A BEIJING COMPANY has unveiled spectacularly futuristic designs for a pollution-busting, elevated bus capable of gliding over the nightmarish mega-jams.
Plans for the Transit Explore Bus (TEB) were showcased earlier this month at a technology expo in the Chinese capital.
The super bus is supported by two legs that run along rails laid along the roadside.
The idea is that passengers sit far above other vehicles on the road, allowing cars to pass underneath. The TEB has the same functions as the subway while its cost of construction is less than one-fifth that of the subway.
60km per hour
Those legs allow the TEB’s giant frame to glide high above the gridlock at speeds of up to 60km per hour. Equally, vehicles that are less than two metres high will be able to drive freely underneath the bus, even when it is stationary.
“The biggest advantage is that the bus will save lots of road space,” Song Youzhou, the project’s chief engineer, told Xinhua, China’s official news agency.
 |
| The super bus is supported by two legs that run along rails laid along the roadside |
Song claimed each bus, capable of transporting up to 1,200 commuters, could be produced for 20 percent of the price of an underground train and rolled out far more quickly since the supporting infrastructure was relatively simple.
One TEB could replace 40 conventional buses, he said.
A prototype will reportedly be deployed on the streets of Qinhuangdao, a coastal city about 300km east of Beijing.
The largest car market
The project has been greeted with anticipation in China, where traffic jams have grown as the country overtook the United States to become the largest car market on earth in 2009.
Last year alone 21.1 million passenger cars were sold here.
Doubtless getting stuck in a traffic jam can be one of the most frustrating parts of travelling around a busy city.Now engineers in China, the world’s most populous country have come up with a way to overcome the problem of getting around in traffic.
Designs for a new elevated bus has been unveiled at a tech expo in China, which will apparently be able to carry 1,200 passengers over the top of cars and let traffic to pass underneath it.
The scale model of the ‘Transit Elevated Bus’ was demonstrated last week at the 19th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo.
The elevated bus
The scale model of the ‘Transit Elevated Bus’ was demonstrated this week at the 19th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo.
The idea is that passengers sit far above other vehicles on the road, allowing cars to pass underneath.
The idea is that passengers sit far above other vehicles on the road, allowing cars to pass underneath.
In a model of the vehicle, it appears to run on a set of fixed rails embedded on the road.
It means the vehicle is more like a cross between a tram and a bus.
Engineers hope the design will increase the availability of the road space, and cause fewer traffic jams than regular buses.
It is also expected to save costs compared to other public transport options, like the subway.
Carrying capacity 1,200 people
‘With a carrying capacity of 1,200 people at a time, the TEB has the same functions as the subway while its cost of construction is less than one fifth that of the subway,’ said Bai Zhiming, engineer in charge of the TEB project said in a YouTube video showing an interview with CCTV News.
‘Its construction can be finished in one year,’ he added.
The first tests of the bus are scheduled to start trail operation in Qinhuangdao City, in north China’s Hebei Province, this year.
It is expected to save costs compared to other public transport options, like the subway. The first tests of the bus are scheduled to start trail operation in Qinhuangdao City, north China’s Hebei Province.
Source: Weekly Holiday
