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China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

engadget.com

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Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#41

Post by byw »

jerf wrote: post #6
stcredzero wrote: post #3

Are those really busses or are they trains? This scheme looks cool, until I try to picture what happens during turns. Remember that "large vehicles make large turns." One way to think about it is that "turn radius" of the from wheels is much larger than for the back wheels. It's more complicated than that, but it's the gist. EDIT: Watching the video now. The "bus" is divided into many sections which need to "snake" a…

This strikes as feasible, assuming total computerized control of all the vehicles, both the "bus" and the cars trying to drive under it. Humans will be smashing the sides of that bus with frightful regularity, though. And by the time you have that, there are probably way better ways to deal with traffic than this sort of crazy contraption. Even if this ever becomes practical I have a hard time seeing it ever being th…

The turning/signaling will follow that of BRTs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_rapid_transit

Basically the car traffic will be signalled to stop, giving the bus priority.

Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#43

Post by blahedo »

cabalamat wrote: post #30
thatfatcat wrote: post #25

I don't think that it's such a great idea. ACCESIBILITY: In crowded cities you need people to get in and out of the bus quickly, meaning lots of doors and very few steps. Also let's not forget wheel chairs. How could an elderly person climb all those steps to get out of the bus? How about someone with a baby in a buggy? INFRASTRUCTURE: Yes, it's cheaper than a subway, but that's the only advantage. When this bus make…

Why not just build the light rail over the highway, like they do in Bangkok?

You make this sound like a new idea---many cities have had elevated trains as part of their mass transit systems, and some still do. Chicago is famous for it (and the Chicago El is more than a hundred years old).

Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#44

Post by ximeng »

jerf wrote: post #6
stcredzero wrote: post #3

Are those really busses or are they trains? This scheme looks cool, until I try to picture what happens during turns. Remember that "large vehicles make large turns." One way to think about it is that "turn radius" of the from wheels is much larger than for the back wheels. It's more complicated than that, but it's the gist. EDIT: Watching the video now. The "bus" is divided into many sections which need to "snake" a…

This strikes as feasible, assuming total computerized control of all the vehicles, both the "bus" and the cars trying to drive under it. Humans will be smashing the sides of that bus with frightful regularity, though. And by the time you have that, there are probably way better ways to deal with traffic than this sort of crazy contraption. Even if this ever becomes practical I have a hard time seeing it ever being th…

He says that there are radar detectors that will set off alarms and light signals and automatically call the police if cars get too close to the edge. It's designed to seat 1200 people apparently. And construction meant to start by year end so I suppose we'll know soon enough if it really works.

Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#45

Post by blahedo »

KoZeN wrote: post #13

There must a transport revolution going on in China. It instantly reminded me of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Ig19gYP9o These trains that never stop seem a lot more feasible than the buses. Granted it would require a massive amount of work from an infrastructure perspective but it seems like such a brilliant solution that would make public transport infinitely more appealing.

This is reminiscent of the way the old-fashioned cablecars worked (and still work in San Francisco): the cable snakes through the system and is operating at full speed always, while the cars start and stop by slowly releasing or catching the cable.

Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#46

Post by Ardit20 »

Ardit20 wrote: post #10

Maybe one day, say the year 3000 cars will be driving under cars, under cars, under cars. We can only go up to the skies.

I guess hackers don't like predictions so much. Who is to say that such wont be the time in one thousand years. Are we going to dig down to earth instead, rather than find more effective ways to use the very finite space on earth.

They did not start building high buildings for no reason. Why would the solution be any different if a solution one day our roads needed?

Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#48

Post by sailormoon »

rmundo wrote: post #12

This concept was brought up in one of the Patlabor anime movies, except instead of buses, it was police/fire/ambulance/emergency vehicles that could move over congested traffic to get to an accident scene more quickly. Kudos to the Chinese for being willing to try it out, but the concept existed at least in 2001(if it was Patlabor 3) or 1993(Patlabor 2)

It was Patlabor 2, a heavy duty labor that could drive over the top of cars to access a bomb threat parked on the bridge ahead.

Great movie, by the way.

Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#49

Post by CO-OP »

stcredzero wrote: post #3

Are those really busses or are they trains? This scheme looks cool, until I try to picture what happens during turns. Remember that "large vehicles make large turns." One way to think about it is that "turn radius" of the from wheels is much larger than for the back wheels. It's more complicated than that, but it's the gist. EDIT: Watching the video now. The "bus" is divided into many sections which need to "snake" a…

I guess it is a stretch, but I love this type of thinking. For one, if they could make it work then it would be a fantastic use of space, which is your primary concern for public transport in heavily urbanised areas.

It is important to be realistic, but I also think that this type of thinking is notably absent from U.S. society. The thing that defines Chinese innovation for me is that it is based almost exclusively on urgent necessity, which is always a great environment for progressive ideas.

Re: China to build giant buses that cars can drive under

#50

Post by julius_geezer »

I ride the bus to work most days. A lot of the drivers like to gun the engine when they can and stop quickly. This is annoying in a low-slung bus and would be scary in one with a high center of gravity. Much of the route has old, beautiful trees along it--not much change for them.
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