Reliable, reasonably priced transportation options are vital, especially in a state where the car is king, public transportation is severely limited, fuel prices are in continual flux, the number of elderly residents is rising rapidly and commodities must be imported by truck, train, pipeline or plane.

Don’t blink while driving through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. You’ll miss your terminal and spend another 10 minutes looping around on a motorway modeled on one of those circles in hell.

But the future holds hope - at a cost of nearly $1.6 billion. It’s the automated people-mover, officially known as the PHX Sky Train.