China's elevated bus seen straddling over traffic was probably a scam

Last year, the internet was abuzz with the news of a gigantic, elevated bus in China that glides above the traffic circulating around. The elevated bus running over 300 meters of track along a major roadway was touted to be the solution to China's traffic woes. Unfortunately, the panacea is now believed to be a big scam with authorities investigating into how the company behind it acquired funds.

The bus reportedly had been idle since its launch last year and the 300-metre tracks it runs on will be removed at the end of this month, according to Quartz. It reportedly raised 9.1 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) last year but was already the subject of a lawsuit from investors. The company that helped design the bus, Autek, was also still owed money.

The Beijing Police say that they have arrested more than 30 people connected to the funding including Bai Zhiming who runs both Huaying Kailai and the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) project, as it was called.

While the TEB seemed an awesome idea on paper, most of its advantages sublimed under scrutiny. The bus didn't navigate any corners on its inaugural test run or deal with any tricky bits of road infrastructure such as crossroads, bridges or traffic lights.

Besides, vehicles which are taller than 2.2 meters had to find another route around the TEB. When the TEB turned a corner every vehicle underneath it had to wait for the manoeuvre to complete before going around the corner themselves. It seems the dream of an odd elevated bus-tram gliding over the commuter traffic is at a likely dead-end.