By now, no one should be surprised by the announcement that China plans to roll out a fleet of the world’s largest buses.
I say that because China is already home to perhaps the most extreme infrastructure in the world. This includes three of the world’s longest bridges (including the world’s longest seabridge), the world’s fastest bullet train, many of the world’s tallest buildings and, most recently, the construction of a 30-story hotel completed in about two weeks.
Thier latest addition to the record books, as reported by the website Digital Trends, is a 82 foot-long superliner dubbed Youngman JNP6250G (even the name’s kind of long isn’t it?). As a point of reference, passenger buses in the U.S. are not allowed to exceed 64 feet in length. So to enable the vehicle to safely make turns without engulfing the entire intersection, the bus is divided into three sections and connected using flexible accordian-style hinges. Each bus is capable of transporting up to 300 passengers and will be deployed in Beijing and Hangzhou, where traffic congestion is a serious problem.
Beyond being record-setting achievements, going bigger, faster and more efficient makes a lot of pragmatic sense when you have over a seventh of the world’s population relying on you. This requires a sufficient means of getting people around and across vast distances while ensureing that they’ll arrive on time. Basically, government officials are doing what any nation of 1.3 billion strong would and should be doing.
More record-breaking tech:
- Amazing video: 30-story hotel built in just 15 days
- China’s new bullet train is world’s fastest, smashes record
- Video: China unveils world’s longest sea bridge, but is it?
- Behold! The world’s skinniest house
- The world’s longest motorcycle [video]
More on the rise of China:
