Its a really really strange tram.
http://www.greencarreports.com...rst-passengers-video
Futuristic concept video released last year. Test unit carried passengers a few days ago.
Its getting weird over here!
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Uh ... WOW ? It's a tram of sorts but officially called a "transit elevated bus" (TEB).
Above: computer imagery. Below: single-unit prototype test vehicle.
Imagine a bus on gantry-crane legs that straddles two automobile lanes (no over-height vehicles!) and goes over other traffic.
Wouldn't motorists be highly distracted if a large object comes up behind them and passes over their car with somewhat close clearances? Oh, no problem: the underside of The Beast is lit up with sky images!
At some point the "TEB" might want to diverge from the traffic lanes that it straddles, requiring separation from the other traffic with a flyover or traffic lights. Somehow, conventional rail transit seems more practical to me. But the "TEB" hopes to accomplish similar transport capacity with lower infrastructure costs on existing highways - if it doesn't get tangled up with vehicle traffic.
Test of Super Bus. TEB-1 (2:29) (limited scenes of the actual prototype)
http://www.greencarreports.com...rst-passengers-video
The tests were conducted on Tuesday in the city of Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, in northern China, to evaluate power consumption, braking capability, and aerodynamic drag.
The bus is 72 feet (22 meters) long, 26 feet (7.8 meters) wide, and 16 feet (4.8 meters) tall, with total passenger capacity of 300 people. (in a single-car unit, but trains of 4 cars are envisioned)
Tebtech, the company that designed and built the elevated bus, says it has received expressions of interest from governments in Brazil, France, and Indonesia, with more inquiries expected.
Glitzy computer-graphics video that illustrates the concept of a "Transit Elevated Bus". (7 minutes)
http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12...t-elevated-bus-china
The new TEB is electric, with a supercapacitor on board that’s charged by poles alongside routes. It runs on tracks laid on either side of a two-lane road. Cars lower than about 7 feet can drive beneath it, and it fits beneath overpasses.
It can travel up to 37 mph and hold about 300 people. Four TEBs can link up into an articulated "train" that carries 1,200 people — about as much as a subway train for, its engineers claim, a fifth of the price.
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Someone in a road vehicle will crash into the TEB while under it...rendering it useless, as parts will not be available and no trained repair crews. The hydraulic fluid will catch fire and burn many passengers. NEXT A TRUCK WILL GET ONTO THE WRONG ROADWAY AND FINISH IT!
It would work when there are computer controlled personal pods.
I find it hard to believe that someone actually paid for a prototype. Someone needed a tax write-off.
Looks kind of like the 1970's SUPERTRAIN TV show.
And trucks cannot avoid the infamous 11"8 Bridge!
Does Gargraves make track for the model?
OK. My two cents worth. There are no guard rails on the inside. 
What an accident waiting to happen there. If people are driving under it and it goes into a wide sweeping curve, you just got to know someone is going straight into the side. It's bad enough with people not paying attention, then add a monster over their head. 
Dennis
Dominic Mazoch posted:Looks kind of like the 1970's SUPERTRAIN TV show.
Hartman posted:OK. My two cents worth. There are no guard rails on the inside.
Dennis
The "concept" images do show guardrails, but the one prototype vehicle appears incomplete in those details. One of the videos suggests there is some kind of automated system that interacts to steer cars away ???
https://youtu.be/yw1ZORp0PJo?t=265
The whole project appears to be in a design concept phase and looking for a trial location.
The prototype demonstration "TEB" displays traffic signals at the "portals". It would surely have guardrails added for actual service, if it ever gets that far.
