Qinhuangdao – A new electric bus designed to prevent traffic jams has taken to the road in China for the first time. The bus straddles two lanes of traffic, allowing cars to drive beneath it, and should ease congestion and reduce air pollution.
A Chinese development is aiming to ease traffic congestion in big cities. The new electric bus straddles two lanes, meaning that cars can move beneath it. As a result, it does not need its own lane and cannot be caught in traffic jams. According to an article in newspaper “20 Minuten”, the bus is 22 metres long, 7.8 metres wide and 4.8 metres high. It can carry a total of 300 passengers, but plans also include connecting buses to allow space for 1,200 people.
The first prototype took to the road in Qinhuangdao in northern China last week, reported the article. Expected to commence operations this year, it will travel at around 60 kilometres per hour. The aim of the new development is to ease traffic congestion in the big Chinese cities while also reducing air pollution.
According to Greenpeace, one electric bus alone could replace 40 ordinary buses. This could lead to a reduction in fuel of 800 tonnes annually, which equates to savings of 2,500 tonnes of C02 each year.
