Transport

GETS is an exciting new form of public transport. It is neither a bus, nor is it a “trackless tram” or light rail vehicle. The technology was first developed in the late 1980’s by the California PATH Program, within the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. The goal was to provide commuters with a light rail-like experience at a fraction of the cost and implementation time of a bus or light rail system.

To test the technology, significant studies were conducted including PATH’s Automated Highways Research in 1987, the National Automated Highways System Consortium’s Demo ’97 and a 2015 US Department of Transport trial in Eugene, Oregon. The technology, now known as iDRT or Intelligent Digital Rail Technology, was later purchased, developed, and fine-tuned by Shanghai Electric – one of the world’s largest manufacturers. ITSG has since been working with Shanghai Electric, and now CRRC, to commercialize the technology for the global transport market with the world’s first iDRT unveiled in August 2020 in Pudong, China, before going into operation on 1 January 2021 in Lingang, Shanghai (21km medium capacity demonstration line).

iDRT

The technology which guides the vehicle, originally developed at Berkeley, and marketed by ITSG, is understood to be the only solution that can reliably ensure automated driving under extreme conditions such as bad weather, weak light, dirty roads, and electromagnetic interference. The iDRT is fitted with intelligent sensors that detect magnets placed into the road surface. The magnets produce a code which is read by the magnetic sensor, so the vehicle knows where it is.

The zero-emission vehicles are powered by on-board super capacitor batteries with 6-12 minute charging time, operating within a 15-30km range, depending on the route.