THE company behind a futuristic road-straddling electric bus said it had not received orders to demolish the specially constructed track the vehicle runs on, and that they are still conducting tests.

    The Beijing-based Transit Explore Bus Technology Co. Ltd. tested the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) in Qinghuangdao City in Hebei Province on Aug. 2, garnering worldwide attention as well as doubts.

    Although there have been no progress reports since the road test Aug. 2, there have been a huge number of media reports questioning the project’s feasibility financially, commercially and in terms of technology.

    It’s reported that the contract between the government in Qinhuangdao and the transport company will terminate Aug. 31, and that the special road used for testing will return to its original condition. But staff at the company said the TEB had been running frequent tests recently, including road tests for potential investors visiting the site.

    Tourists also commonly visit the site to look at the vehicle, which runs two meters above the road and allows for two lanes of cars to pass undisturbed underneath.

    Although tested in Qinghuangdao, the local government has been vague regarding its policy about the project, which already had made an investment of 100 million yuan (US$15 million), according to the company’s staff.(China News Service)