AUSTIN, TX — The
Regional Transportation Council’s (RTC) Certification of Emerging and Reliable Transportation Technology (CERTT) allows for technology providers to implement innovative solutions for transportation issues in the Dallas-Fort Worth region while simultaneously working toward obtaining any federal or state certification needed.
The RTC recently initiated the process for NCTCOG to proceed with its first round of potential proposals. NCTCOG has worked with two technology providers for this first round: JPods and TransPod. Each technology serves a different transportation niche, and NCTCOG anticipates great interest from local governments.
JPods is a gondola-like personal rapid transit solution that operates on a fixed guideway above a road. Capable of linear and gridded layouts, JPods promises low-cost, reliable, on-demand transportation of people and goods. It is well-suited for local trips in areas of high traffic and population density, and areas seeking increased mobility to transit connections.
TransPod is a hyperloop technology, aiming to provide inter-city, ultra-high-speed transportation of both people and cargo via near-vacuum tubes. TransPod is currently designing a line in Alberta, Canada, between Calgary and Edmonton, and has established test facilities in France.