A SM'ART provides the smoothest ride, greatest views and is always on time. Much lower cost fixed-guideways means transit for all. Future mobility is illustrated by this quick little narrative.
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Asha finished her morning run, showered, ate breakfast and set down to check emails. There was an invitation to lunch with a client
at the Denver Tech Center (DTC) thirty mile away. She responded with a ‘yes’ and her calendar app checked for conflicts and confirmed the lunch date. The calendar app then notified her mobility app to arrange transportation. By the time 11:15 rolled around, Asha was taking a walk along Boulder Creek near Broadway. An autonomous neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) pulled into a nearby parking lot and sent a notification to Asha’s cell phone directing her to the vehicle. Asha stepped into the autonomous NEV, which quickly whisked her to the nearest SM’ART station. As she stepped out of the NEV, the SM’ART was boarding for its trip to the DTC. Traveling at speeds up to 125 mph, and with several quick ten-second boarding stops along the way, the SM’ART arrived at DTC at 11:52. Another autonomous NEV was waiting for Asha and quickly took her to the restaurant, arriving at 11:58.
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The automation of mass transit, along with autonomous vehicles, shifts mobility into the background. Local and regional transportation will just be there when needed. "Don't give it a second thought - it will just be there whenever you need it." SM'ART, in particular, has the added benefit of traveling above the "people space", quietly and very fast. The people space will be left for walking, biking and low-impact vehicles. Swift will provide the technology and electric drive bogies to bring this vision to reality.
