit. Would you ride a podcar? If yes, which spots in Greenville would be ideal for JPod stations?
Let us know what you think — take this quick survey for a chance to win a $200 gift card.
