Ever thought of an elevated bus that can glide over cars on rails set alongside busy roads? Six years ago, China came up with a wacky idea of a large straddling bus that can let cars drive under it just to skip the congested traffic while carrying hundreds of passengers onboard.
What you see here is the ‘Transit Elevated Bus’ or ‘TEB’ which actually drives over the top of traffic, straddling the cars which pass beneath its hollow underbelly. This concept has evolved from a miniature model showcased at the unveiled at the 19th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo to a full-scale moving mockup in Hebei province’s Qinhuangdao city.
The ‘Transit Elevated Bus’ is designed to handle 300 passengers. It comes in at 22 meters long, 7.8 meters wide plus 4.8 meters tall and cars less than 2 meters tall can drive under the TEB.
The bus is expected to reach speeds of 60 kmph and will be able to zip over other vehicles but the experimental electric vehicle moved cautiously slow on its short 300-meter demo track. The TEB runs on sixteen wheels and is guided by eight pairs of rail wheels.
There are some challenges that go beyond the tech, though. While sensors on the TEB would warn car drivers if they strayed too close to the rails, We not sure how comfortable it would be driving along under something that was also moving, but at a different speed.
What an interesting bus! Thanks for sharing it. Keep up with your work