Straddling Bus Heading To The United States

At the beginning of August, we told you about the Mega Straddle Bus. It's a giant vehicle that doesn't actually drive on the road like a traditional bus, but actually straddles it. Furthermore, it has enough room beneath it that individual cars and small trucks can pass underneath it, as people commute back and forth. The idea was a grand one, and some may have even considered it too grandiose to actually be implemented. But, that's not stopping the brainchild of the huge passenger vehicle from setting his sights on the United States.

Song Youzhou announced yesterday that he is forming a US company that is specifically meant to build state-side business links. The U.S. Elevated High-Speed Bus (Group) is currently looking for manufacturers to take on the role of building the huge Straddle Bus, as well as representative to sell the vehicle in the United States. According to Youzhou, the Straddling Bus is now perfectly capable of transporting "hundreds" of passengers (down from the originally reported 1,200, interestingly enough), and is powered by a combination of electricity and roof-mounted solar panels. The bus will still travel eight feet above the standard commuters below, making sure that they can pass underneath easily enough.

The bus will either ride along rails, or on painted yellow lines outside of the traditional lanes of traffic. While it may be a great idea in concept, especially with amazing concept art like what you see above, we're wondering how well drivers would react to something like this. With Youzhou planning to start work on the Straddling Bus in China some time in early 2011, there's no word on when work would begin in the United States. Anyone think this is a good idea?

[via Wired]