The Land Airbus – tomorrow’s monorail?

It seems that 30-odd years ago, the monorail was being touted as the solution to urban transport, especially in cities.

Monorails popped up around the globe, including Sydney and the Gold Coast. One of the benefits of the monorail was its ability to be built around existing infrastructure, by constructing the rail above existing streets, but it was hampered by a lack of passenger capacity.

Other solutions to urban transport often include light rail. Many cities, including Melbourne, use light rail very effectively to transport huge numbers of passengers quickly and effectively.

Adelaide has recently extended its light rail network and the Gold Coast is currently building a light rail system to facilitate public transport in and around Surfers Paradise – from Southport to Broadbeach and many destinations in between.

But light rail usually requires some of the existing road, reducing the amount of road available for other traffic.

So – is there a solution that has the convenience of light rail, but with the lower-impact benefits of the monorail?

It seems there may be. The Land Airbus, developed by TBS China, straddles existing traffic lanes, reducing impact on existing traffic and provides passenger space and comfort for public transport users.

They have developed a brief video to showcase their concept, and it’s compelling viewing.

Let us know what you think of this as a potential solution to urban transport in the comments…