This is the FreightBUS, a concept bus that can handle both passengers and goods, in hopes of getting transport vans off the roads. The FreightBUS’s interior can automatically be adjusted by the driver or the conductor to very between passenger space and freight space according to needs and demand.
According to inventor Hugh Frost’s own calculations, public bus occupancy in London only averages out at 20%, which makes them not as efficient as they should be as there are plenty of unused capacity. The idea is to use them to carry freight at off peak hours such as the evening and overnight so that ROI on the buses can be maximised.
When the loading area is dedicated to passengers, it can fit 90 seated passengers and 40 standing passengers, or 52 seated passengers with 98 standing passengers. In full freight configuration it can accumulate 35 europallets. An europallet is a standard size transport structure which measures 80cm by 120cm by 12cm.
The FreightBUS can be configured to be an EV or a fuel cell vehicle. Fuel cell stacks together with hydrogen tanks or EV batteries can be stored in the 200mm deep space in the main floor of the bus. It can use either a centralised motor or in-wheel motors. An 80% recharge is said to be possible in 1 minute, with a specialised charger of course.
PHOTO GALLERY: Freight*BUS Concept
Click thumbnails to view high resolution photo
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
first to comment?…weee
i kinda like the shape!!..future-stic!..=)
It must be very expensive
its sorta cool….but i wouldnt think it would last..but very ummm “exotic”
The future Routemaster.
fabulous!
reminds me of the irobot movie. the carrier that stores the robots. This is for your safety. please stay indoors.
Hopefully can see this in London soon
looks like chocolate box packaging..lol
really futuristic ….
it looks nice but i doubt it can really kill off the van.
a van serves 2 purpose, either carry passenger or cargo. or even an MPV.
sure a bus could replace that but what about parking to unload goods.
suppose a franchise house really utilises this bus, imagine where they gotta park to unload goods from one branch to another and so on.
besides, have you seen london traffic?
when it comes down to it, a van is more economical for SME enterprises.
look like a bread toaster : p
down with public transport
Hai,
Yup, it reminds me the movie i-Robot as well.
Agreed, there’s no way you could move this big cargo bus for loading and unloading stuffs in a cramp, jam and hectic big city.
And… I heard for the next Transformers installment, Optimus Prime will morphs into this bus cause the big truck he used to be is not fuel efficient, price of gasoline has gone up and hence a battery powered bus should do the trick.
SY0H said,
December 9, 2008 @ 9:15 am
Hai,
Yup, it reminds me the movie i-Robot as well.
Agreed, there’s no way you could move this big cargo bus for loading and unloading stuffs in a cramp, jam and hectic big city.
And… I heard for the next Transformers installment, Optimus Prime will morphs into this bus cause the big truck he used to be is not fuel efficient, price of gasoline has gone up and hence a battery powered bus should do the trick.
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after got robots come out and attack
The infrastructures of the city bus stops etc must first be improved, then only the vehicles itself. No point having a super modern bus plying the towns that stops over flimsy bus stops that are crowded and smelly.
We still see many reject bus plying KL city. Its dirty,smelly, tail lights that does not work, tail lens that look like it being given a coat of red paint..
Right in the heart of the KL city we have such buses plying the roads..what would the visitors think about it? They would think that the out of towners bus will be much worser than this..!
And our infamous potholes roads.. its like a land mine outthere..!
Accidents have happened bcos of this…well, the list can go on forever…
Cire said,
December 9, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
The infrastructures of the city bus stops etc must first be improved, then only the vehicles itself. No point having a super modern bus plying the towns that stops over flimsy bus stops that are crowded and smelly.
We still see many reject bus plying KL city. Its dirty,smelly, tail lights that does not work, tail lens that look like it being given a coat of red paint..
Right in the heart of the KL city we have such buses plying the roads..what would the visitors think about it? They would think that the out of towners bus will be much worser than this..!
And our infamous potholes roads.. its like a land mine outthere..!
Accidents have happened bcos of this…well, the list can go on forever…
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the stupid road here always kerb my rims
It’s an interesting concept. But I have a doubt on its practicality. For start, many issues are not mentioned – and probably not solved as well. The current shape tailors mostly to passengers and not for goods. Loading / unloading goods on pallets requires forklifts. And with that an easy access to all sides of the vehicles is a must. This is not clear from the above pictures.
Assuming only rear loading is allowed (like a typical 40ft container), then forklifts must be able to drive thru. Otherwise, it is impossible to place / retrieve palleted goods in the front section of the ‘bus’.
And then, the bus is a double decker. Wholly unsuitable for goods. Unless somehow, the upper deck can be folded away or something. Even if it is foldable, the changeover time is critical. Anything more than one hour does not make any business sense.
Finally, what about the suspension? Ferrying goods requires a different suspension setup than ferrying people. Looks like it gonna have a bumpy ride for passengers and at the same time too springy a transport for goods.