China’s ‘straddling bus’ awaits PM Nawaz’s eye

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The trial run of world’s first Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) or “straddling bus”, which plies above the road and allows cars to move beneath it, awaits the attention of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

PM Nawaz had promised to build bullet train during election campaign in 2013 but . Now people are awaiting when will Nawaz Sharif inaugurate bulltet train and think about ‘straddling bus. The PML-N is running metro buses in Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.

On the other hand, Indian PM Narendre Modi asked the road transport ministry in India to get maximum details and explore whether such buses can be of use on highly congested roads in Indian cities.

According to media reports, the first trial run of TEB in Qinhuangdao in north China on August 3 was successful. Reports suggest that the 22-metre-long TEB is like a light-rail train that extends across two lanes and runs on electricity.

The bus can carry around 300-1200 passengers and can address the need of an efficient mass transport system; it will also add the benefit of being a non-polluting vehicle. However, one concern is that such buses fit into stretches that are relatively straight.

Brazil and Indonesia too have reportedly shown interest in this bus system.