If you thought traffic was bad in your hometown, then be thankful that you’ve never driven in China. One of the most infamous cases of horrific traffic conditions in China was the National Expressway 110 incident, which was a traffic jam that was around 60 miles long and took almost two weeks to pass.
Whether it’s due to the country’s large population, poor road planning or both, there is no doubt that China has a serious traffic problem. However, a recently proposed plan to fix this problem may finally be happening after China’s elevated bus was recently revealed for the first time.
Elevated Bus That Drives Over Traffic
Officially named the “Transit Elevated Bus” (TEB), this 2-meter high piece of public transportation may be the answer to China’s horrendous traffic issues.
The Transit Elevated Bus works by “straddling” traffic that passes through underneath it, while it drives along the side of the road.
” The biggest advantage is that the bus will save lots of road space,” Song Youzhou, the project’s chief engineer, told state-media agency Xinhua.
The bus is 72 feet long and 25 feet wide. According to its designers, it will be able to hold up to 300 passengers.
“The TEB has the same functions as the subway, while its cost of construction is less than one fifth of the subway,” engineer Bai Zhiming told news outlet CCTV.
Aside from reducing traffic, the Transit Elevated Bus will help cut down on pollution as well. This is because the bus will run entirely on an electric battery.
The very first trial-run of the newly invented bus was conducted on a 300m-long controlled track in the city of Qinhuangdao.
Although it has not yet been decided when the Transit Elevated Bus will be ready for mainstream use, the trial run presented a number of benefits that it could provide. The firm that designed the bus claims that it could reach almost 40 miles an hour. It also claimed that one Transit Elevated Bus would be able to replace up to 40 conventional buses.
