Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
Benefits - Australia - Look Who’ll Benefit From Expensive Fuel
Australia -Australasian Investment Review -Sept 28 2005: --
Higher prices at the pump have wider implications than simply buy oil producers and sell retailers and transporters. According to analysts at Credit Suisse, one of the clear beneficiaries on the Australian stock market is likely to be Cabcharge and that is, to say the least, a conclusion coming from the left field... Part of the broker’s rationale is very straightforward: taxi operators will use higher prices for petrol to increase their own service fares. Credit Suisse notes the taxi industry has already called for the bringing forward of the previously agreed fare review timetables which would increase fares by substantial amounts to compensate the industry for increased costs... On the broker’s estimates, a fare increase of 1% more than is currently forecast in its earnings model for Cabcharge would push up the company’s earnings per share by about 1%... Unnecessary to say the experts believe the impact of fuel increases are likely to be...
Riders - USA - Gas Prices Up; Commuters Turn to Buses, Trains
High prices have more commuters turning to buses and trains, but most still aren't willing to part with their carsLos Angeles,CA,USA -ktla 5/Los Angeles Times, by Amanda Covarrubias & David Pierson -Sept 28, 2005: -- Local transit agencies Tuesday reported hikes in bus and rail use since gas prices began their precipitous rise... there were signs of a definite ceiling for the number of Southern California motorists willing — or able — to switch from cars to mass transportation... Both the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates buses and subways, and commuter-rail operator Metrolink recorded more than 5% increases in passengers in August over the same month last year... Although officials said they were impressed by the increase, the rises are similar to those in April and March 2004, when gas prices jumped...
Purchases - USA - Flagler may buy buses, start school later
BUNNELL, Daytona,FL,USA -Daytona Beach News-Journal, by MICHAEL REED -Sept 28, 2005: ---
Middle schools in Flagler County could begin later in the morning if the school district's plan to buy new buses and hire new drivers comes together by January... Flagler County Schools officials are proposing spending $2.45 million to buy 25 new buses and hire 25 new drivers before school reconvenes from the winter holiday. Currently, 101 drivers operate the district's fleet of 110 buses, serving eight schools. About 2,500 middle school pupils ride buses...
Security - Canada - TTC unveils buses with security cameras
TORONTO,Canada -National Post/Global News, by Tyler Anderson -Sept 27, 2005: --
Anyone committing a crime on a Toronto transit bus should smile for the camera... The transit system has unveiled buses equipped with special security cameras -- a move aimed at keeping riders safe... The pilot project comes after an 11-year-old girl was injured by a stray bullet on a bus last fall...
Facility - Canada - Bikes on buses
It fits a student budget TORONTO, Canada -Canada NewsWire (press release) -Sept. 28 2005: --
Bike racks on TTC buses provide an excellent way for students and staff to commute to York University... In mid-June, the TTC and the City of Toronto began a one-year pilotproject that put bike racks on the front of buses, on select routes, socyclists could take their bikes with them when riding the bus. A TTC bus willbe available for cyclists to try out the bike racks...
EcoNews - USA - Bus firms OK clean air pact
No idling near schools
New York,NY,USA -New York Daily News, by BILL EGBERT Sep 27, 2005: --
State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced yesterday that five school bus companies have agreed to reduce air pollution... The agreement, which calls for a "no idle" policy near schools and a monitoring program to enforce it, will affect more than 1,700 buses throughout the metropolitan area... State law restricts bus idling to no more than five consecutive minutes, while New York City law restricts idling to three minutes... As a result of the latest agreements, 75% of the city's school bus fleet is now covered by anti-idling agreements... The attorney general has also sealed similar pacts with the Hunts Point Meat Market, the Hunts Point Produce Market, Frito-Lay, Greyhound Lines, Community Coach, Gray Line New York Tours, Leisure Lines and Suburban Trails, covering an additional 2,300 trucks and buses... Diesel emissions have been linked to cancer, heart damage, respiratory diseases, asthma and other serious health conditions... In 2000, children living in New York City were twice as likely to be hospitalized for asthma as children in the rest of the country...
EcoNews - USA - New buses to cut costs, pollution, NFTA says
30 hybrid vehicles expected next yearBuffalo,NY,USA -Buffalo News, by SHARON LINSTEDT -9/27/2005: --
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is out to cut fuel costs and emissions by adding 30 hybrid buses to its Metro Bus fleet... Diesel engines on the 40-foot, 38-passenger buses will generate electricity, while a highly efficient electric motor will drive the wheels. The electric motors kick in during acceleration and recharge during braking... In addition to reducing engine emissions by more than 50 percent, the hybrid vehicles also are expected to use at least 25 percent less diesel fuel than a traditional bus...
TechnoNews - USA - Local school buses to get GPS
Satellite tracking devices will be put on entire fleetMANATEE,FL, United States -Bradenton Herald, by MICHAEL BARBER -Sep. 27, 2005: --
Satellites should soon be helping local parents find out why their child's school bus is late... The Manatee County School Board approved a measure to install Global Positioning System devices on the district's 240 school buses...
Youth buses - UK - Mobile youth work
London,UK -Young People Now, by Andy Hillier -28/09/05: --
Mobile buses give youth workers a way to target areas where there is little or no provision for young people. Reports on three successful local projects... From the outside, The Point youth bus looks just like a regular bus. It has four wheels, a door to one side and a driver's cab just about visible through the window. But once inside the similarity soon ends... The interior is crammed full of the latest technology, from high-spec computers to flat-screen TVs and the obligatory PlayStation 2... Each month, the bus will run events relating to community safety issues affecting young people. It will also go into schools to help provide extra IT facilities...
Recalls - Japan - Truckmaker Recalls 2.64M Vehicles
TOKYO,Japan -Channels Netscape News/AP, by HIROKO TABUCHI -27 Sept 2005: --
Defective vehicles recalled by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., a Japanese truckmaker embroiled in a massive cover-up scandal, have topped 2.64 million since March last year - affecting 68 percent of Mitsubishi trucks and buses on the road in Japan... Mitsubishi Fuso, 85 percent owned by Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG, announced five new recalls Monday covering some 120,000 middle and lightweight trucks, the latest in a series of 98 recall reports filed since last year... The overall figures include some vehicles recalled up to eight times for defects such as faulty tail pipes, or wiring that can short a fuse or cause the vehicle to stop, a company spokesman said Tuesday on condition of anonymity, citing regulations...
Sales - Viet Nam - Shipment first locally-made buses to Dominica
Hanoi,Viet Nam -VNECONOMY -26/09/2005: --
Viet Nam on September 24 forwarded 40 locally-made buses worth 1.6 million USD to the Dominican Republic... Manufactured by the Viet Nam Motor Industry Corporation, the Transinco buses are part of VINAMOTOR's 9 million USD contract to make 200 buses for the Dominican Republic...
EcoNews - USA - School Buses Adopt "No-Idling" Policy
NEW YORK, NY,USA -WNYC -Sept 26, 2005 —
Five school bus companies have agreed to reduce air pollution in New York City by adopting a "no-idling" policy... State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced the agreements with the firms today, which together operate more than 1,700 school buses. The companies will also pay more than $60,000 in penalties for breaking state and city laws that already prohibit idling for more than a few minutes...
Differences - UK - Bus drivers to hold one-week strike
Scotland,United Kingdom -Scotsman -26 Sept 2005: --
Bus drivers are to stage a week-long strike after their latest industrial action failed to settle a pay dispute... The walkout from Monday to Sunday next week by around 800 workers at First Bus in Edinburgh and the Lothians follows a 48-hour strike which is due to end on Monday night, and two previous 24-hour stoppages earlier this month... First drivers at the Transport and General Workers Union are demanding a pay rise to £8 an hour, without any conditions attached... First management have said they are willing to pay drivers the requested sum, but the pay rise will be connected to pensions...
Alternatives II - Canada - Natural gas will power newest 100 coaches for TransLink
Diesel bus drive beaten backWhite Rock,British Columbia,Canada -White Rock Peace Arch News, by Jeff Nagel -Sep 23 2005: --
TransLink's newest buses will run on natural gas after all... A motion by North Vancouver mayor Barbara Sharp to switch the 100-bus purchase back to modern diesels was defeated 7-5 at TransLink's Wednesday board meeting... The tug-of-war over fuel type has been on since July, when the board nixed a TransLink staff recommendation to go with modern diesels and instead ordered natural gas... Natural gas backers argue it's cleaner and a technology of the future...
Accidents - Ghana - 207, LT, mini-buses cause 35% fatalities
Tema,Accra,Ghana -GhanaWeb -Sept. 23, 2005: --
Thirty-five per cent of all accident fatalities in the country are caused by 207, LT and min-buse drivers, Alhaji Mustapha Garibah, Co-ordinator of the National Road Safety Commission has disclosed... Most of the drivers of those vehicles, he noted, did not attend any driving schools and have less knowledge about traffic regulations and even how to manage emergency traffic situations...
Alternative - USA - New Fuel for Upshur County School Buses
County Switches to Biodiesel Fuel for its fleetGhent,WV,USA -WVNS-TV, by J. Turchetta -9/23/2005: -- Hurricane Rita may push prices at the gas pump even higher. We're all paying more to fill up and local school systems are no exception... The schools in Monongalia and Marion Counties have been beating those high prices by fueling their buses with Biodiesel. Now, Upshur County is using the alternative fuel in its buses... Being behind a diesel school bus you expereince the choking black smoke coming from the tailpipe and that diesel gas smell... With Biodiesel, there is no black smoke, and no diesel smell. That is something that the board of education says is better for students and staff alike...
Opposition - USA - Big bus deal takes a U-turn
A second-ranked firm not only gets another shot at a coveted contract to supply 300 new buses to Miami-Dade Transit, it persuades a retired judge to recommend bouncing the top-ranked firm that the county favored.Miami,FL,USA -Miami Herald, by LARRY LEBOWITZ -24 Sept 2005: --
Miami-Dade County officials unfairly disqualified Blue Bird Coachworks, a prominent Georgia bus manufacturer, from competing for a highly coveted multimillion dollar contract to supply 300 new 30-foot Metrobuses, a hearing examiner has ruled... On top of that, retired Circuit Judge Jack M. Turner recommended that county officials disqualify the apparent winner of the contract, Optima Bus Co. of Wichita, Kan. -- citing many of the very same financial reporting shortcomings that had snarled Blue Bird's bid.
In his ruling, Turner noted that Blue Bird's bid would have come in $12 million lower than Optima's...
Dangerous - USA - Bus operator had history of problems
DALLAS,TX,USA -The Dallas Morning News/The Seattle Times/Associated Press -Sept 24, 2005: --
The owner of the charter bus that exploded while ferrying nursing home residents away from Hurricane Rita has a history of financial and safety woes, reported today... that the owners of Global Limo Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in February in a bid to block a takeover of the business for nonpayment of debt. The company's license also was revoked for a few days in May by federal authorities for the second time since 1993... The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also had singled out Global for full inspections, the newspaper reported. Global drivers have been ordered to stop driving five times after violations during the past 2 1/2 years, such as drivers not having logs that document how long they'd been driving...
Purchases - USA - MTA board orders 200 new buses
Los Angeles,CA,USA -Los Angeles Daily News, by Lisa Mascaro -09/23/2005: --
The MTA board voted unanimously Thursday to spend up to $125 million to buy 200 new buses to bolster service under the latest court orders, despite protests from the Bus Riders Union that twice as many buses are needed... The MTA's proposal covers those buses as well as dozens more that are still needed from a previous court order to replace retiring buses... But the union said an additional 250 buses are needed to replace older buses and expand service so Rapid buses come at least every 10 minutes...
'Pink' buses - Pakistan - Lahore introduces buses for women only
Lahore,Pakistan -NewKerala.com /Ernakulam,Kerala,India, by Muhammad Najeeb -23 Sep 2005: --
Double-deckers, air-conditioned buses, non-polluting ones run on CNG and now buses for women only... It's all happening in the city known as Pakistan's cultural capital where the latest move to improve the transport network is women only buses, complete with a pink strip around them... In a first for Pakistan, the buses on different city routes started their run Thursday with male drivers and women conductors...
Racism? - USA - Ticket sellers told to deny service to apparent illegals
San Ysidro,San Diego,CAL,USA -The Union Tribune, by Leslie Berestein & Norma de la Vega -Sept 23, 2005: -- One recent afternoon at the Greyhound bus terminal in San Ysidro, Latino passengers waited to travel to points north such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas... What they didn't know as they waited is that for the past three years, the Dallas-based bus company has warned its employees not to sell tickets "to anyone you know or believe to be an illegal alien," or face termination, arrest or both... Greyhound said the internal policy is based on federal law and is meant to address immigrant smuggling, and was put in place for fear of legal consequences if the law is broken. But it also opens the door to racial profiling, say some national Latino advocacy organizations, which are hoping to persuade the company to reconsider its rules...
TechnoNews - USA - Henkel opens testing center
Adhesives used in vehicles worldwideDetroit,Mich,USA -Detroit Free Press, by KIM NORRIS -Sept 24, 2005: -- Earlier this year, Henkel teamed with Freightliner's Thomas Built Buses to manufacture the first school bus held together with adhesives instead of traditional welds... "It is conceivable to have a vehicle that is literally glued together", said... In a windowless lab in a converted warehouse, two chemists test the strength of an adhesive holding two pieces of metal together... In another room, a chemist tests the fatigue point of a sealant in a machine that pulls and releases the metal 50 times a second more than 1 million times... Knowing the breaking point of these products is important because they might be holding together the frame of a vehicle, brake assembly or some other critical parts... This type of testing goes on around the clock at the North American labs of Henkel Technologies...
Troubles - USA - Battle of the buses
County bus system looks for ways to solve its financial troubleAuburn,ALA,USA -The Auburn Plainsman Online, by Niki Doyle -Sept 22, 2005 :-( Like thousands of Auburn students, Wanda Scroggins wakes up early to catch the Tiger Transit for her 8 a.m. class... After she’s finished with her day on campus, Scroggins catches the Tiger Transit back to her apartment... However, the city’s public transportation advantage might disappear if Lee County Transit Agency can’t come up with a solution to its financial problems... LETA recently requested nearly $27,000 from several city governments to continue its regular operation until December. Based on numbers from 2005, LETA estimates a $670,000 deficit for next year... For disabled students like Scroggins, this could mean a drastic lifestyle change...
Politics - Australia - Gas may be back on bus timetable
Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), by Darren Goodsir -Sept 22, 2005 :-) Surging fuel prices have convinced the State Government to reconsider using gas-powered vehicles to expand its ageing fleet of buses... The Transport Minister, John Watkins, said yesterday the next tranche of 505 buses was out to tender and rising fuel prices meant it might be more practical to buy gas vehicles as well as new-generation diesel-powered ones... He said drivers preferred diesel buses, the latest of which operate under strict standards, like those in Europe, that have reduced emissions sharply... Mr Watkins said many drivers preferred operating diesel buses because they seemed to have more power, especially on steeper routes...
De Luxe - USA - Cleveland orders 11 Optima buses
Wichita,KS,USA -Wichita Business Journal, by Ken Vandruff -21 Sept 2005 :-! The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will pay Optima Bus Corp. $3.5 million to build 11 Opus buses that include features normally used on Optima's streetcar buses... The 30-foot buses will include wood trim, mahogany wood seating benches and spiral brass handrails and stanchions. Cupolas also will be added to the roof... The buses will resemble larger versions of Optima's American Heritage Streetcar and will be used to help promote revitalization of downtown Cleveland...
Sex - India - Sexual offences on PMT buses
PUNE,India -The Times of India -21 Sept 2005 :-/ In a disturbing revelation, 88 per cent of women who took part in a survey relating to travelling by Pune Municipal Transport buses say that they have faced sexual harassment while commuting... While male commuters were found guilty of the act in a majority of the cases, some women said that even PMT conductors took "advantage" of the situation, especially when the buses were crowded...
Purchases - Italy - 145 million Euros for 994 'ecologicals' buses
Tuscany,Florence, Italy -AGI -Sept.20, 2005 :-) The renewal of the bus fleet follows an "environment-friendly" policy: 145 mln Euros have been invested to reduce environmental impact of public transport in Tuscany... Funds will be allocated in two parts: 85 mln Euros for 2003-2005, 60 mln for 2004-2006, to procure 994 new buses, 218 running on a non-conventional, low polluting system; of these 994 buses, 554 will be procured in the first phase (138 ecological), and 390 in the second (80)...
Stories - USA - Sunrises, hugs keep school bus driver behind the wheel 40 years
Everything else is still and silent in the morning chill.MURTAUGH,Twin Falls,ID,USA -Twin Falls Times-News,by Joshua Palmer -20 Sept 2005 ) :-)) Before the sunrise illuminates the South Hills above the cornfields outside of Murtaugh, Larae Curtis is already sweeping off a yellow school bus... Just after 7 a.m. when the sun is cresting the South Hills and Curtis has pitched the last cloud of dust off the steps of the bus, she buckles into the driver's seat and begins her 40th school year driving for the Murtaugh School District... Those who grew up in Murtaugh also grew up with Curtis, who has driven three generations of children to school, made sure they returned their books and waited patiently when they were sent to the principal's office. In most cases she is driving the children of some of her first riders, and in one case she is driving the grandchild of one of her first riders... But in a nation where one in three employees quit their jobs within the first year, Curtis said her reasons for staying with it for 40 years is simple: she likes the hugs and sunrises...
Research and Markets -USA - 4,000 Companies Provide Local Bus Service,
In the US, with Combined Annual Revenue of $9 BillionDUBLIN, Ireland---Business Wire (San Francisco,CA,USA) -Sept. 20, 2005 --
Research and Markets has announced the addition of Local Bus Transportation to their offering... Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter: About 4,000 companies in the US provide local bus service, with combined annual revenue of $9 billion. National companies include Laidlaw, FirstGroup America, and Atlantic Express. Most companies are small, with annual revenue less than $5 million... Laidlaw is the largest school bus operator in the US, with 40,000 buses, while FirstGroup is the largest municipal bus contractor. The average bus operator has fewer than 100 buses and operates a single maintenance location... COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE: Demand depends mainly on the size and growth of the local population. PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY: Most industry revenue comes from operating school buses. Drivers are the largest single cost for bus operators. To drive vehicles that carry more than 14 passengers, drivers must have a commercial driver's license(CDL)...
Schemes - UK - Plan to get city buses to run on time
Glasgow,Scotland,UK -Glasgow Evening Times -Sep 19 2005 :-) IT is the bane of every passenger's life - waiting ages for a bus and then three come at once... But from today a new L$163;30million hi-tech scheme aims to put an end to all that misery.sing a network of radios, satellites and cameras, buses in Glasgow will be tracked to see they are running on schedule... A satellite global positioning system called Streamline was switched on today to cover the Number 62 route from Faifley, Clydebank, to Baillieston with other routes expected to follow... If buses are caught in a traffic jam, it will be detected by sensors on the road and late-running services will be given the green light at traffic signals to make up time.he goal is for every bus to follow its timetable to the minute...
Alternatives - USA - Gas prices are causing quite a pinch at the pump in Tucson.
Tucson,AZ,USA -KVOA.com -18 Sept 2005 (:-) That's why some drivers are getting creative in how they get around... Roland Bosma doesn't even have a car. Instead he gets around on a motorized bicycle, "Definitely gas price is a major reason for people buying our bikes," says... Tucson Transportation Director Jim Glock adds, "We have seen a tremendous spike in our ridership on our transit system. In fact, so much so that we're seeing on some trips, our buses get so full that we have to leave some riders on the side of the road"... He says Tucsonans are also carpooling more these days.
Questions - USA - Are school buses safe?
Getting students to school safely is a tall order.Adrian,MI,USA -Adrian Daily Telegram, by Justin R. Kalmes -Sept 17, 2005 ):-) Proponents and opponents of the school bus transportation system in the United States frequently refer to statistical reports supporting their respective claims, but after all is said and done, the question still remains: Are school buses safe?... Every year, approximately 23.5 million children ride about 400,000 public school buses to and from school and school-related activities... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that since 1984, an average of 11 passengers per year have died in school bus crashes... Though a large percentage of the nearly 20,000 children who attend public schools in Lenawee County ride the bus to and from school, few have ever been seriously injured as result of a bus-related crash, Sheriff Larry Richardson said... the biggest risk to students isn't riding the bus, but rather getting on and off it... "We're grateful for the bus drivers because they have done a very good job," she said. "We're thankful for the care and attention that they do give to our children"...
Exceptions - USA - School buses not part of ARB rules
Los Angeles,CA,USA -Los Angeles Daily News, by Kerry Cavanaugh -17 Sept 2005 :-! State air regulators have decided to require Southern California transit operators to buy alternative-fuel models when they replace their diesel buses, but they did not apply the new rules to school buses and garbage trucks... The California Air Resources Board decision this week doesn't mean Southern California school districts or trash companies can begin buying diesel vehicles, because South Coast Air Quality Management District rules already require those fleets to purchase alternative-fuel vehicles... Todd Campbell with the Coalition for Clean Air said the Air Resources Board's decisions were inconsistent. "Clearly if our state passes a rule to protect the health of adults riding on public buses, then they should pass an equal, if not stronger, rule to protect the health of children on dirty diesel school buses, who are even more at risk from air pollution," Campbell said...
Combat - Australia - DNA kits to help bus drivers fight crime
Perth, Australia -ABC Online -Sept 17, 2005 :-/ Bus drivers in Perth are to be given DNA kits as a way of combating anti-social behaviour on the city's public transport system... drivers will be trained to gather DNA evidence to help identify and prosecute those responsible for assaulting them... they will be able to take samples of saliva or blood which have been left behind after an attack... "Even if we don't have a match on the DNA, we'll maintain that sample of DNA on our database... in the future that person re-offends and is caught, we'll be able to trace them back to that earlier crime as well"... Mss. Roberts says the jail term for assaulting a driver is up to ten years...
Riders III - USA - Oahu Bus Service Offers Personalized Trip Plans
HONOLULU,HAW,USA -Hawaii Channel.com -Sept 16, 2005 :-) City bus officials say more people are taking The Bus to avoid paying high gas prices, and they've announced a new plan to get new bus riders custom trip plans... Bus ridership is up 6 percent this month compared to last September... The city will send you a customized trip plan if you tell them basic information about where you're traveling from and going to and when you need to get there...
Sales - Brazil - Mowasalat buses are from Brazil after all
Qatar,Arab Emirats -The Peninsula On-line -9/17/2005 : -) 100 super-luxury Mowasalat (public transport company) buses that take to Doha roads with a bang from October 1... Not only these 100 Mercedes beauties but an additional fleet of 414 buses that Mowasalat has ordered for schools, are manufactured in Brazil... More buses are due from Brazil for the forthcoming Asian Games, according to the Brazilian ambassador-designate in Doha, Sergio Caldas Mercador Abisad...
Doubts - USA - Study casts on efficiency of hybrid buses
Stamford,CT,USA -Stamford Advocate, by Mark Ginocchio -Sept 17 2005 : -/ A University of Connecticut study found there is little to gain by switching from diesel-powered buses to diesel-electric buses, although state Department of Transportation officials call the study's declarations premature... The study, which was released last week and commissioned by the DOT, found the hybrid buses did not reduce emissions as much as expected and were not significantly better in mileage... The DOT invested in the two buses primarily to see how good the fuel economy would be... Although the manufacturer, Allison Transmission, a division of General Motors, said the fuel economy would be 50 percent better than that of diesel buses, the study found the fuel economy was 10 to 15 percent better... Sanders agreed that the current fuel economy savings was not enough to offset the costs of adding a complete fleet of hybrid buses, but said the agency would continue to research the technology as it develops and the possibility of more hybrids being purchased has not been ruled out...
Riders II - USA - Buses See Spike In Riders In Wake Of High Gas Prices
DURHAM,Raleigh,NC,USA -WRAL -Sept 17, 2005 :-) The price at the pump is driving many people to look for other ways to get around, and some are turning to public transportation... Typically, Durham's DATA buses average 13,000 riders a day, officials said... In the past three weeks, officials have seen numbers spike as high as 17,000 a day...
Buses vs. - UK - Cyclists, death and injury toll hits record levels in Lothian
Sotland,Ed.,UK -Sotsman, by ALAN MCEWEN & GARETH EDWARDS -20 Sept 2005 (:-( THE number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in the Lothians has soared to record levels... Nine cyclists have been killed in the last five years compared to just one between 1995 and 2000.
And the number of cyclists left badly hurt has trebled, with at least five cyclists a week now injured in accidents... Police revealed the figures today as they launched a campaign to protect Edinburgh's 10,000 bike commuters...
Effective - UK - "Bikes can get you to work on time and also save you money."
Cyclists beat buses, cars and the odds in race to city
Scotland,Edinburg,UK -Scotsman -17 Sep 2005 ):-)) CYCLISTS have emerged victorious in the battle to find the quickest way into the city centre... The council staged Edinburgh's first Commuter Challenge yesterday morning, which pitted bikes against cars and buses... The contest had four starting points - Morningside, Ocean Terminal, Hermiston and Ingliston - and competitors had to make it to the foot of The Mound in the quickest time possible... In each of the races, cyclists reached their destination ahead of the other forms of transport... Ian Maxwell, from Try Cycling in Edinburgh, said: "This shows how effective cycling is over short and medium distances. Of course, not everyone can cycle as fast our as cyclist did from Ingliston, but when it is just three or four miles, people can get to where they want to go faster than on any other form of transport."
Forgot? - Australia - Dept makes changes after children locked in bus
Darkan, W.A.,Australia -ABC Online -Sept 16, 2005 (:-/ The Education Department has strengthened its requirements for bus drivers in the south-west Western Australian town of Darkan in response to an incident where three young children were left locked in a bus for six hours... A bus driver told the Education Department she forgot to deliver the children to the local kindergarten one morning last month. She parked the vehicle at her house and locked it while the children were still inside... "Well, we've got some other procedures which are state-wide procedures and one of those will be that the driver walk to the back of the bus and check seats before locking and leaving the bus," said...
Raiders - China - Shanghai raises fares to get more bus riders
Shangai,China -People's Daily Online/Xinhua -Sept 16, 2005 :-) Shanghai's transport authority has raised metro fares in order to encourage more people to take buses to relieve the strain on underground trains... The price changes are meant to encourage more people to take the bus, particularly during rush hour, according to a statement released by the Information Office of the Shanghai municipal government... The city's subways are often overcrowded and operate beyond their capacity. Almost 1.3 million people used the city's three subway lines every day in 2004...
Rises - Australia - Petrol cost drives us on to trains, buses
Canberra,Australia -Journal of Turkish Weekly (Ankara,Turkey) -16 Sept 2005 :-) More Canberrans are catching buses and trains and leaving their cars at home as petrol prices continue to tighten the squeeze on the household hip pocket... Buses Cos. reported rises yesterday in their passenger numbers, and all believed petrol prices had been a significant factor... Petrol prices remained static in the ACT yesterday, but the head of BP Australia said he expected the price to drop significantly in the near future... ACTION buses recorded its biggest adult passenger load on Thursday last week, with 21,282 adults using the network. The average is about 20,500... said while the Government liked to keep public transport cost-effective to encourage people to use it, fares could go up again next financial year to help cover the increasing costs of the service...
Purchases - India - GSRTC to put 1,100 new buses on road by March
Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad,India -Ahmedabad Newsline - Sept 16 2005 :-¡ The Gujarat State Roads Transport Corporation (GSRTC) has decided to ply as many as 1,100 new buses, including 100 CNG buses, on roads by March next year. The State Government has sanctioned Rs 137 crore to GSRTC to purchase these vehicles... Meanwhile, GSRTC managing director G R Aloria said the chasis for these 1,100 new buses were already purchased and the work on body-building was in full swing...
Production - Brazil - VW invests US$ 436.3 million
To export to the Middle East and South AfricaRecife,PERN,Brazil -ANBA -09/20/2005 :-))
Volkswagen Trucks and Busses, subsidiary of the German giant in Brazil, announced yesterday, in the city of Resende, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, an investment worth US$ 436.3 million in Brazil to set up an exports platform to the Middle East and South Africa... The resources will be invested in expanding the heavy vehicles factory, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast region of Brazil... The multinational's hit in the Arab market will be the new truck Constellation, which will initially be exported ready and later semi-dismantled for finalisation in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates...
Recall - USA - School bus safety recall
Forces classes to be cancelledLEWIS COUNTY, Mo.,Usa -ktvotv3 -22 Sept 2005 :-/
There will be no classes in the Lewis County C-1 School District on Thursday, September 22 or Friday, September 23... The cancellation is prompted by a recall on 13 of the district's school buses... Freightliner, the maker of the buses, has issued the safety recall...
Purchases - USA - Optima Bus wins contract in Chicago
Chicago,Ill,USA -Kansas.com -Sep. 15, 2005 :-)
Optima Bus Corp. of Park City today announced that it has won a $17 million contract to supply 50 buses to the Chicago Transit Authority... The authority is buying Optima's 30-foot-long Opus transit bus. The contract includes options for 75 more buses...
Study - USA - New technology buses not necessarily better
STORRS, Conn.,USA - Newsday -Sept 15, 2005 :-/
A University of Connecticut study has found there is little to gain by switching from diesel-powered buses to diesel-electric hybrids... The hybrids did not reduce emissions as much as expected and were not significantly better in mileage, according to the study released Thursday... The study shows that particle emissions, such as soot, from two hybrid diesel-electric buses purchased by CT Transit and emissions from two comparable CT Transit diesel buses were statistically identical, "despite the fact the hybrid buses are marketed as being more environmentally friendly"... The buses were tested between January and November 2004 during highway driving on Interstate 91, city driving on Farmington Avenue in Hartford and high-grade driving over Avon Mountain...
EcoNews - USA - Panel Urges Stricter Emissions Rules for L.A.'s School Buses
Los Angeles,CA,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Julie Cart -Sept 15, 2005 :-) The South Coast Air Quality Management District on Wednesday urged the state to adopt strict emissions standards for Los Angeles' school bus fleet, saying continued exposure to diesel exhaust puts children's health at risk... The statement came a day before the California Air Resources Board is scheduled to consider a rule requiring that new school buses purchased to transport Southern California students have the cleanest-burning engines available. The rule would also apply to public and private fleets of municipal transit vehicles and trash trucks in the AQMD's four-county jurisdiction... Some education officials, however, fear such new rules may cause some financially strapped districts to cease providing buses entirely...
Ceasing - Australia - Use the bus or lose the service
Adelaide,South Australia,Australia -Advertiser Adelaide -15 Sep 05 :--/ Bus firm Southlink listened to Svetlana Gregory - now she wants help to ensure her children can get to school next year... While Woodcroft Primary School is serviced by the 701S bus in the afternoon, it had no bus to get students to class in the morning... The company created a 701S morning run along Investigator Drive and Pimpala and Panalatinga roads. But it warned the service would cease at the end of the year unless more students used it... Southlink managing director Ashley Barnes said he hoped afternoon users of the 701S would embrace the new morning service...
Disastrous - USA - FEMA Requested Only 455 Buses To Rescue 20,000
... Then Canceled Order And Took Until Sat. After Storm, To Send Enough Buses... (Incredible !)
N.Y.,USA -Huffington Post/The Wall Street Journal -September 13, 2005 /:--( As the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency stepped down yesterday, government documents surfaced showing that vital resources, such as buses and environmental health specialists, weren't deployed to the Gulf region for several days, even after federal officials seized control of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts... In addition, FEMA's official requests, known as tasking assignments and used by the agency to demand help from other government agencies, show that it first asked the Department of Transportation to look for buses to help evacuate the more than 20,000 people who had taken refuge at the Superdome in New Orleans at 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 31. At the time, it only asked for 455 buses and 300 ambulances for the enormous task. Almost 18 hours later, it canceled the request for the ambulances because it turned out, as one FEMA employee put it, "the DOT doesn't do ambulances".... FEMA ended up modifying the number of buses it thought it needed to get the job done, until it settled on a final request of 1,355 buses at 8:05 p.m. on Sept. 3. The buses, though, trickled into New Orleans, with only a dozen or so arriving on the first day."I noticed that every email to a FEMA person bounced back this week. They need a better internet provider during disasters!!" one frustrated Department of Health official wrote to colleagues last Thursday...
Ideas - USA - Better buses are no substitute for parking at Carolina North
Chapel Hill, N.Carolina,USA -The Daily Tar Heel, by JEFF KIM -Sept 14, 2005:--) Local transportation officials recently received the results of a study on upgrading the Chapel Hill area’s mass transit system. The report, released last week by John Bonsall a former transportation planner from Ottawa, Canada, outlined several different options that included buses that run on tracks and light-rail cars... Some of the ideas seem like effective ways to improve service and reliability. Ideas like designating a lane strictly for buses could help ensure that they run on time... But all of those ideas — and the parking battles that might be motivating them — should be explored with caution...
TechnoNews - USA - Cedar Rapids Buses Get Wireless Mesh
Manhasset,NY,USA -InformationWeek. By Mobile Pipeline -Sept. 13, 2005: --) The wireless network is aimed at entertaining passengers and enabling real-time security surveillance on the buses... Internet access via wireless mesh networks has come to buses in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the city and vendors announced Tuesday... The access will provide Internet access and streaming media to riders and will enable the company that manages the buses, Five Seasons Parking and Transportation, to monitor surveillance cameras from the buses in real time...
Recalls - Japan - Mitsubishi Fuso Recalls Some Trucks, Buses
Tokyo,Japan -Forbes/AP(USA) -09.14.2005:--) Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., a Japanese truckmaker plagued by a defect cover-up scandal, said Wednesday it was recalling 47,000 trucks and buses to fix defective parts... The recall includes 20,239 Canter light trucks built between July 2003 and last May, that have wiring that can short fuse or cause the truck to stop operating, the Tokyo-based manufacturer said in a release. Mitsubishi Fuso will replace the defective parts... The company didn't specify where the trucks and buses were sold... Wednesday's announcement follows a recall last month of 41,548 trucks, including some of Mitsubishi Fuso's Super Great models... Mitsubishi Fuso, 85 percent owned by Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG, has been embroiled in a cover-up scandal that first surfaced in 2000. At that time, the company, which was still part of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said it had systematically hid defects for more than 20 years to avoid recalls... In June, four former executives at scandal-plagued truckmaker Mitsubishi Fuso have returned 100 million yen (US$910,000; euro745,000) in retirement pay to acknowledge responsibility for a series of auto defect cover-ups...
Help - USA - Union seeking displaced bus drivers
USA -Fleet Owner -Sep 12, 2005:--) The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represents over 180,000 bus drivers through 270 local unions across 46 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces, is trying to locate members affected by Hurricane Katrina... "Hundreds of our members have lost their homes and jobs", said ATU International president Warren George. "We are going to do everything we can to help them find work, and provide some financial help too". He noted that, in cooperation with its New Orleans local, the ATU plans to open an office in Baton Rouge, LA, to provide direct, face-to-face assistance to its members...
Hero II - USA - Bus drivers end up following different paths
Houston,TX,USA -Houston Chronicle, by Cynthis L. Garza & Eyder Peralta -Sept. 12, 2005: -- When the federal government was struggling to get people out of New Orleans, two people made their way down Interstate 10 behind the wheel of yellow school buses. They pulled into the Astrodome parking lot hours before any of the chartered buses from the Superdome arrived... Jabbar Gibson drove the first bus. He's the father of two — a 9-month-old and a 3-year-old — and he hasn't heard from the mother of either... The renegade bus driver became a national hero, a 20-year-old kid from the New Orleans projects, who did what the federal government couldn't do... Shelinda Clark,
34, arrived about an hour later...
driven by Gibson passed through the gates of the Astrodome, a weary Clark rolled in... Two of her kids and her mother, Dornese Rumley, 52, were on the bus along with about a dozen other people from New Orleans' Fischer Housing Development...
Reordering - UK - End of the line for bus routes once trams start to run in city
Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -Scotsman,by ALAN RODEN - 13 Sep 2005: -- Fears were raised today about the number of bus services facing the axe if Edinburgh's multi- million pound trams project gets the go-ahead... Transport Initiatives Edinburgh - the council owned company charged with reintroducing trams- confirmed a number of city centre bus services would need to be cut, but said it was unable to say which routes or how many would be affected...
Accident - S.Africa - Bus plunges into river: 6 dead
But, who was the guilty?Durban,South Africa -News24, by Craig Bishop -13/09/2005: -- Six people died on Tuesday afternoon when their bus travelling from Nongoma crashed off a bridge into a river just outside Vryheid... the driver, who survived the accident, claimed he'd swerved off the R34 at about 15:00 to avoid a child... But journalists on the scene told the Witness that the bus driver had said he'd been forced off the road by a truck. This was also the version of events according to the provincial department of transport...
Impressive - USA - New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina
Valued Man - S. Africa - Bus driver 'a hero'
Cape Town,South Africa -News24 -29/08/2005: -- The driver involved in last Thursday's bus disaster, the late Andre Lemmetjies, 38, is a hero as far as the parents of the surviving children are concerned... The brakes of the bus apparently failed on Kloof Nek Road and the vehicle overturned. Some parents now say if it hadn't been for Lemmetjies' courage and driving skills, more children would have died...
Checklist - S. Africa - Safety actions on school buses
Cape Town,South Africa -News24 -13/09/2005: -- A stringent pre-trip safety checklist for buses transporting pupils will be put in place soon, says Education Minister Naledi Pandor... she said her department would "act with haste" in this regard... responding to a question the department was set to introduce stricter safety guidelines...
Transport - UK - 'Buses are forced to fight for road space cut by tram lines'
Scotland, UK -Scotsman -13 Sep 2005: -- There have always been contradictions at the heart of Edinburgh's transport vision, and none greater than the relationship between buses and trams. On one hand the city council lauds the achievement of its bus company in achieving passenger figures which are the envy of the industry, and on the other it plans its downfall with the introduction of an independently-run light rail system... The expectation is that Lothian Buses will give up its most profitable services because the trams will operate most of the way along those routes, yet it will gain no benefit from such generosity...
Answer - Poland - Ingenious transit solution
Diesel rail-bus 
Bydgoszcz, Poland -Gouggle Groups: misc.transport.urban-transit, by Krzysztof Zietara -11 Sept 2005: -- Rail-buses offered by PESA Bydgoszcz SA are a response to the needs and expectations of railroad carriers... Operation of rail-buses allows for restoration of local connections on lines, in which railroad transport carried out with the use of traditional traction units ceased to be profitable. It also improves economics of transport on the operated lines. The most important features of rail-bus are: video-monitoring of interior of vehicle, cruise control, aluminum sheathing and pneumatic springs...
Bikes - UK - You want to bring that on the bus? Get on your bike, mate
Edinburgh,United Kingdom -Scotsman, by ALAN RODEN -12 Sept 2005: -- THEY have become the transport of choice for fashionable commuters in London and New York... As car owners face ever-growing traffic jams, thousands of commuters are now using modern folding bikes to cycle to their nearest bus stop or train station before jumping on board public transport to complete their journeys... But in Edinburgh, where the bikes are becoming increasingly popular, the city's largest bus company has refused to carry passengers and their compact cycles...
Illegal - Zimbabwe - Bus operators face arrest over fare hikes
Harare, Zimbabwe,Africa -Mail & Guardian Online (Johannesburg,South Africa) -12 Sept 2005: -- Zimbabwe's police on Monday warned they will arrest private bus operators who have hiked fares following a doubling of fuel prices amid triple-digit inflation and a lingering transport crisis... State radio quoted police spokesperson Inspector Loveless Rupere as saying that "commuter operators should revert to old fares or risk being arrested"...
EcoNews - USA - Biodiesel to power new buses in Tucson fleet
TUCSON,Phoenix,AZ,USA -KPHO Phoenix/Associated Press -12 Sept 2005: -- More than three dozen new low-polluting buses are joining Tucson's fleet... The new buses being bought by public transport agency Sun Tran also are easier for the disabled to board... At 300-thousand dollars each, the 38 new buses will burn biodiesel, a mix of diesel fuel and used vegetable oil. The fuel burns cleaner than regular diesel...
Survey - UK - MPs say buses are "Cinderella" public service
New poll shows regional MPs want London-style bus regulation London,UK -Politics.co.uk -12 Sep 2005: -- A new survey of MPs has shown that the majority of Labour MPs are increasingly frustrated with the relative lack of attention paid to local bus services by central Government... They also want to see buses across Britain run in the same way as they are in London... "If buses are the 'Cinderella' service they are being run by the 'ugly sisters' represented by the bus operators. Buses can deliver faster change to public transport than rail or air but have been starved of innovation, investment and initiative whilst the bus workers have seen their pay, pensions and career progression eroded since privatisation and deregulation. It is time for the Labour government to act decisively, back the calls from MPs, who reflect their constituents' views, and bring back regulation of services"...
Discussions - USA - Rescue buses, but no one to drive
Washington,DF,USA -Australian (Australia), by Geoff Elliott -Sept 13, 2005: -- NEW Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has defended himself against charges that he botched the rescue effort in his flooded city, saying he had no choice but to abandon hundreds of school buses to the floodwaters... The buses could have been used later to rescue people, but Mr Nagin said they were left at a depot because he had no drivers to move them... Photos of the swamped buses have been political dynamite for Mr Nagin's critics, who along with Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco attacked the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, saying there were not enough buses sent to New Orleans to rescue the more than 40,000 people stranded in the city centre...
Purchases - USA - Next Generation of Transit Buses in Cleveland, Ohio
Caterpillar Clean Diesel Engines Powereds onesPEORIA, Ill.,USA -PRNewswire -Sept. 12, 2005: -- Caterpillar Inc., today announced the company's clean diesel engines powered by ACERT® Technology will be the engine of choice in a new fleet of buses ordered by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority... The new fleet of buses will be manufactured by North American Bus Industries, Inc., and will feature Caterpillar C9 engines. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has exercised options to purchase 92 clean diesel buses from NABI...
Restrictors - China - Governors slow down buses
Shanghai Daily news, by Xu Weixin -12/9/2005: -- Confronted by the increasing number of bus accidents caused by speeding drivers, some bus operators are turning to automatic speed restrictors... The restrictors, developed by Shanghai Dazhong Intelligent Equipment Ltd Co, can set speed limits for buses and other vehicles and prevent them from exceeding the limits... So far, only 28 city buses and 74 container trucks in the port area of Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone are equipped with the governors. Police are studying the devices to see how well they work."Nine out of 10 traffic accidents are caused by speeding"
City plans to bring in more hybrid buses
Honolulu,HI,USA -KHON2 -Sept 8, 2005: -- High gas prices are affecting buses, too, and the city is taking note. They're planning to bring dozens more hybrid electric buses to Honolulu... Last year, 10 60-foot-long "E-Transit" buses arrived in Honolulu, intended for a downtown-to-Waikiki route... The city intends to purchase more hybrid buses at the end of next year, each about a $150,000 more than a regular bus, but they say the fuel savings justify the cost...
Uncompetents - USA - Photo of flooded buses shows leadership failure
Cincinnati,OH,USA -Cincinnati Enquirer, by Letters to the editor: Jerome Liner -Sept 9, 2005: -- One of the aerial photos showing aftereffects of Katrina shows around 200 school buses parked, sitting in water. According to the existing disaster plan for New Orleans, these school buses, along with about 200 others, plus public buses, were to be used to evacuate those residents who had no other transportation in the event of an upcoming disaster... Clearly this was not done. As a result, thousands died, thousands of others suffered needlessly, and the buses were probably destroyed by the flooding. The same local officials who are complaining about the federal government are the same ones who were lethally derelict in their own responsibilities...
Shortage - USA - Lacking gas for buses, Carroll Co. schools nearly were closed
Jackson,TN,USA -The Jackson Sun -Sept 9, 2005: -- Carroll County school officials had a gas shortage scare last week that almost shut the schools down for a week... Because of the brief fuel shortage, Carroll County Schools Superintendent Charlotte Tucker and the principals worked out a contingency plan. They were running low on fuel for the county's buses and were unsure if they would run out completely, she said...
TechnoNews -Malaysia - Mykad bus in town
Malaysia -Malaysia Star, by DERRICK VINESH -Sept 9, 2005: -- The mobile MyKad registration bus, in making its debut outside the Klang Valley... the existing MyKad holders could upload data of their driving licence and passport onboard the bus the micro-chip based MyKad with full applications could store a person’s name, address, race, citizenship status, religion (for Muslims), colour photograph, fingerprint as well as driver’s licence and passport information... It could also be used as an automated-teller machine (ATM) card for banking transactions, as an e-Purse for MEPS Cash applications and for Touch ‘n Go applications at selected highways in the country... He said the department was also selling key-ring readers at the fair at RM22 each, which could enable MyKad holders to view digital information of their personal details and driver’s licence validity in the card...
Encouraging - UK - New bus shelters to lure more users
UK -Scarborough Today -9 Sept 2005: -- NEW bus shelters are to be installed in the town centre as part of a package of measures aimed at encouraging people to ditch their cars... The old shelters in Aberdeen Walk were removed on Wednesday ahead of work to install the new shelters, which will have better seating, lighting and timetable boards.Existing car parking spaces will be unaffected by the scheme... The latest work in Aberdeen Walk comes on the back of £460,000 improvements carried out over the last three years under Scarborough's Local Transport Plan including the new bus lane in Westborough and the reversal of the traffic flow in York Place which gives priority to buses, and added new stops and shelters...
Strike - UK - Chaos as bus staff walk out
Glasgow,Scotland,UK -Glasgow Daily Record -8 Sept 2005: -- COMMUTERS were hit by travel chaos yesterday as bus workers staged a 24-hour strike... An estimated 100,000 travellers across east and central Scotland were affected when 800 First Bus staff walked out... The action - over pay and conditions - disrupted more than 300 services... The Transport and General Workers Union said it had "100 per cent support", leaving drivers "quietly determined" to achieve their wage claim...
Justice - Philippines - MMDA can't close bus terminals, says Court
Manila,Philippines -Philippine Daily Inquirer, by Margaux C. Ortiz -Sept 9, 2005: -- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, has no power to order the closure of provincial bus terminals along Edsa, according to a Manila Regional Trial Court judge... Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. of Manila RTC Branch 26, yesterday said Executive Order No. 179, declaring the closure of bus terminals along major thoroughfares, was "unconstitutional" and "inconsistent with the legal provisions of the Public Service Law"...
Controversies - USA - Should the buses have been put into play?
Sure!!USA -The United American.blogs - PostedBring It On, by Mulligan Me -Sept 08, 2005: -- ... All those buses, though, would not have been able to evacuate the entire city of New Orleans. It would have also been a logistic nightmare that would have severely hampered the ability of the buses to get even 15,000 people out of the area. Unless the mayor of New Orleans could rely on Black Magic to levitate the buses over the traffic and into multiple communities, they wouldn't have made that big a difference... If you still think 300 school buses could have evacuated all those people, think again. Buses from all over Louisiana and other states are being used to evacuate people. Even so, the buses need to take more than one trip... And the evacuation continues...
Rebate - Malaysia - Buses Included In Road Tax Cut
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -Bernama -Sept 8, 2005: -- Stage buses are included in the reduction of road tax from RM10 to RM2 a year granted to school buses, the Finance Ministry said in a statement Thursday... The reduction is also effective from Sept 12... The announcement followed a statement that four immediate measures had been decided to cushion the effects of surging oil prices... Besides the reduction of road tax for school and stage buses, the road tax on all commercial vehicles will also be cut by 25 per cent...
Double-Decker -USA - Baltimore's Bus Narrated Tours To Transport Visitors
Stops In To City's Hot SpotsBALTIMORE,MAR,USA -The WBAL Channel, by Melissa Carlson -Sept 8, 2005: -- Some new buses will shuttle people around Baltimore's must-see spots starting this weekend... reported the new double-decker buses will provide a bird's-eye view unlike anything else in Charm City... One ticket gives visitors 24 hours to see all 15 stops, and ticket holders can get off anywhere along the line, or take the entire narrated 75-minute tour... The buses will travel the Inner Harbor and shuttle visitors outside downtown to Fells Point, Mount Vernon and the Baltimore Museum of Art...
Purchases - USA - $600 million will be used to purchase 450 new buses
Metro Unveils New Plan For Buses - Some Bus Stops To Get Real-Time Information
WASHINGTON,DF,USA -NBC 4 -Sept 8, 2005: -- Metro, the transit company's bus service is about to get a facelift... White's proposal calls for spending $829 million to improve bus service. And $600 million will be used to purchase 450 new buses, including 250 that run on natural gas, which will arrive by next spring... Other improvements outlined in the plan include outfitting busier bus stops with real-time information by June 2006, letting riders know precisely what time the next bus will arrive...
TechnoNews - Germany - MAN hydrogen buses in practical service
Low-emission drive systems of the future for buses: hydrogen combustion engine and fuel cell driveBavaria,Germany -Man WebReport -7 Set 2005: -- Two city buses based on MAN’s current model Lion’s City with a hydrogen combustion engine and the hybrid fuel cell bus, will be put into service at a private transport operator for about one and a half years... They were officially handed over for scheduled service to the Freising Rural District and the Hagl bus company from Zolling, by the Bavarian Minister for Business, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology, Otto Wiesheu, at the end of August 2005... Wiesheu sees this bus route as an important step towards achieving the day-to-day serviceability of the innovative hydrogen technology. "The experience gained in the project will help to advance the use of this environmentally friendly energy carrier. The service of pioneering technologies in local public transport is very important for the further development of an attractive and environmentally friendly local transport system"...
Story - Canada - York super buses no panacea but welcome
York,Toronto,Canada -The Globe and Mail, by JOHN BARBER -Sept 7, 2005: -- I waited eagerly for an answer at Viva's new Richmond Hill Centre station yesterday afternoon, comforted by an electronic sign saying that the next Belgian-made super bus travelling south to the Finch subway station would arrive in six minutes... A quarter-hour later, the count was down to three minutes. After another 10 minutes or so, the sign reluctantly conceded that the next bus was "Due." When it finally arrived, its driver emptied all the passengers out because the bus's air-conditioning system had broken down (and, being much more advanced than ordinary Canadian-made vehicles, its windows are sealed)... By the time we eventually left on a new bus, Viva was full. Whether Viva succeeds in revolutionizing rapid transit in the Toronto region, however, remains an open question... The theory is a good one: Rather than sinking billions into a new rail system, York Region is using comparatively cheap buses running on three new express routes to lure drivers with standards of service and comfort that are said to rival conventional rapid-transit. It's all very modern and spiffy: Satellites guide the buses while computers control signal lights and on-board electronic signs count down the minutes and seconds to each new stop... Faced with traffic congestion that is already worse than anything experienced downtown, York couldn't afford the luxury of such anti-urban thinking. The truth is that you can no more have a great city without proper public transit -- or any city worth living in, for that matter -- ...
Test - USA - LTD chooses well-tested hybrid buses for fleet
Eugene,Oregon,USA -The Register-Guard, by Edward Russo -Sept 7, 2005: -- Jim Boon had been intrigued by the potential of electric hybrid buses since they first came on the transit scene in the late 1990s. But he wanted reassurance that they would work reliably on Seattle's busy streets... Then, in 2002, Boon got Metro Transit to spend $1 million on a single test bus from New Flyer Corp. so he could put it through its paces... Drivers put 47,000 miles on the bus - more than a normal year's mileage - in three months. They loaded it with 55-gallon drums filled with water to exceed the weight of standing-room-only passengers loads... Finally persuaded, Boon recommended that King County Metro Transit buy hybrid buses for its fleet. In 2003, the district ordered 213 hybrids from New Flyer. Based on the same recommendation, adjoining Sound Transit bought 22 hybrids from New Flyer... New Flyer, a 75-year-old Canadian firm, bills itself as the largest maker of heavy-duty transit buses in North America. The hybrid power plant is a combination General Motors Allison electric drive...
TechnoNews - USA - Transit services adding Wi-Fi to buses
Seattle,Wash,USA -SeattleTimes, by Susan Gilmore -Sept 7, 2005: -- First it was the coffee shops. Then the airport and the ferries. Now it's the buses... Telecommuting has never been so easy... Yesterday, Community Transit in Snohomish County launched a three-month pilot project and installed wireless Internet service on one of its routes, bus 422 from Stanwood to Seattle. Three buses run the commuter route in the mornings and afternoons...
EcoNews - USA - New law would curb air pollution by school buses, garbage trucks
TRENTON, N.J.,USA -YNewsday/AP, by ROSA CIRIANNI -September 7, 2005: -- A diesel engine emission reduction plan signed into law Wednesday could have New Jerseyans breathing easier in the years to come... The plan, which backers called the most comprehensive in the nation, is geared to cut air pollution and health risks by placing tighter controls on diesel emissions from public and privately owned transit buses and garbage trucks over the next 10 years... The diesel reduction program could reduce emissions by more than 500 tons per year and save New Jersey up to $1.4 billion annually in health care and related costs from the fine particle pollution, officials said. The program would cost the state $14 million per year, or $140 million over 10 years...
TechnoNews - USA - Hydrogen-Fueled 'Buses' in City's Future
Hybrid vehicles could see service in two years
New Haven,CT,USA -Connecticut Business News Journal, by Karen Singer -09/05/2005: -- Wheels are in motion to create two hydrogen-fueled hybrid electric transit vehicles for downtown New Haven... The Greater New Haven Transit District has awarded its Advanced Transportation System Development Program to a team of companies responsible for designing, engineering, producing and marketing the vehicles... Integral to the project are two onsite hydrogen production, storage and dispensing systems as well as diagnostic, maintenance and training platforms for the vehicles...
Solution - UK - Packed school buses row 'is now resolved'
Scotland,UK -Scotsman -6 Sep 2005: -- PROBLEMS with pupils being abandoned by the roadside because school buses were too full to pick them up seem to have been resolved... An extra bus was laid on after furious parents complained that their children had been left stranded on the route between... They claimed some pupils had been stopped from boarding buses on the route because they were too full... The problem is believed to have been caused by pupils being confused about which bus they were supposed to catch because of a delay in passes being issued, leaving some buses emptier than others... A council spokeswoman said the extra bus will stop running this week after pupils are issued with passes...
Congestions - China - Plans express bus network to beat it
Beijing, China -China Daily/Reuters -2005-09-05: -- China plans to build networks of high-speed city buses to tackle congestion and soaring demand for oil, a senior transport official said on Monday... The Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) networks, partly inspired by underground train systems, will use exclusive lanes with customers likely required to buy tickets before they climb aboard to save time, said Zhao Jie, vice-director of the Urban Transport Centre at the Ministry of Construction...
Costs - USA - Don't be fueled: Buses also paying more
Ridership isn't growing enough to offset booming diesel costsMilwaukee,WI,USA - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,by LARRY SANDLER -Sept. 4, 2005: -- For the Milwaukee County Transit System and the Lake Express high-speed ferry, the good news is that more people are riding instead of driving... The bad news is that the buses and the ferry need to be filled with diesel fuel at dizzyingly high prices... With regular gas selling for well above $3 a gallon in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, more people seem to be considering alternatives to driving, a trend that started to show up as gas prices passed the $2.50 mark earlier this summer... August figures won't be available for several weeks, but anecdotal evidence suggests bus ridership is growing... Through July, ridership was already up 1%, compared with the same seven months of last year...
Reforms - UK - Buses: getting the priorities right
Belfast, N.Ireland, UK -The Belfast Telegraph,by John Simpson -05 Sept 2005: -- CREATING the best possible public transport services, while containing the costs to the taxpayer, must be the ambition of any Transport Minister... At present, Northern Ireland has a public transport system that is in need of reform. Two features stand out: First, the current publicly-owned operating companies balance their accounts with major public funding which has been increasing... The two publicly-owned bus companies have no agreed PSO arrangements. Some areas or routes are profitable, but in total there is a dependence on public funds to maintain the current route networks. There is support from taxpayers and there is cross-subsidisation from passenger fares... Second, there is little significant licensing of private bus companies to offer daily scheduled services in competition with, or set competitive benchmarks for, Ulsterbus or Citybus. Northern Ireland is almost the exception in the UK because of the absence of some major form of competition. Are all the other cities and national operators wrong while Northern Ireland is right?
Cares - USA - Drivers should always yield to school bus laws
Baltimore,MA,USA -The Baltimore Sun, by Jody K. Vilschick -Sept 4, 2005: -- IT'S SEPTEMBER, which means it's school time and means those yellow, slow, annoying school buses are once again crowding our roads... According to Glenn J. Johnson, director of transportation for Howard County public schools, students are safer in school buses than in cars. But the No. 1 place where serious accidents occur is at the bus stop - usually caused by motorists not yielding to a school bus either loading or unloading students...
Costs - USA - Valley buses feeling gas-price pinch
Grand Junction,CO,USA -The Daily Sentinel, by MIKE WIGGINS -Sept 04, 2005: -- With gas prices soaring to eye-popping heights this week, it’s hard to tell which is moving at a greater rate — the wheels on the buses in the Grand Valley or bus-service administrators trying to shore up depleted fuel budgets... The valley’s two largest carriers of bus passengers, Grand Valley Transit and Laidlaw Educational Services, which contracts with Mesa County School District 51 to provide bus service for students, are angling for major boosts in funding to offset gas prices that have surged roughly 50 cents a gallon this week. And officials believe it will get worse before it gets better...
Purchases - USA - TANK Receives $1.475-million for Replacement Buses
WASHINGTON, D.C.,USA -Challenger NKY/Covington,KY -Sept 4, 2005: -- The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) received a $1.475-million federal grant last week from the Department of Transportation to purchase replacement buses... The Department of Transportation annually makes available approximately $32 billion in grants and cooperative agreements for transportation projects, according to Congressman Geoff Davis, R-4th District. "I am pleased to see TANK receive this money to replenish its fleet of buses," Davis said. "TANK provides a necessary service to Northern Kentucky" ...
Extensions - Australia - All aboard in drive to boost the buses
Australia -NEWS.com, by Linda Smith -Sept 05, 2005: -- METRO bus services will be extended to outlying areas and seniors will ride for free under an election promise made by the State Opposition yesterday... Under the proposal, additional annual funding would be given to Metro to establish services in rapidly growing areas like New Norfolk, Sorell, Dodges Ferry, Carlton and Huonville, together with Shearwater and Port Sorell in the state's North-West, as well as any other areas that put forward a case for consideration... Liberal leader Rene Hidding said the initiatives would "transform transport in the state"... He said many outer areas had no essential services - or very few - despite being half an hour from Hobart...
Setting up - India - Not CNG? Buses to keep off
NEW DELHI,India - Times of India -Sept 03, 2005: -- In a bid to unclog the city’s arteries and prevent the entry of buses which are not CNG-enabled, the Delhi government has decided to set up four inter-state terminals where buses coming from other states can terminate... According to an affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court, which is hearing a PIL relating to congestion of city roads, the government has already sanctioned more than Rs 81.30 crore for constructing a modern ISBT at Sarai Kale Khan...
EcoNews - Sweden - Breakthrough for Volvo's New Gas Bus
GOTEBORG, Sweden -IndiaCar/India -Sept 06, 2005: -- Volvo Buses has received its first bus order for the new gas engine, the Volvo 7700. Bernmobil in Switzerland has placed an order for 32 articulated buses, with an option for 39 more... Bernmobil is the local public transport company in the city of Bern. The company has decided to gradually replace its diesel-operated buses with gas buses for environmental reasons. The gas buses will run on biogas which, as opposed to natural gas, doesn't contribute to higher carbon dioxide levels... Stage one for the company entails the order for 32 articulated buses from Volvo Buses. The first 10 buses will be shipped during summer 2006, with the remainder scheduled to follow in the autumn. The company also has an option for an additional 39 gas buses. The buses will be built in Volvo Buses' factory in Wroclaw, Poland...
