Carel van Helsdingen, Chief Executive Officer, 2getthere
Over these 5 years time of operation we are satisfied with the way the system has performed.
Masdar Performance
On November 27th the Masdar City PRT system completed its fifth year of operations, setting all time highs in number of passengers carried per month and per year, passenger growth and system availability. Since the start of operations on 28 November 2010 one can only conclude automated passenger transport is a rock solid, reliable and efficient solution for both passengers as well as stakeholders.
2getthere’s CEO Carel van Helsdingen comments: “Over these 5 years time of operation we are satisfied with the way the system has performed. However, there is always room for improvement and our team is currently working to integrate several features to accommodate a higher capacity while also improving the comfort and ease of travel.”
The system carried one million passengers in 3.5 years of operation. Just 18 months later, the number has increased to 1.575.863 passengers. As such we expect to reach the milestone of 2 million passengers before the end of this year of operations.
The Masdar PRT operates 18 hours a day, from 06.00hr until midnight, every day and is led by 2getthere in co-operation with its UAE partner United Technical Services. The system provides a link between the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST).
Record Highs:
- Last month the PRT carried a record number of 43.763 passengers. The previous high for the year was 40.439 passengers per month, with the monthly low of 24.345 coming during the summer time. Compared with an average of approximately 19.500 passengers per month in 2010, the ridership of the system increased substantially.
- During this anniversary year the system carried 410.410 passengers in total, which is also a record number. Relative to the first year of operations, the annual number of passengers has actually grown by 75% (see attached graph).
- The system availability in the 5th year of operations averaged 99.9% over the year, with a 100% availability being achieved in two months.