Image credit – Xinhua
Back in May we reported that over in China, a new kind of bus was being considered. It was what was being referred to as a “straddling bus” where basically instead of the bus hogging up the entire lane, it would be wide enough and tall enough to allow cars to pass through underneath it, thus making it more convenient for both the bus and other drivers on the road.
Turns out that the local government was pretty serious about the idea because over in Qinhuangdao which is part of the Hebei province, the straddling bus was actually built for real and it underwent its inaugural test, according to reports from Xinhua (via Shanghaiist). However the test did not simulate real world conditions.
Instead it seemed like this was a very controlled test as the bus was placed on a track of its around that was around 300 meters in length, but we guess the idea is there. It is unclear how this bus will be implemented in real life, and whether or not it will require the government to retrofit its roads with special tracks designed specifically for the bus, or if it will have regular bus wheels.
There is also no telling when the government plans to rolling it out to the masses, but we have to say that we are very curious about it and wouldn’t mind taking a ride in it ourselves!
Filed in . Read more about China.