[FrozeninTime]

China's Transit Elevated Bus model is hoping to provide a neat solution to traffic jams. The elevated bus aims to "increase the utilization of road space" in the world's most populated country.




http://m.ndtv.com/offbeat/chinas-elevated-bus-may-just-be-the-niftiest-solution-to-traffic-jams-1412444?pfrom=home-offbeat

[hellmet]

I've been hearing the same "news" for the last 10 years. Has it been implemented or is it still in prototyping ?

[Jeeper1941]

What an absurd concept. If anyone has ever seen how most of the Chinese drive in their cities; this project is doomed from the start.

And I'm pretty sure "Airbus" is a trademarked name of an European company.

[msdivy]

Apart from cars, Does it work with buses, trucks and other vehicle bodies seen on our roads? Looks like this needs a dedicated infrastructure. What if a something crashes into it, does the whole network goes for a toss? Is this elevated bus based on standard specification? Otherwise the maker can change whatever he wants.

Originally Posted by hellmet

I've been hearing the same "news" for the last 10 years. Has it been implemented or is it still in prototyping ?

Maybe NDTV got the forward recently...

[Nav-i-gator]

On straight roads, maybe. But what if this elevated bus want to turn, while the cars beneath it want to go straight or turn in other direction? and Vice versa? At a junction, cars beneath would be able to see the traffic lights? Lot of practical problems I can see

[msdivy]

Found some answers from here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv8_W2PA0rQ

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

On straight roads, maybe. But what if this elevated bus want to turn, while the cars beneath it want to go straight or turn in other direction? and Vice versa? At a junction, cars beneath would be able to see the traffic lights? Lot of practical problems I can see

Transit Explore Bus or TEB (also called straddling bus) has right of way. Other traffic stop when this bus is making turn.

Apart from cars, Does it work with buses, trucks and other vehicle bodies seen on our roads?
No, only for cars. Buses, trucks have to move to a lane not used by this bus.

Looks like this needs a dedicated infrastructure. What if a something crashes into it, does the whole network goes for a toss?
There is warning if any vehicle comes close. If for any reason TEB is incapacitated, traffic can still go under

This project looks like BRT 2.0. The idea is to utilize the road occupied for BRT. So in our cities, to use this concept, we have to mark roads for BRT 1.0 first.

[mayankk]

WHat if Chandu from Chilla village asks Pappu the bus driver from chilla village to "Bhai, STOP, HERE. Mummy is walking towards the market."
What is poor Sameer from Sarojini nagar to do, who was planning to go straight, but "road curved" suddenly under the bus?

The only way for this to work will be like a metro structure, rails on both sides on which the bus rides, towering over the road, and HAS to go where the roads go.....Basically a metro

[Rahul Rao]

The Chinese are so used to copying things that they copied this hoax that was doing the round of the internet for years.
Let's see if they are lucky and it works.

[Nav-i-gator]

I can visualize, during monsoon, the underbelly of this thing would be filled with bike riders, not giving way to other vehicles (even during peak summers)

[arunphilip]

Chinese engineers have built a full-sized test model of the much-anticipated TEB-1 straddling bus concept. First revealed in 2010, the bus promises to beat traffic by tiptoeing over it – with wheels at the edges of the road, it acts rather like an enormous tunnel, appearing to swallow the traffic that passes underneath.

The first test drive took place in the city of Qinhuangdao, in the Hebei province of China, and was a far cry from the tiny models and CGI renderings we’ve seen before. Although limited to just a 300 metre route, the successful test could pave the way for more thorough and challenging trials before an eventual commercial roll out of the vehicle.

At 21 metres long and 7.6 metres wide, it straddles two lanes of traffic, and the passenger compartment of the TEB-1 (Transport Elevated Bus) is understandably very roomy, with a capacity of 300 passengers. With the ability to link up to four TEB-1s together, up to 1,200 people could travel together – a feat that would require 15 double decker buses to achieve.

Passengers will travel in 18 seats down either side of the passenger compartments, as well as circular seats in the middle able to seat ten passengers each. There’s also a huge amount of standing room for busier times.

Engineers told news outlet CCTV: 'The TEB-1 has the same functions as the subway, while its cost of construction is less than one fifth of the subway.'

The same concerns remain over the viability of the TEB as a real solution – particularly in how it will handle vehicles turning off or onto the roads it’s travelling on. It’s also not known how taller vehicles will pass the TEB – a stuck lorry could cause some lengthy tailbacks.

Links

• BBC
• Tech Crunch
• Auto Express UK
• Shanghaiist

All images courtesy Xinhuanet

[Rajeevraj]

Wow, did not expect a working prototype to be ready so soon. Quite an innovative concept. The articles do not state what it takes to power this beast. I guess that can be a major show stopper with respect to getting this to a commercial launch.

If it just requires rails on both sides of the road, maybe it can work in India too. ( Provided we can figure out a way to ensure it does not sink into the random holes left by our civic agencies on the side of the road post cabling/piping work )

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

If it just requires rails on both sides of the road, maybe it can work in India too. ( Provided we can figure out a way to ensure it does not sink into the random holes left by our civic agencies on the side of the road post cabling/piping work )

It requires roads of consistent and uniform width. Let's first try to nail that before dreaming big!
You're also in Bangalore, you know what I'm talking about...

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The articles do not state what it takes to power this beast. I guess that can be a major show stopper with respect to getting this to a commercial launch.

The Tech Crunch article says its powered by electricity. I presume it is picked up via the rails, as onboard storage in batteries seems unlikely (I could be wrong, and this could be running on onboard batteries).

[Zappo]

Interesting tail lamps! Its actually the traffic lights on the TEB. Red, Amber and Green. I think the vehicles should only pass underneath this giant when the green is on.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

From the height, I looks like only small passenger cars can be "swallowed".

Would be interesting to see more detailed trials, and the consequences if the driver misjudges the height of an SUV or a commercial vehicle. In such cases of not being able to swallow a tall vehicle, the elevated bus would only be as fast as the slowest tall commercial vehicle on the road.

[msdivy]

Good that the designer persisted and made a prototype. Let's see if it is practical.
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