If you can’t get around traffic, you go right on top of it. That’s the way China had come up with around six years ago. China is testing an elevated bus that rides on top of traffic, not in it or around it. This could seriously change the way of transportation.
Each vehicle carries up to 300 people, and a train fitting up 1,200.
China carries out the first tests of a high vehicle that drive over the cars and motorcycles passing through the streets. The idea has everything to replace, in principle, the traditional bus and thereby reduce, at least slightly, the heavy traffic. The project was first presented in 2010 and then in May, even as a concept, and now hit the streets of the city of Qinhuangdao.
There were doubts whether the model would be produced in full scale since they had only thumbnail images to the bus to attend the event this Tuesday. In the first test vehicle, called TEB-1 (which stands for Elevated Transit Bus) the braking system, acceleration and power consumption were evaluated, according to Xinhuanet.
The Elevated Transit Bus model works through a system of rails and has a gap underneath, where they pass other vehicles.
Working on the train, the elevated bus can fit up to 1,200 people and each vehicle can carry up to 300 people.
The rails are at a distance of two lanes for cars and a considerable height, supported by two walls embedded in the tracks.
According to Xinhua news agency, the TEB can have up to four cars connected with an overall length of between 58 and 62 meters, a height of between 4.5 and 4.7 meters and width of 7.8 meters. The lower space through which vehicles would have a height between 2.1 and 2.2 meters.
The project was initially shown while a Chinese fair, China Beijing International High-Tech Expo. At the time, the engineers said that the implementation costs are equivalent to 1/5 of that would be spent on the subway, for example.
To give you our honest opinion, we think it’s pretty cool and we can’t wait to see this thing come to life.
Check out these videos to see more in action:
