Dual-mode vehicle

A dual-mode vehicle (DMV) is a vehicle that can operate on conventional road surfaces as well as a railway track or a dedicated track known as a guideway. The development of these vehicles started together with personal rapid transport systems in the 1950s or even earlier.^[1]

Dual-mode vehicles are commonly electrically powered and run in dual-mode for power too, using batteries for short distances and low speeds, and track-fed power for longer distances and higher speeds. Dual-mode vehicles were originally studied as a way to make electric cars suitable for inter-city travel without the need for a separate engine.

Dual-mode transit describes transportation systems in which dual-mode vehicles operate on both public roads and on a guideway; thus using two modes of transport.^[2] In a typical dual-mode transit system, private vehicles comparable to automobiles would be able to travel under driver control on the street, but then enter a guideway, which may be a specialized form of railway or monorail, for automated travel over an extended distance.^[3] More recently, starting in the 1990s, several dual-mode mass transit systems have appeared, most notably a number of rubber-tyred trams and guided buses. The subset of dual-mode vehicles using conventional rail tracks and roads are called road–rail vehicles.^{[citation needed]}