Buses World News: October 2005

Safety - USA - Beepers, strobe lights considered for buses

Champaign/Urbana,IL,USA -THE NEWS-GAZETTE, by TIM MITCHELL -Oct 27, 2005: -- The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is considering putting beepers or strobe lights on buses in an effort to increase safety... The C-U MTD board discussed adding the devices in the wake of a recent fatality involving an MTD bus on campus... District Managing Director Bill Volk said MTD leaders have held three meetings to discuss ways to promote safety and to protect pedestrians... One option would involve installing caution beepers on all the buses... Volk said the buses would warn pedestrians of the presence of buses, especially when they are about to make turns...

Honor - USA - Detroit honors Parks by reserving first seat in buses

DETROIT,Mich,Usa -Detroit Free Press/AP -Oct 27, 2005: -- The city is honoring civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks by placing a black ribbon on the first seat of its buses, reserving the spot as a tribute to her legacy until her funeral next week.

Newests - India - Delhi's high capacity buses to run from next week

New Delhi,India -Press Trust of India -Oct 25, 2005: -- High-Capacity Buses are set to hit Delhi roads next week, and will be run as a feeder service for the Metro Rail on two routes... The buses, which have already arrived in the capital, will be handed over to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to be run on the two routes... While the frequency of buses on the CGO Complex-Central Secretariat would be 15 minutes, the frequency on the Hauz Khas-Shivaji Stadium route would be half-an-hour...

TechNews - USA - GM, Shanghai Automotive pledge to develop energy-efficient vehicles in China

Agreement calls for expansion of joint hybrid bus program
DETROIT,Mich,USA -The Detroit News/APress -Oct 30, 2005: -- General Motors Corp. and its partner in Shanghai agreed Saturday to work together to produce energy-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles in China, according to a joint statement released by the companies... The agreement, signed in Shanghai by GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Chairman Hu Maoyuan, calls for both companies to look into expanding their joint hybrid bus program to a larger fleet to serve the city of Shanghai... The partners also will pursue hybrid options for cars and hydrogen fuel cell technologies for use in China...

Recalls - USA - GM recalling SUVs because of corrosion on latch

WASHINGTON DC,USA -Associated Press -Oct 29, 2005: -- General Motors Corp. said Friday it was recalling about 100,000 sport utility vehicles in 20 northern states because corrosion can affect latches on the two backseat doors, potentially allowing the doors to open while the vehicle is being driven... In some cases, slush, water and salt has passed through a seal at the base of the door and come in contact with the door's latch. Over time, it can cause corrosion and make the door not latch properly, GM spokesman Alan Adler said... Adler said there has been one unconfirmed report of injuries related to the problem. GM did not have any details on what happened...

By By - USA - Ford's head of hybrid programs to leave

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Dow Jones/AP -Oct 29, 2005: -- Ford Motor Co.'s high-profile head of hybrid programs is leaving the automaker at a time when Ford is relying heavily on its gas-electric hybrid-vehicle program to help turnaround its struggling automotive operations... Mary Ann Wright, Ford's director of hybrid programs and chief engineer on the Ford Escape Hybrid, submitted her resignation Friday morning. She is one of many senior managers to recently exit Ford, which in the midst of a corporate restructuring that is to be detailed early next year... Ford spokesman Oscar Suris said Wright's departure "doesn't change Ford's plans" to increase hybrid production... this departure comes two weeks after Phil Martens, Ford's vice president of product creation in North America, also left the company. Following Martens out the door was Matt DeMars, vice president for North American vehicle operations...

Saving Money - USA - Buses' popularity grows

Huntington, WV,USA -The Herald-Dispatch, by Scott Wartman -23 Oct 2005: -- The costs of driving to and from work can add up. Suzanne Workman found the expense of driving from her Southside home in Huntington to her work in the center of downtown and paying for parking not worth the cost since gas surpassed $2.50... Workman more frequently leaves her car at home and rides a bus into downtown. This saves her gas and $10 a month for parking... "I live on a budget," Workman said last week taking the bus home from work. "This is saving me quite a bit of money. It is probably saving me $30 to $40 a month."... Huntington's buses have become more crowded in the past year as more people conserve gas... The Pullman Square Shuttle travels in a 15-20 minute circuit around the center of downtown beginning and ending at ...

Busway Test Run Gives Riders a Jolt

Officials and others experience the kind of challenge that may lie ahead along the Valley's Orange Line

Los AngelesCAL,USA -latimes.com, by Caitlin Liu -Oct 25, 2005: -- ... As a busload of transportation officials, reporters and camera operators rolled across the San Fernando Valley for a test ride Monday on the soon-to-open Orange Line busway, they got a jolting taste of the safety challenges ahead... All of a sudden, the 60-foot vehicle braked hard at Kester Avenue in Van Nuys... "Whoooa!" the riders said, as bodies, notebooks and camera equipment pitched forward.The culprit was a motorist running a red light while crossing the Orange Line route, and bus driver Russell Modell — who had the green light to proceed — had to react quickly. Officials including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is also chairman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, later praised Modell for avoiding a collision...

Safety -USA - Breaking new rules could be fatal

MTA warning car drivers: Bus needs 250 feet to stop
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -dailynews.com, by Lisa M. Sodders -27 OLct 2005: -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's safety tips for the new Orange Line are fairly simple: Obey signal lights, don't turn right on red, and don't walk or drive on the busway... Because Metro Liners need 250 feet to come to a stop, motorists are prohibited from making right turns on red lights to keep them from colliding with a bus traveling at 50 mph. And since the busway is an enclosed right-of-way, there are no escape routes or exits, so private vehicles are not allowed on the busway, officials said... Visibility at some intersections is limited, so a flashing sign - "Bus" - will indicate when a bus is approaching and should be heeded... Pedestrians and bicycle riders also are being warned to stay off the busway and instead use the separate bike/pedestrian lanes. There are bike racks and lockers at each station... Orange Line rides will be free this weekend...

Present - USA - MTA cuts some fares for holidays

NEW YORK,NY,USA -Home News Tribune Online/AP -28 Oct 2005: -- Subway and bus riders received an early holiday present yesterday when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to cut $2 fares in half at certain times between Thanksgiving and the new year — a result of a budget surplus... The MTA board of directors also will offer a $76 holiday pass for unlimited subway and bus rides from Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Eve) through New Year's Day... The goodwill gesture will cost the MTA about $50 million in fares — a fraction of the agency's estimated $1 billion surplus...

Production - Turkey - Manufactures The Majority of Buses Among EU States

Athens,Greece -Reporter.gr (subscription) -24 Oct 2005: -- About 15,000 buses and midi buses are manufactured annually in eight factories established in Turkey, making Turkey a center for significant bus and mini van manufacturing, while European Union (EU) countries manufacture 35,000 buses and midi buses in total each year, Zaman Daily reports... The high labor costs in Union countries led the manufacturers to seek a remedy in Turkey, where labor costs are considerably lower... The CEO of bus manufacturing company Temsa Mehmet Buldurgan said that forty to fifty out of every 100 buses in Europe in 2008 will be manufactured in Turkey...

System - Chile- More Than 1,100 Volvo Buses Start Operating in Santiago

GOTEBORG, Sweden -PRIMEZONE - Oct. 24, 2005: -- On Saturday morning, 22 October, more than 1,100 Volvo buses took to the streets of Santiago, Chile's capital. It was the first day of the Transantiago operation, the largest public urban transport system in Latin America... It was the first time that such a large number of buses started operating at the same place, in a single day, in one of the largest efforts ever made in the world to improve a public transportation system... Deliveries of the modern Volvo B9SALF and B7RLE chassis will continue up to the first months of 2006, when all 1,779 buses (1,159 B9SALFs and 620 B7RLEs) will be fully delivered. This is the largest sale ever carried out by Volvo Buses... Even with the unexpected problems that can occur in any production program and with a logistics operation this large, Volvo do Brasil managed to overcome all setbacks and deliveries were made before the required date..l.

Dilapidation - USA - New buses can't roll

Thousands ride dilapidated vehicles while newer ones go unused at MTA depots due to a stall in finalizing agreement
Long Island,NY,USA -Newsday, by JOSHUA ROBIN -Oct 24, 2005: -- While thousands of Queens commuters are forced to ride beat-up buses on private bus lines, the MTA has 100 buses stored in depots in College Point and Eastchester in the Bronx, including 30 new models, officials confirmed last week... Why aren't they carrying passengers? The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Bloomberg administration officials offered several explanations... MTA officials said that the agency doesn't have "responsibility" for commuters not served by MTA routes - and is barred under state law from letting the private companies use the vehicles... "The reality is we don't have responsibility for those companies yet," Thomas J. Savage, president of the MTA Bus Co., said in an interview last week...

Accident - USA - Brakes, fatigue cited in fatal crash of bus on high school trip

NTSB investigators said the truck driver tried to pull off the road illegally and the bus had two brakes out of adjustment.
EAU CLAIRE, WIS,USA - Star Tribune, by Robert Franklin -Oct 26, 2005: -- Authorities have released a list of "should not haves" about the bus-truck crash 10 days ago near Osseo, Wis., that killed five people connected with the Chippewa Falls High School marching band:
• The Chippewa Trails charter bus should not have been on the road because two of its six brakes were seriously out of adjustment. It had been pulled from service in July because of a brake problem.
• The driver of the semitrailer truck should not have tried to stop alongside the road for a bathroom break, a move that ended with his rig tipping over and blocking both westbound lanes and shoulders of Interstate Hwy. 94.
• The bus driver perhaps should not have put his eyeglasses away and perhaps should have gotten more sleep...

Seat Belts - Australia - Gallop's seatbelt decision 'astounds' Opposition

Australia - ABC Regional Online -23 Oct 2005: -- The Western Australian Opposition says the Premier will have blood on his hands if he does not make seatbelts compulsory on school buses... The Opposition's road safety spokesman and former police officer Murray Cowper says Friday afternoon's school bus crash near Mandurah must serve as a warning to the Government... The bus, which had dozens of Mandurah Baptist College students on board, ploughed into a truck and rolled, but all students escaped serious injury... The bus was fitted with seatbelts and emergency service officers say the devices saved lives... The State Government says it is participating in a national program to determine whether there is a case to introduce seatbelts on school buses...

Sick on the bus - USA - 39 complain of nausea on school bus

Police suspect kids were sickened by fumes escaping holes in muffler
Wilmington,DE,USA -The News Journal, by TERRI SANGINITI and EDWARD L. KENNEY -22 Oct 2005: -- Thirty-nine students from Cedar Lane Elementary School were treated for dizziness and nausea after getting sick on the bus to school... The bus driver pulled over at about 8:45 a.m. near Boyds Corner and Summit Bridge roads to open the windows and door and shut off the engine after children on the bus complained of smelling fumes and said they were feeling ill..... They were treated at the hospital and released... checked the Lehane's Bus Service bus for signs of carbon monoxide but found none. However, a subsequent inspection of the bus revealed five holes in the bus's muffler, Zebley said, noting that straps that secure the muffler underneath the bus had concealed the holes... The muffler is about two feet behind the bus door, and exhaust could have entered the bus there, she said. Because the windows were closed and the heater was on, the odor continued to circulate inside the bus, investigators reported...

Pollution - USA - Board reviews buses, big rigs

- Diesel transit allowed to coast on emission standards while idling limits are slapped on long-haul trucks
- The board has aggressively tried to trim emissions
CAL,USA -The Argus/insidebayarea, by Douglas Fischer -21 Oct 2005: -- The California Air Resources Board gave diesel bus engine manufacturers a break Thursday, essentially postponing until 2010 tough new emission standards on diesel engines set to take effect in 2007... The move is good news for Bay Area transit operators — the only urban operators in California driving diesel — as it allows agencies to buy new diesel buses... Separately, the board Thursday closed a loophole allowing drivers of big rigs with sleeper cabs to idle their trucks indefinitely. As of 2008, they will be subject to the same five-minute rule as all other trucks, producing a vast savings in both emissions and fuel use... Of the diesel fuel used on the road today, the agency figures 3 percent — 160 million gallons annually — blows out the exhaust pipes of idling sleeper cabs... Driving both issues is nitrogen oxide, or NOx, emissions. A primary ingredient of smog, NOx contributes to asthma and other respiratory ailments in urban areas... With no bus manufacturer selling an engine capable of holding NOx emissions to a lower threshold until 2010, Bay Area bus agencies would have been unable to buy a new bus from 2007 through 2009 had the board not eased its rule...

Civil rights - USA - Heroine Rosa Parks’ body to lie in honour

Wahington DC,USA -Irish Examiner (Ireland) -Oct 28, 2005: -- Rosa Parks, who died on Monday, will become the first woman to receive one of America's highest tributes... The 92 year-old, who helped spark the modern civil rights movement in the US, will lie in honour at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, it was announced today... In 1955, she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man leading to her arrest... The incident sparked the civil rights movement in the US, as her case was taken up by a local minister named Martin Luther King, who organised a bus boycott by African-Americans...

Taken Care - USA - Somerset County commission defends bus drivers' track record

Some parents question competency following series of minor accidents

Montgomery,Princeton, N.J - The Princeton Packet, by Kara Fitzpatrick -28 Oct 2005: -- The lingering issue of transportation was again the focus during a Board of Education meeting. Representatives from the school district's commissioned bus service faced questioning from parents... Representatives from the Somerset County Educational Services Commission attended the meeting to respond to parents and board members regarding busing concerns — which include accidents involving ESC buses and the perception that some drivers are not able to fully communicate with the students... Some parents have expressed concerns that drivers who use English as their second language would not be able to adequately communicate in an emergency... But Thomas Boyle, superintendent of the county ESC, said he is confident all drivers employed by the ESC can communicate adequately with children... "Language had nothing to do with any of the accidents," Dr. Boyle said, adding that the drivers involved in the accidents have "all been taken care of in the appropriate manner. We have never had an issue" with language, he said, adding all drivers are fully trained in emergency and evacuation procedure... District Director of Transportation Jennisse Peatick said the ESC has been "swift" and "appropriate" in dealing with the situations this year...

Business - China - ComfortDelGro buys second bus firm in Shenyang

Singapore,China -The Business Times Asia -Oct 28, 2005: -- ComfortDelGro on Friday said it will pay $73.2 million to acquire the operating rights of 50 bus routes, 1,218 buses and other operating assets from Shenyang's largest public bus operator, Shenyang Passenger Transport Group... The latest bus venture, to be named Shenyang ComfortDelGro Bus Co Ltd, is the land transport giant's second in Shenyang -- the capital of Liaoning province in north-eastern China. The first, Shenyang ComfortDelGro An Yun Bus Company, was set up in 2004... Together, the two companies will operate 1,763 public buses in the city, making ComfortDelGro the largest operator there with a 40 per cent market share... The school, ComfortDelGro's first outside Singapore, is a $4.8 million joint venture with Chengdu Qing Yang Driving School Co, the Chinese city's largest driving school...

GreenNews - USA - Proponents clear air over pollution ballot question

TRENTON,NJ,USA -Home News Tribune Online, by LAUREN O. KIDD -28 Oct 2005: -- State officials estimate 130 tons of soot per year could be removed from New Jersey's air over the next decade if voters approve the second statewide question on the ballot this Election Day... Sponsors of a law to retrofit with filters the roughly 31,000 publicly owned diesel vehicles, school buses and transit buses with public contracts in New Jersey came to the Statehouse yesterday to explain the question... The ballot question asks voters if a percent of corporate-business-tax revenue already earmarked for other environmental initiatives can be shifted to the diesel-control program. The program could spend up to $170 million over the next decade... Greg Slavin, an indoor air quality specialist with the Clean Air Co., based in the Fords section of Woodbridge, said the proposed outdoor air-quality program "definitely has its merits" but "they are missing the whole indoor air quality" problem. He said indoor diesel emissions in places such as firehouses and bus garages could also contribute to high cancer rates and other health statistics... Slavin, who supports the ballot question, questioned how well the filters work...

Fuel Alternatives - USA - When driving become a gas

Honda ready to market naturally-fueled cars

EAST LIBERTY, Ohio,USA -Asbury Park Press/ASSOCIATED PRESS -28 Oct 2005: -- Selling cars powered by natural gas to American drivers is no small challenge for Honda Motor Co. Natural-gas stations are few and far between, and until recently the vehicles were nearly as expensive to fuel up as their gasoline-powered counterparts... Now gasoline prices are up about 60 cents a gallon from a year ago and motorists can buy a device that allows them to get natural gas fill-ups at home. Honda plans to expand sales of the natural gas Civic GX next year to major cities around the country... The automaker, which manufactures the car in this western Ohio city, hopes to triple its retail business — going from about 500 cars this year to 1,500 in 2006...

Corruption - U.N. - Scandal Exposes Corruption

UNITED NATIONS,NY,USA -channels.netscape.com/AP, by EDITH M. LEDERER and NICK WADHAMS -28 =ct 2005: -- Fraud in the U.N. oil-for-food scheme for Iraq reached from French politicians to a former Vatican aide and name-brand companies, sending a sobering message about the state of global business, the chief investigator said after publishing his conclusions on what went awry... "There's a lot of corruption in the world", Paul Volcker told, when he released his scathing final report on the 18-month investigation... The investigators found that companies and individuals from 66 countries paid illegal kickbacks using a variety of methods, and those paying illegal oil surcharges came from, or were registered in, 40 countries... The report named some high-profile individuals and companies including a former French interior minister, Charles Pasqua; Rev. Jean-Marie Benjamin, a priest who once worked as an assistant to the Vatican secretary of state and opposed Iraqi sanctions; carmakers DaimlerChrysler AG, Volvo and South Korea's Daewoo International; and industrial giants Siemens AG... It also alleged oil companies including Texas-based Bayoil and Coastal Corp., Russian oil giant Gazprom, and Lukoil Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of Russia's Lukoil were caught up in the scandal... The report gave several examples of just how companies and Saddam colluded to manipulate the program... When the final contract for the van was submitted for U.N. approval, the price of the truck was inflated to include that amount. That meant that the U.N. fund ended up paying DaimlerChrysler for the kickback...

GreenNews - Netherlands - Hot Air Becomes Reality

Netherlands -mondaq.com, by Mr Carel Van Lynden -20 Oct 2005: -- On May 19 2005 the first wave of requirements under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI - environmental regulations imposing global and regional limits on air emissions from ships - came into force. The new legislation will affect the following elements: 1) the way shipowners and operators operate their vessels; 2) the type of fuel that oil bunker suppliers are allowed to supply; 3) sampling procedures; and 4) the way ship engine manufacturers will design and build engines... As of May 19 2005 there is a global limit of 4.5% on the maximum amount of sulphur in the fuel that vessels are allowed to burn. Achieving this limit will not be problematic for shipowners or bunker fuel suppliers, as it is quite a generous limit. The global average for sulphur content in fuel is currently around 3%...

GreenNews - UK - RoHS Regulations published

UK -mondaq.com, by Mr Paul Sheridan and Mr Andrew Ryan -25 Oct 2005: -- The UK Regulations that will implement the EU Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (the "RoHS" Directive) have now been published (SI2005 No. 2748). The Regulations will come into force on 1 July 2006... Subject to certain exemptions, the RoHS Regulations will prohibit the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and types of brominated flame retardant in new electrical and electronic equipment as of 1 July 2006...

GreenNews - South Africa - Improved Environmental Law Enforcement

The Era of the Environmental Law Bounty-Hunter?
South Africa -mondaq.com, by Mr Tim De Wet -20 Oct 2005: -- South Africa is about to experience vastly improved environmental law enforcement as a result of changes to the National Environmental Management Act ("NEMA") which come into effect from 1 May 2005... Chief amongst these is the creation of Environmental Management Inspectors: (including the so-called "Green Scorpions" who are intended to investigate more serious environmental crimes) persons specially mandated and trained to investigate and enforce contraventions of specific environmental laws... In addition to the right to stop, enter and search vehicles, vessels and the like, the Inspector may conduct routine inspections, without a search warrant, of non-residential premises for the purpose of ascertaining compliance with relevant environmental legislation. The Inspector may, (with a warrant, or without a warrant, in special circumstances) do the same in respect of any residential premises, and may seize anything that can be used as evidence in a prosecution of the anticipated offence and also issue notices to answer questions as referred to above...

Enviroment - India - Green gas will flow where red buses stop

Mumbai,India -Daily News & Analasys, by Gouri Shah -Oct 20, 2005: -- Alarmed by the rising prices of petrol and diesel? You can switch over to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which may soon be available at your nearest bus depot... The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport, undertaking and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, are considering a proposal from Mahanagar Gas Ltd., to set up CNG-dispensing stations at their bus depots in the city. Not only will it meet their own future requirements, but will also allow the cash-strapped transport bodies to boost non-tariff revenue by extending the facility to private vehicles...

GreenNews - UK - Solar-powered shelters put other bus stops in the shade

Scotland,UK - Scotsman, by ALAN RODEN -19 Oct 2005: -- The city's bus shelters may not seem the sunniest of places when the wind's blowing, the rain's pouring down and the bus is taking an age to arrive... But, despite the apparent disadvantages of the Edinburgh climate, solar power is to be used to light up more than 100 of the city's busiest bus stops... The move - which will see the bus stops light up when passengers walk in after dark - follows successful trials of the new technology at a handful of shelters across the Capital...

Hydrogen to power TransLink test buses

Coquitlam,British Columbia,Canada -Coquitlam Tri City News, by Jeff Nagel -Oct 19 2005: -- Hydrogen recovered as a by-product at an industrial plant in North Vancouver will be used to power TransLink test buses next year... Waste hydrogen from the sodium hydrate plant could eventually be used to power up to 20,000 vehicles in the region .. The $18.3-million Waste Hydrogen Utilization Project is led by the federal government, which is contributing a series of grants, and a consortium of industries. It will capture hydrogen for use in fuel cells to initially power light-duty trucks and provide heat and power to a car wash...

Convertion - USA - University Va. converts all buses to biodiesel

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.,USA -WAVY-TV -Oct 19, 2005: -- The University of Virginia is converting its 30-bus fleet to be more environmentally friendly... After a summer test run with two buses, the university is shifting to biodiesel to fuel all of its buses, using a 80 percent diesel and 20 percent soy compound... The change will help Virginia farmers who grow the soybeans that are used to make the fuel. Also, biodiesel is slightly less polluting than regular diesel... During the next 12 years, the school will replace 18 cars and trucks in the fleet with diesel and hybrid vehicles...

Furious - UK - Traders fear chaos when bendy buses start on route

London,England,UK -Tottenham, Wood Green and Edmonton Journal -19 Oct 2005: -- A fight has been mounted against the launch of bendy buses on a key route through Haringey... Residents and traders in the Green Lanes area are furious that the 18-metre vehicles are to be introduced on route 29... It is claimed by activists that Green Lanes, already a congested bottleneck, will suffer further if the bendy buses come to town... Rob Chau, secretary of Harringay Traders' Association, said: "Fair enough if Green Lanes was a four-route superhighway, bring it on - but we are in the midst of a narrow Victorian landscape here."... "Green Lanes is a very busy area and gets very congested. I think bendy buses will make it extremely difficult"...

GreenNews - Canada - No more idling for NB school buses

New Brunswick,Canada -CBC News Brunswick -Oct 19 2005: -- New Brunswick is taking the lead in trying to reduce pollution from school buses with a new policy calling on drivers to shut off their engines when picking up and dropping off students... The policy is a first for Canada, but drivers in many New Brunswick districts have been following the practice for years... Several New Brunswick school districts have enforced no-idling rules after teachers and parents worried about the pollution the waiting buses caused... The province has now extended that policy to all districts. It's also encouraging parents who pick their children up themselves, to do the same thing...

Sales - China - To export 630 buses to Cuba

ZHENGZHOU,China -Xinhuanet -Oct. 18, 2005: -- A bus manufacturer in central China's Henan Province will export 630 buses to Cuba, the largest deal in the country's bus industry of the year... The deal, involving 430 end products and assembly parts for another 200 buses, is worth nearly 50 million US dollars and will be delivered to the end user, Astro Bus, by January 2006, said the spokesman with Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co. Ltd.... The spokesman said the company was awarded the new contract because Astro Bus had been satisfied with Yutong buses delivered under an earlier agreement signed in April, which involved 400 buses... Both deals were reached with the help of the Beijing Branch of China National Aero-technology Import and Export Corporation...

Future? - USA - Speedy buses in the works?

SbX project set to be discussed

San Bernardino,CA,USA -San Bernardino Sun, by Andrew Silva -17 Oct 2005: -- A futuristic bus system that has more in common with light rail than regular city buses could be running on E Street and between Cal State San Bernardino and Loma Linda University Medical Center by the end of the decade... Buses would get priority at intersections and run in special lanes along stretches to increase speeds and draw people out of their cars... "We want to give people a time advantage compared to the automobile," said Rohan Kuruppu, director of planning for Omnitrans, San Bernardino Valley's bus agency... San Bernardino also has about 300,000 visitors a year, and sbX would give them an option, other than cars, to get around to main activity centers, including the universities and downtown, he said... The project is expected to cost about $120 million, with most or all of the money coming from the Federal Transit Administration...

Access - Canada - New economical buses in Chateauguay

Chateauguay,QC,Canada -Soleil Chateauguay, by Dan Rosenburg -15 Oct 2005: -- The Chateauguay Transport commission has approved the Investissements Auger bus company's initiative of launching two new LFS Suburban buses that ideally will facilitate user access and encourage ridership in the City... "These buses will provide unobstructed access thanks to their lowered floors and extra-wide doors," said CITSO chairman Serge Pavone who doubles as Chateaugay Mayor. "In addition to providing additional ease of use, these buses also enable the elderly and persons with limited mobility to have unrestricted access."...

Pollution - USA - Portland considers limit on idling by city vehicles

Portland,OR,USA -Portland Press Herald, by KELLEY BOUCHARD -Oct 15, 2005: -- Portland officials are developing an anti-idling policy for city vehicles to reduce fuel consumption, pollution and greenhouse gases... Mayor Jill Duson's proposal follows the city's decision in June to accept Gov. John Baldacci's challenge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent over the next five years. If the policy is effective, Duson wants to establish similar limits for tour buses and other vehicles when they operate in Portland...

Production - Iran - IKD and DaimlerChrysler to manufacture new MB buses

TEHRAN,Iran -MNA -Oct. 15. 2005: -- The Mercedes Benz is reviewing manufacturing of MB buses in Iran from marketing point of view. The buses seem to be very expensive for the Iranian market but their use in a certain transportation sector may be justifiable, the sales manager of Iran Khodro Diesel: Saeed Leylaz said on Saturday... What is produced in Iran as MB bus has a Benz diesel engine, and the chassis and other parts are manufactured domestically which in principle is not an MB bus. However, these units do not enjoy good quality and most of them get worn out in urban bus transit sector quickly due to the sectional production of them in different industrial shops...

Systems - Brazil - Tour Rio by bus

Cape Town,South Africa -Independent Online, by Samantha Morrison -Oct 15 2005: -- Rio's buses have their own lanes on certain routes which helps them move forward in the ever-thronging streets... Boarding a bus in Rio is a hit-and-miss affair... The driver opens the doors before coming to a stop and closing them is not a priority... If the bus does come to a full stop you need to act quickly and step up and in so that your husband can travel on the same bus as you. You are expected to board at the front and exit at the rear to avoid confusion and aid efficiency... A climb up a few short stairs, once on board, brings you face to face with a turnstile. The conductor encourages you to move through said turnstile and seat yourself and only then count your reals (Brazilian currency)... The bus system in Rio is extensive and weblike, due to the city's sheer size, but the tourist with only a couple of days can make good use of it and have plenty of fun, to boot...

?? - UK - The bus stop’s here… but where are the buses?

Hampstead,UK -Ham&High-14 Oct 2005: -- CAMPAIGNERS are urging transport bosses to remove a derelict bus stop where unsuspecting visitors are often left waiting in vain... The Crouch End Hill shelter, has been out of action for two years but Transport for London said it is unable to remove it for another month... Sue Hessel, chairwoman of the Haslemere Road residents' association, has written to Haringey Council and TfL, asking for the mystifying eyesore to be removed...

Alternative - USA - METRO To Switch To Alternative Fuel Buses

PORTLAND, Maine,USA -News 8 WMTW -Oct 14, 2005: -- Early next year, Portland’s METRO bus system will take delivery of a fleet of new buses that run on compressed natural gas... The cleaner-burning buses will replace older, less efficient models currently in service... The METRO’s 13 new CNG buses are expected to arrive in January...

Off road - USA - Hybrid big new buses pulled off road

Honolulu,HI,USA -Honolulu Advertiser, by Robbie Dingeman -Oct 14, 2005: -- O'ahu Transit Services pulled 10 hybrid electric-diesel buses out of service this week following an engine fire in one of the buses on Tuesday, the third fire in the past year on the fuel-efficient buses... Brennan said transit officials hope the fix will be simple and that the buses will be back on the road soon... Hannemann said the new buses also were disappointing because they do not climb hills efficiently, so couldn't handle routes such as the trans-Ko'olau trek to Windward O'ahu...

Complaints - UK - Misery on the buses

Hampstead,UK -Ham&High, by Rob Bleaney -14 Oct 2005: -- TWO of the most complained about bus routes in London both run through Camden, a report revealed this week... Route 143, which travels from Archway to Brent Cross via Highgate Village, has had more complaints per passenger than any other bus over the last five years... Coming in close second in the list of shame is the notorious C11, which runs from Archway to Brent Cross via Swiss Cottage and West Hampstead... A C11 bus crashed into Parliament Hill School two years ago and the route is also plagued by late arrivals, bunching and poor driving... The report by London Assembly's Transport Committee found 80 per cent of all complaints about London buses relate to the behaviour of the driver... Among the committee's recommendations were: 1) Improved communication between drivers and passengers. 2) Penalties and rewards to be built into bus operators' contracts. 3) New drivers to have more direct contact with passengers during training...

Purchases - USA - Contract bolsters future of Orion Bus

Whitestown plant gets $249M, 500-bus contract

WHITESTOWN,IND,USA -Utica Observer Dispatch, by Elizabeth Cooper -Oct 19, 2005: -- Dave Mogenson and Thomasina Heyward have been laid off from Orion Bus Industries at different points when the company had hard times, but they're feeling secure about their jobs now... When Gov. George Pataki visited the manufacturing plant Tuesday to celebrate a new $249 million, 500-bus contract with New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, they were among the workers who came out to hear the governor and other officials speak... Many of the buses made at Orion are hybrid diesel and electric, such as the ones going to New York City. The rest run on gas or diesel, said Chief Commercial Officer of DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses of North America Patrick Scully...

Anormal - UK - Drunk causes havoc in stolen double-decker

Kent,UK -KentOnLine - Oct 13, 2005: -- Lee Benbow, who had been drinking cider and smoking cannabis, took the Stagecoach bus from the garage in St Stephen’s Road and drove it down North Lane towards the Westgate Towers last Sunday night... A witness saw him drive over the mini-roundabout and into the Westgate Grove cul-de-sac. He then reversed the bus out, backed over the roundabout and crashed into the railings... Homeless Benbow admitted aggravated vehicle taking, drink-driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance when he appeared before Canterbury magistrates on Tuesday... The court was told Benbow has previous convictions for criminal damage, drunk and disorderly and failing to turn up to court... The magistrates refused him bail and sent him to the crown court for sentencing...

Dramatic - Morocco - Military holds immigrants in several Western Sahara barracks

Africans' buses make for Mauritania as ministers convene migration summit

Dakhla, Morocco -El Pais (Madrid,Spain) /iht.com/AFP -11 Oct 2005: -- The 1,000 African immigrants in Moroccan custody who have been transported deep into Western Sahara over the past two days are now being held in several military barracks in the region, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)... Many of the barracks are close to the Mauritanian border, where authorities told Agence France Press yesterday that they would only allow illegal immigrants to enter in transit for Senegal or Mali. Other African migrants were being held in Tangier and in Oujda, which is close to the Algerian border... Friday, who said the Moroccan military refused to give the 70 passengers food and handed out only a little water, had been reading road signs to journalists so that they could pinpoint his location. His last call came from near Dakhla, about 1,700 kilometers south of Tangier. "They are taking us to Mauritania, they are going to abandon us again," he said. "I pray to God that someone helps us. We just passed a huge water deposit. Tell them to stop, we can't take this anymore... there's an unconscious child here... Do something."

Purchases - UK - National Express to buy Spanish bus group Alsa for 460 mln stg

LONDON,UK - Forbes(USA)/AFX News Limited -11 Oct 2005: -- British train and bus operator National Express Group PLC has agreed to buy Spain's largest coach operator for 460 mln stg including debt.... National Express, said that with an extensive national and regional network, ALSA will give it immediate scale in Europe's third largest coach market where it sees 'significant' growth opportunities... ALSA is also Spain's second largest urban bus operator, centred around Oviedo and Leon in the north of the country... The deal, which is subject to clearance from Spain's antitrust regulator the Servicio de Defensa de la Competencia, is expected to complete in about six weeks...

Lunches Fuel too? -USA - Biodiesel buses are a good option

Loveland,CO,USA -Loveland Herald Reporter - Oct 10, 2005: -- It’s easy to joke that school lunches could find a second use as fuel in buses, but that is becoming reality in some school districts nationwide... And as the Thompson School District considers spending almost $400,000 on buses for next year, it’s worth noting the money put into fueling those and other district buses will also take a big chunk of the school budget in coming years... An option that more districts should consider is biodiesel fuel, which mixed with petroleum-based fuel can reduce overall fuel costs, while lessening diesel’s effects... Biodiesel fuel, which uses vegetable-based oils to provide power, can be made from products that schools already have, including oils from the fryers in kitchen cafeterias... Researchers at the University of Idaho are trying to influence school districts across the United States to think differently about how they fuel their fleets... They note that not only do school buses that use biodiesel consume less fossil fuel, they also can have fewer negative effects on the atmosphere... The day may come when school bus manufacturers offer a hybrid option to school districts. But until then, districts should consider all options to reduce fuel use. Biodiesel is certainly viable right now...

Cafeterias' Fuel? - USA - Some North Carolina school buses using recycled vegetable oil for fuel

Gastonia, NC,USA -WIS(Columbia,SC), by Bryce Mursch/AP -Oct 11, 2005: -- Gaston County, North Carolina, school buses don't need a gas station to fill up. The cafeteria or the nearest restaurant will do, and it's only 60 cents a gallon... The system says it's the first in the state to use recycled vegetable oil and produce its own bio-diesel fuel. School officials are collecting the oil from school cafeterias and restaurants and they're looking for more donors... Superintendent Ed Sadler says school officials will produce about 12,000 gallons of bio-diesel fuel this year and up to 60,000 gallons in the future, which amounts to a savings of about $150,000 a year... The coordinator for Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition says bio-diesel fuel is biodegradable and produces less sulfates...

Pollution II - USA - School Buses May Foul Air for Many Years

New York,NY,USA -New York Times, by ANTHONY DePALMA .Oct 11, 2005: -- New York City's fleet of 6,200 yellow school buses is the largest in the country by far. And despite recent efforts to clean up the most polluting buses in the fleet, it may still be one of the dirtiest... by the fact that the buses are owned not by the city, but by outside companies, they've thousands of buses more than a decade old, and some more than two decades old - powered by diesel engines so old that the most effective new exhaust filters simply do not work properly... The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has reduced the age of its fleet substantially over the last five years and cut emissions by 85 percent. The privately owned school bus fleet is not being replaced anywhere near as quickly. Instead, the owners are upgrading them by installing pollution-trapping catalysts and filters... Combined with a new type of diesel fuel that contains very little sulfur, the most effective filters can reduce harmful pollutants by 95 percent... But experts say, and city officials concede, that the most advanced filters do not work on pre-1996 buses because their engines cannot be controlled electronically...

Pollution - Bangladesh - Take steps against polluting buses

Shantinagar, Dhaka,Bangladesh -Financial Express, by Saquib Mustafa -10 Oct 2005: -- The air quality in Dhaka city improved by as much as 25 per cent since the eviction of polluting vehicles from the city... People are grateful for the measure that led to the withdrawal from the roads of the worst air polluters: autorickshaws with two stroke engines running on a cocktail of petrol and mobil. This was no small gain. But clearly the gain needs to be only further increased... The polluting buses should now be targeted and taken off the roads. It appears that many buses-unfit for road under the new regulations-are still plying after their operators could somehow get certificates afresh from the road transport authority that they are fit for plying. But these vehicles can be caught and discouraged from operating through tougher law enforcement... Then such sincere actions on their part would persuade the owners of defective vehicles to take care to keep the engines and exhaust systems in good conditions to limit the emission of polluting fumes... This, in turn, would have a salutary effect in further reducing air pollution...

'Green' buses -USA - Ready to roll

ROSEMOUNT,Saint Paul,MN,USA -KTSP/AP -10 Oct 2005: -- The first school bus modified under a program called Project Green Fleet is ready to roll, and that's good news for students in Rosemount... A 2005 study by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy shows pollution can be up to five times higher insider school buses than for outdoor air... Project Green Fleet aims to cut harmful diesel emissions from 500 school buses in Minnesota. It was launched in June. The first bus was finished in Rosemount last Tuesday... The engines are retrofitted with pollution-reducing devices made by Minnesota-based Donaldson Company...

You too? - Australia - Bus tycoons to be tried for fraud

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), by Ben Hills -Oct 11, 2005: -- The King twins, Tony and Peter, will stand trial for their role in wrecking the largest bus company in rural NSW... The fallen tycoons - once bywords in the seaside town of Port Macquarie for their champagne parties, yachts, luxury apartments and diamond jewellery - stood in a courtroom yesterday as they were committed to the District Court on fraud charges... the magistrate, Elizabeth Corbett, committed the two men on a charge of having defrauded the National Australia Bank of $44 million... She said the evidence supported allegations that buses which they used as security against the loan did not exist... The 70-year-old company, which had 450 employees and claimed to have a fleet of more than 300 buses operating routes from Newcastle to the Queensland border, collapsed in April 2003 owing $220 million... The committal hearing was told that only one of the 144 Mercedes buses they nominated in a $44 million sale-and-leaseback deal with the bank had been imported...

GreenNews - UK - Green future for the red bus?

Fuel cells go public in Trafalgar Square

London,UK -Imperial College London/Fuel Cell Works(USA) -9 Oct 2005: -- Trafalgar Square filled with the eco-friendly vehicles of the future on 3 October 2005 as researchers from Imperial took part in an event highlighting the potential of fuel cells... A London bus that runs on hydrogen fuel cells and has no greenhouse gas emissions was one of the exhibits on display to members of the public at the event, which was organised by Grove Fuel Cell and the London Hydrogen Partnership... Fuel cells have the potential to provide environmentally friendly power for vehicles, portable goods such as laptops, and homes or office blocks. They produce energy by combining fuel and an oxidant. Where the cells are fuelled by hydrogen, the only products are energy and water, so no greenhouse gases are emitted...

Discussions - USA - Bus rapid transit: it's a bold step into the future?

Preparing Lane County for the future?

Eugene,Oregon,USA -The Register-Guard, by Mike Eyster (*) -Oct 9, 2005: -- A farsighted project launched by the Lane Transit District is destined to become the centerpiece of Lane County's transportation system of the future. LTD's bus rapid transit system, has become the target of some dissent... Environmental and economic benefits will also increase steadily as our region's population grows... Here are a few key points to bear in mind when considering the long-term payoff: .... • As driving becomes less convenient because of congestion, EmX will become an increasingly viable alternative... will offer many of the efficiencies of light rail - including boarding at all doors, pre-paid fares, at-grade boarding and traffic signal priority - at a fraction of the cost... gives us the opportunity to test the concept gradually and reap the operational gains that the system brings... can be shaped to respond to the region's needs... is just one of many components in a long-term, balanced regional transportation plan... By launching EmX, LTD is preparing Lane County for the future. Our commutes will be easier and shorter, fewer cars will be on the road, and our air will be cleaner. (*) Represents West Springfield on the Lane Transit District board of directors.

Awards - UK - Best of British buses right here in the city

Peterborough,England,UK -Peterborough Evening Telegraph -8 Oct 2005: -- The judges have highlighted the company's clear vision and strategy as the reasons why Peterborough Stagecoach has been named Bus Operator of the Year... City bus operator Stagecoach was singled out for the launch of its highly successful "Citi" network at the national RouteOne Excellence Awards in Birmingham... This year, Stagecoach has set up CCTV cameras on its vehicles and introduced more buses on its routes...

Hybrids - Germany - NYC orders 500 more buses

BERLIN,Germany - USA Today/AP -11 Oct 2005: - DaimlerChrysler said Tuesday it has received an order for 500 diesel-electric hybrid buses from New York City's transport services, with deliveries to begin next year... The German-U.S. automaker's Commercial Buses North America division is to deliver 216 Orion VII buses to New York City Transit and 284 to the Metropolitan Transport Authority... DaimlerChrysler said the diesel-electric buses will be delivered starting in the second quarter of 2006. The latest order is the third from New York for hybrid buses, with a total of 325 vehicles previously ordered, it added...

Routes - India - BEST buses to `map’ city spots

For geographically challenged, maps to be put up in buses

Bombay,India -Afternoon Dispatch & Courier -Oct 07, 2005: -- In a bid to make the BEST buses more commuter-friendly, each bus will have a road map of Mumbai city in the bus... The move was initiated by India Tourism Development Corporation for the purpose of making available tourist information and facilitation to public at large... The move of sticking the road map inside buses is included in the theme of ‘Travel and Transport’, announced by the World Tourism Organisation on World Tourism Day, celebrated recently...

Controls - USA - 13 caught driving past stopped school buses in Albany

ALBANY, N.Y.,USA -WCAX/Burlington,VT/Associated Press -Oct 8, 2005: -- Police say 13 people were caught driving past stopped school buses yesterday in Albany... As part of "Operation Safe Stop," police follow buses on their routes... During last year's operation, 15-hundred tickets were given statewide for passing school buses, along with tickets for other traffic violations... The state Department of Motor Vehicles estimates thousands of people fail to stop for school buses' red flashing lights every day in New York. In the last five years, 35 children were hit by cars when getting on or off the school bus. Five died...

TechnoNews - USA - Pilot program puts WIFI on buses

Free Cingular service implemented on U-District routes 197, 48

Seattle,WA,USA -Daily - University of Washington, by Kate Rothgeb -Oct 07, 2005: -- By Halloween, King County Metro bus riders will be able to use free WiFi service on 29 buses as part of a five-month pilot project that will last until Feb. 10... The WiFi is being provided through the Cingular wireless network, and costs metro about $700 per month per bus, said... Since WiFi was implemented on Riverside buses, the city has experienced a 10 percent increase in ridership...

Ridership -USA - Up on Madison County buses

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.,USA -KWQC-TV(Davenport,IA)/Associated Press -Oct 08, 2005: -- The Madison County Transit District says more than 200-thousand people rode the county's buses last month -- the highest number ever to ride during a one-month period, they're a seven percent increase compared to September of last year... More riders also brought bicycles on board last month. The transit authority says 43 percent more people carried the bikes aboard the buses last month than in September 2004...

Inquiry - UK - First Bus faces traffic watchdog over condition of fleet

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -Scotsman, by ALAN RODEN -6 Oct 2005: -- FIRST Bus is facing allegations that it has failed to properly maintain its fleet of buses operating in the Lothians... The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland has ordered the bus firm to attend a public inquiry in Edinburgh next week... It will be the fourth time in the past five years the company has had to defend itself in front of the body, and comes before a verdict has been reached on similar previous allegations... A spokeswoman for First Bus said: "We can confirm that First Edinburgh Limited will be attending a public inquiry on October 12, 2005 in relation to the maintenance of vehicles. This relates to a period of time between December last year to August."...

Lanes - Ireland - Shared bus lanes proposal

Dublin,Ireland -Ireland Online -6 Oct 2005: -- A Government pilot scheme to allow car pool vehicles to share Dublin’s bus lanes would cause mayhem, it was claimed today... The proposal was put forward by the Automobile Association during a meeting between key transport agencies and Junior Transport Minister Ivor Callely yesterday... AA spokesman Conor Faughnan explained that the car must be occupied by at least three people and would have a designated Dublin City Council badge on the windscreen... But Greens transport spokesman Eamon Ryan said today allowing private cars access to bus lanes could create “administrative and transport mayhem” across the city... The Dublin TD warned Mr Callely that no amount of tinkering with the traffic management system was going to solve the capital’s gridlock problem...

Alternatives - USA - Battery-Operated Buses

Gainesville,FL,USA -WCJB TV 20 News, by Michelle Brown -5 Oct 2005: -- Battery-operated buses may seem like a good way to cut back on gas costs. But employees at Gainesville's Regional Transit System say they may not be the best option for saving money. In 2002, the city got a federal grant to buy two hybrid electric buses. Even though they only burn about 15 gallons of diesel fuel a day compared to a normal bus burning 80, employees say the buses are expensive to maintain... City Spokesperson, Bob Woods says, "We're looking at all available hybrid technology and hopefully we'll hit up on one that fulfills all of our needs."...

Deliveries - Bulgaria - Drug traffickers using interurban buses arrested

SOFIA,Bulgaria -bg news net -6 Oct 2005: -- Bulgaria’s anti-organized crime police arrested 4 men, engaged in a drug traffic network in southwestern Bulgaria, the Interior Ministry press center announced... Police detained two brothers, age 25 and 26, while delivering a suitcase full of marijuana to the driver of a bus travelling on the route Sofia-Sandanski... The preliminary instructions of the driver were to stop at a specified bus stop and deliver the package to the fourth member of the group... The National Service Combating Organized Crime warned that criminals often used interurban buses as transport means for drug traffic, because of the anonimity of baggage. Drivers agree for a small sum to engage in the transportation without checking the content of the package...

Controls - USA - Patrols will follow school buses today

Ulster County,Middletown,NY,USA -Times Herald-Record, by Deborah Medenbach -Oct 6, 2005: -- Ulster County sheriff's patrols will follow school buses today as part of the state's Operation Safe Stop Education Enforcement Day. The program is a lead-in to next week's National School Bus Safety Week... Sheriff Richard Bockelmann said drivers should know it is a violation of the state's vehicle and traffic law to pass in either direction when encountering a stopped school bus with flashing red lights. Drivers will be ticketed. All violations will be reported to a central command post for a state-wide tally.

Efficient - USA - Buses must be on time

Making connections key to Orange Line's success

Los Angeles,CA,USA -Los Angeles Daily News, by Lisa Mascaro -6 Oct 2005: -- When President urged Americans to consider mass transit as a means of conserving gasoline, he probably didn't count on having to wait for a bus that never came. Or one that runs late. Or one that doesn't run often enough... One of the keys to the success of the $330 million Metro Orange Line, which is preparing to start operations Oct. 29, will be ensuring that there's efficient, reliable connections with the rest of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority system... "Connections are seriously important," said commuter Gail McConnell, a legal assistant from Sherman Oaks, riding the Ventura Boulevard Metro Rapid bus last week on the first leg of her trip downtown... MTA officials remind that their buses boast high on-time performance ratings, but have to fight traffic just like the rest of Los Angeles vehicles, and that can lead to delays...

Safety - USA - Tickets for passing school buses

Driving past a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing is a crime.

Potential penalties • First-time offender: $250-$400 and potentially 30 days in jail• Second-time offender: $600-$750 and maximum of 180 days in jail• Third-time offender: $750-$1,000 and 180 days in jail

Westchester,NY,USA -The Journal News, by STEVE LIEBERMAN -Oct 5, 2005: -- Tomorrow, police across the county will be watching. They are prepared to write tickets for drivers who try to pass school buses that are picking up or dropping off children... The one-day program is part of the statewide "Operation Safe Stop" — a precursor to "National School Bus Safety Week," which is Oct. 16 to 22. Operation Safe Stop is geared toward promoting school bus safety through education and enforcement... An estimated 50,000 motorists illegally pass school buses each day in New York state, according to the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee... During the past five years, 35 students were hit by cars and two were killed, the committee said...

Tests - S.Africa - Children at peril on buses, AA tests reveal

Cape Town,South Africa -Cape Argus (subscription), by Jo Steele &Terri-Liza Fortein- Oct 5, 2005: -- More than a month after a school outing ended in a city bus crash tragedy, Automobile Association road-worthiness tests indicate most school buses used for trips are deathtraps... The Western Cape Education Department is investigating alleged widespread corruption, which is being blamed for allowing unsafe buses on the roads... Defective brakes, tyres, steering and suspension were just some of the problems identified in 11 of 14 buses submitted for free AA testing last month. One bus did not even have a shatterproof glass windscreen... said the Education Department was investigating allegations of widespread corruption within the system, although he would not go into detail...

Changes - India - Bus, no more blaring horns, screeching tyres

UPSRTC’s new city bus service promises to be different; mobile squads to ensure drivers/ conductors follow rules

Lucknow,India -Lucknow Newsline, by Asit Srivastava -Oct 4 2005: -- With the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation launching a fleet of 101 buses for its new city service today, scenes of commuters packed like sardines inside buses may soon be history... The new bus service promises to be a welcome change from the usual experience of harrowing bus rides in the city. Needless to add, the buses are more comfortable than the ones that operate in the city at present...

Jobs - UK - Boost for Ballymena bus firm

North Ireland,UK -BBC News -4 October 2005: -- About 170 new jobs are to be created by a County Antrim bus manufacturer over the next three years... The £15m investment by Wrightbus will take the Ballymena-based company's workforce to more than 1,000 people... The firm has enjoyed sustained success over the last 15 years, turning into one of the UK's major bus suppliers and exporting around the world...

Purchases - USA - District will spend $400,000

Thompson to buy buses
Loveland,CO,USA -The Loveland Herald Reporter, by Felicia Jordan -4 Oct 2005: -- The Thompson School District plans to purchase nearly $400,000 worth of new school buses... Board of Education members will discuss the proposed purchase at their 7 p.m. meeting Wednesday in the administration building, 800 S. Taft Ave... If board members approve the purchases at their Oct. 19 meeting, the district would buy: • Two 2006 Blue Bird All-American 77-passenger buses, $190,480 • Two 2006 Blue Bird Micro-Bird 29-passenger buses, $109,120. • One 2006 Blue Bird All-American 51-passenger bus — $98,920... The district replaces buses and other vehicles on a 10-year cycle. The five new buses will cost $398,520...

GreenNews - USA - Azure Dynamics sells four hybrid shuttle buses to New York agency

TORONTO,Canada -Canadian Press -Oct 4, 2005: -- Azure Dynamics Corp., which develops hybrid electric and electric powertrains, has sold four 20-passenger hybrid electric shuttle buses to a Puerto Rican community agency in New York... Financial details were not revealed Tuesday for the sale to the United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park, made possible with a grant from the New York Power Authority...

Tip-offs - UK - Two crimes every day spotted on city buses

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -Scotsman, by ALAN MCEWEN -4 Oct 2005: -- More than two crimes a day have been reported taking place on buses in Edinburgh following a police crackdown... Police received dozens of crucial tip-offs from passengers who were encouraged to call the Crimestoppers hotline during a recent publicity blitz... New figures today revealed that a rising number confidential calls were made during the month-long campaign... Crimes such as assault, vandalism and theft were reported to the phoneline providing vital intelligence and sparking new lines of inquiry... Bus crime is rising 50 per cent year on year, with 396 incidents reported between August 2004 and January this year, compared with 265 for the same period a year earlier...

GreenNews - USA - Vail buying hybrid buses

Vail,CO,USA -Vail Daily News, by Edward Stoner -Oct 2, 2005: -- The town of Vail is adding a hybrid bus to its fleet next year and plans to add nine more in the next few years... the town expects 30 percent of its fleet to be converted to the diesel-electric hybrid technology. The buses are quieter and have better fuel efficiency. They also reduce emissions by 90 percent... The hybrid technology adds up to $200,000 to the cost of the bus. That puts the price tag around $500,000. They also need a battery replacement after seven years, at the middle of the bus's life. That costs around $40,000... But the fuel savings figure to make up for those premiums. The town says it will eventually save 19,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year...

Secutiry - Australia - $25m spend on bus security, safety

Queensland,NSW,Australia -Brisbane Courier Mail -3 Oct 05: -- The New South Wales Government will spend $25 million upgrading security on Sydney's buses for passengers, drivers and the vehicles... Transport Minister John Watkins said today the multi-million-dollar plan included new digital closed circuit television (CCTV) systems, new two-way radios, extra security at bus depots and targeted patrols of buses and routes... added the high-tech security was being increased to help deal with rising passenger numbers on Sydney and Newcastle buses...

Fuel Alternatives - USA - Counties Switch to Biodiesel School Buses Staff and agencies

CHARLESTON, W.Va.,USA -Leading The Charge/Milton,Queensland,Australia/by BRIAN FARKAS -01 Oct, 2005: -- Biodiesel use has been growing since 1992 when Congress passed the Energy Policy Act in a move to reduce the nation‘s dependency on foreign oil. It has since been approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as an alternative fuel... School systems have contributed to the growth. About 100 systems nationwide have made the switch, "and that number is growing all the time," said... "The good part of that is we‘ve displaced 600,000 gallons of petroleum fuel," said... And, perhaps, more importantly, recent petroleum price increases — coupled with state and federal incentives — now makes biodiesel an economical choice... The EPA is requiring refiners to produce lower sulfur diesel fuel beginning next year, and diesel engine manufacturers to build cleaner burning engines by 2010. The agency estimates the new rule will cut emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides, soot, carbon monoxide, acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants, preventing 8,300 premature deaths, more than 9,500 hospitalizations and 1.5 million lost work days...

..."the bus would probably drive right over you".

The buses won't stop

Durban,South Africa -Sunday Tribune (subscription), letter from: Wanda Bromehead -Oct 2, 2005: -- The Mynah buses are not stopping at bus stops, even when they are half full... Last month, I was waiting at the bus stop when two buses (half full) went straight past, a third one arrived and I thought it was going to stop so ran for it, tripped on the wonderfully uneven pavement and fell into the street, shredding my trousers and emptying the contents of my bag into the street... I asked what she thought of Durban and her reply was, "The buses don't stop for you, are you supposed to throw yourself in front of the bus?" to which I replied, "You could try that, but the bus would probably drive right over you"...

Double-decker - USA - Buses ride into Baltimore

Baltimore,Mar.,USA -Orlando Sentinel/Orlando,FL -2 Oct 2005: -- There's a new, decidedly British way to catch the sights of Baltimore -- double-decker buses... Baltimore is the second city in the United States, after Philadelphia, to offer the services of London's Big Bus Co. and its open-top, double-deckers... The buses will offer 90-minute guided tours. Riders will be able to hop on and off at tourist attractions all over the city, including the National Aquarium, Harborplace, Maryland Zoo, Edgar Allan Poe's grave and the Baltimore Museum of Art...

Style - India - Euro-style buses set to ply on Indore roads

India -Business Standard -Oct 03, 2005: -- Low floor air-conditioned buses with exquisite interiors, spacious aisles and sleek bodies ferrying people- well, this is not some foreign locale that is being talked about. Indore is gearing up to compete with European cities by introducing a fleet of luxury buses to transport people from their homes to workplace... A joint management company, which will ply these luxury buses as key means of the city’s public transport system, has just been formed. The company, under the name, Indore City Transport Services Ltd, has just been registered with the registrar of companies... There are plans to introduce these public transport buses by December. But considering the fact that the buses will be designed to measure up to international standards, it will not be before March 2006 that the initial fleet of 20-odd buses will be pressed into service...

Tyres - France - Michelin, India's Apollo Tyres unwind domestic truck, bus tyre joint venture

PARIS, France -Forbes/AFX News Limited/USA -2 Oct 2005: -- Cie Generale des Etablissements Michelin said it will acquire the 49 pct stake in the Michelin Apollo Tyre Ltd joint venture held by India's Apollo Tyres Ltd, and postpone their industrial project aimed at providing radial truck and bus tyres to the Indian market by at least one year...

Free - USA - Big Island bus rides free for 3 months

Honolulu,HI,USA -Honolulu Advertiser, by Mike Leidemann -Oct 2, 2005: -- Each day, dozens of Hilo-area residents get up before 4 a.m. and spend two hours on a county bus getting to their jobs across the island in Waikoloa. After work, it's another two-hour ride home. But now there is at least one good thing about the long, draining ride on the Big Island: It's free... In fact, all of the county's 350,000 yearly riders on 12 Hele-On bus routes will be able to travel for free for the next three months... the free bus service will give residents in remote rural areas better access to work, doctor, school and recreation areas, and allow officials to help develop more affordable housing in rural areas served by new bus routes. With more people taking advantage of the free bus service, traffic congestion in some parts of the island also could be eased, officials said... But residents in other areas, including the long run from Hilo to Waikoloa, can easily spend more than $100 a month on the bus...

Bikes - USA - Racks being installed on city buses

Des Moines,IA,USA -DesMoinesRegister.com, by JARED STRONG -Sept 30, 2005: -- The folks at the Des Moines metro bus line want to make it easier for people to ride their bikes to work... So beginning Monday, buses on the regular, express and commuter routes will be equipped with bike racks... Brian Litchfield, the bus authority's director of program development, said about 16,000 passengers ride the buses daily. Ridership is up 2,000 in the last month due to higher gas prices... Bike racks on buses have been tried with success in other cities, including Portland, Ore., Litchfield said... The nearly $50,000 program will equip 80 buses with racks for two bikes each....

Woman only buses - Pakistan - Prove a failure for want of awareness!

Lahore,Pakistan -Webindia123/India -Sept 30, 2005: -- The women-only buses introduced on different routes in Lahore have failed to get the desired response, due to the lack of awareness among the not-so-literate women folk in Pakistan, and only a few female passengers have so far travelled in these vehicles... These buses have male drivers and female conductors, and as a clear distinction, have pink strips on their bodies... He further said that there was a need for educating women about travelling in the buses meant only for them...

Jobs - USA - Schools have buses, need more drivers

DONALDSONVILLE,Gonzales,LA,USA -The Ascension Citizen, by AARON E. LOONEY -29 Sept 2005: -- The Ascension Parish public school system recently secured 20 additional school buses to assist in transporting the more than 1,000 new students in Parish Public Schools this year, Assistant Superintendent Donald Songy told the School Board Thursday... "We've been searching and looking all over the place and we can't find bus drivers",... proposed that the board take existing employees, such as custodial staff, adjust their work schedule and train them to drive the buses...

Purchases - USA - Borough To Receive More Local And Express Buses

Rego Park,NY,USA -Queens Chronicle by Sametta Thompson -Sept 29, 2005: -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will purchase 529 new local and express buses for Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki... The 400,000 riders who depend on the MTA Bus Company’s service has scored a big victory, Bloomberg said in a statement... The city has a "letter of intent" with the owners of the remaining four private companies and expects to transition service by the end of November, said... The $250 million funding for the new buses comes from the MTA Finance Committee. The delivery of the new buses is scheduled to begin next spring...

Capacity - India - High Capacity buses to finally hit Delhi roads next week

New Delhi,India -NEW DELHI, Outlook (subscription) -SEP 30 2005: -- After much delay, Delhi commuters will finally get a taste of the High Capacity buses, which will be introduced in capital's public transport system next week... Six High Capacity buses, manufactured by Tata, will begin running as a feeder service to Metro rail... The buses will connect R K Puram in South Delhi with Central Secretariat and then Patel Chowk, the last two being important Metro stations... Yusuf said two other corridors have been identified for the High Capacity buses...

GreenNews - USA - Yellow buses go green

Fort Wayne,IN,USA -Fort Wayne Journal Gazette -Oct. 01, 2005: -- FWCS board members made the right decision in approving an application for a state grant that would defray the costs of using biodiesel in its 300 school buses... The grant, from the office of Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, would pay the Fort Wayne Community School system 50 percent of the cost difference between regular diesel and biodiesel fuel up to $50,000. The cost of biodiesel has varied from 4 cents less to 15 cents more than regular diesel over the past two years... FWCS school buses used 671,000 gallons of diesel fuel and traveled 3.6 million miles last year. Converting those buses to biodiesel will be a big step toward decreasing air pollution in Fort Wayne. Seeking the grant makes switching to biodiesel financially attractive as well...

Buses World News

31.10.05