Video - It may look like something from the future, but China's long-awaited "straddling bus" ran its inaugural test in Hebei province this week.
The bus would span two traffic lanes and carry up to 1,400 passengers. Up to four TEBs can be linked together. It would travel up to 40 miles an hour above street level on a special track, allowing regular cars under 7 feet high to freely pass underneath. (As an extra touch, its underbelly even simulates the sky.)
More importantly, it would run on electricity and take the place of 40 buses, which could cut annual fuel consumption by 800 tons and carbon emissions by almost 2,500 tons, according to an interview with the chief engineer, Song Youzhou, conducted by China’s official news agency, Xinhua. And it would be less expensive than a subway system as it doesn’t involve digging up the ground.
"The TEB has the same functions as the subway, while its cost of construction is less than one fifth of the subway," another engineer Bai Zhiming told news outlet CCTV.
Vaguely similar to the disaster film parody; The Big Bus (1976)
The ultimate disaster film parody. A nuclear powered bus is going Non-stop from New York to Denver and is plagued by disasters due to the machinations of a mysterious group allied with the Oil lobby.
Busdriver man! The Simpsons - "The future mode of transportation for this western world."