The Transit Elevated Bus (TEB), the straddling bus of China shot to the limelight in mid-2016 as a practical and efficient invention to ease traffic congestion. The futuristic concept has been displayed with up to 300 passenger capacity. The bus allows vehicles to move uninterrupted since it can drive over traffic on a dedicated track.
Designed by Song Youzhou, the TEB-1 was supposed to be China's environmentally-friendly answer to the world's traffic problem. However, the project had a premature death owing to multiple reasons. One of the main reasons was the simplistic construction of the bus which is not practical in reality. Further, even the officials denied any knowledge of the test or association with the project. The city's top economic planner even accused the company of not even getting approval for the test.
Now the reports from China say the project has officially been scrapped. Authorities in Qinhuangdao in China's Hebei province have ordered the dismantling of a test-track for the traffic-straddling buses, reports EJinsight. Workers were seen using electric breakers to dismantle and remove the test-track, indicating that the TEB project has been officially dropped, The Hong Kong Economic Journal reports.
Multiple reports also claim that residents in the neighbourhood have been seeking demolition of the track, which was said to be causing traffic problems. Further, the vehicle's design was not feasible for the real world. For example, there was just 6 feet 11 inches of clearance underneath the straddling bus, despite the country's regulations allowing traffic to be as tall as 13 feet 9 inches.
The Transit Elevated Bus was advertised with a speed of up to 60 kmph. The Elevated Bus concept showcased consisted of one segment with an option to get four compartments linked up together to accommodate 1,200 passengers at a time. In that case, TEB could have replaced 40 conventional buses.
Source: EJinsight
