UC Berkeley Transit Exhibition Features Novel Hallitube Concept Among Congestion-fighting Alternatives

San Francisco, Ca. Road grid-space is running out. The H.E.Davis Transportation Library at the University of Californa/Berkeley (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/exhibits/futuristics/prt/17.html ) is displaying modern as well as older "futuristic" concepts in transportation design. De rigeur are such never-seen staples as the helicopter bus, the gas-turbine car and overhead suspended carways. But also featured are present-day proposals ranging from costly, institutional monorails to, yes, "Hallitubes".
This new minimalist thin-tube system shrinks construction costs, but riders need to make some sacrifices. Although speeds are high and set-up is easy, the driver is required to physically drag and mount a luge-like cart from storage. Congestion issues are avoided by the pure commuting nature of the system: it features only one exit for every four highway exits per tube. The Hallitube Initiative is a grassroot anti-congestion campaign pushed forward by volunteers and carefully avoided by mainstream media.You can reach the mirror sites by entering "Hallitubes" into your search engine or by trying the gateway www.generaltransit.com. While the transportation establishment would like to see half-billion dollar monorails (for seven miles), there are major transit experts concerned enough about gridspace and cost to support the Hallitube Initiative.
"An innovative strategy that merits consideration for alleviating congestion and encouraging alternate transportation". Dr. Stephen Mattingly, Dept. of Civil Eng. Univ. of Texas.
"A great attempt to solve the current urban transportation problem", Dr. Morton Gulak, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.
"Maybe we cannot beam you up, but we can tube you over !" Dr. Kenneth Waldron, Prof. of Mech. Eng., James Clark Faculty Scholar, Stanford University.
"Makes a lot more sense than the public vehicle aspect of other PRT systems…" Dr. K. Kockelman, Dept. of Civil & Arch. Eng., Univ. of Texas.
"An interesting project worthy of consideration" Dr. Kevin Krizek, Director, ACT Transp. Research Group, Univ. of Minnesota.
"Hallitubes should provide everyone who is frustated and disgusted by the traffic situation in our cities with the hope that very soon,we well be able to cost-effectively tame the monster that the car has become." Dr. Jerry Kolo, Dept. of Urban and Reg. Planning, Florida Atlantic Univ.