The South West of Britain has a reputation for pioneering transport solutions. In 1804 Cornishman Richard Trevithick developed the world's first steam-powered locomotive to haul a load on rails, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel's landmark achievements such as the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the Great Western Railway put the region at the forefront of the latest transport developments of the day. Those great men set the stage for a revolution in transport the world over. Now, 200 years later it’s set to happen all over again.

A new transport revolution has been going on down in Britain’s West Country, but this time instead of steam it’s electricity. Inspired by a vision of the city of the future, inventors at the University of Bristol have developed a city transport system that works like a taxi or ‘personal chauffeur’. The concept is now being realised by Advanced Transport Systems Ltd in conjunction with a number of partners including Arup, AMEC and Corus.

One of every two people live in cities and the immigration to cities is increasing, creating megalopolises of millions to tens of millions inhabitants. Already over 200 cities have populations of more than a million people. Managing such large cities, and better management of the planet's resources, could become the most difficult problem of the next century - and transport systems will have to cope too.

But with city pollution and environmental demands ever pressing, the day of the car, bus and cab as we know them are numbered. Designers have long known that something new is needed and the University of Bristol have made a re-appraisal of fundamental transport requirements, recognising that modifications of transport solutions from the last century, i.e. cars and train/tram systems, are unlikely to provide answers for the next.

From early studies it was clear that an automated and uncloggable system would be required - computer controlled and speedy. The design brief called for personal transport, a bit like a taxi, but available almost instantaneously.

The idea of a driverless taxicab is at first a bit scary and certainly the Department for Transport has wanted to ensure safety is paramount. The project started in 1995 and prototype testing was completed in Feb 2003. This work was supported by the Department for Transport, and involved tests on four vehicles on test tracks in Bristol and Cardiff. The work culminated in very successful passenger trials, for which Advanced Transport Systems Ltd received permission from the Rail Inspectorate to carry the public on the system - a major achievement for the project.

So the concept of a city pollution-zero, driverless ‘personal chauffeur’ system was born and tested. Now has it been given approval for a full-scale passenger carrying pilot system in one of two West Country towns; either Swindon or Weston Super Mare, both of which have congested travel routes. The first step is a feasibility study, which should be completed by this summer and lead to the pilot project. The pilot will cover its operating costs, and so the South West Regional Development Agency says it can guarantee that the successful pilot scheme would be expanded to create a fully operational transport system. Capital costs for the complete system are around one third of the cost of purchasing a light railway system.

Called ULTra (Urban Light Transport), the system can best be described as an automatically controlled personal taxi system running on its own guideway network. Access to vehicles is at frequent stations located around the city. At these stops passengers would request a vehicle, if one were not already waiting, and select a destination which would be recorded on a smart-card. They would then board their own ULTracab, swiping the smart-card through a reader to let the central computer know their desired station and that they were ready to leave. The passengers could then sit back and enjoy the ride as the ULTra system takes them to their destination by the quickest available route.

• Immediate personal travel service for you, your family, friends or colleagues, taking you non-stop anywhere on the network whenever you decide to travel
• Journeys that are three times quicker than by bus, car or light rail
• Costs less to operate than buses, cars, trains or light rail - typically one third the cost of equivalent light rail to install
• Uses much less energy per passenger km than buses, cars, trains or light rail
• Is environmentally friendly – zero city pollution, quiet and efficient

The designers have realised that concerns about environmental and other issues can only be fully recognised by a complete new design of transport. Analysis showed that the optimum form of transportation must be personal and meet individual travel needs. This means using small vehicles which must be automated to avoid the chaos of congestion caused by human interaction.

The automated vehicles can be recirculated at various points in the network and this provides a more efficient use of vehicles. Also the layout of the guideway is sufficiently dense so that people do not have to walk far to join the system. The guideways are narrow, much less than a road lane so new route-ways in existing urban areas are easier to lay. In fact avoiding conflicts with existing transport networks is a requirement of the system and running the guideway on elevated tracks in some areas will be necessary. However the small dimensions of the guideway minimises any visual impact and the cabs are quiet and non-polluting.

The stations are all off the main line to allow other ULTracabs to pass unhindered by vehicles which are stopping, waiting or accelerating to line speed, (about 40 or 50mph on expressways, 20 or 25mph on feeders).

An Ultra guideway has the same capacity as a motorway lane (1800 vehicles per hour) but whereas the average speeds in city centres are 13 km/h (8 mph) the Ultra speed is 40 km/h, three times faster. Typical waiting times for even the better bus systems are 6 minutes. 80% of Ultra passengers will have no waiting time while 95% of all Ultra passengers will wait less than 1 minute, even at peak times.

The Ultra uses much less energy per passenger km than buses, cars, trains or light rail and is environmentally friendly - zero city pollution. The Ultra also travels non-stop to the destination, transporting 4 passengers in comfort.

But, if you think this is amazing, what about the future? Advanced Transport Systems are already gearing up for the next logical step – Dual Mode Transport. At the present time, the ULTra system is a form of public transport that can be accessed only by pedestrians i.e you have to walk to the station. The system is publicly owned with the user paying a fare for each usage.

But what about the millions who commute from the suburbs? For them there is another possibility where the system allows special vehicles on to the guideway network, which can be manually driven off the network. As a Dual Mode user you will be able to drive your special car normally on the existing roads but will also be able to drive them on to and off the ULTra network at special access points. On the network, Dual Mode vehicles will be computer controlled like the ULTra vehicles; on the existing roads they will be driveable just like normal cars.

Advanced Transport Systems are conducting a survey to see what the public thinks about the plan. See their website www.atsltd.co.uk. It is envisioned that this new form of vehicle could become a model for a future city car, and be the transport of choice in future cities.

So, if all goes to plan, and the omens certainly look good for it, a new West Country and British development will hit and revolutionise the world. With zero in-city pollution, build costs less than one sixth that of building roads and fares set to be equivalent to busses – possibly less if in-cab advertising support can be used – the idea is bound to be incorporated in designs for new towns and cities.