Buses World News: June 2005

STORIES - MALAYSIA - Bus driver saves passengers

Persekutuan,Malaysia -New Straits Times, by PETALING JAYA -June 30 2005: -- Five bus passengers escaped injury when the quick-thinking driver got them out of the vehicle just before it went up in flames this morning... The Triton bus was heading from Kuala Lumpur to Klang about 9.30am when driver, Abidin Ahamad, 40, heard a bang at Km13 of the Federal Highway, near the Guinness Anchor brewery... A tyre on the left side of the bus had burst and he saw sparks through the left view mirror... "It might have sparked the fire," he said.

PASSENGERS UP - UK - People in Lothian Bus growth stays in the fast lane

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -The Scotsman, by ALAN MCEWEN -27 Jun 2005: -- THE number of passengers using Lothian Buses is rising by four per cent every year, make more than double the national average in bus journeys each year... And the statistics revealed a 27 per cent increase in the volume of passengers over the past seven years. A 1.3 per cent jump in the number of passengers has already been recorded during the first 20 weeks of this year, with 104 million people expected to use the services in 2005...

SALES - INDIA - VOLVO Buses bags order from Bangalore Transport Corp.

BANGALORE,India -Hindu Business Line - June 27, 2005: -- Volvo Buses, one of the world's largest manufacturers of buses and coaches, has received its first order for 25 city buses from Bangalore, the company announced on Monday... The order marks Volvo's entry into the city bus market in India, where the market for this segment is estimated to be 10,000-12,000 units each year...

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Bus-shelter lights fueled by sun

Seattle,WA,USA -Seattle Times, by Carina Stanton -June 28, 2005: -- Seattle averages only 96 sunny days per year, but King County Metro Transit believes that's enough to light 43 downtown bus shelters with solar power through even the gloomiest winters... Two prototype bus shelters, were fitted with the alternative-energy lights last fall and still are working at full capacity... The technology is being used in bus shelters and bus stops in Toronto; Vancouver, B.C.; and London; and it is being tested in Pierce County and Portland...

ANTIECOLOGY - HONG KONG/CHINA - 'Arctic conditions' inside malls and buses blasted

Hong Kong,China -The Standard, by Winnie Chong -Jun 27 2005: -- Hong Kong's ''big chill'' is getting people hot under the collar... The Lonely Planet 1998 edition on Hong Kong says the "temperatures are set so low inside public buses you may find your extremities turning blue"... According to Friends of the Earth, 24 percent out of the 266 complaints received were about temperatures inside public transport... Of these, 60 percent complained about buses... Chu said passengers complained buses were so cold that they needed to wear jackets and sweaters... He said adjusting air-conditioners one degree Celsius higher can save 3 percent on electric bills... If public places and transportation can set their indoor temperature at 25.5C, HK$1 billion could be saved, Chu added...

PURCHASES - INDIA - High Court ordered to replace 1,300 old buses

BEST looks to FIs to replace old buses
New Delhi,India -Times of India,by OLAV ALBUQUERQUE -JUN 26 2005: -- MUMBAI: A cash-starved Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) wants to raise Rs 200 crore from financial institutions to replace 1,300 old buses. It will first raise Rs 100 crore, which it badly needs for 2005-06 to buy the buses, and then may hire 10% of its fleet from private operators... Bombay High Court ordered BEST (on December 19, 2003), to phase out buses that would be over 15 years old by January 1, 2006. The judges ordered BEST to retro-fit 250 buses with Euro-II engines during 2004-05, 300 buses in 2005-06, 350 during 2006-07 and 400 buses in 2007-08...

PURCHASES - AUSTRALIA - Massive order for Sydney buses

505 new air-conditioned vehicles are to be delivered over the next five years.

Australasian Bus and Coach - Australia - Jun 27 2005: -- Sydney Buses, with a fleet of 1700 buses, carries more than 600,000 passengers a day on its 300-route network, but almost three in five were more than 12 years old and the average age of a bus was 12.9 years... So, the new buses will be delivered to the STA over the next five years. Value of for the new generation buses will be $200 million with the first $60 million already allocated in this year's budget... the buses would include security features to combat hooliganism and graffiti vandalism, too will be required to provide the latest security measures for the protection of the driver... The bus acquisition program would also feature anti-vandal designs... The expected delivery dates of the new buses are as follows:
2006 – 45 buses
2007 – 100 buses
2008 – 90 buses
2009 – 90 buses
2010 – 90 buses
2011 – 20 buses

VERDICT - USA - Bus stop electrocution case awards 65 million-dollar verdict

MIAMI,FL,USA - WRIC/Richmond,VA -June 29, 2005: -- The family of a 12-year-old boy who was electrocuted at a Miami bus stop shelter has been awarded 65 (m) million dollars... The family had sued the outdoor advertising company that built and wired the shelter...

SALES - GHANA - 150 new buses for mass transport

Accra,Ghana -GhanaWeb -June 24 2005: -- Mr Magnus Opare-Asamoah, Deputy Minister of Road Transport, on Friday said negotiations were ongoing with the Dutch Government for the acquisition of additional 150 DAF/Neoplan buses in 2006 under the Dutch Government concessionary financing. He said that 20 out of 100 DAF/Neoplan buses currently under construction at the Neoplan Assembly Plant in Kumasi would be ready for commissioning by the second week of July 2005...

ECOLOGY - USA - Cleaner tour buses

Concord,MA,USA -Reading Advocate, by Michael P. Norton -Jun 23 2005: -- Boston Mayor: Thomas Menino, dealing with city asthma rates among the highest in the country, today applauded a team effort to clean up emissions from private tour buses and eliminate the odious black puffs of smokes that older diesel engines produce... With smog blanketing the city and temperatures pushing 90 degrees, officials announced that 35 diesel-powered tourist trolleys owned by Beantown Trolley and Old Town Trolley have been retrofitted with oxidation catalysts that will reduce the release of particulate matter that can lodge in the throats of those who breathe it...

RACISM - UK - Bus driver accused of racism

London,England,UK -Hampstead Express -24 June 2005: -- A LANGUAGE teacher has lodged an official complaint with a bus company accusing a driver of racist behaviour... Steven Wasserman, 34, of Frognal, says that a driver on an 82 bus he was travelling on to Swiss Cottage called a black passenger back four times to check his pass...

UNIFYING - USA - City, rural & university buses' all togheter in one system

San Marcos,TX,USA -San Marcos Daily Record, by BRAD ROLLINS - Jun 23, 2005: -- Officials here are drafting a plan to fashion a unified citywide public transit system... The project would combine elements of the Capital Area Rural Transit System's CAT service and Texas State University's bus system, both of which currently operate their own routes in the city... Her goal is to merge the systems within two years into a full-fledged transit system with more routes and stops serving more areas in the city...

PUBLIC SERVICE - AUSTRALIA - Bracks urged to get on board better bus service

Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -Age (subscription),by Dan Silkstone -Jun 24 2005: -- Pressure is building on the State Government to improve bus services, with a report saying outer suburban services seriously lacking and a prominent transport academic criticising the Government's SmartBus project... Because of poor or non-existent bus services, only 5 per cent of trips in the area are taken on public transport, compared with a Melbourne-wide figure of 11 per cent, it says... It concludes that without action the Government will struggle to reach its 20 per cent citywide target by 2020... About 50 bus passengers were included in the survey. Their views suggest that public transport is viewed as a last resort. Asked why they travelled by bus, 81 per cent said because they had no alternative. Only 4 per cent said buses were more convenient...

SAFEGUARD - AUSTRALIA - New laws safeguard community bus services

New England North West NSW, Australia -ABC Regional Online -24 June 2005: -- The New South Wales Government has passed new laws to guarantee local communities have bus services if a private bus company is unable to continue operating... The changes will also allow the Government to take control of company assets for up to a year after a private operator has stopped providing the service...

INVESTMENTS - CHINA - Private finance plan for Beijing transport network

BEIJING,China -Xinhua/chinaview -2005-06-24: -- Beijing is considering allowing private finance from both home and abroad to fund new public transport projects... These investors will be allowed to earn a profit by running transport services, such as bus services, in the capital... From January to May this year, 80,000 new vehicles were registered in Beijing, pushing the total number to 2.4 million... Figures show that 15,000 old taxis have been replaced by new ones this year, and more than 300 buses have been adapted to use liquefied natural gas...

FAST LANE - MEXICO - City commuters try life in fast lane

This week, 90 low-pollution Metrobuses began rolling down a dedicated lane
Mexico City, MEX -Christian Science Monitor/USA, by Danna Harman -June 24, 2005: -- Insurgentes, the jampacked boulevard Mexico City's 18 million residents love to hate, cuts through this massive metropolis, north to south, filled with cars spewing smoke, taxis swinging illegal U-turns, and rickety commuter minivans screeching to stops with no discernible rhyme or reason... Confusion, delays, and a feeling of being fumigated has, for as long as most people here can remember, been about as sure a thing here as traditional Posada processions at Christmastime... Until this week, that is, thanks to popular mayor and presidential hopeful Andrés Manuel López Obrador's latest addition to the city: the Metrobus... Commuters exit at 36 stops along Insurgentes... and the buses could shave 50 minutes off a typical commute...

ECOLOGY - USA - Alternative fuel to be used on Charlotte Buses

Charlotte, N.C.,USA -The Lincoln Tribune -2005/6/23: -- The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) will provide a public program about alternative fuel used on CATS buses to help reduce emissions...and show the benefits of using cleaner burning fuels... Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) is a fuel specifically refined with significantly lower sulfur content than regular diesel fuel... also is using diesel particulate filters on a select number of buses, which is a device that controls soot emissions from diesel exhaust...

ECOLOGY - USA - Orange County delivers seven new clean engine buses

Newburgh,NY,USA -Mid-Hudson News -22 Jun, 2005: -- Seven new buses have been delivered to the towns of Highlands, Monroe, Wallkill and Warwick. The buses will be leased to the local municipal bus service operators for primarily dial-a-bus services... The new buses use Ford diesel engines with exhaust gas recirculation technology...

INJURIES - UK - Bus company shuts door on bogus claims

London,England,UK -Telegraph, by Auslan Cramb -23/06/2005: -- The rise of the compensation culture has prompted a bus company to seal the rear doors on its buses to combat the number of bogus injury claims it receives... Bus journeys in Edinburgh will become slightly longer as a result, with passengers having to enter and leave by the same door close to the driver...

MARKETS - INDIA - To make Hyundai No. 6 in world

NEW DELHI,India -The Financial Express/REUTERS -JUNE 22, 2005: -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. is aggressively raising its market share in India and stepping up exports from here as it eyes businesses in components, trucks and buses in a booming economy... The firm's wholly-owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd. is India's second-biggest car maker and considers India pivotal to its aim of becoming the number six global auto giant by 2010, its executive director of sales and marketing said on Wednesday... In addition, the Korean firm is studying the $5 billion bus and truck market, the world's fifth-biggest...

DISCUSSIONS - AUSTRALIA - DEDICATED BUS LANES or CAR-FREE ZONES ?

Bus plan shunts light rail option
New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), by Tim Dick -23, 2005: -- Fixing the gridlock in Sydney's CBD with more bus lanes was like "moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic" according to the light rail company, while business groups expressed cautious concern at the announcement... The Premier, Bob Carr, claimed more bus lanes, traffic enforcement cameras and selling tickets at bus stops could "shave five minutes" from travel times along George Street, while establishing a car-free zone could help cut 13 minutes off the same trip...

SALES - GERMANY - MAN gets order for 60 mln euros, 450 buses, from city of Ankara

FRANKFURT,Germazny -Reuters -Jun 23, 2005: -- German commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN AG, received a order worth roughly 60 million euros (US$73.1 million) from the Turkish capital city of Ankara to deliver 450 buses, the company said on Thursday... MAN added that 400 of the buses would be powered by compressed natural gas and would be built directly in Turkey...

PROFITS - UK - STAGECOACH beats forecasts on rail, bus growth

LONDON,UK -Reuters,by Michael Smith -Jun 22, 2005: -- Stagecoach Group beat forecasts with higher annual profits on Wednesday as growth in its rail and bus businesses helped to offset higher fuel costs... Stagecoach said it expected to win new rail franchises this year and expand its business but faced headwinds from higher bus fuel costs and uncertainty over the level of government subsidies that would come with new rail franchises...

LANES - MEXICO - New rapid-bus transit system draws catcalls, cheers in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY,MEX - San Diego Daily Transcript, by MARK STEVENSON/San Diego,CA,USA/AP -June 22, 2005: -- Mexico City's introduction of a trolley-like, dedicated-lane bus line has become a closely watched experiment in mass transit and a tough tests for popular Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador...

RECOMMENDATIONS - USA - Buy GM Before The Chinese Do !!

MIAMI,USA - Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor, by Richard Lehmann - 06.21.05: -- Making my recommendation to buy the General Motors debt in the April issue of the Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor and subsequently in my Forbes column was one of the easiest calls I've ever made... As I mentioned at a market price of half its book value, GM is an attractive takeover candidate for entities like China's biggest automobile manufacturer, the Shanghai Automotive Industry, which would like to become a leading exporter of cars... SAIC and GM already have a strategic joint venture which currently has a capacity of 500,000 vehicles in China per year, including autos like the Buick Regal and Chevy Sail...

PRODUCTION - TURKEY - MERCEDES BENZ BUS new plant

Premier Erdogan Inaugurates Manufacturing Facilities In Hosdere
ISTANBUL,Turkey -Turkish Press - 6/19/2005: -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated Mercedes-Benz Turk's bus manufacturing facilities in Hosdere district of Istanbul on Saturday... The Hosdere plant has an initial production capacity of 3.000 buses a year, and the company plans to increase this to 4.000 buses a year at the final stage. Mercedes-Benz Turk, currently employs 2.200 personnel for bus manufacturing at the Hosdere and Davutpasa Plants...

BORDER - BRAZIL - 350 buses Smuglering

Brasília,BRAZIL -Agencia Brasil,by Priscilla Mazenotti -Jun 17 2005: -- Operation National Convoy, launched today by the Federal Police (PF), expects to seize over 350 tourist buses used to transport contraband merchandise from Paraguay. Besides the apprehensions, 81 transportation firms that operate in this sector will be investigated, and the individuals responsible could be charged with criminal participation. The license plates of the suspect vehicles were filmed and photographed when they formed convoys to escape inspection at highway control posts. The images revealed that many buses made at least 500 trips to Foz do Iguaçu...

BOOKS - USA - "Pedal to the Metal....."

Re.: Truck Drivers Psych 101 "Required Reading"

USA - Google Groups, misc.transport.trucking - 17 jun 2005: -- The following are excerpts from the book : "Pedal To The Metal: The Work Lives Of Truckers" Contents Chapter -01 Driving Trucks, Driving Ourselves Chapter -04 Conflict between Drivers and Owners -Chapter 05 Work Skills and Self-Esteem -Chapter 09 Careers, Magic, and Masculinity... by Lawrence J. Ouellet: a sociologist who drove trucks for 13 years, has produced a fascinating study of the lives and work ethic of truckers. He explores, for instance, the range of identities truckers create for themselves as the renegade cowboy, the company man, the voyeur, or the lone king of the road...

YELLOW BUSES - UK - Kelly Welcomes School Bus

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -Scotsman,by Tim Ross -16 Jun 2005: -- Education Secretary Ruth Kelly welcomed a report today that urged her to set up a nationwide network of school buses... The research said an American-style “yellow bus” scheme would be crucial to ministers’ plans for giving parents more choice over where their children go to school...

STORY - USA - YELLOW School BUSES, an icon

UK - BBC News, by Rachel Humphreys BBC/Los Angeles - 16 June, 2005: -- Early afternoon in downtown Los Angeles and the rush-hour traffic is starting to build... Among the rows of SUVs and fashionable convertibles, one familiar image wends its way through the stationary vehicles - a yellow school bus... From the Hollywood sign on this coast to the Statue of Liberty on the other, few images of America are more iconic...

PURCHASES - USA - City of Odessa agrees to buy new buses

City contributes $100,738 to help buy 4 new, 30-foot buses
Odessa,TX,USA -Odessa American, By Cliff Hamilton -Jun 15 2005: -- After some initial hesitation, the Odessa City Council agreed Tuesday to give the EZ Rider bus system an extra $100,738 for new, bigger buses.But at a briefing before their meeting Tuesday, some council members expressed doubts about buying bigger buses.The Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District asked Odessa and Midland to contribute $100,738 each to secure $983,679 in matching federal funds for four new, 30-foot heavy-duty buses...

ADVERTISING - CANADA - Boob tube on buses?

Winnipeg,Manitoba,Canada–CBC Manitoba -Jun 15 2005: -- A Winnipeg man believes television advertising could be the key to pumping more funds into the city's struggling transit system... With a captive audience of 120,000 riders per day, Chris Minaker thinks, the advertising potential on city buses is huge... He wants to install televisions on buses, showing about 15 minutes per hour of paid local advertising and 45 minutes of free community programming, such as items about events going on in Winnipeg...

CLOSE - GERMANY - Volvo Buses to close factory in Heilbronn

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Forbes/AFX/USA -06.15.2005: -- AB Volvo said its Volvo Buses unit is closing its coach factory in Heilbronn, Germany, affecting around 150 employees, and costing 95 mln skr which will be charged against income in the second quarter. "Volvo Buses decided in the spring to no longer accept losses at the Heilbronn factory", Volvo said...

FREE - UK - Mayor extends free bus travel to teenagers

London,England,UK -This is London/Evening Standard, by Ross Lydall - 14 June 2005: -- Children under 16 will travel free on London buses from September. About 450,000 teenagers will benefit from the move...

DISCRIMINATION - IRELAND - African bus driver tells of racial abuse

Dublin,Ireland - Ireland Online - 14/06/2005: -- An African-born bus driver today revealed the horrendous litany of racial abuse he has faced on his route around Dublin.Nana Ouwandensng, who is originally from Ghana but has lived in Ireland for the past five years, said a man racially abused him, threatened to kill him and spat in his face as he simply went about his job...

TIMES - NEW ZEALAND - Bus lanes shave travel time

Auckland,New Zealand -Times Online - 14 June 2005: -- RECENTLY opened bus advance lanes are paying dividends in travel time savings, says the Bus and Coach Association.Buses using the lane approaching the Ti Rakau Drive/Harris Rd intersection are saving five minutes in the morning peak and two minutes in evenings...

ILLNESSES - USA - TOILET cited in illnesses on bus trip

Newark,NJ,USA -Newark Star Ledger - Jun 13 2005: -- A backed-up toilet on a bus may have sickened 25 eighth-graders from Hillsborough, who were coming home from an amusement park, the Somerset County Emergency...

SAFETY - USA - Seat belts can make school buses safer

Jefferson City,Springfield,MO,USA -Springfield News-Leader, by Kelly Wiese/Associated Press -June 12, 2005: -- A national bus safety expert told a task force this past week that seat belts can make school buses a bit safer, but cost is a concern...

CITY DEBATE - USA - Miami Dade Transit Lies

Takes The Sales Tax Increase and Raises Rates
Miami,FL,USA -Miami Beach City Debate, by North Beach William -6/12/05: -- I recently discovered that Miami-Dade Transit, in what certainly seemed to be a very slid-quickly-under-the-door kind of move, raised their rates for riding the great Miami ghetto wagons. The basic rate hike is only a quarter..., which does not really seem so bad...until you really look into it.... Can I hear a big ol' rousing HOOOOOOOOOOPTY-DOOO!!! ?... Has anyone ever ridden a bus in Miami-Dade County? Let me give you a few tips on what it is like... 1) It is the ultimate GHETTO-WAGON... 2) Has anyone ever discussed with the drivers the fact that the cargo that they carry IS 'human'?... 3) And speaking of the 'flagging down' issue...correct me if I am wrong, but the word 'stop' on the sign that says 'Bus Stop' generally means that a bus should 'stop' there. Hmmm...Has anyone else noticed that in Miami-Dade, they have removed the word 'stop' from the signs? Damned good thing too...

FAILS - USA - Transport Fails to Serve Disabled Writer

WASHINGTON DF,USA -Los Angeles Times, by SIOBHAN McDONOUGH/Associated Press -June 12 2005: -- Disabled people who need to use public trains or buses are not being well served despite billions of dollars spent to improve transportation for the handicapped, government advisers report... Buses leave disabled commuters waiting at stops or may be ill-equipped to handle wheelchairs, the National Council on Disability said in a report being released Monday... Wheelchairs can get stuck in the wide spaces between platforms and trains, the council said. A bus driver may forget to announce stops, withholding vital information from a blind passenger...

PURCHASE - USA - Paso schools buy deluxe buses

Vehicles have DVD players and climate control

San Luis Obispo,CA,USA -San Luis Obispo The Tribune, by Nick Wilson -Jun 12 2005: -- The two $130,000 vehicles have DVD players and climate control; the district hopes to save money and satisfy union... The Paso Robles school district has bought two buses with climate control, extra space and on-board DVD players in an effort to save money on charter bus rentals and to settle a dispute with its drivers over the use of charters for long trips...

EDUCATION - USA - State Considers School Bus Awareness Campaign

CONCORD, N.H.,USA -WMUR Channel/Manchester,NH - June 11 2005: -- State safety officials are developing a campaign to educate drivers about how to safely share the road with school buses; something they said many motorists seem to have forgotten... The ideas under consideration include new public service announcements explaining the law that forbids motorists to pass school buses stopped to let children get on or off... According to state data, the number of violations issued for illegally passing a school bus has fallen recently, but officials say that likely reflects enforcement problems, not improved driving...

URINE - UK - Put sheep urine in your tank

Forget the tiger
London,UK -The Guardian,by David Adam -June 10 2005: -- A British bus company is testing a new secret weapon that it hopes will help forward its push to cut its polluting emissions - sheep urine... Stagecoach has fitted a bus in Winchester with a tank containing the animal waste, which is sprayed into exhaust fumes to reduce emissions of harmful nitrous oxides... The urine is collected by the fertiliser industry from farmyard waste and refined into pure urea, which is then sold on to be used in the green engine technology. Ammonia from the urea reacts with nitrous oxides in the exhaust fumes and converts them to nitrogen gas and water, which is released as steam... MORE in: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/uk.transport.buses?msg=subscribe

ASSAULT - UK - Buses stopped

North Wales,UK -ic NorthWales/Vale Advertiser,by Garth Apthomas -Jun 10 2005: -- AN ASSAULT on a bus driver by a pupil led to the suspension of transport services for children from St Asaph to Denbigh High... The shocking attack is highlighted in a report to members of Denbighshire council's lifelong learning scrutiny committee which will meet next week... The report says that on May 18, two double-deck buses from St Asaph to Denbigh High were suspended due to continuing misbehaviour by some children...

CUT FARES - CHINA - Will be doit on poorly air-conditioned buses

Shanghai,China -Shanghai Morning Post, by Jane Chen -10/6/2005: -- Shanghai's bus authority will cut down the fares on buses equipped with defective air-conditioning systems to the same level of those without cooling or heating systems, today's reported... The authority spoke so after a thorough check into the city's air-conditioned buses, in which 13 percent were found malfunction...

CRIME - UK - Wardens to keep us safe on the buses

Peterborough,England,UK -Peterborough Evening Telegraph - 10 Jun 2005: -- STREET wardens are set to venture out of the city centre and start patrolling the buses in a two-pronged crackdown on yobbish behaviour... The wardens, who have been very successful at reducing crime in the city centre, will take it in turns to ride on the service which runs through the Ortons in a bid to catch youngsters who are making life a misery for drivers and passengers on the Orton route...

ROLLED OUT - UK - Bus stop info panels rolled out across city

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -Scotsman,by ALAN MCEWEN -8 Jun 2005: -- CONTROVERSIAL electronic information panels are to be rolled out at bus stops across Edinburgh under a £700,000 expansion... The Bus Tracker system has suffered technical problems since it was introduced on routes between Leith and Straiton...

ECOLOGY - USA - Hybrid Bus Transit Now Available in Shreveport

GM delivers hybrid power for bus added to SporTran transit fleet

SHREVEPORT, La., USA -Yahoo News/PRNewswire7GM Corp -Jun 8 2005: -- SporTran demonstrated its on-going commitment to clean air today by announcing the addition of a hybrid bus to its mass transit fleet. SporTran and the city of Shreveport join the growing ranks of communities investing in transit buses powered by General Motors' hybrid technology, which offers greater fuel economy and cleaner emissions than conventional diesel buses...

SHUTTLE FREE - USA - IndyGo hopes to jump-start Blue Line buses

Indianapolis,IN,USA -Indianapolis Star, by Theodore Kim -Jun 8 2005: -- Downtown shuttle service will alter route, eliminate fare in bid to attract more customers... IndyGo plans to make rides on its Downtown Indianapolis shuttle free, part of an effort to revive the failing Blue Line Circulator that will include new signs and an expanded route... The line, which uses special gas-electric hybrid buses that are painted differently than IndyGo buses, has suffered from technical glitches and poor advertising...

FINES - UK - Bus lane's £2m in fines

London,England,UK -Evening Standard, by David Williams & Martin Bentham -7 Jun 2005: -- A bus lane camera in London is issuing motorists with fines totalling more than £2 million a year... Figures obtained by the Evening Standard show that last year 20,953 motorists were fined £100 a time after being captured on film at Broad Lane, Haringey. The AA described the scheme today as a "cynical use of penalties to raise money"...

SAFETY - AUSTRALIA - Premier reveals details of $12M School Bus Safety Scheme

Australia -Australasian Bus and Coach -Jun 7 2005: -- Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has announced how a $12 million new School Bus Steep Roads Program would be implemented... "The funding is designed to pay for seat belts on 55 school bus routes that have been designated as containing steep and hazardous hills by Queensland Transport and as part payment for about 100 modern, rollover-compliant buses on those routes," says...

MARKETING - UK - Selling "Harry Potter": 2,000 bus ads

UK -Pittsburgh,PA,USA / Pittsburgh Post Gazette/The Wall Street Journal,by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg -Jun 06 2005: -- How do you market something that's already so popular it doesn't need marketing? Answer: any way you want... Or any way she wants, in the case of J.K. Rowling, whose sixth Harry Potter novel is due out next month... Ms. Rowling and London-based Bloomsbury PLC are ignoring traditional marketing except for a few modest efforts, such as buying space on 2,000 buses across the U.K. to promote the book...

ECOLOGY - USA - Waste from county kitchens could soon fuel Metro buses

Santa Cruz,CA,USA -Santa Cruz Sentinel, by GENEVIEVE BOOKWALTER -Jun 6 2005: -- Instead of holding your nose around diesel fumes, a passing bus might soon make you crave french fries... With a recently awarded $75,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, biodiesel made with old grease from local restaurants could power county buses by the end of the year...

STORY - UK - Innovation drives buses

Belfast,UK -Belfast Telegraph, by John Simpson -06 June 2005: -- Wrightbus Ltd is the descendent in 2005 of a small business started almost 60 years ago in 1946. Originally named Robert Wright and Son (Coachworks) and renamed in the 1990s, one of the founding fathers, William Wright, who is still in harness, describes the company as the idea of two young fellows when they left the local 'tech'... For the younger generation a 'tech' (technical college) would now be described as a college of further education... Today the company is described as Europe's leading independent bus manufacturer...

ECOLOGY - USA - Environment and Transportation Play a Role at Green Cities Conference

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Voice of America, by Mike O'Sullivan -05 June 2005: -- International mayors meeting at the Green Cities conference in San Francisco (through June 5) are hearing about environmentally friendly forms of transportation. Many alternatives to gasoline-burning cars are becoming available...

RUIN - HONG KONG - Buses on the road to ruin

Buses on the road to ruin
Hong Kong -The Standard,by Dennis Chong -Jun 6 2005: -- KMB chief reveals a third of routes are in the red with fares freeze and warns against more rail lines... Hong Kong's biggest bus operator has called for an overhaul of public transport, saying heavy reliance on rail has created a dilemma for bus companies that must keep unprofitable routes running while not raising fares...

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Three transit buses to roll into the digital era

N.Y. firm picks Howard for a free trial of a wireless technology surveillance system.

Baltimore,MD,USA -Baltimore Sun, by Larry Carson -June 5 2005: -- Three of Howard Transit's bright green buses are to be equipped with five surveillance cameras each next month in a free demonstration of digital wireless technology... The system can provide clear digital pictures and audio recordings - much clearer than older VHS tape cameras...

SALES - CHINA - VOLVO: Shanghai Orders 87 Midi-Buses

Shanghai,China -Money Plans/Mumbai,India -Jun 4 2005: -- Volvo makes an important move by launching the first midi-bus in China. Shanghai, one of the fastest growing financial centers in Asia has placed an order for 87 city buses from Volvo Buses. More than half of these will be the first midi-buses in China...

FREE BUSES - UK - Delight: See as builder pays for free buses

Reading,England,UK -ic Berkshire.co.uk,by Karl Plunkett -Jun 2 2005: -- HOUSEWARMING gifts of bikes and a free bus service will be waiting for the new residents of a 535-apartment complex planned for Reading's former gas works... In return for granting developer Assetco permission to develop the 5.8 acre site in Kenavon Drive, the borough council is poised to collect a £2 million "section 106" pay-off... But as Assetco sweetened the deal by pumping £1.2 million into leisure facilities, and £450,000 towards education, councillors drove a hard bargain- demanding a promised free bus run three-times-an-hour...

FINES - ZAMBIA - Flash Buses Fined K8 Million

Africa AllAfrica.com/The Times of Zambia -Jun 3 2005: -- THE Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) has fined City Commuters Limited (Flash buses) K8.8 million for poor environmental management practice at its garage on Chandwe Musonda road in Lusaka...

NATURAL GAS - USA - MTS is launching first of its new buses today

Natural-gas-burning fleet is christened
San Diego,CA,USA -San Diego Union Tribune,by Jeff Ristin -June 3 2005: -- Here comes the bus, with a fresh look... The first vehicles in a fleet of 47 new Metropolitan Transit System buses hit the road this morning, with the rest scheduled to roll out by the end of the month... From the red-and-white paint scheme and low-floor entry to the bigger windows and padded seats – to say nothing of that "new bus" smell – the differences with older urban transit models are noticeable inside and out...

HYBRID - USA - Hybrid buses roll on

Diesel-electrics emit less pollution

Louisville,KY,USA -Louisville Courier Journal,by Marcus Wohlsen -3 Jun 2005: -- They are quieter. They get better mileage. They produce few harmful emissions. And they run like a dream... The five hybrid-electric buses that have been on Louisville streets since last fall have so much going for them that the Transit Authority of River City has requested money for 10 more...

CRIMES - UK - Massive rise in crime on city's buses

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -Scotsman,by NICOLA STOW -Jun 3 2005: -- VIOLENT attacks, thefts and vandalism on buses in the Capital have risen dramatically, new figures revealed today... According to the new statistics, reported incidents of bus crime rose by 50 per cent year on year... A total of 396 incidents were reported between August 2004 and January this year, compared with 265 for the same period a year earlier...

TECHNOLOGY - UK - Protocol checker for AMBA bus

UK -ElectronicsWeekly.com -3 June 2005: -- EDA firm Averant has unveiled a protocol checker for ARM's AMBA 3 AXI bus... Called SolidPC, the tool uses formal methods to check that a design will conform to the specification for the AMBA bus...

JOBS - UK - Poles given jobs on the buses

Hertfordshire,UK -This Is Hertfordshire,by Owen Morris -Jun 2 2005: -- BUS drivers from Poland who need a translator to speak with the public have been brought in by Centrebus to cover St Albans routes... Five drivers from the Eastern European country where the average wage is just...

OPINION - USA - How to avoid being a jerk on buses and BART

CA,USA -Inside Bay Area,by Sumana Harihareswara(CONTRIBUTOR) - Jun 2 2005: -- Buses and BART remind me that we have a grand civilization. Mass transit is efficient and environmentally friendly and benefits even those who don't use it by reducing traffic. We don't segregate riders by gender or race. As a society, working together through our democracy, we create mass transit systems that benefit everyone. No one person could do it alone... But it only takes one jerk to ruin 20 people's pleasant rides...

OPINION - USA - Big buses, small number of riders

York,PA,USA -York Daily Record -June 1 2005: -- Can't tell you how many times I passed the Rabbittransit buses — never noticed what was inside them. I'm sure you notice the same thing. Or did you?... Well, this is what I found from my observations. The majority of the buses were empty or just about empty. Then you have this big bus that is carrying the bus driver and maybe five people. I'm sure the buses don't get very good mileage...

TCARDS - AUSTRALIA - Still waiting for that magic ticket

New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald,by Alexandra Smith -June 2 2005: --
It fits snugly in your wallet, can be used on trains, buses and ferries and is responsible for reversing the fortunes of public transport in cities around the world. But five years after it was promised for Sydney, the Tcard is still on the drawing board... The smartcard, the equivalent of a tollway e-tag, is one of the State Government's biggest hopes for enticing commuters back onto the city's increasingly under-used public transport system...

SEXES MIXED - NIGERIA - Sexes can mix on buses for now

Kano,NIGERIA -News24/Cape Town,South Africa -01/06/2005: -- Authorities in northern Nigeria's largest city postponed the enactment of a new policy separating men and women on public transport, a measure supported by devout Muslims in the region...

SERVICES - CANADA - Communities upset by capital's bus service

Charlottetown,Prince Edward Island,Canada -CBC Prince Edward Island -May 31 2005: -- Stratford and Cornwall have missed the bus – and their mayors are not pleased to hear they have been left out of plans for Charlottetown's transit system... All three communities are part of a regional committee talking about a transit system. Stratford Mayor Kevin Jenkins said they met once, the next thing he heard was last Friday's announcement that Charlottetown had a city transit system, and it would begin at Oct. 1...

SAFETY - USA - Seat belts save lives, even on school buses

Reading,PA,USA -Reading Eagle -May 31 2005: -- The Issue: A school bus accident in Missouri in which 23 students are injured reignites a debate on the use of seat belts in such vehicles... Our Opinion: Seat belts wouldn’t be a cure-all, but the could cut the number of fatal injuries in half... Federal regulations require anyone flying in a commercial plane to have his seat belt fastened on takeoffs, landings and any other time the pilot deems it necessary...

PURCHASES - AUSTRALIA - New school buses allocated to Eyre Peninsula

Australia -ABC Regional Online -31 May 2005: -- The Eyre Peninsula will get more than half of the new school buses the State Government has allocated for regional South Australia... Twelve of 17 new airconditioned school buses will be headed to the region...

NIGHT BUS - UK - Passengers treble after shake-up in services

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -Scotsman,by GARETH ROSE -30 May 2005: -- IT used to be the last resort for drinkers who had no cash left for a taxi or could not face the queue for a cab... But now clubbers, pub-goers and shift workers are making half-a-million trips a year on the Capital's night buses following a dramatic rise in their popularity...

DRUNKS - UK - Cup final buses probe

UK -Evening Telegraph -30 May 2005: -- AN investigation was being carried out by a Dundee bus company today, after complaints of bad behaviour and the drinking of alcohol on coaches heading from the city to the Scottish Cup Final at the weekend, writes Graham Huband... “The bus I was on was very loud and there were people drinking, smoking and swearing”...

AGE - AUSTRALIA - Age of school buses blasted

Australia -NEWS.com.au, by Charles Waterhouse -May 31 2005: -- FEW countries in the world would have a school bus fleet as old as the 25-year average age of Tasmania's fleet, says a national industry leader... the operators ensured the buses were kept roadworthy and safe to carry schoolchildren each day but the technology on later-model vehicles made them safer... "A vehicle that is 25, 29, 30 years old ... a vehicle that old should not be in service in my view," Mr Lucas said.

INCREDIBLE - INDIA - Calcutta State Transport buys buses, but fails to run them

Kolkata,India -Business Standard,by Arnab Mallick -May 31 2005: -- Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), like many of the other state transport undertakings in West Bengal, has been reporting worsening operational parameters every passing year, with no sign of any improvement... CSTC purchased 180 buses in that year, taking the number of serviceable buses owned by it to 1,108, according to the economic review published by the government of West Bengal...

STUDY - USA - Fare would result in loss of riders for bus service

LEBANON, N.H.,USA -Foster's Daily Democrat/AP- Dover,NH -May 30 2005: -- Advance Transit, the Upper Valley's largest public transportation network, serves a disproportionately high number of Lebanon residents and would lose riders if it began charging a fare, according to a recent study... The city council mandated the study in December 2004 as a condition to approving a large budget increase for the nonprofit bus service, which abolished fares in 2002...

SERVICES - AUSTRALIA - Promise to train passengers costs NSW $1.4m - in buses

New South Wales,Australia Sydney Morning Herald,by Alexandra Smith -May 28 2005: --CountryLink trains are so rarely on time the State Government forked out more than $1.4million in the past year bussing - and occasionally flying - passengers as far as Sydney to Brisbane... February was the costliest month. Payment details obtained under freedom of information laws show that RailCorp spent $503,270 on buses because of late, cancelled or discontinued services...

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Using GPS To Track School Buses

Minneapolis,MN,USA -WCCO,by Nelson Garcia -May 26 2005: -- The Minneapolis School District is experimenting with using satellites to keep track of its school buses...

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Commuter buses get wireless Internet access

ALBANY, N.Y.,USA -WSTM-TV/Syracuse,NY- 27 May 2005: -- A fleet of buses from Albany to New York City are offering wireless Internet access to commuters... The Albany New York Bus Company has set up Wi-Fi Internet access on all its buses to allow passengers to get online...

SAFETY - UK - SEAT Belts To Be Compulsory On Buses And Lorries

UK -a2Mediagroup.com -26 May 2005: -- Seat belts will in future have to be fitted not only in private cars but also in minibuses, buses, coaches, light commercial vehicles and lorries...

TECHNOLOGY - USA - To keep electronic eye on buses

NVUSD District adds GPS system for safety's sake

Napa,CA,USA -NapaNet Daily NewsBy HEATHER OSBORN -May 26, 2005: -- To bus drivers, it may seem a bit like Big Brother watching every move. But to the dispatchers in charge, the new Global Positioning System on every bus in Napa Valley Unified School District is making the job a lot easier...

FUTURE - CANADA - Fuel cell: Juice for buses, and laptops?

VANCOUVER,Canada -Globe and Mail,by PETER KENNEDY/Toronto,Ontario -May 26 2005: -- In the next 20 years, it is still possible that fuel cell technology will help to revolutionize the transportation sector by replacing the internal combustion engine in both cars and buses...

DOUBLE-DECKER BUSES - USA - Coming to Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS/Palm Desert,CA,USA -KESQ -May 25 2005: -- A businessman from Germany is trying to get the jump on putting London-style double-decker buses on the Las Vegas Strip...

STRIKE - USA - Bee-Line strike, free buses to cost county

WHITE PLAINS,Westchester,NY,USA -THE JOURNAL NEWS,by KEITH EDDINGS -May 24 2005: -- The raises and improved benefits Bee-Line drivers recently negotiated after a seven-week strike, along with County Executive Andrew Spano's decision to waive bus fares for 39 days to bring riders back, will cost Westchester $6.5 million this year, county Budget Director Kate Carrano said yesterday...

LARGER BUSES - USA - Gateway to get larger buses by early next year

Goldsboro,NC,USA -Goldsboro News Argus -May 24 2005: -- The Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority will replace its fleet of buses by early 2006 with larger models with better handicap access... The Gateway Board of Directors voted Monday afternoon to approve the agency's 2005-06 budget, which totaled over $3.1 million...

STORIES - USA - Buses inspire stories

Cincinnati,OH,USA -Cincinnati Enquirer,by Deborah Kennedy -May 23, 2005: -- Debbie Schmidt didn't know what to expect when she boarded the bus at her Buttermilk Pike stop 16 years ago... "My car had broken down and I had to take two buses to get to work," said Smith, of Florence. "The first bus was just your normal, run-of-the mill bus. Everyone had their nose stuck in a book, but the second bus was a whole different story"... That second bus inspired her essay, "A Bus Full of Friends," one of the six winners of the "Moving Stories" contest sponsored by the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) and Cincinnati's Metro bus service...

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Creator Of High-Tech, Eco-Friendly Buses Selects SolidWorks

CONCORD,Mass,USA -MCADCafe/BUSINESS WIRE/Campbell,CA —May 23 2005: -- Altair Engineering Inc., a leading global product design consulting and technology company, is using SolidWorks(R) 3D mechanical design software to develop advanced technology buses that could revitalize the country's public transportation system...

PURCHASES - USA - New Orleans mayor touts plan to buy hybrid buses

NEW ORLEANS,USA -KATC7/Lafayette,LA -May 23 2005: -- The Regional Transit Authority's planned purchase of four diesel hybrid-electric buses tops the list of actions touted by New Orleans Mayor to reduce city-created carbon emissions in an effort to fight global warming... If the buses prove successful, the RTA expects to buy 75 more in 2006 when about a fifth of the system's buses are scheduled for replacement...

POLLUTION - USA - Judge's smog ruling may be shortsighted

Pasadena,CA,USA -Pasadena Star-News -May 21 2005: -- A RECENT ruling by a federal judge looked like a clear victory for local efforts at smog control versus big industry and the federal government. But it's much too early to cheer... The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper upheld local regulations requiring fleet operators to buy vehicles using cleaner-burning fuel when replacing old vehicles or adding to their fleets. The effect was to force them to buy vehicles that use compressed natural gas (CNG), since those are the "cleanest"...

SECURITY - USA - City abandons proposal to ban photography in subways and buses

NEW YORK,NY,USA -Newsday/AP -May 22 2005: -- A proposal to ban photography on the city's subways to deter surveillance by terrorists has been nixed by police and transit officials... A year after plans were introduced to forbid photography, videotaping and filming in subway stations, police and transit officials said a ban is not needed to secure the nation's largest mass transit system...

ECOLOGY - INDIA - Green mix at Gurgaon

From June, all buses at Gurgaon depot will run on bio-fuel

New Delhi,INDIA -Express India, by Raghvendra Rao -May 20 2005: -- COME June, all buses at Gurgaon bus depot will shift to this wonderous mix of fuel — they will run on diesel mixed with bio-diesel. With this, the depot will claim the distinction of being the first to run it’s buses on bio-fuel...

SECURITY - USA - As the Buses Roll Again, Some Clamor for Even More

New York,NY,USA -New York Times,by JAKE MOONEY -May 22 2005: ... a city bus eased past the officers and traveled down Park Row. The short street, the most direct link between Chinatown and the city's political and financial centers, was open to limited bus traffic last week for the first time since 9/11. The police will decide whether to allow even more buses on the street in about three months...

OVERTURNS - SOUTH KOREA - Bus carrying 30 Chinese people overturns, casualties unclear

HWACHEON, South Korea -China View/Xinhuanet -2005-05-21: -- A bus carrying about 30 Chinese people overturned after falling off a mountain pass in northeastern South Korea on Saturday, South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted police as saying...

SECURITY - CANADA - Tour bus hijacked by guide

Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada -CBC British Columbia -May 20 2005: -- Richmond RCMP are still investigating why a tour guide commandeered a tour bus with 12 Chinese visitors... Tour bus passengers are taken away... The guide from Seattle drove off with the bus while the driver was out making a phone call at a gas station in Richmond...

CARDS - SINGAPORE - Buses and the not so ez-link

After years in operation, card system continues to draw complaints of errors and inconvenience

Singapore -News Today,by Ansley Ng -May 20 2005: -- ... A few weeks ago, she was overcharged on her ez-link card three times in a week... In the last incident, she was overcharged 30 cents for a bus ride from Raffles Place to Owen Road... "They should throw this system away and bring back the old one of the farecard. Or bring back the coin system of paying for fares"... Bus companies would probably object to her suggestions... Before the ez-link system, companies lost revenue to fare cheats and passengers who paid the wrong fares unintentionally... In 2002, for example, Singapore Bus Services and Trans-Island Bus Services claimed to have lost about $13 million yearly to commuters who did not pay the correct fare...

SHORT BUSES - USA - UTA says the vehicles' smaller size makes them ideal for some routes

Economy, convenience: Shorter buses will soon hit the road

Salt Lake City,UT,USA -The Salt Lake Tribune,by Andrew Weeks -05/19/2005: -- The Utah Transit Authority has purchased its first compact buses... At $280 million, the fleet of 29-foot buses, 11-feet shorter than the current fleet, will be used in the Salt Lake City Avenues neighborhood, in downtown circular routes, feeder routes to TRAX light rail stations and to the University of Utah Medical Center.

TECHNOLOGY - UK - 21st century communications for London Buses

London,UK -eGov monitor/Transport for London -19 May 2005: -- Further improvements to the reliability of bus services in London will be one of the key results from a new £120m technology contract to upgrade the radio and information systems on London Buses' 8,000-strong fleet...

PICKPOCKETS - USA - Officials warn of increase of pickpockets on buses and trains

Palm Desert,San Francisco,CA,USA -KESQ -May 19 2205: -- San Francisco officials are warning about an increase in pickpockets on the city's buses and trains... Numbers from the Municipal Railway show that 267 people were victimized by pickpockets during the first three months of the year... That's nearly 100 more than the same last year ...

INVESTMENTS - USA - Million Dollar Bus Stop

Washington,D.C.,USA -NPR -May 19 2005: -- ...was head of the Senate Appropriations committee a small item found its way into last year's multi-billion dollar spending bill. It was a proposed bus stop in front of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, with electronic signs and a heated sidewalk... for $1.5 million. Senaton says only that to build any infrastructure in far away, icy Alaska is "costly."

Buses World News

29.6.05