I will refer you to a recent July 31st entry at China Hush entitled ‘Straddling bus- a cheaper greener alternative to public commute’. The Straddling Bus is a brand new public transit concept for cities that are becoming increasingly congested and increasingly expensive to maintain. As the video above displays, the bus essentially travels over cars decreasing the number of vehicles on the road as well as eliminating buses on tight schedules getting caught in severe traffic. But the advantages of the straddling buses don’t stop there. According to China Hush, the buses are also far cheaper to build than a below ground subway. Not to mention that the actual track will take a far shorter time to manufacture (1 year for 40 km vs. 3 years at best for a subway).
Perhaps the only part of the concept that needs work is how passengers will actually board these futuristic buses. One idea is to install a kind of ladder system which riders can climb up and down. However, this idea will not only be detrimental to anyone in a wheel chair but it will also increase wait times at the actual stops as passengers will take far longer to board than a regular bus.
However, in the end, it is very refreshing to hear a public transit option that may indeed some weight and merit behind it. In fact, the bus will be put into pilot use in the Beijing’s Mentougou District in the near future.
