It was maybe a few weeks ago that I first saw a concept video of Transit Elevated Buses (TEBs) on YouTube and its pictures on elsewhere across the social media. That’s when I thought it would take good long years before it’s reality, or perhaps not in my lifetime.
China shocked us all by making the future now! Transit Elevated Bus is real as Chinese engineers develop the world’s first ever train-bus hybrid transport vehicle, which can literally travel over cars. However, it doesn’t mean it can fly over cars because wheels still touch down.
Transit Elevated Bus had its first road test in Qinhuangdao City. The test was mostly focused on measuring the performance of TEB’s brakes and power consumption. With a mass so huge, the fuel economy has to be a huge contributing character that could decide its fate that whether it is roadworthy or not.
The high-tech and futuristically shaped TED stretches 72 feet long and 25 feet wide, and can easily capacitate over 300 passengers. The huge width makes it occupy multiple lanes, but due to tunnel like under-body, cars have no problem passing right through below it.
The future Transit Elevated Bus is currently going through demonstrative phases, when commissioned to public roads, it will travel at the speeds of 40mph. Intrigued by the idea, Brazil, France, India and Indonesia are reportedly licensing their own kind of TEBs.
