China To Test Buses So Big, Cars Can Drive Inside Them

Soon, Beijing’s Mentougou District will attempt to ease its traffic congestion problem by attacking it with a monster: A 20-foot-wide, 14-foot tall bus that can carry between 1200 and 1400 passengers at a time while other vehicles drive on the road inside of it.

Assuming your head hasn’t exploded and you’re capable of reading on, this monster bus is the proposal of the Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment company, which says it could reduce traffic by 25-30%. Powered entirely by electricity and solar energy, the bus as proposed would be capable of speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour (roughly 37 mph); not terribly fast, but just fine for urban driving.

Brilliant idea, or pipe dream? This sounds like a recipe for trouble: “Inside the bus, there are turning lights that indicate a the bus is intending to make a turn to warn the cars inside. Also radar scanning system is embedded on the walls to warn cars from getting too close to the bus wheels.”

Below, the Chinese demo video explaining the bus; read the full translation at China Hush.

(China Hush via Engadget)