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[Calamari41]

1. Very old concept

2. ITS A TRAIN

It's a raised train that still manages to interact with traffic. Looks like a lose/lose to me, but what do I know.

 

[outunderthestars]

This would make it a little easier for people to visualize.

 

[Harothewanderer]

 

[The Albatross]

I'd love to see this become a reality, but calling it a bus is misleading. It's a train, it's on tracks, and it's integrated with traffic just like our oldest train systems in Europe and the US.

Driving over cars is a clever idea, and I'm interested to see if it could become a reality in an unplanned community. Meaning, retrofit this design into a community that already exists, instead of one that is planned with this from the start.

Also I wonder how it would handle hills...

 

[yongeandcollege]

I'm guessing that thing is going to increase car insurance rates. Can't be cheap to fix if a car hits it. LRT seems more suitable and likely cheaper.

 

[PandaShake]

The bus would be perfect in a fully self-driving car world. No worries of people accidentally hitting the thing or visibility issues. It would just be another layer of self-driving traffic.

 

[ezrarh]

A vehicle carrying 1400 people should take precedence over 10 cars carrying 10 people. It'd be more logical to take over lanes and do BRT then a straddling bus. This just signals cars are way more important and still hasn't been proven to work in the field.

 

[Future]

Roads will have to be changed to fit this metric. Cars stuck under it will be "stuck" for a small period of time

Cool concept but I don't see it taking off

 

[teruterubozu]

I can see people cranking their subwoofers when they get under that thing. Boom! Boom! Boom! Or revving their engines. People do it tunnels all the time for shits & giggles.

 

[Zaptruder]

Why does it need tracks? Just use self driving systems to remove the human accuracy factor.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Thread title had me expecting some sort of sex machine

It's a raised train that still manages to interact with traffic. Looks like a lose/lose to me, but what do I know.

It's kinda like a combination of a trolley and a tunnel. The greatest value this would offer is at rush hour during a major traffic jam where the cars are going nowhere, in which case I guess the hope would be people would go "I should take one of those" as it drives over you, and if enough people switch you can alleviate the infrastructure problems you're not addressing that are leading to the traffic jam.

 

[exmachina64]

The concept has been around for ages, and I'm guessing there is a reason it has never got far off the drawing board. If they actually do get a prototype up and running in the next few months that should be a first.

Pretty sure we've had threads about it before.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

This would make it a little easier for people to visualize.

What is this, a bus for ants!?!






A cool idea but I think you would need to design a city for it, not the other way around.

 

[RoadHazard]

*BRB using imagination since on phone and no pics*

 

[Calamari41]

It's kinda like a combination of a trolley and a tunnel. The greatest value this would offer is at rush hour during a major traffic jam where the cars are going nowhere, in which case I guess the hope would be people would go "I should take one of those" as it drives over you, and if enough people switch you can alleviate the infrastructure problems you're not addressing that are leading to the traffic jam.

Definitely, but I still wonder what you're supposed to do if you need to turn left or right. A trolley is more a part of traffic that you can navigate around and treat more like a car. This thing, in my mind, is more like a moving wall that cuts off access to side streets. Like, when you turn right now, you are worrying about what is in front of you. With this, you're going to have to worry about what is behind you and to the right of you. Trolleys cross intersections like cars do, but this thing? I guess it would have to wait at lights too?

 

[jett]

And what's gonna happen when there's a truck taller than two meters in its way?

 

[MisterFalcon]

A vehicle carrying 1400 people should take precedence over 10 cars carrying 10 people. It'd be more logical to take over lanes and do BRT then a straddling bus. This just signals cars are way more important and still hasn't been proven to work in the field.

I'd like to see how they will fit 1400 people into a train slightly shorter then a Boeing 747.

 

[Calamari41]

I'd like to see how they will fit 1400 people into a train slightly shorter then a Boeing 747.

Well, this is China we're talking about. You should consider the vertical space available in these things, too.

 

[Akainu]

I lived near a bridge that had a truck or bus stuck in it every week, despite flashing lights and warnings all along the road. This is not that bridge but I imagine a similar outcome if this train ever comes into general use.

...That truck with the same load following right behind. Really dude you just saw what happened.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Why not have wheels on stilts that drive on the lane line.

 

[Qvoth]

pretty sure i've seen the concept years ago?

 

[ThatStupidLion]

and so begins our ascent into sky lanes - flying cars will be above that in no time!

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

It's kinda cool, but I fear for the potential freakout for drivers that see this sudden behemoth ominously hover over them suddenly.

 

[pbayne]

I feel like ive seen something similar in a lot of sci-fi movies...the future is now. Looks really cool.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

So... it's an elevated train...?

 

[andythinkpad]

http://tech.gmw.cn/2016-08/03/content_21277235.htm

I will leave the jokes to you.

 

[Brazil]

So... What now?

 

[MrCunningham]

It's cool, but also a little freaky. I could only imagine that it would take a little time for drivers to get accustomed to having this shuttle fly over their car roofs. It looks like they would also have to enforce some strict rules on large trucks and tall vehicles. That doesn't really look like there is a lot of clearance for the vehicles underneath.

Definitely interesting.

 

[PBalfredo]

http://tech.gmw.cn/2016-08/03/content_21277235.htm

I will leave the jokes to you.

That clearance is a lot lower than I thought it would be. If a truck is on the road, they're fucked.

 

[Chichikov]

http://tech.gmw.cn/2016-08/03/content_21277235.htm

I will leave the jokes to you.

I think it looks great.

So... What now?

They're rolling it out to a few cities this year, I guess that if it works well they'll expand the program further.

 

[whitemex88]

What happens when the bus needs to make a left or a right turn?

 

[Codeblue]

Really wonder how drivers react when they need to switch lanes and they're stuck under one.

Lanes? In China?

 

[GTP_Daverytimes]

That clearance is a lot lower than I thought it would be. If a truck is on the road, they're fucked.

If a truck is on the road it will be just like any other bus and follow the truck, my concern is of how low it actually is, an SUV would have a hard time fitting under that.

 

[andythinkpad]

If a truck on the road it will be just like any other bus and follow the truck, my concern is of how low it actually is, an SUV would have a hard time fitting under that.

Yeah. Probably not high enough for G Wagon and Landcruiser.

 

[lenovox1]

http://tech.gmw.cn/2016-08/03/content_21277235.htm

I will leave the jokes to you.

Seeing so much space is a thing of beauty.

 

[pronk420]

What happens when the cars underneath it need to make a turn, or it needs to turn off of the road the cars are on? I can imagine people not seeing it and smashing into the sides.

 

[RoyaleDuke]

Wow that is so damn cool! The future is gonna be sweet for technology.

 

[Auto_aim1]

They actually created one? Sweet. Absolutely love it. Yeah, the low clearance could be a problem though.

 

[Jack The Nipper]

it would be a very bad idea for a million reasons

You dont give people a choice or chance to "guess" if they make it under you for one.

its a huge blind spot for cars coming out of it or entering it

this thing is a horrible idea and good luck

 

[CosmicGroinPull]

Seeing so much space is a thing of beauty.

Yeah it's pretty nice.

Those 'rails' look a little low tho, what are the chances of derailment?

 

[numble]

Here is a video about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGAS_i7OVSU

Just search "巴铁1号" to find other videos about it.

 

[Sidewinder]

Looks cool, better not drive under that thing with some bicycles or other stuff on the roof though

 

[LUFTRAUSER]

Very interesting design. I remember reading about this concept a long time ago; it's cool to see it implemented IRL.

 

[Chichikov]

What happens when the cars underneath it need to make a turn, or it needs to turn off of the road the cars are on? I can imagine people not seeing it and smashing into the sides.

This is China, so they'll start to turn, get up until they're 1mm away from the bus, then stop and honk their horn continuously until the problem resolves itself.

 

[CertifiedFP]

I'm disappointed they opted to make a real prototype instead of taking the Dahir Insaat approach. We could have had a good Retsuprae/RiffTrax video out of a CGI demo.

Wait, shit - It's already REAL?

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

That would never get made in the West. Not just because of the logistical concerns of narrow roads (especially true in Europe) but also the low clearance and major safety issues. Makes sense China can actually build it.

 

[Nivash]

Huh, it's basically a landboat. I'm curious about embarking and disembarking though. Are the platforms raised too? Otherwise I can easily see it taking some time for everyone to get up and down the stairs.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

This looks so cool! A lot lower then I thought tho.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Huh, it's basically a landboat. I'm curious about embarking and disembarking though. Are the platforms raised too? Otherwise I can easily see it taking some time for everyone to get up and down the stairs.

LUFTRAUSER posted a pic where you can see the raised platform:

 

[F-Pina]

The fact that they are actually trying and just built one is great. You need to be bold and try things out. There are a lot of problems to solve like most gaffers pointed out, sure, but at least China is trying a different approach. Very curious to see how it works out.