Ken Avid*r and PRT- an A-Z summary

Ken Avidor represents an unbalanced, fringe viewpoint that alleges PRT is a three decades-long-plus conspiracy by shadowy, right-wing, anti-transit, pro-highway forces to stop light rail transit (which is the sole object of Avidor's transit love). Of course, he has never been able to prove such a conspiracy despite many attempts. And he continues to cling to this conspiracy theory despite light rail having undergone a "revival" during that period.

Let's examine the talking points in his comment about spreading PRT hype.

1. The ULTra PRT is delayed with no explanation. Avidor supplies his own explanation: there are problems ("no mention of problems at Heathrow"). But if ATS Ltd. did not explain the delay, Avidor's claim of problems -- and their concealment -- is just guesswork.

2. He says PRT supporters smeared a transit consultant who only suggested some problems ULTra may have. As proof, he links to an online discussion group. Except the comments merely reflect the frustrations some group members have with a consultant who has repeatedly misportrayed PRT over the years. And whose website is about "advocacy" -- i.e., he has his own bias. And in fact, Avidor and Setty have a symbiotic online history.

3. Citizens in Daventry did not complain about being "flim-flammed," they believed they weren't getting all the information about the planned PRT network. Even though the responsible jurisdiction posted voluminous information online. Why did people still think they were being kept in the dark? Dunno-- why do some people still think President Obama is a Muslim?

4. Finally, Ken resorts to his oldest, most despicable ploy: he claims PRT is a crazy Republican idea -- Bachmann-crazy. Ken can continue to write this counter-intuitive slur (how can a *technology* be strictly Republican or Democratic?) because he conveniently ignores the progressives (such as me) who support PRT:

*Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), who has stated PRT should be included in a new transportation bill

*Debbie Cook (D), former mayor of Huntington Beach, CA

*Councilman Gus Ayer (D) of Fountain Valley, California, who has been attacked by the right wing for supporting PRT

*Mayor Carolyn Peterson (D) of Ithaca NY, which is studying the possibility of PRT there

*Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), who supports Masdar, the carbon neutral city project that is to include an extensive PRT system

*Joan Bokaer, founder of TheocracyWatch, who spoke in favor of PRT last year

*Peter Calthorpe, a leader in the smart-growth movement, and a founder of Congress for the New Urbanism

*Frequent Avidor target Emory Bundy, an environmentalist, former Seattle broadcast executive, and chief of staff to the late Rep. Allard K. Lowenstein (D)

*The man who is credited with devising the modern PRT concept, Donn Fichter, a non-driver.

In fact, Bachmann merely wanted to add the words "personal rapid transit" to the long list of project types that local Minnesota governments can fund by selling bonds, if they want to. It wasn't a spending bill for a PRT project. That and only that is Bachmann's record on PRT: no spending bills, no appearances at transportation workshops, no speeches to podcar conferences, and no PRT bills in Congress (NO PRT bills were introduced by the GOP in all the years they controlled Congress -- odd, if PRT is such a right wing idea).

This is just an overview of the holes in Ken Avidor's anti-PRT campaign, which started (by his own conflicting statements) in 1989, 2003 or 2004. I'll conclude by mentioning some of his other boners:

He claimed a snow storm shut down the 1970s PRT prototype in Morgantown, West Virginia. What really happened: an automobile hit a power pole during the storm, and caused a blackout. The PRT runs on electricity.

He claimed he lived in Alameda, California, when that community was discussing a possible PRT system.

He tried to claim ATS Ltd's Cardiff test track had been "bulldozed" based on a Google Maps satellite photo that obviously pre-dated the track's construction. Instead of correcting his error, he tried to predict the future by claiming the bulldozing had been "postponed."

Perhaps most actionable was his attack on an ATS board member. Avidor claimed the board member's rail company was responsible for a multi-fatality train accident. Not only was Avidor trying to tar PRT by tying it to an unrelated tragedy, he was also factually wrong: a different company had been found at fault.

ATRA's New Teambuilding Protocol Sweeps The Business World

Leading American companies are signing up for seminars that teach a new management excellence technique, developed by the previously little-known Advanced Transit Association (ATRA).

Called Seven Gut Instincts of Highly Ineffective People, the new practice involves the use of a barely self-aware computer program called A Very Idiotic Denial Of Reality (AVIDOR), which mimics the brain engrams of Minneapolis artist Ken Avidor.

AVIDOR, which takes up only 20KB on a computer hard drive, is a revolutionary new technology based on the scientific fact that Ken Avidor's instincts about new ideas are always wrong.

To use AVIDOR, a user simply runs it on a microphone-equipped PC in a conference room, at the same time an important meeting is going on. When a meeting participant voices an idea, AVIDOR responds by squawking. The better the idea, the louder AVIDOR squawks. ATRA trainers routinely tell clients to fine-tune their ideas until the squawking becomes loud, screechy and repetitive.

William H. Frandle III, the software architect behind AVIDOR, is celebrating the success of the application. "This is the first time an infinite loop has made for a better program," Frandle said.

Speaking of boobs...

Ken has declared the Ithaca PRT conference "a bust," and declared that he's shutting down his blog and "not going to be wasting time following the pathetic antics of... the Personal Rapid Transit pod people anymore."

You know what that means, right?


The full story is at "PRT is a Joke" is a Joke, and Bogus.


By the way, I just want to thank Ken for giving me a reason to brush up on my photo-editing skills (also see Wiseline Institute!).

Still a Jo e After All These Years

Yes, Ken Avidor is still a Jo e. So much so that his Jo e-ness can be mapped!

Check out our new counter-propaganda information resource, The PRT-Centered Universe of Ken Avidor, right here!

Learn about the heartbreak of Ken Avidor

Stand by for a special health message

Are you someone who is suffering from Ken Avidor? Hi, I'm Dr. Kermit Frandle of the Why Don't You Shut Your Freakin' Yap Already Foundation. If you or a loved one is suffering from Ken Avidor, this message is for you!

"What is Ken Avidor?"

Ken Avidor is a chronic insistence that light rail is the only effective transit technology that exists, and ever will. Ken Avidor is usually set off by any Google Alert mention of "Personal Rapid Transit" -- PRT, a monorail-like concept that has gone through a number of iterations over several decades. The person writing or uttering "PRT" soon begins displaying the symptoms of Ken Avidor.

"What are the symptoms of Ken Avidor?"

Ken Avidor spreads via the internet. Progressive web sites such as Lloydletta's Nooz and Twin Cities Daily Planet are unknowing carriers. Sufferers usually find themselves covered in painful, itchy and repetitive invective. If you discover you have a rashy smear or a smeary rash, you may have Ken Avidor.

Other symptoms include lack of a sense of humor, a short attention span, and a belief that Google Maps predicts the future.

Avidor Facts: The current strain of Ken Avidor first appeared at Macalester College, when the previous strain was offended by a rude person (1, 2), causing it to mutate into its current, virulent form. Ken Avidor is also known as Avibore, Avismores, Kenwood, Av$d@r, ******, Avidork, Ovipod, Aviscorn, Kendall, PRTSkeptic, Kenworth, Aviboor, !!!!!!, Kenmore, Avigolemeno, Ned Luddington, Lugubridor, Undiedrawer, Korn Avilatoxin, Ben Labridor, and Kiln Ovendoor.

Another common symptom of Ken Avidor is distorted features. Just one of the 99 bills State Senator Ken Jacobsen (D-46) introduced this year in the Washington Legislature was about PRT and maglev transit. Shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with distorted cranial features -- textbook Ken Avidor.

"Who can catch Ken Avidor?"

Ken Avidor can afflict anyone and anything. Elected representatives, politicians, civil engineers, business people, architects, software engineers, urban planners, transit advocates, journalists and countries are all susceptible.

You can get Ken Avidor even by just thinking about a mode of transit that is not light rail. Julie Risser, a Green Party legislative candidate in Minnesota, thought about it. She came down with a relentless case of Ken Avidor that persisted until she swore off transit innovation.

Professor, engineer and anti-missile activist J. Edward Anderson has suffered from Ken Avidor for years, owing to his being at the forefront of PRT design and advocacy.

Zoe Naylor, a business journalist, came down with a case of Ken Avidor [see Nov. 5] just for writing an objective article about PRT.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR had a brief bout of Ken Avidor because they make jokes about automobiles, which are the anti-train.

Trevor Smallwood, a board member of the British PRT company ATS Ltd., began showing Ken Avidor symptoms after a rail company he headed was found NOT to be responsible for a multi-fatality train collision.

The dead can get Ken Avidor. Just hold a seance and ask the late Sheffer Lang, a highly regarded MIT professor and rail administrator.

Wikipedia had Ken Avidor.

Even national tragedies are not immune. September 11, 2001 developed Ken Avidor just eight days later--and all it did was distract attention from global warming.

"Is there a cure for Ken Avidor?"

At this time there is no cure, but here at the Why Don't You Shut Your Freakin' Yap Already Foundation we're searching all the time.

We've also made great strides in Ken Avidor research. For example, Ned Luddington was once thought to be a separate condition. But now we know Ned Luddington and Ken Avidor are the same thing [see also].

The good news is that Ken Avidor is not fatal--everyone I've mentioned is learning to live with Ken Avidor, and can expect to live a full, if hectored, life.

I'm Dr. Kermit Frandle. Thanks for listening.