HUGE SALES POTENTIAL  - This chapter  models specific routes in Colorado to illustrate the three sizes of our product line. The routes described herein have not applied to any government agency for construction and are meant to illustrate  routes we believe are ready for funding discussions. This chapter also illustrates the size of emerging markets for automated guideways and targets four states where the congestion is producing actions by local government for competition by the transit industry.  These routes represent over $5 billion in sales potential in which our SMART Skyways technology sets could compete for, after a $50 million sales model demonstrates the technical feasibility.  We have three sizes of Transport  systems that can be interconnected or stand alone.1) The first is  a 3 mile Local Loop configuration that can be affordable to resorts, malls, office parks, campuses and airports. 2) Next is a Metro Size - An airport connector of 30 to 60 miles paid entirely by fare box. 3) Last are the long distance Line Hauls along Interstate highways  paid by fare box and sales taxes.

1. Many Sales Opportunities Expanding the auto infrastructure is becoming too expensive in terms of cost, disruption and pollution. Can you imagine a future without more transit. Any one can see that today's traffic congestion demands  more capacity. What people don't yet realize is that tomorrow's congestion will make transit even more valuable. It will earn profits instead of requiring subsidies. Everywhere you look around the world, cities are bogging down in crowded highways: malls, universities, sports centers, hospitals, downtowns, airports and suburban office parks. This marketplace could rival the Internet in the 21st Century for the most opportunities to create wealth. We have developed conceptual model routes to delineate the technology and the  economics, needed to finance them. Some of the Routes we are studying include:

2. Types of Routes (Product Line)

These are specific products for our prototype technology to serve different needs and not intended to be applied to the overall industry.  These product lines are all intended to work together and be interchangeable as Line Hauls, Metro Systems and Local Loops.  These can be built and financed individually and later interconnected into a seamless web.  Nobody else does this.

Local Loop (Circulator)  This small 3 to 4 mile system connects 6 to 12 stations to serve areas  such as  a university, parking area, airport, shopping mall or office park. 

Metro  Connectors - These are intermediate size systems that can collect and distribute traffic for airports and points in between. We see them as 20 to 60 miles in size and using the main travel corridors in the metro areas.

Line Haul (Distance) Although the technology is the same, line haul routes differ from local loops in size and numbers of vehicles speed up to 125 mph, depth of beams, stations further apart, and substantial fare box revenue.  Generally Line Hauls will be longer than 50 miles, probably have an airport connection and use the Interstate Highway corridors for routes.  Our prototype technology can switch between Line Haul and Local Loops.

  3. Local Loop Sales (First Five Years) $500 Million
Since our Prototype technology is new, it will be easier to finance small $30 million local circulators than giant multi billion dollar line haul systems.  These local systems can be financed with a combination of property taxes, sales taxes from tourism and perhaps fare box revenues.  This is important because the line hauls are riskier in comparison.  The following examples show how a $30 million Local Loop could be affordable by resorts and other congested areas.  See financing chapter to review "Local Loop Financing". Over the next five years, we think  15 such systems could be negotiated and installed for $500 Million in sales:

A Typical Local Loop Illustration

• Length/3 Miles One Way Loop

• Stations 6 to 12

• Cost/$10 Million per x 3 miles = $ 30 mil

• Construction Time 6 Months

• Design Capacity/4,000 per peak hour

• Ridership/12,000 per day average 

• Tourist Revenues in resort areas could be one half/$150,000 per month

• Sale Price/$30 Million 

• Sales Tax Base Needed/$50 Million supports a purchase @ 3% tax 

• Monthly Cost/$300,000 to operate & Amortize

4. COLORADO RESORTS & TOWNS - A $500 Million Market
Many  resorts communities have the sufficient tourism industry that generates both sales tax and property tax large enough to afford a $30 Million Local Loop Circulator.  These are towns we plan to target for our marketing efforts.  Benefits to Resort owners are:

*  ENHANCE THE LOCAL IMAGE
All resorts are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from other resorts and such a transit system would create international attention.

* EXPAND INTO STEEP TERRAIN
The cost of providing roads into areas surrounding most resorts is very high.  Such a transit system could provide pedestrian satellite communities.

*INCREASE PROPERTY VALUE
Acceleration of property values around stations is a proven fact.  Toronto is a good example.  However in a small resort the property values of the entire town will rise.

*RELIEVE CONGESTION
A local circulator will take cars off the road.   Both local residents and tourists should find it easier to move about town as pedestrians.

*INCREASED TOURISM
The number of people wanting to see an automated transit system is huge

*LOWER POLLUTION
Colorado's high altitude means pollution is more damaging.  With less auto emissions from cars circulating about the town, pollution will be less.

  5. Station Types - $200 Million Up
These  routes will need many stations.   There are large and small communities that can be served with a variety of station stops, each affordable to the local need.  We see Intermodals as a separate category from stations.  Starting with a single station bay, here are three stations sizes:

Single Station with Multiple Bays

Multiple stations and single bays spread around town

Single Station with one bay

6. Long Range Industry Potential  $1 Trillion? (Next 30 Years)

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that current size of this industry in 1996 at $847 billion accounting for 11% of the American economy behind only housing, health care and food.  This figure included cars, gasoline, trucking, insurance, operators such as airlines, trains and boats.  The automotive industry has reached a point where congestion is producing gridlock everywhere. New automated transportation built above this congestion is surely the best opportunity to provide for continued growth.  For each 1% of the industry that automated guideway transport (AGT) can capture over 30 years, it would fund 30,000 miles at $10 million per mile average costs without considering inflation.   This translates into 1250 Local Loop and four national systems Cris-crossing the country.  (Adding in 2.5% inflation, the figure drops to 15,000 miles but the cumulative size of the industry doubles).  With increasing populations and increasing travel the future of our cities will demand many kinds of transit links to keep them functioning.   Here are some examples of congestion we will see during the coming decade:

Universities:  We have 3,000   campuses in America that  are growing larger every year.  They have a already run out of parking spaces and are building parking garages, but most have become so crowded that they ban cars from the main campus.  In addition they often build huge sporting palaces with major parking lots that the campus could use, but are usually isolated and in need of transit connections.

Hospitals:  This industry has thousands of hospitals with similar problems from so much continued growth over the years, that it is choking on it's traffic problems.  Yet health care is an even faster growing industry than transportation and will require better access in the future.

Malls: Even though the Internet is changing retail, malls have become mini cities with their mix of entertainment, retail, services and parking.  There are thousands of huge malls throughout the country and they just keep getting bigger and causing more traffic problems than planners know how to resolve.  Better site circulation is becoming a must, if the owners want to keep customers coming back.

Airports:  Access to these long distance travel gateways is more of a problem every years as the entry corridors have become so congested.  Weather can cripple these corridors too.  The cost of growing additional access capacity by widening highways has begun to become unaffordable.   Transit is becoming a cheaper alternative.

Downtown:  Have these huge unplanned monstrosities out grown their ability to keep tenants and visitors happy?   They have become so crowded, the competition is popping up everywhere else for office parks, retail, entertainment, government and banking.  Their parking costs are so high, that visitors are discouraged.  They need both local circulators and Line Haul access to alleviate these problems.  Hundreds of downtowns today have the financial clout to purchase these systems and in the next thirty years thousands will.

Office Parks:  The competition to downtowns went into the suburbs over the past thirty years and subdivided land into new hundreds of new office parks with buildings surrounded by cheap parking lots.  As these became successful and filled up, the traffic became worse than downtowns because you couldn't walk anywhere because they are so spread out.  Now choking on the traffic mess they have created, many are looking to build local circulators in order to keep their customer bas.

Sports Arenas:  These mega structures are usually located in the center of the city to allow equal access by all.   Sports has become such a huge business that new arenas are popping up everywhere with huge traffic generating problems.  Over the next thirty years, hundreds of these arenas will require installation of transit systems to provide better integration into the fabric of their communities and with less intrusion on the surrounding neighborhoods

Collateral Topics- Available for joint development: (coming later)