Taxis without drivers

( A picture of one ULTra PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) vehicle (Credit: ATS Ltd))

A European 'CityMobil' project which involves 28 partners in 10 countries at a cost of €40 million plans to eliminate city drivers and three trial sites have already been selected. For example, in 2008, Terminal 5 in London's Heathrow airport will be connected to the car park by driverless electric cars along a 4-kilometer track:

'At London's Heathrow Airport, starting in summer of 2008, 19-computer steered electric cars will go into operation. The automated taxis will be used to connect Heathrow's Terminal 5 with a parking lot. The technology, which has been named "ULTra," has been developed by the British firm ATS and is already being tested. The driverless vehicles pick up passengers after they are ordered and deliver them to their destination. Magnets or sensors on the ground direct the vehicles along their route.'

Read more at 'Taxis Without Drivers' & the CityMobil Project