New Bike Bus Concept Looks Promissing

BIKE GUIDE from Kukil Han on Vimeo.

A designer named Kukil Han from Seoul has posted his well thought-out innovation for a linked vehicle system he calls Bike Guide that would allow people to travel to tourists destinations around the South Korean capital in an eco-friendly manner. Han's concept is one of the best I've seen recently, and has a great deal of potential for European and American cities as well.

The idea is that people can sign-up for a guided tour of Seoul at any of the kiosks installed around the city. At the stations, tourists can see stops along the route, check for the next pick-up time, and pre-pay for the service using a touch-screen display. A hybrid bike-bus equipped with a solar power roof, seen in the image below, takes passengers to central spots around the region, where the bikes then detach for individuals to explore on their own before returning to bus and on to the next location.

Inside the bike-corral, riders can watch a television for information about the next point of interest, and, when exploring on the bike, have access to the same information, including departure time, GPS navigation, historical facts and more, on a handlebar mounted display.

From the video Han has posted, it seem the bikes are of the regular variety, however, I'd like to suggest electric bicycles instead, which would give riders more range. Plus, since the bikes are already mounted with a display unit, a lithium-ion battery system could help power the device, and the once mounted back on the bus, be recharged through its system, or through pedal-assist technology.