Personal Safety & Security
The personal nature of the ULTra experience ensures that passengers feel safe and secure at all times:
- There is very little waiting at stops - service is on demand, and there will often be vehicles available at stations for the immediate use of the passenger(s).
- Passengers have exclusive use of their vehicles and travel only with chosen companions - once a passenger journey starts the vehicles do not stop to pick up other passengers.
- The vehicle is continuously monitored by the control system during use - Passengers may contact the system controller at any time and the controller can talk to the passengers, see them via onboard CCTV, and respond to any concerns immediately.
- Your destination station can be located close to (or even within) the building you actually want to go to - the lightweight infrastructure allows for much greater integration of services, meaning your onward journey can be short and easy.
Passenger surveys during trials on the ULTra system showed that all passengers felt secure or very secure with the driverless ULTra system. Vehicles, stations, and guideway make use of CCTV, information screens, and emergency call buttons to ensure the users feel safe, secture and at-ease. Passengers can be in audio and visual contact with the control center, for enhanced passenger security.
In addition to the provision of personal safety described above, the ULTra system has a very high level of operational safety. The vehicles are controlled autonomously, thus immediately removing the potential issue of driver distractions, and an independent Automatic Vehicle Protection (AVP) system is in place to stop the vehicle in an emergency, providing ultimate protection to the vehicle and its passengers. See the Control Systems page for technical details on how safety is an integral part of the system design.
