Nearside refers to the fact the car would pick up and discharge passengers on the “nearside” of an intersection rather than the “farside” as the previous generation of “conventional” cars did (this method of operation caused frequent gridlock, as the stopped cars blocked cross traffic). The 1,500 cars that the PRT ordered from the J. G. Brill Company in South Philadelphia was the largest single order of streetcars in North American history.
The term "nearside" describes how these new cars would pick up passengers on the side closer to the intersection, unlike older cars that picked them up on the far side. This method led to traffic jams because stopped cars blocked cross traffic. The largest single order of streetcars in North America was 1,500 units ordered from J.G. Brill Company in South Philadelphia.