The Dutch-built Superbus was exhibited to the media at Masdar City in Abu Dhabi a few days ago. Fully electric and designed to carry 23 passengers, this bus-limousine hybrid is being launch as the next-generation solution to the Dubai-Abu Dhabi commute.

The midnight-blue bus travels at a top speed of 250kph, is 15 metres long, 2.5 metres wide and 1.65 metres high and has eight gullwing-style doors on each side. It is made of lightweight materials including aluminium, carbon fibre, fibreglass and polycarbonate, and weighs just 9,500kg fully loaded.

There is a second highway planned between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to reduce congestion and this could integrate a special high-speed lane to accommodate the Superbus, cutting down the commute from 60-90 minutes to 30 minutes. The Superbus will not have a fixed schedule – instead commuters will book online or with their mobile phones and the vehicle will pick them up and drop them off wherever they want.

This vehicle has been dubbed the “Dutch solution” to the three ills of public transportation: congestion, pollution, and safety. “

[It tackles] the challenges of mobility, spatial planning, service detail and environmental demands all in one,” said chief designer Antonia Terzi, of the design team at TU Delft University of Technology, where the vehicle is being developed. The project is backed by the Dutch government as well as ten sponsors and 56 suppliers. Many around the world are waiting with bated breath to see how well the Superbus performs.