China reveals futuristic “straddling bus”

A Chinese public transport project to reduce urban congestion and air pollution ran its inaugural test in Hebei province this week.

The 2m-high Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) runs on electricity and simply straddles the cars below, allowing them to pass underneath uninterrupted.

The futuristic bus is 22 metres long, 7.8 metres wide and stands at 4.8 metres tall, with a passenger capacity of 300 – the equivalent of 40 conventional buses.

Chief engineer, Song Youzhou, believes the operation has the potential to cut carbon emissions by almost 2,500 tonnes, as well as substantially reduce China’s notorious traffic congestion.

Bai Zhiming, Property developer and the man responsible for financing the project’s technology, outlined its financial benefits: “The TEB has the same functions as the subway, while its construction is less than one fifth”.

The bus is expected to reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour, running on rails laid along ordinary roads.

Mr Song’s idea for the project was introduced in 2010 and hailed by Time magazine as one of the top 50 inventions of 2010.

However, it was not seriously considered until a working scale model was unveiled in May at the 19th annual China Beijing International High-Tech Expo.

The trial run was conducted on a 300 metre long controlled track in Qinhuangdao, a seaside town east of Beijing.  50 passengers were on board.

It is currently unknown how the system will work with lorries and taller vehicles.