The 'straddling bus' was a top-50 invention — then its test track was demolished

The Transit Elevated Bus (巴铁一号 / 立体快巴) was a proposed elevated bus that would straddle roads, carrying passengers on an upper deck while allowing cars to pass underneath. In 2010, the concept was selected by TIME magazine as one of the '50 Best Inventions'. In May 2016, a three-car model was displayed at the Beijing International Science & Technology Expo, and a strategic cooperation agreement was signed with the city of Nanyang.

On 2 August 2016, a test vehicle ran approximately 300 metres in Beidaihe, Qinhuangdao. Within days, Xinhua's Economic Information Daily questioned whether the project was 'high-tech or a financial scam', identifying the Huaying Group (华赢集团) as the capital backer. Reports alleged that the related fundraising platform Huaying Kailai (华赢凯来) had raised billions of yuan from investors through 'TEB investment products', with media estimates ranging from RMB 4 billion to far higher figures.

In June 2017, the Beidaihe test track was demolished and the project was terminated. It had never entered actual operation. The project's inventor, Song Youzhou, was described in media as a 'folk scientist'. The actual controller, Bai Zhiming, was linked to the fundraising operations. The case became one of China's most prominent examples of a non-viable technology being used as a vehicle for investment fraud.