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Chinese Straddle Bus

China's new idea for dealing with their traffic issues.

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%.

According to the translation, it would take 1/3 of the time to build the infrastructure for the straddling bus than it would to build the same amount of subway. There are 2 proposed ideas for keeping the bus on track:

1. laying rails on both sides of the car lane which the bus would run on
or

2. painting white lines on both sides which the bus' auto-pilot would follow

The scary part is if you're driving underneath the bus in the tunnel and the bus is about to turn. There are signal lights inside to warn you, but still. I think it's a very interesting idea, but I'd have to see more to dispel the visions of cars getting smashed into the sides of the bus.