Busses in their current form is rather cumbersome. They get caught in traffic, are large, are scary, take up a lot of valuable highway space and worst of all, in my experience at least, are road bullies. In Malaysia they’re also large contributors to environmental damage.
But what if there was a bus that could solve all of these problems? Well, China thinks it may have a solution.
This is the TEB-1 (Transit Elevated Bus), an elevated bus that is, in essence, a large platform propped up by stilts running under the guise of a bus. The “bus” spans two lanes on a highway, runs on its own tracks and is powered by electricity so there’s no carbon dioxide pollution. Its compartment is 22m long and 7.8m wide, allowing it to have a spacious cabin that can hold up to 300 people at a time. The bus is elevated at a height of 4.7m so cars can easily drive under it.
Many have remarked that when the bus drives along, it looks like it’s eating cars on the highway which is a rather freaky sight. But, this bus was designed to remedy the terrible traffic situation in China and I can’t think of a better solution to the bus. Of course, it’s more like a train if we’re being honest. Plus it will only really work on dual carriageways and it can’t really make right or left turns across a busy intersection without mowing down every person, car and traffic signpost either.
Still, it’s a work in progress and we’ll likely see how feasible this bus truly is when the prototype that was launched in Qinhuangdao this week gets its legs under it. The TEB-1 took its first test ride on Tuesday in the northeastern city located in the Hebei province. What do you guys think of this magnificent monstrosity? Would you drive under a bus like this?
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