Nice to see you helping out at GCC Rafael. Your comments are always original and informative.

Looks more like a limo. Does it bend around corners? :)

while interesting, toyota already had similar tech being developed over a year ago; see bus description and pictures.
the toyota version runs on CNG, however.

Strictly for rich people I think. As pointed out by SJC, this looks more like a limo. If it was meant to be a mass form of transport like a bus, it would have been bigger.

Since air resistance goes up with speed, the idea that this is an economical mode of transport is silly. The McLaren when breaking the wold record went through a whole tank just after reaching the 400km/hr mark. If that car had traveled the same distance at half the speed the story would have been a little different (as it would not have run out of fuel).

The reasons thigns like bullet trains can pull it off is because they are long (and hold lots of people) so the drag is mostly on the front carriage. They justify the cost of excess energy used because they hold lots of passangers and can make more trips per day.

May I also say that rubber vehicle tires have up to 7 times more rolling friction then metal train ones, which is the reason why long distance transport of lots of stuff is always better by train.

To be constructive in this argument, I may add that should such a vehicle be made I could not see it costing more then a limousine on account of it being essentially that with a bigger engine to get the speed. So it would be economically viable.

Don't be fooled by the proportions of the design. It's actually 15m long and 2.5m wide, much like any other bus. However, its height is much lower, silimar to that of a an SUV. No information on ground clearance was given - perhaps it will be adjustable, just as it already is in many modern but conventional bus designs. That would let it clear speed bumps and arched bridges/railroad crossings and, to maintain lateral stability at very high speeds.

Rolling resistance represents a minor component of total vehicle load even at normal freeway speeds and, even more so at the proposed top cruising velocity of 250 kph. Ergo, the advantage of steel wheels over rubber tires is negligible in this regard, especially considering the lightweight, composite construction of the Superbus.

On the other hand, rubber tires permit a bus to use existing, regular roads at low speeds, sharply reducing the need for expensive and energy intensive infratructure construction - the proposed alternatives were a high-speed bullet train and a maglev track.

For safety and comfort, the Superbus concept calls for a pro-active suspension that lifts wheels off the ground as neccessary to avoid road imperfections when traveling at high speeds; this open-loop control strategy is to be based on differential GPS/Galileo navigation and an extremely accurate (cm resolution) height map of critical road sections, comprising several hundred GB of data stored in an on-board computer. Radar and infrared systems will scan the road ahead for previously unmapped obstacles. Whenever the Superbus tavels on its dedicated very-high-speed freeway lanes, it will effectively operate on auto-pilot.

Another advantage the Superbus can offer is dynamic routing, i.e. picking up and dropping off its passengers at locations of their choosing (within limits). This means customers do not suffer the incovenience and wait states inherent in using additional modes of (public) transportation. The system's proponents claim this allows them to cut the energy cost of door-to-door transportation by more than 50% compared to a maglev-based solution, assuming equal total trip time.

I sure hope this thing can lift itself off the ground by a considerable distance. It sure looks like it would high-center on a mole hill. Cool concept.

I don't understand how this would miraculously reduce highway traffic? So because the bus is cooler people with automatically stop using cars?

Looks like it would be a practical idea for short-and intermediate-distance inter-city travel. Much less investment capital required than Maglev or even trains like the French TGV, and much more flexible routing possible by using existing freeway right-of-way. It should be more energy-efficient than commuter airlines and a lot more cost-effective per passenger-mile, given the high cost of aircraft acquisition, maintenance, and fuel cost. Yet, given the Superbus's ability to deliver passenger much closer to population centers than airplane can, door-to-door trip time can be reduced and more convenience to the passengers.

These Superbuses may be linked together like a train for long-distance travel, thereby further reducing frontal drag, which can be substantial at high speed . Upon arrival at different main-line stations, certain ones may be detached, separated, acquire a driver from the main-line station, and driven off the main-line station to deliver the passengers to suburban local stations, hotels, resort centers for rapid door-to-door time in charter application. This is known as bi-modal transportation system, and why not?

The big question mark: "the all-electric drivetrain". What is it powered by? If batteries, it would seem to me that the amount of power needed to reach and sustain the speeds suggested would sorely tax any batteries in the near distant future. Fuel cell perhaps?

Since this is a bus, we can cover its route with over head electrical line as power source? Or a high efficiency on board generator - fuel cell, turbine, whatever.

And wow, this bus looks like a space ship!

Inductive charging from under the road?

Mike D -

the concept was initially developed for a new high-speed connection between Amsterdam and the city of Groningen in the North of the Netherlands. Apparently, the hope is that cutting the travel time would encourage homebuyers to look further afield than the already badly congested environs of Amsterdam and, develop the economy of the Northern region (which has a lot of natural gas but not much else). These days, of course, telecommuting can cut down on the number of times that physical commuting would be required.

Roger -

since the Superbus is supposed to be on auto-pilot anyhow on its dedicated very high speed freeway lanes, slipstreaming a series of buses is indeed a possibility that the designers are considering. However, the individual buses would be coupled only via radio communication, not physical links.

Pauln -

the designers are shooting for a battery electric vehicle (cp. Tesla roadster), though at the time their web lecture was recorded (early 2005) they were not yet sure they could pull it off. I would not be surprised if they ended up with a hybrid that operated as a pure BEV only at low speeds and switched to ICE operation for high-speed cruising. I don't know how they intend to implement access to the passenger compartment and, what will give the vehicle adequate stiffness. In the context of such a groundbreaking concept, it might make sense to conceive of hollow composite beams that do double duty as structural beams and as CNG tanks.

Rexis/clett -

there are no plans for a new electric grid of any type to support the operation of the Superbus.

Rafael, you say "Rolling resistance represents a minor component of total vehicle load even at normal freeway speeds....". This is not correct for long-haul buses. Rolling resistance for such vehicles actually exceeds aerodynamic drag at 60mph/100kph.

The Superbus travels 2.5x this speed, but is probably 4-5x more aerodynamic. If the aero/rolling/accessory load split for a typical bus at 100kph is 35/45/20 then it's probably something like 55/35/10 for Superbus at 250kph. Putting Superbus on rails would save most of that 35% and make a noticeable difference in overall efficiency.

doggydogworld -

I was giving you what the Superbus design team claims. Total vehicle weight is much lower than for a conventional bus due to the heavy use of composites. Also, the tires (shoulder height / tread width ratio) will be very different from that used in conventional buses. This is made possible by the advanced suspension system and the proposed ultra-smooth very high speed freeway lanes.

I'm not sure if they also intend to adapt tire pressure to static load, their published documentation does not touch on that option.