The technology heralded as a revolutionary solution to traffic congestion in urban centers only a few months ago now sits idle collecting dust.
China’s Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) project has run out of money, reports The Paper. The “future of public transportation” built to soar over cars is now sitting in a garage in the middle of a city street, ironically blocking traffic, the Shanghaiist revealed.
Investors are reportedly pulling their funding and cutting their losses on a project that began falling apart almost immediately after its public debut.
The elevated bus concept was first pitched in China in 2010. TEB Tech, a subsidiary of Huaying Kailai, presented a model of the TEB at the 19th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo in May 2016.
The video of the model went viral online.
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TEB production started in July.
One month later, TEB Tech turned previous concepts and models into reality. The TEB was first tested on the road in Qinhuangdao on Aug. 2.
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The TEB, praised as a breakthrough in domestic innovation in China, was discredited the day after its road test.
After coming under fire for being expensive and impractical, the TEB was criticized as a scam designed to dupe potential investors through questionable fundraising and the improper disclosure of investment information. Huaying Kailai reportedly raised billions of yuan through peer-to-peer (P2P) investing but only used a few hundred million on the project.
Another test was conducted in late August, but that is supposedly the last time the TEB was touched. The project is said to have been inactive for months.
Whether or not the project was a scam is still debatable, especially considering the project is now reportedly bankrupt. A number of employees have already moved on and are seeking work elsewhere.
Despite overwhelming setbacks, the creator of the TEB, Song Youzhou, refuses to admit defeat or abandon his prized creation. He told The Paper that inspections occur on a weekly basis; however, he did not provide specific information.
Song argued that the dust collecting on the TEB is just pollution.
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