In Spring 2010, Heathrow will host the world's first commercial trial of a driverless pod system linking the Terminal 5 Business car park to the main terminal building. Heathrow’s pod is an innovative transport system consisting of a fleet of low-energy, battery-powered, driverless vehicles capable of carrying four passengers and their luggage along a dedicated guideway.

The system brings significant benefits to passengers, providing a quick and comfortable service, with near to no waiting at stations, as well as contributing to improved environmental performance.

Passengers board their pod at one of three stations first selecting their chosen destination using a touch screen.

The programmed pod then takes them directly to their destination, at speeds up to 25mph, without the need for any stops in between. The journey time from the Terminal 5 Business car park to Terminal 5 will be around five minutes.

Each of these driverless pods is capable of carrying four passengers and their luggage providing a quick and comfortable service to the terminal building. Around 500,000 passengers are expected to use the Heathrow pod system each year.

The environmental benefits of Heathrow’s pods are impressive. The introduction of this system will help to reduce the number of bus and coach journeys across the airport, minimising congestion on local roads and contribute to improvements in local air quality. The system is electrically powered, generates zero local emissions and is typically 50% more energy efficient than traditional airport buses. It is also virtually silent in use.

For more information on how Heathrow's pods work visit ATS, the system's designers at www.atsltd.co.uk

• 21 vehicles  will run on the system, each capapble of holding up to 4 passegers  and their luggage
• 3 stations (1 in the main terminal building and 2 in the business car park)
• 3.7 kilometres of track
• 500,000 passengers per year are expected to use the sytem
• Zero local emissions and is 50 percent more energy efficient than traditional airport buses