Chinese Innovation

[Sifaan]

With all the imitations that China produces, it's refreshing to see them coming up with an innovation of their own - a Giant bus that drives over cars:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/green-motoring/7930484/Giant-bus-which-drives-over-cars-planned-in-China.html

The huge vehicle is as wide as two road lanes and 18 feet tall, carries more than 300 passengers per bus, and its electric motors run partly on solar power. The bus network could carry as many as 1,400 passengers at once.

Its designers say it can reduce traffic congestion in China's crowded cities by as much as 30 per cent.

Furthermore, it is said that each bus can reduce fuel use by 860 tons per year, bringing carbon emissions down by 2,640 tons.

Song Youzhou, the chairman of Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Company, the firm behind the buses, says: "The main innovation of the straddling bus is that it runs above cars and under overpasses. Its biggest strengths are saving road space, efficiency and high capacity."

The bus will need to have the roads it runs on redesigned - either with rails for the bus to run on, or simple white lines that an automated system can use as guides. The rails would be more expensive, but Mr Youzhou says they would make the buses a further 30 per cent more efficient. Building the buses and a 40km (25 mile) track for it would cost 500 million yuan (£46.5 million), about 10 per cent the cost of the equivalent distance of underground railway.

In the event of emergencies, passengers would escape from the bus using an inflatable slide, like on passenger aircraft.

It is expected to be put into use in Beijing's Menougou District in the "near future", although a specific time frame is not known.

[jdnet]

With all the imitations that China produces, it's refreshing to see them coming up with an innovation of their own - a Giant bus that drives over cars:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/green-motoring/7930484/Giant-bus-which-drives-over-cars-planned-in-China.html

I saw this a couple of weeks ago. Pretty funky. You should've added the pic. Here it is anyway: http://www.geekologie.com/2010/08/04/chinese-bus.jpg

[Devinda_Z]

Fantastic idea!

[jdnet]

Fantastic idea!

I can see a few problems with the idea though. What happens in the event a vehicle driving under the bus, crashes into it? Is it possible that it could go off path or even rol over sue to its extremely high center of gravity? I would imagine that it wouldn't be a pretty site should it manage to roll over.

[nissan_fan]

I saw this a couple of weeks ago. Pretty funky. You should've added the pic. Here it is anyway: http://www.geekologie.com/2010/08/04/chinese-bus.jpg

Although technology is in development phase yet, SL private bus drivers think that they each has the prototype. :)

[jdnet]

Although technology is in development phase yet, SL private bus drivers think that they each has the prototype. :)

bwahahahahha. Touche Sir, touche.

[Sifaan]

Although technology is in development phase yet, SL private bus drivers think that they each has the prototype. :)

ROFL

What happens in the event a vehicle driving under the bus, crashes into it? Is it possible that it could go off path or even rol over sue to its extremely high center of gravity? I would imagine that it wouldn't be a pretty site should it manage to roll over.

Well, I can't understand what the video is saying, but there was some animation of some kind of warning system where there was some alarm to warn off a car that got too close, as well as to prevent a vehicle that was too high trying to go under. Even though the chinese have a bad rep for safety, they also have a bad rep for pollution and it's nice to see them trying to do something about it.

Also traffic jams in China are in a class of their own (http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article592015.ece) so probably high speed collission is the least of the worries