Patent ID: 7047888

Claim:
A transit system, comprising: a) an elongate guideway, including: i. a riding surface, having functionally interchangeable transit and transition lanes; ii. a plurality of rider access portals, disposed in a side of the guideway, located at a plurality of destination locations; and iii. vehicle access portals, configured to allow vehicles to enter or leave the guideway; b) a plurality of autonomous vehicles, disposed within the guideway, configured for transporting riders, the autonomous vehicles having rider entry doors configured to selectively align with any of the rider access portals and allow the riders to enter the vehicle when the autonomous vehicle stops in the guideway adjacent to one of the rider access portals, the transit lane being configured to accommodate the autonomous vehicles traveling at a transit speed, and the transition lane being oriented substantially parallel to the transit lane and located adjacent to the rider access portals, at least some of the autonomous vehicles being configured for independent operation and control by a driver outside of the guideway; and c) a control system, configured to i. automatically direct one of the plurality of autonomous vehicles along the guideway and to enter the transition lane to stop adjacent to a selected one of the rider access portals in response to a request from one of the riders; and ii. automatically guide the one autonomous vehicle along the guideway to a destination location selected by the rider.