Chinese straddle bus

[ozbob]

Human Transit --> The Chinese Straddle Bus Exists! What Now?

[ozbob]

BBC News --> China's elevated bus: Futuristic 'straddling bus' hits the road

[#Metro]

What does it mean "what now?". Obviously turn it into a car wash bus. Water down the front end, polish while inside with big rollers and clean car comes out the back!

[ozbob]

The straddle bus is what you get when you ask the wrong question and then ask an engineer to solve it. https://t.co/nf6qoDI99u

— Jago Dodson (@urbanizationist) August 3, 2016

[ozbob]

Do you think it will fit on Victoria Bridge LD?

[SurfRail]

Sure as hell won't fit into the bus station... 

[#Metro]

Do you think it will fit on Victoria Bridge LD?

I am happy to assess ideas on merit, not popularity as they come.

Straddle bus would not work with Cultural Centre as it would smash into the pedestrian overpass between GoMA/Museum and QPAC. (Sounds awfully like LM Quirk's "Cleveland Solution" doesn't it?)

Problems galore trying to enter the SEB and QSBS tunnels. Would not physically fit under the REx and in the narrower Brisbane CBD streets without major tunnel works. Car users might also object to having a vehicle larger than them overpass them when they are sitting in traffic - it seems 'unfair'. Would also block exit ramps off the freeway for cars unfortunate enough to be under it when they want to take an exit off the freeway.

Would there be applications for this? Not in its current form, but in a modified form, yes.

If the bottom deck was removed, what you would have in essence is a very high capacity train with ultra-wide gauge. The capacity of that thing would be enormous. Provided that you could build the tunnel, it would move plenty of people. Requires dedicated class A ROW in that case.

Similarly, could also work as a high-capacity ferry - a metro on water if you like. Lower the top deck, put propellers on the back and you have an aquatic metro. perfect for going up and down the Brisbane River.

Not likely to see this any time soon in the Australian context. But thanks for asking!

[ozbob]

    

[ozbob]

Popular Mechanics --> Traffic-Straddling Bus a Total Scam According to Chinese State Media

The internet loves the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB), an innovative new method of transportation planned to launch in China. The futuristic vehicle straddles lanes of traffic, gliding above the chaos below. It's an undeniably appealing idea for the busy cities in the most populated country in the world.

This week, Jinchuang Corp, who produced the first model of the TEB, took it on a "test run", producing a video that wowed viewers all over the world. There are just a few little problems with this amazing innovation.

Firstly, the test, which took place in the Chinese city of Qinhuangdao wasn't really a street test at all. It was a caveat noted in plenty of the original coverage, but the TEB traveled down a road of merely 300 meters, without the regular flow of traffic rushing beneath it. Moreover, according to Chinese state media the officials in Qinhuangdao were not even aware of the test. TEB Technology Development Company's chief engineer later confirmed that the test was merely "internal," not the public spectacle they made it out to be.

The height of the model presents even more problems. The maximum height of vehicles on the road in China is 4.2 to 4.5 meters, but the TEB only can accommodate vehicles that are 2.1 meters tall. Furthermore, it's unclear how the vehicle would turn or evade stoplights. To top all this off, the Transit Elevated Bus isn't even a bus. It runs on tracks, so it is, in fact, a train.

Two Chinese state media outlets have claimed that the whole TEB project is actually a scam to extract funds from investors. The project was funded by peer-to-peer lending, a model where an online company matches potential investors with borrowers, promising a high interest return for those who invest. Other peer-to-peer investing platforms in China have demonstrated the risk of these systems. The platform Ezubao was shut down this year after the government declared the company was a "Ponzi scheme". Even more dubiously, the Chinese tabloid Global Times claims that the project's chief architect, only has a primary school level education.

Whether the TEB is a ploy to take advantage of new financial tools or a sincere project for social and environmental good is still unclear. There are sure to be more developments as the international interest in this ambitious project grows.

Source: Shanghaiist