Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) has taken its first test drive

Transit Elevated Bus (TEB)
The 22-meter-long, 7.8-meter-wide and 4.8-meter-high TEB-1 can carry up to 300 passengers over the top of cars and let traffic pass underneath it.

Radical elevated bus that drives over the TOP of other cars takes its first test drive.
The test in Qinhuangdao City, evaluated the braking system, drag and power consumption, according to tebtech, a company that helped build the TEB. dailymail

The idea is that passengers sit far above other vehicles on the road, allowing cars to pass underneath.

In a model of the vehicle, it appears to run on a set of fixed rails embedded on the road.

It means the vehicle is more like a cross between a tram and a bus. 

Engineers hope the design will increase the availability of the road space, and cause fewer traffic jams than regular buses.

It is also expected to save costs compared to other public transport options, like the subway.

'With a carrying capacity of 1,200 people at a time, the TEB has the same functions as the subway while its cost of construction is less than one fifth that of the subway,' said Bai Zhiming, engineer in charge of the TEB project said in a YouTube video showing an interview with CCTV News.

'Its construction can be finished in one year,' he added.

The first tests of the bus are scheduled to start trail operation in Qinhuangdao City, in north China's Hebei Province, in the second half of this year. 

This means the buses could be in place by the end of the year. 

A radical way to overcome the problem of getting around in traffic. dailymail

The 22-meter-long, 7.8-meter-wide and 4.8-meter-high TEB-1 can carry up to 300 passengers over the top of cars and let traffic pass underneath it.

This week, it underwent its first road test in north China's Hebei Province.

The test in Qinhuangdao City, evaluated the braking system, drag and power consumption, according to tebtech, a company that helped build the TEB.  

The TEB has already attracted interest from governments in Brazil, France, India and Indonesia, it has been claimed.

The radical design was unveiled at a tech expo in China, earlier this year.

The scale model of the 'Transit Elevated Bus' was demonstrated this week at the 19th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo.