The concept for the Futuristic Bus called Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) can reduce pollution in China and efficiently transport passengers to their destinations.
The vehicle looks like a futuristic space shuttle that literally hovers over automobiles stuck in traffic jams.
Chinese engineers have unveiled a prototype elevated bus designed to rise above the traffic jams below it by straddling road lanes.
Similar to trams, the buses would run on a set of fixed rails on the road.
The “straddling bus”, which owes more to Blade Runner than China’s car-clogged highways, is supported by two legs that run along rails laid along the roadside & an elevator would allow passengers to board onto the TEB from street level.
Engineers say that each “bus” would be able to accommodate 1,200 passengers.
“The biggest advantage is that the bus will save lots of road space,” Song Youzhou, the project’s chief engineer said.
Travelling at speeds of up to 60mph, vehicles up to a height of two metres will be able to drive underneath the bus even when it is stationary.
The concept and scale model was introduced at the 19th annual China Beijing International High-Tech Expo. CCTV allegedly reported that trials for the bus will begin near the end of 2016. A prototype will reportedly be deployed on the streets of Qinhuangdao, a coastal city about 300km east of Beijing, this summer.
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