. At the end of 2006, Minnesota-based JPods LLC and Swiss-based Festel Capital signed a letter of intent to begin raising capital to commercialize JPods patented form of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

PRT is a category of public transportation designed to offer automated, on-demand, non-stop transportation on a network of specially built guide ways. A JPod is a small, efficient, safe, computer driven vehicle designed to transport people and cargo that runs suspended from an overhead rail. The entire network applies existing technologies in new ways.

Exporting JPods to Europe will be a significant opportunity for Minnesota and building a sustainable infrastructure, said Bill James, President of JPods LLC. The European Union issued official studies that PRT will provide equitable personal mobility and reduce problems of pollution and global warming.

The agreement calls for Festel Capital to act as JPods exclusive cooperation partner in raising funds to form Local Mobility Companies (LMCs). A LMC is a privately owned, or public-private venture, that provides and applies JPods patented form of PRT in a given area. LMCs work with all different types of community members- elected officials, the media, neighborhood groups, local government, and private capital, to receive the necessary approval to build and operate a JPods network.

Once built, there could be hundreds of LMCs across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in such prominent cities as Zurich, Munich, Berlin, and Innsbruck. JPods efficient transportation networks are in line with Western Europes tradition as leaders in both technology and environmental stewardship. To learn more please visit www.jpods.com or www.festel.com.