Superbus comes to UAE for potential future use
The Superbus concept, which could give business commuters and tourists a new luxury high-speed link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, “moves a step closer to fruition” in the UAE this week when it will be showcased outside Europe for the first time.
The first prototype version of the Superbus makes its Middle East debut when it goes on show at the five-day UITP Mobility and City Transport Expo getting under way on Sunday at Dubai National Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The electric-powered cross-over between a bus and a limousine can travel at 250 kph and is being presented to UAE Government authorities as the future of public transportation for business commuters and tourists in the UAE, and in other Gulf countries.
Carrying 23 passengers at 250 kph on a dedicated “speed track”, the Superbus will cut the commute time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to 30 minutes, and is seen by its European designers as the shape of things to come in sustainable transport.
The Superbus is the brainchild of a design team at TU Delft University of Technology in Holland who have brought the prototype to the UAE after an exploratory initial visit coinciding with last month’s Commercial Vehicles Middle East exhibition and conference in Dubai. During the visit the Superbus project was presented to senior officials of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority.
It has been dubbed the “Dutch solution” to the three ills of public transportation: congestion, pollution, and safety.
The Superbus will be in the UAE for two weeks, and following its appearance at the UITP Expo it will move on to the UAE capital where the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport will take the vehicle for a test drive.
Offering the convenience of a car, the Superbus is 15 metres long and has eight doors on each side. It would run on a dedicated two-lane highway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and leave the “speed track” in urban areas to drop off passengers at agreed locations.
Powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries, the 530 hp carbon-fibre vehicle is similar in length and width to a public bus, but with the height of a conventional SUV. The Superbus, which uses rear wheel steering, boasts high manoeuvrability, formidable breaking power and safety based on the use of advanced radar and electronic obstacle detection systems.
The first Superbus road tests took place in Holland last September. Although no feasibility studies have been done yet for the Abu Dhabi-Dubai route, the similar Amsterdam-Groningen route has been studied by the Dutch government, with other high speed connection routes currently under evaluation for several other countries around the world.
Comments
Davis
An awesome concept. The interesting thing will be how they will manage to have a dedicated speed lane in our highway? if they do manage, a half an hour journey time is awesome. It will be so easy to move back and forth 🙂 ..let’s how it goes.
ROJ
Is it really a necessity? This money can be better spent on improving public transportation and road traffic conditions..
Rahul Jones
So, our Salik money is going for this……
Aarav
i really do hope the ‘super lane’ wont b like the british bus lanes……….. that would make the journey good only for those 25 people =/
M Jaff
I wish they will build a super lane and allow drivers to drive 200 km/hr and above. No need for the super bus
Justin
If they make a dedicated bus lane, it will be filled with nissan patrols and land cruiser pick-up trucks on two wheels! 🙂
marc
completely stupid imho..
who wants to be driven by a suboptimally skilled driver from the subcontinent (these are the ones ending being the drivers) at 250kmh?????
plus, you face the same problem re. train: how to get to/from the start/ending point during summer time????
think about it…
v6turbo
Another mentally retarted european…
suboptimally skilled driver from the subcontinent …
Spend some time with Patan driver, he will teach you basics of driving.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
I don’t think Marc meant any offence. Driving a bus at 250 kph requires a good deal of discipline that’ll need a whole lot more training than a typical bus driver.
v6turbo
And i don’t think RTA will allow simply anyone to drive such bus, any nationality they will have to go through similar training, whats 250 these days even a normal mid size suv with outdated engine can do 200kph. Most mordern cars are coming with 220 to 250kmph electronically limited speed settings.
marc
v6 turbo, apologies for offending your subcontinental pride, but Mash is absolutely right:
who will end up drive these monsters? very likely the ones that usually drive the local busses, trucks, etc. (otherwise the economics wouldnt work out i guess if you recruit the sebastian vessels of this world..). so i hope u dont want to tell me that these guys are en par with highly educated drivers from the western world (no offense to other parts of the world, i am generalizing)??
perhaps my wording was provocative, but the essence is true i believe..
so once more: interesting but “stupid” idea imho.
cheers, marc
Rahul Jones
Driving fast…. they should recruit me….
M Jaff
Marc you are probably right in this matter. But stop saying West and westerns. You are saying the west is so conscious about safety but why the hell they make all kinds of bombs, mines and nuclear. Now you’r accrediting the West for all good things in the world. F**k off.
I am from Iraq
BKJ
ummmm… wtf happened to the invention known as: train????????? O.o
1- its safer
2- its more convenient (more ppl can ride)
3- cheaper
4- u dont risk nissan patrols on two wheels driving infront of the train
the only advantage of the bus over a train is where it can leave the tracks and go to its desired destination
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
Hehe true. I think the theory is the bus will also enter regular streets and drop people off!
alvin
whats wrong with nissan patrols???!!!!!!!!!!!BKJ O.o we forgot about the trains…thanks for reminding…
Rangana
mmm…. Oh I found the spelling
S…T…U…P…I…D
aphfid
Are you people for real??? If any of you had been following the development of the superbus you would know the whole point of it is fast, flexible public transport. The vision is to build public transport that will get people out of their cars, that has the flexibility to self drive, pick people up at locations that suit them and drop them off at locations that suit them. The best vision in public transport in years
and all you people can say is bah humbug. /boggle. By the way – the earth isn’t flat – its round!!!!!!!!!
v6turbo
Thanks aphid, you said it right, some of them are overconfident here, always speaking negative, thinking themselves to be superior and having more knowledge, they underestimate governement organisations, if you don’t like development or policies, please feel free to leave, i am quite confident rta will be able to implement it in style. Most of those who comment rubbish are the ones with car on loand, driving on last lane, pretending to be fast rash drivers and they talk about incompetence of bus drivers…
ROJ
People just have an impression that when such projects come here.. They are usually publicity stunts more than they are meant to be useful.. Thats why people get a negative impression about it.. Hey and thats just an opinion btw..
Maqbool Bokhari
TO BEGIN WITH CHANGE IS ALWAYS BETTER –
LOOKS LIKE AWSOME MOBILE FROM OTHER PLANET –
SUPERB IDEA – MUST HAVE SPECIAL LANE TO RUN JUST TO AVOID CITY SIGNALS AND TRAFFIC – WHAT IS THE TOTAL DIMENSIONS OF INSIDE BODY VEHICLE,SEATS SPACE AND FARES ?
FROM NEW YORK.
Paul Murphy
Public transport ? 28 passengers ? Thats only like 4 people movers with a decent motor.Stunt.
Maklachi
i hope it will be equiped with an Anti Radar System