China plans huge buses that can drive over traffic
Straddling buses will be made to fit under city overpasses. Shenzhen Hashi predicts that each of the vehicles' cabs will carry 300 passengers at a time (up to 1,400 passengers in all) and will reduce traffic by up to 30% on crowded roads.
Instead of spending millions to widen roads, a Chinese company has come up with a new futuristic bus design to counter traffic jams.
Enter the 3D Express Coach. Developed by the Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Company, the vehicle is able to carry up to 1,400 passengers at a go while reducing traffic jams by some 30 per cent.
The 3D Express Coach does this by sporting a design which allows cars 2 m and under in height to pass through under from under the vehicle. Looking like a subway train on stilts, the bus is 4 to 4.5 m tall and has 2 levels. The upper level carries passengers and the lower level will look like a tunnel of sorts that smaller vehicles can drive through.
Passengers will board and alight from the vehicle by means of elevated, above ground stations. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the 3D Express Bus can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h while reducing energy costs. At an estimated 500 million yuan ($100 million) construction cost for building the bus and a 40 km-long path, the 3D Express Bus will only take 10 per cent of what it costs of build a subway system.
According to the tech website Engadget, construction of the first 185 km of track will begin in Beijing in 2010.
