Yes, podways are PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) and the first PRT system has been operating for nearly 50 years. Our engineering partner, Capgemini, is the largest engineering services company in the world and they have designed, built, and operated dozens of these types of systems. A comparison between PRT and Podways is available.
A podway was installed in 2021 near Boston for testing. That pilot proved the podway's manufacturability, low cost, fast installation, and quiet operation. Every podway project starts with a small pilot followed by a phased rollout. Over a dozen governments are moving forward with podway projects and the first ones will start operations in 2025.
Podway projects are designed to mitigate risk because they are: 1. privately funded, 2. factory built, 3. use of roadway/highway easements, 4. exclusive and grade separated tracks, 5. fully automated controls, 6. no environmental impact and 7. short implementation. While there is currently no large scale Transit X podway system in operation, podway projects are likely lower risk than most roadway or railway projects. A book that researched and analyzed the top risks of large projects is titled: "How Big Things Get Done. The surprising factors that determine the fate of every project"
Governments underestimate their current exposure to risks from flooding, climate heating, pollution, sea level rise, crashes, disruption, and increasing project costs. As podway projects solve major challenges without any government financial burden or land use, moving forward with a podway project has less risk than any other available option.