The 5th Podcar City Conference (PCCC5) will be held on September 6-8, 2011 at Stockholm Waterfront Conference Center. Conference Presenters are the Institute for Sustainable Transportation (IST), Advanced Transit Association (ATRA) and Kompass, a network for local authorities interested in Podcars (PRT).

By first recognizing and accepting the fact that we’ve built and established an extremely unsustainable way of living in our contemporary fast-paced hi-tech world, we can then challenge ourselves to turn the page and begin drafting a new chapter in our story.

With abundant creativity, vision, knowledge and will-power prepared to work at repairing the damage done to our homes and environment, we sense that the next big “boom”, the next large scale job creator, economic driver and mega development inertia will be sparked by dedicated investment into fixing the biggest problems that we’ve created —Now; and our Energy, Transportation and Housing infrastructure is a prime place to start.

In regards to building and operating tomorrows’ cities today (zero pollution/waste, energy efficient, attractive, convenient, safe) we feel that the content and focus of our annual event has been consistently at the midpoint of debate, dialog and discovery as to what is possible. If you’re interested in, or working on game-changing technology that could work to reshape our cities of the future into progressive hubs of sustainable development, then this gathering is for you.

As we begin preparations for Podcar City: Stockholm it’s easy to get caught up in the immediacy of our organizational duties, yet as we march forward one cannot overlook the impact our conference series has had on the growth and evolution of this burgeoning industry over the past five years.

Since launching the inaugural event in Uppsala, Sweden in 2007, we have provided an ever-expanding platform for experts from around the globe to present, discuss and debate the merits of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT or Podcars) and how it could fundamentally change the way we build our cities and repair our environment. Although a cutting-edge technology with over 50 years of research and development under its belt, PRT has finally been given an opportunity to show its true promise at this very moment.

Often mocked in transportation circles as far-fetched and unfeasible, contemporary Podcar systems are undoubtedly proving that the most die-hard skeptics and detractors are the ones who are “off beam”. Certainly, a good number of technological innovations are born as a sketch on the back of a napkin, a grand idea that must be envisioned before it is assembled – Walt Disney, the captain of creativity, coined the term “Imagineering” to describe this process. His “Highway of the Future” film, for example, was no whimsical children’s cartoon; it was devised as a legitimate blueprint for achieving modern mobility, new urban living and a major lifestyle enhancement in his beloved United States.

And just like Disney’s cartoon expectations and Davinci’s drawings of helicopters and flying machines, we witness an improbable technology emerge from the drawing board and become actuality. While our team has followed the trajectory of Podcar development very closely, it still amazes us that in such a short span of time legitimate PRT service has emerged for commercial use in the UK, UAE and South Korea;  the antiquated system in West Virginia (US) is being upgraded; and numerous initiatives are being launched to further research, develop and consign PRT in a variety of communities State-side, in the EU, Mexico, India, Asia, the Middle-East, and beyond! Indeed, it’s safe to say that Podcars are here to stay.

In addition, the overall public awareness of PRT has grown exponentially since our first gathering in Uppsala. As we traveled and presented our program in Ithaca, NY / Malmo, Sweden / and San Jose, California, we were fortunate to attract major media attention to the subject of sustainable transportation and land-use, while also shining a very bright spotlight on the PRT suppliers and host cities.  From international front page news via the Associated Press, NY Times, etc., to world-wide television segments produced for Discovery Channel, CNN and MSNBC World Business Report, to a major uptick in buzz generated on web blogs, government sponsored studies, academic papers and research; it is safe to say that Podcars are now known entities in the classroom, council chambers and around the water-cooler.

Featuring informative presentations from leading authorities in investment, public works, transportation, airport and planning directors; engineering and technical professionals; land use and transportation planners; researchers and educators, policy makers and environmental leaders, regulatory officials and energy experts, designers, and architects, our team works to present an ambitious program at each
conference that covers areas such as:

If this exciting theme is of interest to you or your company/institution, please join us this September 6-8, 2011 in majestic Stockholm, Sweden to participate in another ground-breaking event. Early-Bird registration rates for attendees, sponsors and exhibitors are set to expire soon, so get plugged in now and let’s make Podcar City: Stockholm the most successful PRT conference yet!

If you are interested in sponsorship and exhibiting, contact Magnus Hunhammar at magnus.hunhammar@podcar.org. If you have questions about logistics from North America or relationship with ATRA, contact lfabian@airfront.us.