Buses have long suffered an image as dirty, slow and unreliable but that could change with the introduction of the Superbus, an all-electric vehicle capable of 155mph that turns up close to your home on request.
The 15metre-long bus seats 23 passengers and is designed to operate on existing roads as well as purpose-built super highways that would allow it to reach its full speed.
No fixed route
The Superbus replaces a fixed route and timetable with so-called ‘central routing optimisation’ – a system that allows routes to be based on the exact requirements of passengers
Diesel engines are becoming cleaner and more efficient all the time, and fuel cell-powered designs are currently being tested in London, but the Superbus is a radically different proposition to the traditional bus. The travelling experience is intended to be far nearer that of a limousine; passengers gain access to the Superbus via one of sixteen gull-wing doors and have access to the same multi-media facilities as those flying first-class.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The Superbus is fascinating not only because its interpretation of bus travel but because it is more than just another concept design, it is funded to the tune of £70m from one sponsor alone and is soon to be a fully-working prototype.”
The Superbus is scheduled to be a ready-to-buy vehicle in 2015.
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