China’s Future Public Transport - Giant Bus That Drives Over Cars

The Chinese are getting ambitious about their plans for future transportation. In the pipeline is a massive project to develop a solar-powered giant
bus that is as wide as two road lanes, as high as 18ft and able to carry at least 1200 passengers.

The aim of the project is to reduce the traffic congestion in China’s overcrowded roads and being solar powered it would cut down fuel consumption in a country that is already topping the carbon emission and pollution charts.

The straddling bus concept, developed by Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Company, is speculated to reduce traffic jams by 30 per cent and its cheap building costs mean that if the pilot project is successful, we could see it expand to other countries as well in the near future.

The carrier buses will function similar to the subway except they roll above the road traffic. For the implementation of the system, the current roads will have to be redesigned – either with rails for the bus to run on or simple painted lines that an automated system can use as guides.

While the safety of cars and passengers underneath the bus is a concern, China has already given the green light for the pilot project due soon.