3D Express Coach (PICTURES): China Plans Huge Buses That Can DRIVE OVER Cars

China may have found an environmentally friendly way to save money while easing congestion on city roads, Engadget reports.

Instead of spending millions to widen roads, the Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment company is developing a "3D Express Coach" (also called a "three-dimensional fast bus") that will allow cars less than 2 meters high to travel underneath the upper level carrying passengers.

China Hush, which has nicknamed the project "Straddling Bus" has details:

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%.

According to Engadget, construction of the first 115 miles of track will begin in Beijing's Mentougou district at the end of 2010.

Check out our slideshow of the 3D Express Coach, then tell us what you think in the comments below.

For more information about this project, as well as a translation of the project's official unveiling by Song Youzhou, chairman of Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment, visit China Hush.

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Straddling buses will be made to fit under city overpasses. Shenzhen Hashi predicts that each of the vehicles' cabs will carry 300 passengers at a time (up to 1,400 passengers in all) and will reduce traffic by up to 30% on crowded roads.

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Straddling buses will be made to fit under city overpasses. Shenzhen Hashi predicts that each of the vehicles' cabs will carry 300 passengers at a time (up to 1,400 passengers in all) and will reduce traffic by up to 30% on crowded roads.

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Comments

[Robert Berger]

11:39 PM on 09/10/2010

If it is more economical and uses less power, I think it has potential in niche applications. It may be valuable for a line haul system along certain roadways which fit its characteristics. It would certainly be more convenient than buses as they clog traffic moving slowly and stopping at every stop light and bus stop. My belief is that we will need more transit options powered by electricity as petroleum becomes more expensive. Fewer people will be able to afford to buy private cars. There will not be enough steel and composite materials available to build the world's car bodies, batteries and motors. whether electric powered or not. If many people use an electric powered system which is paid for by users rather than owned by users, there may be some sustainability.

[CHNPKUS]

02:01 AM on 08/21/2010

good

[dcini]

09:30 AM on 08/19/2010

What's going to hold the wheels in place and spin them at the same time? This is a silly concept that doesn't make engineering sense from a drive system standpoint.

[RavenWest]

08:52 AM on 08/19/2010

Neat idea, obviously not something you'd want to actually implement.

[Deckard1138]

12:20 AM on 08/18/2010

This will probably be more effective at reducing China's population than the one child policy.

[flashblitzen]

12:02 PM on 08/17/2010

Totally freeking awesome idea. Our version drives over cars too but it's always a one way trip that ends badly. Where are all our American innovators? I'm sick of hearing about phone apps and google did this stories. Why can't our inventors make anything cool and thought provoking?

[407025732]

08:33 PM on 08/15/2010

在中国
大部分的城市连地铁都没有
像我所在的城市
将在今年修建地铁
2014年完工
2015年投入使用
中国并没有高速发展的基础

[treebob]

05:38 AM on 08/28/2010

我也认为中国一二线城市的发展应该减速

[fullyautomatic]

03:16 PM on 08/06/2010

Don't the Chinese know that they should be inferior to Americans? How dare they come up with something both innovative and creative?

[Stan Olshefski]

12:31 AM on 08/14/2010

Yeah, this is going to work because there are no trucks in all of China. Right?

[saltberry]

09:08 PM on 08/15/2010

actually 6/8-lanes roads are very common in most of the newly developed cities and major cities in China and this system looks like it needs only 1 to 2 lanes. Also usually most of the cities developed ring road systems on the outskirt and big trucks can only travel on these roads, they are not allowed on most of the main streets in the city.

[TBJ]

11:31 AM on 08/06/2010

Structurally unsound, gonna require expanding roadways, and doesn't look like it can possible turn or go up/downhill. Neat concept, but never gonna materialize.

[Wally Parnel]

10:17 AM on 08/18/2010

We have in this country, far too many people, who will condemn anything innovative and exiting, without information, or forethought. Guess thats why our roads/freeways are clogged with gas guzzling, SUVs and trucks.

[dcini]

09:25 AM on 08/19/2010

Wally, I guess you don't own a car either, or is it just everyone else's fault but yours?

Innovative? Do you know what a drive system looks like, even an electric one? What's going to keep the wheels turning and in place at the same time?

This is just a dumb concept that will NEVER see light of day. There are much more economical ways of creating mass transit, without silly drawings.

[SomAth Kak]

10:57 PM on 08/05/2010

I think this idea is wonderful since many countries are now going to green the environment as well as reducing the traffic jam. However, I don’t think it might be good for driving under it because the space is limit, and it might not possible for large or big cars to across as well.

[bj vb]

09:30 PM on 08/05/2010

It's funny to see a Jeep, a Hummer and a Bugatti Veyron in the drawing. And oh yeah the bus or train or whatever that thing is- is a dumb idea. How many accidents per day are they expecting?

[cnoiz]

07:08 PM on 08/05/2010

Looks like a tight fit. What kind of clearance would a semi have? Oversize loads would have to be coordinated somehow. How likely would an impact with a stalled vehicle on either side of the road be? I'm sure the engineers are considering all of these questions, but still, one has to wonder.

[rohitprabhakar]

04:09 PM on 08/05/2010

Few years ago as a kid I always saw my elders (parents, relatives, friends) all running in the race to exist. Majority of the population in India was a part of the survival game only. I belong to the City Beautiful, Chandigarh in India where bicycles and scooters used to rule the road while cars were only reserved for the rich/government and the government drivers. As most of the population was all trying to make both ends meet and finally may have some small house to call of their own; only rare could think of innovation. But today things have totally changed! With the changes has come lot of good and long lasting developments…….http://www.rohitprabhakar.com/2010/08/06/innovation-moving-east/

[jdcasey]

02:12 PM on 08/05/2010

Well - its better than using a tank.

[Slider33]

03:50 PM on 08/25/2010

This made me laugh, good comment!

[Mikeeee]

01:30 PM on 08/05/2010

A stretch to make it work logistically, but at least they're thinking outside the box, considering new ideas, actually working towards going green. A radical idea to be sure, not likely to catch on in America, that outside the box idea.