China just unveiled a bus that makes transit systems around the world look like a joke.

Introducing the “Transit Elevated Bus”–the most simple innovation nobody ever thought of. Unlike regular buses, which travel alongside others vehicles and help snarl traffic, elevated buses do exactly as their name implies–they drive above traffic. While they don’t actually hover over the ground, you can basically think of them as moving tunnels.

Pretty cool, right?

Powered by electricity, these buses run on a series of tracks just like a streetcar or subway only the vehicles are suspended higher in the air. They can carry up to 1,400 passengers and will also help solve two of China’s largest problems: congestion and air pollution. Elevated buses are expected to be able to replace up to 40 conventional buses, clearing up the roads and conserving about 800 tonnes of fuel every year (that’s 2,480 tonnes of carbon emissions the atmosphere won’t have to deal with).

Another way this bus deviates from others is that passengers actually enter and exit through the roof. Special stations will be setup above roads to accommodate elevated buses. They also cost about 16 per cent of what a subway would, and can be constructed much faster.

The elevated buses were unveiled in Beijing this week, and are expected to hit markets in 2017.

We’ll see you on top!



WATCH: Also from China, a robot that could mean the end of parking garage frustrations.

