China's straddling bus makes first test run on road

China's road-straddling bus made its first test run in northern Hebei province on Tuesday (August 2).

The innovative bus called Transit Elevated Bus (TEB-1) was seen moving at low speed and opening doors for people to have a look.

The bus is 22 metres long, 7.8 metres wide and 4.8 metres high and can carry up to 300 passengers, state run Xinhua news agency said, adding that vehicles lower than two metres can drive beneath the vehicle.

According to People's Daily, an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, local authorities were not aware of the test, and the company behind the bus said the road test on Tuesday was merely an internal testing. Part of the bus needs further assembling, People's Daily quoted the company's chief engineer as saying.

The idea of the bus, which might ease traffic jams in the country, was first raised in 2010, People's Daily said.