Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit

Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
	Morgantown PRT vehicle near Beechurst Avenue
Overview
Locale	Morgantown, West Virginia, ; United States
Transit type	Personal rapid transit/People mover
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	5
Daily ridership	16,000
Operation
Began operation	1975
Operator(s)	West Virginia University
Technical
System length	3.6 mi (5.8 km)
Track gauge	concrete guideway
System map
System map
	Legend

Time-lapse video of a trip on the Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit line

Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (WVU PRT) is a personal rapid transit (PRT) system in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University (WVU) and the city's downtown area.

Developed from the Alden staRRcar and built by a consortium led by Boeing Vertol, the driverless system was a government-funded experiment in PRT systems. Upon its opening in 1975 with three stations, it had a fitful start, being three years behind schedule and costing 3–4 times more than estimated. It was expanded in 1978 to its current five stations, two maintenance depots, and over 70 vehicles. Like all PRT systems, stations are built on sidings, which allows vehicles to bypass stations and permits express trips between any two stations.

While the system achieved reliability upwards of 98% for most of its life,^[3]^[4] its reliability declined in the 2000s – dipping to 90% by 2015 – and it gained a reputation for unreliability.^[5] In response, a renewal project was approved in 2012, which has so far replaced the vehicle control and propulsion systems, replaced parts of the power supply, and repaired other infrastructure. A new vehicle control system was commissioned in 2018, and the vehicle fleet is also being replaced.^[4]

The system has operated reliably, and currently is in full operational service as of November 2021, transporting students and staff daily.^[6]

^ Cite error: The named reference booth2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit Statem - System Operation Description Manual". West Virginia University. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2013 – via http://transportation.wvu.edu/prt. {{cite web}}: External link in |via= (help)
^ Cite error: The named reference wright2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b "Modernizing the WVU Personal Rapid Transit System (PRT)". Department of Transportation and Parking WVU. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
^ "The unreliable PRT says a lot about this University". September 20, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
^ "E-News | PRT closed during fall break". enews.wvu.edu. October 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

[booth2007-1] Cite error: The named reference booth2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[manual-2] "Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit Statem - System Operation Description Manual". West Virginia University. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2013 – via http://transportation.wvu.edu/prt. {{cite web}}: External link in |via= (help)

[wright2005-3] Cite error: The named reference wright2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[WVUTransAndParking2015-4] "Modernizing the WVU Personal Rapid Transit System (PRT)". Department of Transportation and Parking WVU. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.

[5] "The unreliable PRT says a lot about this University". September 20, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2017.

[6] "E-News | PRT closed during fall break". enews.wvu.edu. October 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

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