TULSA — The future of mass transportation is already in the works, and one man has a vision of Tulsa as the hub of an industry that may revolutionize the world the same way as the invention of the automobile, or the Internet.

In fact, Bill James sees his invention as something of a combination of those two technological breakthroughs.

KRMG learned about the idea, and about James, thanks to a tip from Sharon Cameron, Co-publisher of GTR Newspapers.

“We consider (it) to be the physical Internet, where you digitize mobility networks much as communications (was) digitized,” he told KRMG during a recent interview.

“Self-driving cars on city streets are an example, but ours are self-driving cars on grade-separated rails.”

Not only would he like to install his patented system in Tulsa, he believes Tulsa could become the Silicon Valley of the next generation of people movers.

[See video and photos of what a "JPod" system would look like in Tulsa - CLICK HERE]

His attention was drawn to Tulsa when he came here to visit his grandchildren.

“Otherwise, I would not have looked at it,” he said. “But I look at it and the manufacturing base is good here, the cost of living is good here.”

And expertise in pipelines translates well to the kind of expertise required to build hyperloop systems, like those under development in Maryland, California, and Dubai - under the auspices of entrepreneurs like Richard Branson and Elon Musk.

“Just like Tulsa claimed to be the oil capital of the world,” James told KRMG, “it has a chance to capture a whole industry that’s very much looking for a home.”

KRMG has reached out to city leaders for their reactions to the idea.