By Andrew Liszewski
Once again it seems I’ve missed the Busworld Asia convention that’s held in Shanghai and wouldn’t you know it this is the year they unveiled this monstrosity. At 82 feet in length it’s probably safe to say this bus now owns the world record and will for some time. (Though I’ve heard rumors that an 83-foot model could be making an appearance at the 2008 show!) The bus uses two accordion joints and has three sections capable of holding up to 300 passengers. But there is a trade off since the bus is only capable of reaching about 51mph.
When I was lucky enough to have a bus ride as part of my daily commute the drivers could barely get those regular sized buses around most corners without clipping the curbs so I wish these guys the best. Of course that probably won’t be a problem since this bus will mainly be used for transporting commuters between Beijing and Hangzhou and will avoid the crowded downtown areas of those cities.
As for price? While a regular bus costs between $80,000 to $100,000 this version can cost as much as $258,000.
[ World’s Longest Bus ] VIA [ Crave ]
Love your site but you might catch some flack for suggesting that the commute between Hangzhou and Beijing can be done by bus. I think you mean that it will be used on the straighter avenues of Beijing and Hangzhou.
FYI – those buses handle pretty well on corners. We have a few buses like those (of the shorter variety) in Los Angeles, and they do better than the regular buses. It’s that accordion-like piece that gives it better maneuverability.
Buses like this with doors on both sides operate on special bus lanes with purpose built boarding platforms in São Paulo (Brazil).