Elaborate Straddling-Bus Project Runs Out of Gas

(Beijing) — An inventive yet complex straddling bus that captured the nation’s imagination is being scrapped after the project stalled for nearly a year over questions about its feasibility and the developer’s background.

The elevated jumbo bus was meant to glide atop tracks while traffic flowed beneath it. The bus and 300 meters (984 feet) of rail track that was installed as a prototype system will be cleared off the streets of Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, before the end of the month.

The decision to demolish the project in the city 300 kilometers east of Beijing comes as the colossal bus — meant to accommodate over 300 passengers in its loungelike interior — and its tracks began to severely obstruct traffic and present road hazards, authorities told Caixin.

The larger-than-life concept was unveiled in July 2016. Shortly after its debut, the bus, trumpeted as an answer to road congestion and an ingenious marriage between public and private transportation, was promoted by its developer as a promising investment.

The project’s developer was a full subsidiary of P2P lending company Huayingkailai. It was soon discovered that the firm had been blacklisted by various local governments as an online lending company at high risk of default.

Skepticism over the feasibility of the project piled on top of these revelations as transportation engineers pointed out the numerous design flaws of the plan. Questions such as how it would pass under bridges, allow taller vehicles to flow underneath, change lanes and make turns went unanswered.

Qinhuangdao authorities were unable to reach the bus’s developers after the media raised questions about the project. It has been a “useless exhibit” for nearly a year now, collecting dust in a tin shed, officials said.

Huayingkailai used the straddling bus to attract hundreds of well-off retail investors. A pledge of at least 1 million yuan ($146,000) was required of each, and in many cases smaller investors pooled their cash to qualify for a share. The total amount raised has not been disclosed.

The company declined to accommodate investors who attempted to cash out their money after the project collapsed. Soon after, Huayingkailai pulled its employees off the project. Last month, investors learned in a video conference with Huayingkailai’s CEO that they will receive 1% of their respective investments before September. The lion’s share will be redeemed through a 30% discount on purchases of the company’s real estate, as well as merchandise such as wine and teas, he said.

“The project is still ongoing, though we are experiencing financial difficulties. The straddling bus is capable of clearing off debt,” the CEO said during the video conference.

Only recently have authorities also been able to get back in touch with Huayingkailai, which has agreed to remove the elevated bus by the end of the month. Construction workers hired by the government have begun prying out sections of the rail, a report by state media on Thursday showed.

Huayingkailai’s customer service line is no longer in operation, while its office lines were “busy,” a recorded message said. The company’s website was last updated on Sept. 22, with an article under the company news section titled, “How will you weather a storm if you are discouraged by minor setbacks?”

Contact reporter April Ma (fangjingma@caixin.com)