How would you feel about a bus zooming over your head? It’s a real question you’ll have to ask soon in China as the first test run of an experimental “straddle bus” was successfully completed this week.
China’s large population has led to some fascinating if unorthodox advances in public transportation over the years, but the straddle bus, designed by a company called Transit Explore Bus, seems to be a winner. It works just like you might expect: it’s built with a cavity beneath the passenger section, and the cavity is high enough off the ground that it can pass overtop of moving cars without any damage.
We wrote about it earlier this year, and you can check out concepts here.
Now it seems that the concepts will become a reality. Even though the test course didn’t simulate real traffic conditions, and only ran 300 meters — it’s proof that the bus operates.
Figuring out the traffic will take time and learning anyway… and maybe some medication for claustrophobia.
[H/T Shanghaiist]