Transport

Very innovative transport coming from China – buses that are built to drive over cars.

China Hush introduces :

A big concern on top of urban transportation planner’s mind is how to speed up the traffic: putting more buses on the road will jam the roads even worse and deteriorate the air; building more subway is costly and time consuming. Well, here is an cheaper, greener and fast alternative to lighten their mind up a bit: the straddling bus, first exhibited on the 13th Beijing International High-tech Expo in May this year.

Proposed by Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co., Ltd, the model looks like a subway or light-rail train bestriding the road. It is 4-4.5 m high with two levels: passengers board on the upper level while other vehicles lower than 2 m can go through under. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can speed up to 60 km/h carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time without blocking other vehicles’ way. Also it costs about 500 million yuan to build the bus and a 40-km-long path for it, only 10% of building equivalent subway. It is said that the bus can reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.

Engadget comments :

[…] This cunning project by Shenzhen Huashi Future Car-Parking Equipment actually makes sense. The idea is to make use of the space between regular-size cars and bridges, thus saving construction costs as well as minimizing congestion impact by allowing cars to drive underneath these jumbo buses. Fancy hitching a ride? You better start planning your move to Beijing’s Mentougou district, which is where Huashi will commence building its first 186km of track at year’s end.

Here’s the Chinese video that explains it all with English translation:

Photos from the video presentation :

More readings :

• 3D Express Coach (PICTURES): China Plans Huge Buses That Can DRIVE OVER Cars
• Giant bus which drives over cars planned in China
• 3D Fast Bus in China Goes OVER Cars
• China Builds Bus That Drives Over Cars: Be Very Afraid
• “Straddling” bus–a cheaper, greener and faster alternative to commute (with video transcript).
• China’s ’3D Fast Bus’ Straddles the Road So Cars Can Drive Under
• התחליף לרכבת התחתית? אוטובוס סיני שנוסע מעל למכוניות (in Hebrew)