The blogosphere is abuzz about a Chinese plan to build a so-called “straddling bus.” The project’s official name — 3D Express Coach — doesn’t quite do it justice. The Huffington Post resorts to hyperbole, its headline screaming, “Huge buses that can DRIVE over cars,” while Engadget sticks with “ginormous.” Here’s what they’re saying: Two-story vehicles would carry passengers on the upper level, while allowing cars less than two meters high to drive under them. Each solar-electric coach would travel on rails built on the side of the road and carry more than 1,000 passengers at a time Engadget says that the first 115 miles of track will be built in Beijing later this year. Check out the slide show on Huffington Post or the YouTube demo (in Chinese) from China Hush.
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Cars won’t be under the bus for very long, just long enough to overtake the bus at a bus stop, or to slow down and let the bus move on and then the side of the road is clear for the car to make a turn.
More: http://www.cockam.com/stradbus.htm
Good questions. I’m having troubling figuring out how this thing will operate in real-life conditions. Supposedly it runs on rails, so it might not be turning much. And as for cars underneath? Your guess is as good as mine.
What happens on turns?
and what if the traffic below wants to change lanes??
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