Traffic Congestion in Cities
Traffic congestion is a familiar phenomenon for people who live in the cities. With the rapid developments of economy and technology, Private vehicles, are not luxury goods anymore for most people. Private vehicles have been common transportation tools in modern society. According to the survey, conducted by new geography, urban residents spend 60% to 120% times on average more than cottars on the way (Cox, 2014). Urban residents are really annoyed by extra time consuming on the road and delayed plans because of the traffic congestion. Professionals start to find out the actual causes of traffic congestion and seek possible solutions to ease traffic congestion. It is believed that buses are at least one of the main contributory factors of traffic congestion (The world bank group, 2006). Buses are normally much bigger than the other road users such as private autos or vans, which mean extra space are required for them to move on the road. It would be difficult for the other drivers to overtake buses. Besides of this, buses always have priorities. Especially within the built-up areas, other drivers have to wait for buses to pull-out or pull-in. Furthermore, most cities have designed specific bus lines. As we all know, bus lines can only be utilized by buses. Definitely, every bus line would reduce the space that could be used by the other cars. The following picture was taken by Luis Acosta in Bogota, Colombia, it is clear to see the empty bus lines and other crowded lines. In Acosta’s report, it is suggested that the traffic congestion can be improved if the bus lines can be opened to other cars. The researcher also mentioned that most of time, the bus lines are free but cannot be used by other cars. Additionally, the bus lines normally designed at the most right or left on the roads. The biggest inconvenience for other drives is that they are always stopped by buses in intersections (Acosta, 2014).
[pic 1]Source: (Acosta, 2014)However, it is pretty reasonable that buses are given so many priorities. Buses are one of the most important public transportation modes for people. In order to ensure their fluent funning without any obstacles or unnecessary stops, buses are assigned to be the only ones can use the bus lines. It is encouraged to choose public transport in order to meet the requirements of sustainability. People around the world are wondering is there a possible solution, which can ease the traffic congestion and ensure the free movement of buses as well.In 2010, a Chinese company releases a video about future buses, which is named as transportation-Straddling Bus (TBS) (Earth day network, 2010). The video presents an innovative way to alleviate mounting traffic and congestion problems in the country’s urban areas. The innovation is called “Land Airbus”, which maybe China’s or even the world’s future public transport modes. The pictures below gives clear image of this innovative buses.[pic 2]Figure1 (Earth day network, 2010)The “Land Airbus” is much more like a large train, which sits on stilts that connect to side of the road, allowing regular cars to freely pass underneath it. “Land Airbus” will move along fixed tracks with speed about 25 miles per hour. The original idea is that a straddling bus with a 20-foot wide can carry 1200 passengers instead of 40 passengers in conventional city buses. These kind of buses are powered by panels and municipal electricity, which can save 860 tons of fuel per year and preventing 2,640 tons of carbon emissions.