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China’s Road-Straddling Bus Has Been Blocking Traffic for Months

posted by janrinok on Saturday December 24 2016, @09:28PM   
from the time-for-a-rethink dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

China's once-celebrated Traffic Elevated Bus (TEB) (reported here) has been left abandoned in the middle of a Hebei city road, not having moved once in over two months. Originally touted as the futuristic solution to urban traffic jams, the "straddling bus" is currently causing them.

A local reporter recently checked up on "the future of public transportation" at its testing site in Qinhuangdao, only to find it forgotten in a rusted garage, covered in dust. The bus is currently being looked after by a pair of old security guards who reluctantly admit that they've been forgotten about as well.

http://shanghaiist.com/2016/12/05/straddling_bus_abandoned.php

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Original Submission

• Always seemed like a terrible idea Always seemed like a terrible idea (Score: 3, Interesting) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday December 24 2016, @09:58PM

  by wonkey_monkey (279) on Saturday December 24 2016, @09:58PM (#445661) Homepage

  I can't really imagine what it'd be like to drive under one of these, or have one drive over you, but I think it might be something like walking along a 2 foot wide plank of wood 100 feet in the air. It should be fairly safe and easy to do - after all, you can do it with the plank on the ground with no trouble. But put in a different context, and you'll likely be frozen with fear.

  I imagine it'd be fairly easy to lose all track of your speed, as well. It's not like going through a tunnel, where the tunnel walls are stationary. You'll have your actual speed, relative to the road, and then you'll have your speed relative to the bus. If the bus slows, you'll feel like you've sped up. Confusing, to say the least.

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• Re:Always seemed like a terrible idea (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 24 2016, @10:05PM

  by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Saturday December 24 2016, @10:05PM (#445663) Journal

  Pair it with self-driving cars! They know no fear!

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• Re:Always seemed like a terrible idea Re:Always seemed like a terrible idea (Score: 2, Insightful) by Type44Q on Saturday December 24 2016, @10:50PM

  by Type44Q (4347) on Saturday December 24 2016, @10:50PM (#445672)

  But put in a different context, and you'll likely be frozen with fear.

  Just like driving next to a huge tandem-trailer semi; in other words, not at all.

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  • Re:Always seemed like a terrible idea (Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Sunday December 25 2016, @12:08AM

    by Nerdfest (80) on Sunday December 25 2016, @12:08AM (#445689)

    Ever seen a blow-out on a semi? Many bikers refer to the area beside a semi as the "death zone".

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