Here’s something to keep in mind next time you’re in a car and grumbling because you’re stuck behind a bus. A company is building a gigantic bus that cars can drive through. Sounds simple enough: if you’re behind the bus when it stops to pick-up passengers, no sweat, just keep on going and drive right through. Can’t quite envision that? Check out these design images:
Alas, the drive-through bus is not part of our All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan. But according to this write-up on Engadget, it is part of the plan for Beijing’s Mentougou district. Here’s the demo video:
For now, the best way to avoid being stuck behind a Capital Metro bus is to be on the bus and let someone else worry about the stress of driving.
I saw this article yesterday and was thinking about how cool the idea is, but considering that we couldn’t even get a provision passed in the last session to allow buses to travel on the shoulders of the highway, anything like this would unfortunately probably never be a reality in the great state of Texas…
Wow…! I’ve long wondered what became of all those old 1950s issues of POPULAR MECHANICS that I used to see on the shelves at Half-Price Books. Obviously they’ve found their way to China! I suppose next the Chinese will be roping steers by radio…oh yeah…that one’s from a NATIONAL LAMPOON parody of POPULAR MECHANICS.
Seriously though, this would never work in Austin — it would almost eliminate the possibility of jaywalking, which is obviously on its way to becoming the official city ‘sport’.
Looks pretty cool. Much better than the BRT. Could we take the BRT money and do a pilot program with these? I guess we should let the Chinese develop it first and work out all the issues.
[...] 10, 2010 by Erica Earlier this week we posted design images of the Chinese Drive Through Bus. Today a colleague sent me another Chinese transit idea: the train that never stops. Check this [...]