Aug 19: Straddle Bus!

Great idea in these days of mass transit and trying to figure out how the heck a city moves more people efficiently and effectively. This pic is of the recently unveiled "straddle bus". Yes, I know, it is more of a train, but hey, I didn't name it. Cities have tried a variety of ways to get more of their citizens to work quickly and easily over the years. Of course the easiest way was to go up........

.....as these two pics of London buses show. That city was the champion in this regard, so much so that when one thinks of a double decker bus, one automatically thinks of jolly old London. Right? Since then a few other municipalities have taken London's lead. Here in Toronto we have the GO (government of Ontario) system which has about fifty of these double deckers......

Can you think of one thing that might go wrong with something this high. Think about their high centre of gravity and then think about a corner taken just a tad too quickly.......

Yep, all too easy to see the result, like what has happened to this two story tour bus. The other problem is those low bridges, that you just didn't take into account when planning your route. No pics of that, as they are way too gruesome, if you get my drift.

A better way might be to add on to the current buses. Should be able to get a few more seats, without the worry of those sharp corners or too low overpasses. Think I'm the first person to come up with this idea?

Not a chance. In Toronto we use these, but with only one addition, not like this super long, train like bus with its two additions. Come to think of it, wonder how this one gets around those tight corners - with a wing and a prayer, perhaps? Quite frankly, I don't know how any of these big buses or big trucks navigate our city streets without creating havoc and mayhem in their wake.

So who has a better idea? Well, back to the straddle bus..........

Not in use yet and maybe it never will be a fixture on a big city's super busy streets (nice scale model, though). But the proposal has been made. A few points.........since it is actually a train or streetcar (see those rails), it definitely has limitations. Want to know another big one? This thing can clear vehicles up to just over six feet high. Think about all those Escalade drivers or those high roofed delivery vans. Sure, there will be warning signs about the height limitations on the straddle bus lanes, but who reads them? While this thing is supposed to straddle vehicles, as it makes its way over traffic jams, there will always be some idiot sitting there, throwing a wrench into this whole concept. And let's not even think about a accident stopping this thing, since it can't go around those kind of problems.

By the way, think this is a new idea, friendo? Not a chance, as this old (check the date) magazine cover shows.........

Isn't this the straddle bus, envisioned with a few minor mods? And it's sensibly higher. Of course, a city might have to tear down a few overpasses along its route, to make this baby fly.

But let's go back to the past's view of the future one more time for possibly the best idea yet........

Climbs mountains, but just think about its use in our cities. All those municipalities trying to think outside the box, can thank me for moving the process along. Say tuned for more bright ideas from your car guy blogger.

And look up.....is it a bird, a plane? No, it's the straddle bus!

Until next time.......