Aug 5, 2010: China's Big Bus
 

This fall, in Beijing, construction will begin on the first 186km of track for what is called the "3D Express Coach". Rather than acquiring new land, or competing with traffic, this big bus will pass over traffic... and allow traffic to pass under it.

http://cellar.org/2010/abigbus.jpg

video at the link

I foresee this ending very badly

Looks pretty innovative to me. If a concept such as the autobahn works, there's a strong possibility that this could work too. Probably just a matter of training drivers appropriately.

Yes! Very, very, badly.

Since Chinese can't drive worth a damn now, how are they ever going to handle the added complexity of rolling spaces.

Watch this movie you will see what I mean. It's like they have no idea.

One would have to VERY careful when executing that left turn in Albuquerque.

Now is the time to reiterate my theory (based on 1.5 years experience living in beautiful industrial Wuhan) that in places like Australia everyone expects everyone else to do the right thing (follow the rules etc...) and then is surprised/gets really pissed off when they don't. In a place like China, no-one expects anyone to follow the rules, so aren't surprised when they don't and deal with it much better.

What could go wrong?

Loves Spucks video especially at 2:02 she nudges him over with her car made me chuckle. Was also noticing a lack of decent lines on the roads or traffic lights.

2 years in Wuhan, followed by another 3 in/around Beijing.
In an overcrowded country where many of the drivers only get a license because they are rich enough to bribe the examiner because they're too busy to actually study the rules, there's no way this can end well. However...

Has anybody considered the notion that this could be another government form of population control?

I think they should invent the stop sign first!

It appears to run on rails?
In which case, no more dangerous than trams mixed with traffic.

No matter how "adventurous" your driving style, you learn pretty early on not to mess with trams, buses, bin lorries etc. This would be the same.
I question just how economical it would be though. The space taken via the space utilised (for passengers) is less than 50%. Aren't subways still a better solution? NONE of the traffic issues and 99% passenger space?

But if you don't already have subways, digging them from scratch while a city still functions on top is basically impossible. And geology can be a problem too--I don't know about China, but around here we will never, ever have subways because the whole area is sitting on top of solid limestone rock.

But either way, I think the problem with the normal trams is less about danger and more about convenience. They move slowly, and then they stop every couple of blocks and hold up traffic. (This is exactly what our public buses do here.) With this over-traffic model, when the tram stops the rest of the traffic just keeps right on going.

Gotcha. Didn't think of that as our Tube system is so old.
Good point also.
I was thinking - again- of European cities that never really STOPPED using the trams and built the roads around them. In Amsterdam the trams go places the cars can't go and vice versa. In Blackpool (Lancashire) the trams serve the tourist routes and are completely separate from cars for most of their journeys. Trams in traffic are no better than buses.

Trams can actually be worse, if you get some idiot car driver blocking the tracks. A bus can drive around. A tram just has to sit there until the car moves.

what are "trams" as you use that term? electric buses that run on overhead cables?