Solving China’s overwhelming traffic problem is going to require innovative ideas. One proposal is the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB,) a vehicle that would potentially transport passengers to their destinations by gliding over the top of cars that are stuck in traffic jams.
Engineers behind the project explain that an elevator would be used to board passengers from street level onto the TEB. The entire vehicle would have the capacity to accommodate roughly 1,200 passengers. The idea for this vehicle is to have a set of fixed rails on the roadways to allow the TEB to pass over cars in a traffic jam – cars would still be able to move as the TEB would not effect traffic. Additionally, this could increase road space by offering people a different mode of transportation and since the TEB is not in the line of traffic, it would cause fewer traffic jams than regular buses. It would also be cheaper than China’s subway system. Bai Zhiming, engineer in charge of the TEB project explained, ‘With a carrying capacity of 1,200 people at a time, the TEB has the same functions as the subway while its cost of construction is less than one fifth that of the subway.’ However, the exact cost hasn’t been made clear. Zhiming also explained that the TEB could be constructed in about a year and that the first tests of this system are scheduled to begin the second half of this year in Qinhuangdao City.
Images via CCTV
Check out the video below with more details on the TEB
Article Written by Mila Medonaite for Design Engine, May 26, 2016