China's revolutionary bus which straddles moving traffic a global hit

China’s homegrown ‘bus in the sky’ becomes global sensation

A ‘Made in China’ vehicle has received massive global interest after its debut last Sunday, with international media calling it “China’s answer to traffic jams.”

“Flying bus”, “straddling bus”, “hovering bus” or whatever it might be termed, the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) is not quite like anything else running on road today, and is the brainchild of a group of Chinese engineers.

Designed to increase the utilization of road space, its passenger compartment sits above other vehicles on the road below, allowing cars to pass underneath it without disrupting normal traffic.

A model of the TEB debuted at the 19th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo last Sunday. Designers say it can not only save road space to ease congestions, but also help to reduce air pollution – which are the two major problems plaguing Chinese cities.

Running along special tracks and powered by electricity and solar power, the gargantuan bus will be able to carry up to 1,400 passengers, and travel at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour. Once put into operation it has enough passenger places to replace 40 conventional buses, said Song Youzhou, chief engineer of the project.

Song also said trial operations of such a bus will start in Qinhuangdao City, north China's Hebei Province, in the second half of 2016.

"The TEB has the same functions as the subway while its cost of construction is less than one fifth of the subway. Its construction can be finished in one year," said Bai Zhiming, another engineer of the TEB project.

Source: CCTV