Personal rapid transit pod system by Glydways: status and timeline

Personal rapid transit pod system

Small autonomous electric pods running on a 5-mile dedicated guideway between San Jose Mineta International Airport and Diridon transit hub. Pods carry up to four passengers, hailed via app, and operate 24/7.

ProtoStage 2 of 5

Phase 2a underway; construction planned for 2027, opening 2028.

Updated Mar 2025Checked 10 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Phase 2a design and funding finalisation

Glydways founded2016Complete.
San Jose issues RFP for airport-downtown connector2022Complete.
Glydways selected for San Jose Diridon-Airport project2023Complete.
San Jose City Council approves Phase 2a (design and funding)Mar 2025Complete.
Phase 2a design and funding finalisationTarget 2026Current milestone.
Construction begins on guidewayTarget 2027Not yet reached.
Guideway opens and pod service launchesTarget 2028Not yet reached.

Most important updates

San Jose City Council approves Phase 2a of Diridon-Airport pod connector projectMar 2025

Upcoming

2026Phase 2a design and funding finalisation (next)
2027Construction begins on guideway
2028Guideway opens and pod service launches

Current obstacles

Capital cost of guideway constructionBuilding 5 miles of dedicated guideway, stations and control systems costs tens of millions. Cities must be convinced the ridership justifies the expense.
Passenger acceptance of small podsSome prefer cars or buses. Convincing airport travellers to use shared pods requires marketing and reliability.

Physics limits

Dedicated guideway is not scalable to entire citiesA guideway can serve one corridor efficiently, but building thousands of miles of guideway to cover a city is not practical. System reach is limited to fixed routes.
Pod size limits capacityEach pod carries at most 4 passengers. During peak airport rush hours, a large bus or train can move many more people per vehicle. Pods are better for low-demand times or short trips.

How it works

4 parts

Passenger request

Hail via app

Open the Glydways app, enter origin and destination, match to an available pod.

Pod dispatch

Central dispatcher routes pods

Fleet software assigns idle pods to minimize wait and empty miles.

Autonomous ride

Pod drives itself on the guideway

Pod accelerates, navigates and brakes autonomously using sensors; no driver on board.

Drop-off and turnaround

Pod returns to service

After drop-off, pod waits for next request or returns to charging if battery is low.

Spec sheet

Spec	Personal rapid transit pod system
Pod passenger capacity	4 passengers^R (reported)
Fleet size for San Jose project	1,000+^R (reported)
Diridon-Airport guideway length	~5 miles^R (reported)
Maximum pod speed	Up to 35 mph^R (reported)
Estimated fare per ride	$6^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

1 update

Mar 2025

Major: San Jose City Council approves Phase 2a of Diridon-Airport pod connector projectPressRegulatory

About Glydways

The team behind Personal rapid transit pod system

Glydways

Personal rapid transit PRT electric pods guideway autonomous

Glydways makes small autonomous pods on dedicated guideways for short-distance transit. Pods seat four and are hailed via app, not schedules. Won San Jose's RFP for a 5-mile airport-downtown guideway.

Raised $170M Series C in April 2026 from Suzuki Motor, ACS Group, Khosla Ventures and others, bringing total raised to $341M+.
San Jose approved Phase 2a in March 2025 for the 5-mile Diridon-Airport guideway; construction planned for 2027, opening 2028.
System will run 1,000+ pods hailed via app, operating 24/7 between airport and downtown transit hub at $6 per ride.

glydways.com (opens glydways.com)Company profile →

Founded: 201610 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Private
Valuation: $700MprivateApr 2026
Raised: $230M2 rounds
Last round: Series C extension · $60MAug 2026
Works in: VehiclesSelf-driving shuttles
Coverage: 1 program · 3 updateslatest 1 Apr 2026checked 10 Oct
Lead investors: Suzuki Motor CorporationACS GroupKhosla Ventures
Customers: City of San Jose (opens sanjoseca.gov)
Partners: Plenary Americas
Investors: Suzuki Motor Corporation (opens suzuki.co.jp)
People: Gokul HemmadyCEOMark SeegerFounder

Spec

Personal rapid transit pod system

Pod passenger capacity

4 passengers^R (reported)

Fleet size for San Jose project

1,000+^R (reported)

Diridon-Airport guideway length

~5 miles^R (reported)

Maximum pod speed

Up to 35 mph^R (reported)

Estimated fare per ride

$6^R (reported)