Sometimes when I’m waiting at a bus stop I get the feeling the drivers speeding by are looking down on me. Metaphorically, I mean. I think they see me and think, “Hah, look at that schmuck. He has to stand in the heat and wait for a bus while I’m moving along comfortably in my 1978 Gremlin with its 8-track deck and AC that I’m gonna get fixed someday.” It’s a lousy attitude because I’m pretty sure most drivers don’t even notice me, and anyway once the bus arrives I step up into the higher seats in the back. Who’s looking down on whom now, suckers? Anyway, what if I could really look down?
The Chinese government has been experimenting with a bus that goes above and beyond…traffic. It’s not a double-decker bus but a bus that’s designed to straddle the lanes, passing above cars rather than simply passing them, and it’s environmentally friendly because it’s powered by its own awesomeness as you can see in this picture.
Source: Shanghaiist
Part of that may not be true but it is a cool idea for making bus routes more efficient, and making public transportation cool. In fact that may be its literal downfall. I could see this bus being so popular it would collapse under the weight of too many riders. On the bright side if it collapsed on a car below it might be the final excuse that guy in his 1978 Gremlin needs to get his air conditioning fixed.
It would be great to go speeding over the heads of people stuck in traffic. Your paranoia while waiting for buses made me think of a UK comedy series called The Inbetweeners – not sure if it was aired in the US but try Googlling the bus wankers scene from it. It’s hilarious. (Wanker, in case you don’t know, is an term used by people in the UK who don’t have a large enough vocabulary to insult people in a more eloquent manner).
That was a hilarious clip–I can’t thank you enough for that. And believe me I’ve heard much more colorful language than that and became all too familiar with the term “wanker” when I was in the UK. And even before I was there really. It’s caught on somewhat on this side of the pond but just doesn’t sound as eloquent in an American accent.
And here is the link https://youtu.be/_XKh_WGg1_c
Just to warn you – full of ‘colorful’ language!
Look out above, Chris, here’s my comment about this post. I’m writing this from Edinburgh, where I deliberately sat on the second deck of the bus we took from the airport earlier today. Did I do that so I could down on everybody else? Is that related to the fact that my first car in the 1970s was a Gremlin with a blue jean interior and no air conditioning?
I’m going to assume you sat on the second deck of the bus because the bus lacked air conditioning and you’d done without it long enough in your Gremlin. The funny thing is I’ve always been told the perfect car for me would be a Gremlin so of course I never look down on anyone who’s ever owned one.
That is F’n awesome! If I was sitting at the front of the bus I would probably be going “nom, nom, nom” every time we overtook a car below us.
Going “nom, nom, nom” would be hilarious. That bus does look like a big monster swallowing up everything below it. I’d be calling it Bus-zilla and wishing they’d paint it green.
It sounds so awesome and practical, but to me it looks…..ominous. I’m just picturing those photos of trucks that get stuck under bridges because they think they can fit.
The thought of one of those buses getting stuck under a bridge, or worse, is pretty terrifying. I hadn’t thought of that. In a way that could make it even more fun, though, if the roof could suddenly be sheared off and I’d be up there waving to all the pedestrians.