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China's elevated bus under investigation for illegal fundraising

An elevated bus that glides over congested traffic with 300 passengers onboard sound too good to be true? That's because it is.

Aloysius Low Senior Editor
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
Aloysius Low
teb-parked

China's Transit Elevated Bus has been collecting dust and blocking traffic for a while now.

John Chan

China's electric-powered Transit Elevated Bus is looking very much like a scam, and Beijing authorities are on to the company, it seems.

Initially drawing plenty of buzz last year for its futuristic concepts of being elevated so that cars could pass under it as it moves on tracks, the TEB never really took off. And now, it's being investigated for raising illegal funds, reports Quartz

Police in Beijing have started an investigation into the company, Huaying Kailai, which has been seeking funds from individual investors to finance the development of the bus, and so far, 30 people have been held, including the CEO.

Scheduled to start trials in the city of Qinghuangdao in northern China, the TEB has since become a giant roadblock, with the 300 meter track causing congestion with cars having to squeeze by to avoid the tracks. The TEB, meanwhile, has been permanently parked in a garage on June 21 even as authorities start removing the tracks to restore the road back to its original condition.