Modern Metro Systems Where You’d Least Expect! | Airport People Movers 

A few people are mentioning unions, remember that Canada and Europe also have robust unions, and even more people get to be members because the transit systems are much bigger!

In a shocking reversal of his historic opinion, Reese is advocating for more frequent transit using automated skytrain type light metros.

This is a masterclass dismantling of the American psychology around transit. Your deep understanding of this topic really shines in this one.

Was recently at JFK and Orlando airports. Both have automated people movers with platform screens doors. Crazy that we can't imagine building this anywhere else.

One thing about the Phoenix light rail, it usually runs every 10-15 minutes but is at decreased capacity because of construction. That’s why it is 20 minutes rn

I think Phoenix's tram is kind of an example of how things can go wrong, given on a per mile basis it cost as much as the REM in Montreal which is entirely grade separated.

The hardest thing in creating good transit is to make officials work together and select the best options.

I think a video dedicated to Disney World transit would be interesting... monorails, Sky Liners, boats, trams, buses (3rd largest bus fleet in Florida), MinnieVan ride sharing... even the People Mover, functional steam locomotives and the Main Street horse and carriage and double-decker bus. Edit: @Reese if you ever decide to do this video, I know some Disney transportation experts who would probably be open to doing something together on this.

Its funny you bring up the Copenhagen metro. I am Danish and lived many years in Copenhagen, now moved to Seoul which has the best network and cleanest stations I've used (also I speak korean so that helps compared to tourists), but the trains stop at midnight, whereas Copenhagen is 24/7 and really frequent... Here I feel like im forced to plan around that stop/start period, whereas I never had to worry about time in Copenhagen.

In my opinion, in the US and Canada, its not the transportation but the destinations (stations). Most stations aren't worth going to, there is nothing there usually but a parking lot. If you're going to drive to a station, might as well just drive to your desired location. Exclusionary zoning and parking requirements pretty much makes a city sprawl horizontally which makes places to go more spread out, inconvenient to walk, and makes car travel necessary. Low density = low frequency of coincidental destinations = inefficient public transport.

This video really goes hand in hand with CityNerd's video on lifestyle centers. It is intriguing how very suburban places have more mixed-use development and better transit than some of North America's heavy hitters like Houston, and less remarkable places like London😐.

Have you ever thought of looking at urban rail transit in Africa? A number countries have light rail and metro. South Africa , Egypt, Ethiopia, etc… Would be interested in your take on the matter!

I just connected through O'Hare and used the ATS system to get from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1. Automated, rubber tires, platform doors... *chef's kiss*

Growing up in Atlanta I always joked how great the Plane Train is at ATL (Platform screen doors, super clean, super frequent, automated, dislike the rubber tires tho) vs the actual subway MARTA (trains old AF, regular platforms, headways of up to 20 min sometimes, never clean). It's funny too because I'll be at the airport with "anti-transit" people and they'll love the Plane Train and I'm like "This is what all our transit could be like if we funded it right 😭"

Good video, as an ATLien I think about this every time I go to the airport and compare Marta to the plane train. Its just hard to understand why we haven't taken the plane train experience and applied it in other places, especially since the city owns and operates the airport.

The more videos you do on US systems the more I want to see a video on Cleveland. It’s the last place people likely think about for mass transit. Yet, it has one line, similar to Ottawa’s current system but it runs to the airport completely grade separated end to end. You can get an all day pass for $5 and it has an LRT line with branches. Plus they have priority lights for regular busses. Even if not worthy of a video I think you’d enjoy doing research on it. I can see it now though, most under appreciated metro system in the most under appreciated American city. Nonetheless, keep the great videos coming!

1:52 “even tho the Disney parks…” shows universal

I think you're missing the land right of way problem. No one will file a NEQA suit or similar for an airport people mover, and they're basically immune to NIMBYism. That's why they can get built!

This is a really great point. You wonder why the thinking isn't transferable from people-movers to metros. Maybe a short automated system seems affordable, whereas a long one seems wasteful? It doesn't make sense.

Our expectations of US rapid transit are so low that even having platform screen doors would amaze me

The Detroit People Mover runs every 3-5 minutes with 99% reliability. It only goes around downtown, but then again it's a downtown people mover. It does a pretty good job of what it was meant to do, and people do ride it. I'm surprised to see it brought up in this video when it was literally created by a federal program that was seeking to apply what was accomplished with airport people movers to urban environments. It's sort of half way between airport people mover and light metro.

Morgantown, WV has had an automated people mover since 1975. Larger US cities with higher budgets should have no excuses.

By law in the US, any application for federal subsidy of metropolitan transit must be pre-approved by the local transit unions. That means there can not be automated trains without operators. Airport systems are paid for from a different pocket, and (as far as I know) do not suffer from the same disability. As for Phoenix, the builders of the very expensive system were mostly voters with influence, the users are mostly not voters and have no influence. The political purpose of the system (which was to attract federal funds to subsidize the construction industry) was fulfilled when it was built. Operation is optional. The tiny operators union doesn't have enough importance to improve frequency of service.

WMATA used to use, and will supposedly again soon, an automated system for operating trains. It still requires an operator to be behind the controls of every train. So you get the benefit of automation but without the cost savings on personnel. As some others have pointed out in comments, US Labor Unions have some pretty big control over these actions that don't affect airport systems. Airports also have dedicated funding lacking in most major metro areas by comparison for installing train systems. Finally, IAD still has to use the people movers for certain areas of its terminals and for international passengers being taken to customs.

The ‘Plane Train’ in Atlanta is incredible and I believe it’s the best transit line in the US.

Makes me wonder how much it would cost to automate our traditional metros. LA's subway would be a good candidate for trying this. Maybe Chicago too since it's not too large but deals with a variety of weather conditions

Don’t forget the every 20 minute Tempe Streetcar. Phoenix’s system is expanding 😍

Thoughts on the Miami Metromover? Its a free APM serving the downtown area. An example of APM outside of airport setting.

Woohoo Lille. Loved their subway system when I lived there.

I think a rubber tyred system probably makes some sense if you want a 24hr service, as it moves maintenance onto the vehicles, which is simpler to manage whilst maintaining service.

The newest light rail line in Guadalajara Mexico is impressive, clean, and efficient. Skytrain outside the core but runs underground within the urban core. Inexpensive, also.

The plane train in Atlanta is actually the busiest airport people mover in the world! In a city with crumbling public transit we really oughta learn something from this.

Thank you Reece. San Diego is proposing an APM (not cable pulled but self propelled) connecting airport to Downtown. They realized building a Trolley branch to the airport would only dilute frequencies off a trunk line that will only explode in demand given $10B+ in TOD being built along the main Trolley routes (before including Downtown TOD).

God I hope HART turns out to be an inspiration for the rest of the country. It's utterly maddening to see city after city throw the same low-floor LRVs at every problem, build them dedicated transitways, and then run them 4 times an hour. It's so dispiriting to drive around Portland and see MAX tracks empty all the time.

I was glad that he mentioned HART in Honolulu since it fulfills a lot of the positive transit attributes that he’s advocating.

As someone from honolulu...I was shocked that someone actually talked about HART on a transit channel lol.

4:58 Reece: every 20 minutes Screenshot: every 5 minutes

Regarding Phoenix's rail, I totally see where you're coming from on its flaws, but I would argue it's actually taken a couple (modest) steps to pull some parts of the city near the center closer together, and make popular commutes a little more manageable for riders. When you look at Phoenix, it's almost a special case for its sheer size and land area scale. It's just gonna take a much more concerted effort to get great service there than in other more dense cities. Also, as of 2022, service has returned to a 15-min frequency and running through 1 a.m.

Totally agree with everything you said here. For example, here in Detroit at Metro Airport's McNamara Terminal, there is a perfectly modern-standard automated people mover running along the terminal's concourse to get people to the far gates quickly. If we can have this technology in our airports, then what's stopping us from implementing it in our cities?

9:55 it is again, after briefly losing its spot in 2020, it became the busiest airport again in the year 2021.

I live in Phoenix AZ and just rode the airport people mover (PHX Sky Train) extension that JUST OPENED TODAY! I was pleased how fast you can now get from Terminal 4 to the consolidated rental car facility in just 8 minutes. I have been meticulously watching as construction over the last 5 years. The shuttle buses that it replaced were much slower and frequently maxed out causing riders to wait for the next shuttle. A future west terminal is planned and yet the APM will at some point run four car trains. Thank you very much for this video and Toronto Transit channel for the stock footage.

I got subscribed last week. We, in deep South America, have modern metro Systems, too. The new lines in Santiago and São Paulo systems are example and the new Ligh Rail in Rio de Janeiro.

Very good point! Covid has really brought the staffing shortage to light. And all this time many people were thinking that it was just about schedule frequency are car maintenance. However, if you have a shortage of people to drive your trains, everything else... Goes out the window.

The frequency on Valley Metro Rail is actually relatively inconsistent and ranges between 12-20 minutes according to Valley Metro. Also the PHX SkyTrain can operate at a frequency of as often as every 2 minutes at peak periods

Unions in the US would likely push back heavily if a line was retrofitted to use automated trains, as that would mean operators are meaningless, and would complain, rightly or wrongly, about safety being an issue with automated trains. When I say safety, that could be crime, that could also be the passengers if the automated trains malfunction, and other issues that could fall under safety. If a transit agency pushes through with getting rid of operators, then strikes across their whole network are inevitable. It’s for different reasons, but look at the power the RMT has in the UK

I give you a lot of credit, Reece: you make a compelling argument for rapid transit, but you DO realize that this is the U.S., right? There is no political will to build grade-separated metro systems. I'd use a light rail system if it ran with frequency and avoided vehicular traffic because at least that would be trying to keep travel modes separated. Car-centric cities that build light rail systems that run in mixed traffic seems like a waste to me, but that's the only middle ground that can be achieved when cars get so much priority, transit (in Sun Belt cities especially) has a poverty stigma attached to it, and no one wants to pay for it. Anyway, good video. 👍

hey, i don't know if you ever came to Portugal but basically we have two major metropolitan areas, Lisbon and Porto, and both have a metro system, Lisbon has a underground metro and Porto has a elevated metro (?) It still looks like a ligh rail or tram to me but wtv. anyways, maybe you could make a video comparing underground metro vs overground metro and what pros and cons they both have In Portugal a lot of people say the Porto's Metro is better because it was cheaper to build and covers a bigger area than Lisbon's Metro, I personally prefer the underground but I'm curious about your thoughts

AirTrain JFK is very similar to SkyTrain and I’ve taken it to fly out to LA and to do a photo shoot at the TWA hotel. Sure it costs a premium (was $7.75, now $8 one way) and it doesn’t connect to the city center but it does the job when I take it from Jamaica station (I take the LIRR using the $5 CityTicket over the subway since its faster). The Port Authority wants to replace the AirTrain in Newark with a JFK-style rail system (currently a monorail but it’ll take long b/c they’re in the process of building new terminals to replace outdated ones from the 70’s and would rather build a new people mover when the new terminals are complete) and they tried to build one in LaGuardia but the alignment was at the worst possible way and is currently in the planning phase again. Personally I think it should connect to Astoria, Willets Point, and Jamaica plus allow a LaGuardia to JFK AirTrain route for riders and workers. Also, you mentioned about platform extensions on Airport people mover but not on urban rail systems, The Path is extending their platforms to allow more train cars on their trains.

Loving all the great content over Christmas!

came here from nebula to say great essay, reece. i know that trolls be trolls, but it’s pretty funny to see their comments here on a video where you talk up an area of american transit expertise. i don’t know if they’re bots or just not that bright either way, i am a big fan of automated metros, but i don’t want anything to do with rubber tired systems and their air pollution, especially underground. take care!

The dulles people mover is really nice and tidy and it looks really good

In the US it's never a problem of ability. It is always a problem of will, concessions, and inertia. Our democratic institutions and agency structures are often more about equally representing places than people. It is a problem for urbanism because a city is one place with a lot of people while everywhere else is everywhere else and has fewer people. So who ends up winning? Airports are closed, planned, locations where everything is infrastructure, and everyone who at least has a little money uses it. There's less area to contend with and less people to have a say to block it, and all those everywhere else's with a lot of people feel more invested. What would be an interesting video is exploring funding and governance structures for successfu and growing vs floundering transit systems and how those structures impact success and planning. Like maybe compare LA Metro to SEPTA.

I think it would be awesome to see you talk about the Boston T and the commuter rail, despite being one of the oldest transit systems it's really not kept up that well, but there's still so much incredible stuff to the rails I use every day!

My Airport here in Pittsburgh is losing it's people mover as it is downsizing, It is quite sad, I loved the people mover, but soon instead of going through security and taking the people mover, now once you are through security you will be at the Terminal. Which I guess is better for a smaller airport

Newark AirTrain kinda feels like a themepark ride, and you’ll probably be at 2-3 transfers to get anywhere in the tri-state. That being said, at least it has one (unlike LGA), and connecting to the Northeast corridor is a massive plus.

I agree that almost all future Metro systems should be driverless, totally separated right of ways to traffic that way the two don’t affect each other. What I would offer to make sure drivers don’t get nervous is give them six months worth of severance pay or a job as a controller in the control centre.

There's some irony in that making the case for the "guiding example" of airport trams, this video focuses on what I (and perhaps others) think is the worst airport tram in the US. The PHX SkyTrain serves no purpose for most passengers. It connects terminals pre-security, but PHX is laid out in such a way that few if any passengers will be connecting between terminals. It also doesn't (yet) connect to the rental car center, which is where most people from out of town need to go (given the metro area's setup and structure.) The track has been laid and the stations built, but the extension to the rental car center has been "in testing" for the better part of the year. This has been a huge tease, because the bus to the PHX rental car center is unequivocally the second worst rental car bus in the country (after DFW.) It's crowded, there isn't enough service, and it's a long drive from T4 (which carries the bulk of PHX's traffic.) Aside from the yet to open rental car extension, and besides connecting terminals land-side, which has no utility for 95% of passengers, the PHX airport tram also connects to an economy parking garage (yay!) and--as mentioned in the video--the light rail system, which also as mentioned, is slow and unreliable. I'd enjoy a mini series on airport trams. Better systems to focus on in the US would be Tampa (the first,) Dallas (the largest, I think, and very useful,) and Atlanta (the busiest, and also very useful.) The Atlanta PlaneTrain has a lot in common, arguably, with Paris Metro Line 1. Stations are a similar distance, trains are rubber tire, and they are both automated. It would also be interesting to compare the different airport tram systems that populate the world--i.e. Bombardier APM vs. Mitsubishi Crystal Mover vs. VAL.

Hey, watched this on Nebula but came here to post a comment. Three things. 1. Valley Metro is adding an extension on Center Street south of DT Phoenix which will break the long tram line into two lines in 2024. A North-South Line and a East-West Line. 2. Frequency is back to every 15 minutes now, was 20 minutes because of ridership numbers. 3. I ride Valley Metro every day, and every day the trains are delayed. It's quite obvious to me that trains are delayed as a mix of sitting in traffic and the shear length of the line. Hopefully we can improve the times with two lines and better light priority.

It's definitely unions. It an airport builds a people mover, it is starting from scratch-a new agency with no existing union. If a city already has a metro, then that union will block it being automated. If a city is building a brand new rail line, chances are the organization tasked to do so is the local bus company-and the bus drivers already have a union and will block it being automated.

This video both makes me sad and gives me hope. Can't really find a flaw with your arguments. And as for Phoenix... That airport people mover's new western end station at the car rental terminal is bad planning. Ought to have been built to facilitate the line being extended on so that that end of the line could also link up with the LRT. The planned north-south LRT. That way both the east-west LRT line and the north-south LRT line would have direct interchanges with the APM.

2:20 Riverline Light Rail Camden to Trenton, NJ began on Sunday 2004 March 14. Insanely packed inaugural ride.

The every 20 minute light rail in Phoenix is on weekends only. Weekday trains run every 15. And for the 13 or so years of operation prior to COVID they ran every 12 minutes. I wish 5-train-per hour service would return, but this is still the best service in a city where even major arterial roads have only hourly bus service.

Elephant in the room: Airport transit is "acceptable" to upper middle class and upper-class white-collar professional riders who largely live in car-centric suburban subdivisions of endless McMansions, the type of people who would usually turn their noses up at buses, trains and other forms of mass transit. They like the small-scale, limited-use novelty of these people mover systems in airports or large amusement parks, just not in everyday use. Transit systems in the United States are deeply associated with urban ills, with crowded, dirty trains filled with creepy people and an air of violence or mayhem just around the corner. Americans may complain about urban traffic but really don't want to remedy it, just escape it.

second video I’ve seen of yours. Very good content. Keep it up.

The key reason we in the US are able build airport people movers that are better than some transit systems is because of how they are funded. US airport infrastructure is funded by a per passenger tax on flights. A metro train will have funding from various local, state and federal taxes. This is also the reason the JFK airport areo train is built the way it it.

This was a fascinating video, many thanks for raising so many excellent points. Plenty of food for thought, in America's car-obsessed culture.

I think that often the problem is the local authorities. The U.S still prioritizes Cars over public transport and doesn't seem to be really interested in good public transport.

Amazing video with lots to think about!

Prior to fairly recently (around the time the LaGuardia airport train was paused) there was a bewildering Federal law preventing mass transit from directly serving airports. (A one seat ride was illegal!) This is why there’s all these Airport People Movers that have to connect to the rest of the transit system somewhere off of the airport property. (Seattle-Tacoma was able to get around this by building the station just outside of the property line (or maybe they bought that narrow strip of property from the airport authority?), it’s a pretty long walk to the terminal (through the parking structure).

So many videos, sweet!

Yay you mentioned my city! And yes, lmao, it is one super long light rail line. Honestly, it works for us! I love our light rail, but do I wish it was a metro? Yes.

Miami Metromover is a great example of an effective people mover system that works better than the city's heavy rail (Metrorail).

The problem with creating a Modern Metro System outside of airports is that Airports usually don’t have to deal with crime, homelessness, NIMBY’s and the car-centric mentality that dominates most of America. They also don’t have to deal with government regulations or corporations. They kind of had to build modern metros because Airports were one scenario that they couldn’t find a way to shoehorn cars into. Also, at least car renters can think about the convenience of trains while they’re riding to the car rental lot 👍

please make a video talking about the São Paulo metro and commuter rail! Love your channel content!

Highly interesting! Let me add one remark: it's great that you take a positive approach to the problem and point at possible (actually, obvious) solutions, rather than sticking to some sterile US bashing. Kudos for your positive mindset!

Love the vid❤❤

At least in LA, the problem is they didn't want to spend money on grade separation in the city core so there's a ton of at grade crossings. I do wonder if the modern self driving AI tech can enable automation even on at grade crossings. It should still be an order of magnitude simpler than self driving for regular cars.

My local airport’s transit isn’t that great, but all the same, it kind of punches above its weight within the city. This is PDX. Buses on the lower roadway operate frequent service to the economy parking lots. There is just a single terminal with underground moving walkways through the local garages, rental space, and employee offices, and more moving walkways along the concourses. There is a light rail connection nearby the ticketing and baggage claim areas, large elevators (and in the tall parking garages, many smaller elevators per bank) and high-capacity escalators within the terminal. The light rail is even receiving service improvements soon and upgrades to double track throughout are under construction. Meanwhile the line near my house has been struggling with a severe local operator shortage, limiting its frequency and reliability.

Your ending summarizes well why we ended up with so many trams/light rail even when studies prove that a light metro would have almost the same cost.

Wow! Phoenix has a lot of sore spots that feel familiar to Portland. Our lack of operators put a damper on their new BRT-esque line on Division (as well as everywhere else). The BRT line was finished at a time where operators were at an all time low! Anyone attempting to use transit right now to get to work has to deal with Max trains occasionally just not coming, with seemingly no warning. Buses are routinely tens of minutes late, and it makes the entire process incredibly frustrating. When I moved to the greater metro area and out of the city proper I gave up and bought a car. :/

Excellent video. I hope you become the transit czar of Canada and the US!

Another interesting example is the new Luton airport (LTN) peoplemover (the DART), to take people from the nearest train station (Luton Airport Parkway, fast trains to London and some other destinations, Thameslink and East Midlands Rail, quicker than Stansted express from STN) to the airport complex, via the mid-stay car park. There is a cost (although can be included in rail fare), but the airport also charges a drop off/pick up fee at the terminal and a flag-drop supplement (enhanced starting fare) for taxis (free pickup/dropoff at the midstay carpark with several times per hour shuttle bus) Peoplemover will be replacing a several times per hour shuttle bus (articulated, one of the now rare uses of articulated in the UK, generally no longer used in UK city centres due to some cycling fatalities on bendy routes and fare evasion due to insufficiently enforced Proof of Payment approaches) Dopplemayer cable hauled (and the route is quite long and windy for the technology). Sadly opening delayed due to some technical issues, and there has been cost overruns, should have been electric rather than cable hauled in my opinion. There is also another similar cable hauled mover at Birmingham (UK) International airport (BHX), connecting express trains at Birmingham International station (not city centre) and the co-located Exhibition Centre (one of the biggest exhibition spaces in the UK). This used to be maglev (one of the first, if not the first) but that was aged and became too expensive to maintain and the cheapest replacement was cable hauled.

You should check Medellín Metro

I just flew out of Toronto Pearson for the first time, and holy crap I was amazed that the airport train connected with the value lots AND connected with GO Transit to downtown. I have never seen a line connect to the value lots and I have flown out of maybe 100 different airports (even at JFK you have to get off the subway and then take a connecting line to the airport)

Great video and as someone who grew up in NYC I love riding the AirTrain at JFK. It’s probably the gold standard of what a modern metro could and should look like in New York. Makes me think they should use similar SkyTrain technology should the Interborough Express ever gets built, particularly since there are several tunnels that make up the Bay Ridge Branch ROW that are apparently too narrow to accommodate large main line LIRR style trains. The project would then need smaller IRT subway style rolling stock like what you see on the PATH train system or even the Blue Line in Boston. A smaller automated light metro might be the most ideal system to deploy. And the only place where you can find such an example of this in NYC IS the AirTrain at Kennedy.

Would you ever make a video about detroit transit? Why the people mover sucks, the q line is bizarre at best, the ddot and smart bus systems don't connect... there's a lot you could touch on here

You should do an episode on the new Central subway to Chinatown in San Francisco

In Phoenix they just expanded their Skytrain taking passengers to the rental car center replacing shuttle busses making it easier to get to the rental car center from the airport terminal which normally take half an hour due to waiting for a shuttle bus then then ride to the airport terminal, with this it will be half the time

When Charlotte put in their first Light Rail system, once it was running for about 1/2 year, they announced "It is more expensive to operate than we thought. We have to cancel under performing bus lines." --- So the light rail killed bus service for some of the areas north of the Downtown area. Then they built a couple of additional lines. The first was a street car line that went from a college on the west side to the location where Independence Mall used to be. (A failed mall that had gun fights inside to drive all the customers and vendors away.) So, figuring out why you need a line to an open field? Gang populations there will have to get eliminated to make that line popular... Then there is the new line heading North out of the Downtown area. They COULD have gone as far as the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which would have been a superb park and ride, and offer service when racing is going on... Rather than that, they decided to stop at the local university on that side of the city...where 90-95% of the students live within walking distance. Sorta like what happened on the original line. I asked why they didn't run it over to the two mammoth malls in Pineville? That would be "Too Expensive" -- They COULD have run the track down the median of the interstate there... Less than 2 miles from the 485 "inside the belt line" station. As luck would have it, they never went to downtown Pineville because the city saw the 3rd bump in estimated costs, and decided to drop out of the project. (I could do about a 20 minute routine on CATS and their estimates on the first line... Going from $190 million for 13 miles to almost a billion for 8.5 or whatever was a bit of a bait and switch on the part of the transit agency. I also asked about automated operation, and they said No! "We won't go there." "That would need a means to keep people and animals away from the track We can't do that"

I think you are missing a major aspect that cities in the US and Canada in general are built very differently that Europe's. It is much more difficult to create the ridership required in a typical NA city to be able to sustain the transit frequency and service level. Yes, we can do that in the airports only because there is high density of passengers that needs to be moved around in very liner, predictable patterns. Not so in the urban settings. Cars are still by far the most efficient and comfortable way to travel in NA. Efficient public transit cannot be built alone without consideration of our urban settings.

Ayo what happened at around 12:45??

I would check out the JFK AirTrain in NYC. That airport people mover uses train tracks and def fits the type of transit you discussed in this video.

Never knew there were that many modern metros!

You should do a commentary on the Capitol Hill People Movers.

Great video!👍💯 Thanks for reminding me how flawed & dysfunctional the Muni Metro System is where I live in San Francisco. To come to think of it, the best transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area is the *Airtrain System at SFO Airport.* Man just realizing that makes me so sad & depressed 😔

So, using the APM model, what would be your thoughts on the Miami MetroMover? I think that is the closest public transit service that resembles an APM.

There is an inherent bias against public transit in the US which is often viewed as infrastructure that’s used by the poor and the lower classes who can’t afford to drive. Airport and Disney park people movers don’t have that stigma as the ability to actually access them requires a certain level of income.

Great new video! Which one is shown at 12:16 ? ATL Airport ? And the last at 13:22 ? You're right, there are so many use cases possible for light automated metro in US cities instead of poor service LRT. Having a tremendous capacity in ridership increase, running every 6 or 8 minutes at first then increasing frequency up to a minute and a few seconds if needed plus adding more cars to the train fleet. Not *if* needed but *when* needed, as good and reliable service will create demand and attract riders like syrup attracts bees. It "only" requires a bit of vista while designing the network. That's easy to say, I know, but one can sometimes expect the needs of the public to be answered by the local authorities.

Atlanta is a very busy airport and many people hate it but I don't care how crowded an airport is as long as I can move from gate to gate or terminal in an efficient manner and the airport train is quite the efficient people mover. Walking around Heathrow, Las Vegas and JFK weren't good experiences although those were many years ago.

When will we see some central/eastern european transport systems like Warsaw?