A few months ago we shared a video of a theoretical elevated road bus that was apparently being developed in China and well, it turns out that they’ve already managed to finish it. Rapid.
Featured Image VIA
I didn’t really feel like this was going to be available for like ten years or something, but here it is. The bus is raised above traffic so it takes up less space on the road. And while this seems like a theoretically good idea, judging by the chaos that ensues on the roads in China, I can imagine that this is only going to end in disaster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiKGjnG01KY
The two metre high Transit Elevated Bus hit the road in Qinhaungdao earlier this week and to be fair, it does look like a real gamechanger. It can reach speeds of up to 60km/h and runs on rails instead of the actual road. It can also link together with four other buses to create a superbus capable of carrying way more people.
Engineer Bai Zhiming said the following:
The TEB has the same functions as the subway, while its cost of construction is less than one fifth of the subway.
Wow. Can’t wait to see them roll these out in London. Would make getting anywhere about 7000 times easier. Would make incidents like this bus getting its roof ripped off by a tree less likely too.