China's "Straddling Bus" Would Carry Passengers and Swallow Automobiles

This looks like the kind of thing that might have once appeared on the cover of an old issue of Popular Science. Instead, it comes from the place where today's sci-fi fantasies go for a test drive: Modern China.

The basic concept here is what's called a "straddling bus."  Part light rail vehicle, part bus, and part tunnel, a straddling bus is basically an elevated railcar designed so that individual passenger cars can literally drive underneath it, thus reducing urban congestion.

China Hush provides the details and the logic behind this bizarre concept:

Proposed by Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co., Ltd, the model looks like a subway or light-rail train bestriding the road. It is 4-4.5 m high with two levels: passengers board on the upper level while other vehicles lower than 2 m can go through under. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can speed up to 60 km/h carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time without blocking other vehicles’ way. Also it costs about 500 million yuan to build the bus and a 40-km-long path for it, only 10% of building equivalent subway. It is said that the bus can reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.

Will the "straddling bus" actually get built? Call us doubtful. But it does have one thing going for it that we well appreciate: This is an idea unlike anything we've ever seen before.

You don't need to speak Chinese to enjoy this video, in which the entrepreneurial visionary explains his vision for the future:

What's that you say? "Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!"

Comments

[Charles]

This is an old idea, there used to be a similar system in the US. The railroads operated a "Car Train," you could drive your car onto a car carrier railroad car, the type that was used to transport cars from the manufacturers in Detroit to other cities. The car carriers were hooked up to a passenger train. The passengers could take their cars with them to a distant city without having to drive them and burn gas, and it eliminated wear and tear from long milage. As I recall, these Car Trains were primarily used to go from major hub cities to Disneyland in Florida, it was probably a loss leader to attract more tourist traffic. But it was never very popular and it never really took off. It's a shame though, it is a good system for major intercity travel.

[Andy]

Wouldn't this be great way to add more BART service to the Bay Area ? Let them run on top of the 101, 880, 680 and other freeways. Maybe use the center divider as a track for those trains.
Too bad there are many bridges in the way making it difficult to implement such a solution around here.

Maybe someone will keep this in mind when designing new train corridors. And since those are surface roads, they should be easier to construct and more earthquake-proof while costing less than many other solutions.