Buses World News: November 2005

Study - Canada - Fumes inside school buses hurt kids

Ontario,CAN -CBC News -Nov 21 2005: -- A study of diesel emissions from Ontario school buses raises new concerns about risks to children's health... The Ontario Public Health Association says 10,000 buses across the province need major upgrades. About 800,000 students ride school buses each day in Ontario... The study found that, while the buses are in better shape today than they were 10 years ago, riders are still exposed to levels of exhaust fumes as high as 10 times those found outside, along highways or on city streets... The study's author, Kim Perrotta, says school buses seem to be self-polluting. Emissions from the engine compartment and tailpipe can get into the cabin... She says installing proper filters would cost close to $10,000 a bus, meaning school boards and bus companies face a $90-million to $100-million bill... Perrotta says the government should help pay the bill because the filters would reduce childhood asthma, and the risk that today's children may develop heart and lung disease in the future...

Troubles - Australia - Government misses bus on transport

Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -The Age (subscription) -Nov 21, 2005: -- The minister and the Premier are responding to the latest academic study as though it has all come as a huge surprise to them that Melbourne's transport infrastructure is stretched to capacity... Not only is the network inadequate, but even if it was addressed the Government does not have enough rolling stock or drivers to make it better... Without apparent shame or embarrassment, minister Batchelor explained to an increasingly cynical public that because trains come from different parts of Melbourne to the city, the various lines have different requirements in terms of the number of stops they have to make... A good example of the spin in action is the use of overall performance data to make the system seem more efficient, to tell people that they are not really angry at all. Ninety three per cent of trains running on time sounds reasonable enough. But if the 7 per cent that don't show up are on your line, all the time, and trains are squashy, hot, dirty and slow, it is not so good...

Fashion/Bus - USA - Turin 2006 A bus ride to the top for U.S. hopeful

San Francisco,CAL,USA - San Francisco Chronicle, by John Crumpacker -Nov 20, 2005: -- To get from one European ski location to another, Daron Rahlves travels in a tour bus designed by the late Frank Zappa, who was clearly a man of many talents... Rahlves has his Zappa/bus, a 40-foot rolling hotel room for the upwardly (as in altitude) mobile. It was once used by Madonna; if Rahlves shows up for races wearing a spangled bustier, you'll know why... Once at the bottom of the hill, Rahlves won't have far to go to seek the comforts of the Zappa/bus and his traveling companion, wife Michelle. His driver has a knack for scoring sweet parking places near the finish. Surely Zappa would have given this guy honorary membership in the Mothers of Invention...

Production - India - Swaraj Mazda to make luxury buses

Chennai,India -Chennai Online -Nov 19, 2005: -- In an effort to cater to the growing demand for luxury buses, Swaraj Mazda is planning to launch an in-house manufacturing facility for 9,000 buses per annum... The company, which made Rs 37 crore profit last year, has also chalked out plans to increase production capacity (of various vehicles) from the present 12,000 units per year to 36,000 units... Apart from the newly launched 32 seater luxury buses, Swaraj Mazda plans to introduce 12-seater, 24-seater and 41-seater buses on Indian roads. "Twelve-seater maxi-taxi cabs will be introduced in the next three months and 24-seater luxury buses by 2007-08," he said, adding that the company had tied up with two leading R & D firms in Malaysia to build these buses...

Safety - UK - Modern buses 'five times safer'

Says the Mayor as disabled Londoners back new buses
Suffolk,UK -Black UK Online -18 Nov 2005: -- Figures show that there are substantially more passenger accidents on the older open-backed Routemaster buses than modern vehicles: - 1 - You are five times more likely to be injured on a Routemaster than a modern bus; - 2 - The number of passenger accidents getting off a Routemaster is 25 per 100 buses; for a modern vehicle it is five per 100 buses; - 3 - There have been two deaths in the last two years involving people getting on or off Routemasters; - 4 - A modern double-decker bus has one space for a wheelchair, the Routemaster has none; - 5 - The average age of a Routemaster is 35 years whereas the modern double decker is on average two years... Londoners who have traditionally been excluded from using the bus service have today strongly backed moves to make the bus service safer and more accessible...

Tanks or Buses - UK - A domino effect on badly-driven buses

UK -hamhighbroadway, by PETER DRAPER -18 Nov 2005: -- Some drivers, a small but real minority, drive their buses like tanks!... It doesn't matter if a rather frail person has just got on and not had chance to sit down, a few drivers let the clutch in as if they were in a race - and everyone standing lurches - sometimes someone falls. I'm amazed it doesn't happen much more often... When it comes to braking, a few drivers seem to try ever so hard to play 'passenger dominoes' with those standing. It must be great fun - for the drivers!... Is the underlying problem one of poor training, daft schedules or poor management? It can't be a problem of poor supervision - one never ever sees a supervisor these days...

Security - USA - Orange Line Buses May Get Strobe Light Signals

L.Angeles, Cal, USA -L.A. Times, by Caitlin Liu -Nov 18, 2005: -- To make the buses on the new Metro Orange Line busway easier for motorists to spot — and thus less vulnerable to accidents — transportation officials have asked for permission to deck them out with white strobe lights... On Thursday, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled a model bus equipped with small flashing lights on each of its corners and along its sides... Use of the strobe lights needs to be approved by the California Highway Patrol, Hunt said, because it's unclear whether the state vehicle code allows the use of strobe lights on transit buses, as it does on school buses...

Deal - India - Mahindra inks with US' Co. to make trucks & buses

Mumbai,India -Hindu Business Line -Nov. 17, 2005: -- MAHINDRA & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) and International Truck & Engine Corporation of the US formally signed on Thursday their earlier announced agreement for a joint venture to manufacture trucks and buses in India... The money will primarily go towards truck production, cab building and engine testing facilities, Mr Arun Pande, appointed managing director of Mahindra International, said at a press briefing... The total capacity planned was 70,000 units per annum, composed of 20,000 LCVs and 50,000 medium and heavy commercial vehicles. As with its joint venture for car manufacturing with Renault, here too, M&M will earn a contract-manufacturing fee from Mahindra International...

TechnoNews - UK - Simulator to help trainee drivers

UK -Virgin.net - Nov 20, 2005: -- Trainee bus drivers are to be introduced to Firsdon - a virtual reality suburb which will feature in a bus simulator programme... Firsdon is a specially-created London suburb complete with pedestrians, cyclists and traffic, and a bus depot... Firsdon is based at Willesden Junction bus depot in north-west London and will be launched on Tuesday by Transport for London (TfL) and bus company First...

Franchise - UK - FirstGroup favourite to win Thameslink rail contract

LONDON,UK -Forbes (USA)/AFX/The Business -20 Nov 2005: -- British bus and train operator FirstGroup PLC is favourite to win a commuter train franchise, securing its position as one of the country's biggest rail companies, The Business newspaper reported citing unnamed industry sources... They told the paper the company is likely to win the Thameslink/Great Northern railway franchise after submitting the lowest bid for subsidies to the Department for Transport, which awards the contracts... Other companies in the running include Stagecoach Group PLC and National Express Group PLC...

Chemical Irritant - USA - Released On Bus

Cincinnati,OH,USA -WXIX -Nov 17, 2005: -- A school bus carrying children had to make an unscheduled stop at Children's Hospital this afternoon... According to officals, a chemical irritant was released from a student's protection medallion. The chemical, identified as Butyl Mercaptain irritated students and adults on board the bus... The driver then called 911. .. A couple of students were transported by ambulance and the remaining 30-40 students were transported by bus to Children's Hospital for chemical exposure symptoms... According to Colerain Emergency officals, all are expected to fully recover...

Anger -UK - At bikers in bus lane

Belfast,N.I., UK - Belfast Telegraph, by Ben Lowry -17 Nov 2005: -- Motorcyclists and cyclists have clashed over a Government decision to allow motorbikes to go in bus lanes... An experimental scheme introduced in June last year will now be extended indefinitely, subject to a review in two years... This means that bus lanes in Northern Ireland will be open to buses, Belfast public hire taxis, taxis licensed to operate a bus type service and cyclists... The initiative aims to lower the collision risk for motorcyclists and improve use of road space, the Department of Regional Development (DRD) said...

Driver&Cop? - Canada - The school bus driver acts as traffic cop

The school bus law, revisited - The school bus driver acts as surrogate parent, child psychologist, nurse and umpire. Now add traffic cop to that list

Ontario,Canada -Globe and Mail, by RICHARD RUSSELL -Nov 17, 2005: -- A column in this space a few weeks ago described new legislation that allows Ontario school bus drivers to report drivers who pass a bus illegally, which can result in fines for the vehicle owner, regardless of who was driving... The reaction to the story was immediate, overwhelming and covered two main areas: 1) the exact circumstances under which a driver is violating the law and 2) the responsibility of the bus driver... Now consider the scant few seconds during which the bus driver is expected to identify the offending vehicle and observe and write down the plate number -- at the same time the driver is supposed to be monitoring the safe conduct of dozens of young people! And if a driver makes a mistake in recording the plate number or any of the information, he or she can be charged with committing an offence! The legislation then requires the bus driver to complete the form, deliver it to the police, and attend court on his or her own time... The overall effect might well be that the new legislation and forms will actually discourage the reporting of drivers who illegally pass buses. Subsequent studies, indicating that violation reports have declined, will suggest the problem has been solved! Not!...

New - Puerto Rico - A Hesitant Tries Commuting by Train

SAN JUAN, P.R. -The New York Times (NY,USA), by ARIANA GREEN -Nov 19, 2005: -- Carlos Medina rides the subway only when he visits New York. Here, where he lives, he spends untold hours in his car... Mr. Medina does become frustrated by the traffic jams, potholes and recklessness he encounters daily on Puerto Rican roads. But a gleaming new alternative - a commuter train that started running last December after years of planning and expense - has yet to win over him or, for that matter, most other commuters... Consultants from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Puerto Rico helped design the heavy rail train, which has the potential for greater capacity than light rail systems like those in Baltimore and Denver. The elegant stations were planned in consultation with the surrounding neighborhoods, partly to encourage residents to become riders... Puerto Rico has never before had much of a public transportation system; its buses are known for being late and not serving enough locations. But the urban train is now being scrutinized as a model, especially in the Caribbean and South America, said Professor Colucci, who has given seminars about it in the Dominican Republic, Panama and Venezuela...

Transfer - USA - MTA Takeover Of Private Buses

Not Likely To Occur This Year
New York,NY,USA -Queens Chronicle, by Bryan Joiner -Nov 17, 2005: -- Bah humbug! For those of you who were planning to ride brand-new, shiny buses this year, think again. The oft-delayed transfer of the private bus companies to the MTA has been pushed back to January 2006 at the earliest, according to several sources... The City Council’s Civil Service and Labor Committee held a public hearing last week where union leaders said they had made no progress with the city on securing their workers’ benefits in the event of the takeover. That means that the MTA will be unable to take over the four remaining private bus companies before the holidays, according to Civil Service and Labor Committee Chairman Joseph Addabbo Jr...

Questions - China - Can a Public-private Transit Venture Succeed in?

Workin' on the Railroad
USA -Wharton School/University of Pennsylvania - 17 Nov 2005: -- Two businessmen from Philadelphia, Pa., have launched a bold project to develop and run a mass transit system with the local Chinese government in Fuzhou, a city of approximately 1.5 million on the southeastern coast of China. If successful, it would be the first public-private railway system in China, according to Louis Thompson, former railways advisor for the World Bank and principal of Thompson, Galenson and Associates consulting firm... "It would be very adventurous for any U.S. company, much less a small one, to get into this market," says Marshall W. Meyer, a Wharton management professor. "The companies that have been successful in China are ones with long and deep experience there -- for example, Citigroup and Coca-Cola. They have proceeded cautiously and built relationships over years.".. Katz and Lane readily admit that they have a number of issues to work out. "We know what we know and what we don't know," says Lane. The pair plans to take on more partners as they proceed, including local Chinese developers who better understand the rules of the game in Fuzhou. Says Katz: "We're brand new fish in a very big sea."...

Profit - USA - M.T.A. Expands Its Surplus

Estimate for the Third Time This Year, to $1.04 Billion
NY,USA -The New York Times, by SEWELL CHAN -Nov 17, 2005: -- In February, it was $76 million. In July, it ballooned to $833 million. Yesterday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced its third - and, it hopes, final - estimate for the size of its surplus this year: $1.044 billion... The wide variation in budget predictions vividly illustrates how the authority seems to lurch unpredictably between dire insolvency and sudden windfalls... The authority does not expect its good fortune - soaring proceeds from real estate taxes and unusually low interest rates - to last. It anticipates a net deficit of $152 million in 2007, rising to $934 million in 2009, and that projection assumes fare and toll increases in both years...

Rules - USA - Bus Drivers Ordered to Buckle Up

MTA officials hail an arbitrator's ruling, which takes effect immediately. Some operators aren't embracing the decision
Los Angeles,Cal,USA - LaA Times, by Caitlin Liu -Nov 17, 2005: -- In a decision sending bus drivers across Los Angeles County scrambling to buckle up, an arbitrator has decreed that they must wear seat belts while on the job, officials said Wednesday... The ruling, reached after months of meetings between the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the United Transportation Union, applies to thousands of local bus drivers and settles what had been a hotly disputed area of the law... California law does not require transit bus drivers to buckle up, but the MTA — as an employer — has the right to mandate a reasonable safety rule, arbitrator Howard Block said in a written opinion... On Wednesday, some drivers fretted over the ruling...

Alternatives - USA - Time to get on the hydrogen bus

SunLine rolls out its innovative, new $3.1 million hybrid
PALM SPRINGS,CAL,USA -The Desert Sun, by Keith Matheny -Nov 17, 2005: -- Some SunLine bus-users will soon be commuting in perhaps the world's most innovative bus: a more than $3.1 million, hydrogen-electric fuel cell bus that produces no - zero - hazardous emissions... It's one of only four of its kind in the United States... The bus' chassis was manufactured by Van Hool of Antwerp, Belgium. Its fuel cell was designed by UTC Power of South Windsor, Conn. The bus' electrical drive system and fuel cell were integrated into the chassis by ISE Corp. of Poway, Calif... The bus will be placed in regular transit service for Coachella Valley residents the first week of December...

Oil Brief - USA - Outlook 2006

NEW YORK,NY,USA -Forbes, by Paul Maidment and Lacey Rose -16 Nov 2005: -- We are consuming oil faster this year than previously thought--and there's no sign of slowing down. In fact, the International Energy Agency (IEA) now forecasts that the world will consume 115.4 million barrels per day by 2030, up from 82.1 million barrels per day in 2004... This demand surge has combined with supply-threatening political uncertainties in the Middle East as well as natural disasters in the United States' Gulf Coast region, to drive crude oil to prices not seen before... This brief looks at the factors and actors behind today's high oil prices... Click on link, to go directly to that section...

Production - China - DaimlerChrysler continues to transfer technology to Anhui plant

Germany -AWKnowledge/UK -16 Nov 2005: -- DaimlerChrysler unit EvoBus has pledged to keep transferring the most up-to-date bus manufacturing technology to Anhui Province in the east of China to meet the demand for buses in the market... DaimlerChrysler began bus manufacturing in Anhui in 1993, ...

Warn - USA - Alarm systems on area school buses

Bristol,TN,USA -Bristol Herald Courier/WJHL NewsChannel 11 -16 Nov 2005: -- Changes are being made on school buses in Johnson City to make sure no child is left behind... Tennessee law requires new buses in use since July to have an alarm system... It sounds when the bus is turned off. The driver must walk to the back of the bus to deactivate it... Johnson City installed the systems on 57 of its old buses, which is not required by law. It is the only system in our area to fit older buses with the alarms...

Hybrid - UK - Future tram-bus arrives in city

Scotland, UK -Scotsman, by JANE BRADLEY -17 Nov 2005: -- A hybrid tram-bus which is being touted as a solution to Edinburgh's transport problems went on display in the city today... The world's first "ftr" is being billed by operator First Bus as the future of public travel and was set to go on display at Waterloo Place today to allow council officials to inspect it... The ftr, named after the texting shorthand for "future", bends in the middle like a tram, but is run on rubber tyres... First hopes the transport, complete with real-time travel information screens, a lounge area and greater personal space than on buses will entice car drivers out of their vehicles and on to public transport...

Big 3 News - USA - What Is The Plan, Mr. Ford?

Ford Motor's new product program is in disarray
USA - Forbes, by Jerry Flint -15 Nov 2005: -- In six years, the company has had four U.S. product executives. Changing a top manager four times in six years sends a message of deep discontent right from the top. Whether the executive turnover is the cause or effect--or maybe a little bit of both--dead and bungled product programs are scattered around the Ford landscape. Casualties include the Ford Thunderbird and Taurus, the Mercury Sable, and the Lincoln Blackwood and LS. Rumor has it that the Ford Freestyle is also on the endangered list. It is no wonder that its archrival, the Chevrolet division at General Motors, could outsell the Ford division this year--another reversal of fortune... If Ford doesn't stop its decline--and we've yet to see any indication that it has stopped--then in 2007, when all those new Toyotas arrive, Toyota could overtake Ford as the No. 2 automaker in the U.S. Ford also needs to take a critical look at product planning and develop a better understanding of how the market is changing--and how to deal with it. Design is another crucial issue. The company says it recognizes that it has fallen down on the design front, and that it is going to try to make its vehicles more exciting. But Ford needs more than just talk... Ford is pushing forward with plans to expand hybrid production. That is a good plan, but what about other fuel saving techniques, such as cylinder shutdowns on Ford engines? That's a grand way to reduce fuel consumption at highway cruising speeds...

Hybrid - USA - Public transit hybrid takes a 3-hour tour

Royal Oak, MI,USA -Daily Tribune, by Christy Strawser -Nov 15, 2005: -- Judging by the puzzled faces it passed on Woodward Avenue, a hybrid bus got some attention as it steamed down the storied thoroughfare... A hybrid bus delivers 60 percent greater fuel economy than conventional buses and can reduce certain emissions up to 90 percent, according to GM's Web site, which estimates that replacing 13,000 transit buses in America's nine largest cities with hybrid buses would save 40 million gallons of fuel a year... GM hybrid powered buses are already operating in Seattle, Philadelphia, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland and Honolulu. Just in Seattle/King County — from where Donigan borrowed her bus — there are 235 GM hybrid-powered buses... Another fleet will soon be operational in Yosemite National Park, where they need buses to be quiet as much as fuel efficient... To get its own fleet of buses for mass transit, many on the bus said that metro Detroit needs to get its leaders on the same page...

Funds for mass transit - USA - Group says MTA funding cuts planned

Report foresees 22 percent decline for next five years
Baltimore,Maryland,USA -Baltimore Sun, by Michael Dresser -Nov 15, 2005: -- A leading local business group reported yesterday that capital funding for mass transit in the Baltimore region would decline sharply under a draft six-year transportation spending plan prepared by the Ehrlich administration... The Greater Baltimore Committee analysis of the administration's plan was immediately denounced by Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan, who accused the authors of using "scare tactics" and distorting the meaning of his department's budget numbers... The GBC study shows that while overall transportation funding would decline 7 percent from the previous plan, the Maryland Transit Administration would see a much steeper reduction - 22 percent - for the years 2006-2011. The MTA provides bus and rail service in the Baltimore area... Flanagan denied any intent on the part of the Ehrlich administration to shortchange transit or metropolitan Baltimore. "We are emphasizing a balanced transportation program," he said...

Future - Canada - Holds big changes for transit riders

Mississauga,Ontario,Canada -THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS, by Joseph Chin -Nov 16, 2005: -- In the future, transit users will zip along... Hurontario St. on a light rail system... They will catch a bus at a second City Centre terminal... Meanwhile, hybrid buses will never have to stop because they can control traffic signals... And, the City will pay to build a new drop-off at the Kipling subway station so Mississauga Transit riders can hook up with the TTC... These projects are all in Mississauga Transit's wish list that was presented recently to the budget committee. But, they're all far down the road... What's around the corner for 2006 is spending $31.3 million to buy eight additional buses and replace 57 aging ones... Mississauga Transit will soon hire a consultant to help draft a ridership growth plan. It's also conducting a Hurontario corridor study...

Driving - USA - Braking His Silence

Working as a bus driver, Dan Evaniuck puts up with traffic in exchange for forging friendships

Santa Clarita,VCAl,USA -The Signal, by Lila Campuzano -13 Nov 2005: -- A compact car cuts him off... A Ford Taurus makes an illegal U-turn in front of him on Lyons Avenue, forcing abrupt braking action... And as he tries to cross lanes to turn left in Stevenson Ranch, a stream of cars and trucks rushes past, their drivers refusing to let him in as he marks time in the middle lane... Dan Evaniuck shrugs it off... It’s all in a day’s work for the Santa Clarita Transit bus driver, one of more than 100 who run routes in the Santa Clarita Valley, as well as commuter routes to the San Fernando Valley and downtown Los Angeles... On narrow Newhall Avenue in front of Hart High, tree trimmers are blocking part of the lane. It’s too early for many students to be waiting for his bus, but on a later run if the trimmers are still there, Evaniuck predicts problems... Back at the McBean Transfer Center, the driver doesn’t even get off the bus before preparing to head eastward toward Canyon Country. The man with the walking aid offers to stay on board to avoid the hassles of a transfer... “It’s not a hassle,” Evaniuck responds. “It’s just part of the job.”...

Business - USA - Too Good for Rural Transportation System

PRATTVILLE,Ala,USA -Montgomery Advertiser, by Marty Roney/Red Orbit -Nov. 11 2005: -- The director of the Autauga County Rural Transportation Authority is in a bit of a pickle. Business is too good... Laura Crowe has sought direction from the Autauga County Commission on how to handle overflowing requests for rides on the vans... "We're running into overtime problems because we have so many requests for trips," she said. "In the afternoons we pick up at least 16 schoolchildren to carry them to dance class or something else like that. I just need some direction from the commission to figure out what we need to do. If we don't serve these people, there's going to be a lot of complaints."...

No happy riders - Bahamas - "Are bus drivers above the law?"

Bahamas, Nassau -The Nassau Guardian -11 Nov 2005: -- That is a question, but has not been answered to satisfaction because the situation on the streets with buses seems to be getting worse rather than better... Because of the escalating costs of gasoline, public transportation system could improve to the point where it would be worth people's while to leave their automobiles at home and to ride the bus... Bringing it closer to the people, the harrowing experience is continuous for many riders every day, some who have no other alternative but to endure a commute that is necessary but is tortuous to them. Their tender eardrums are pierced by the thumping vibrations of the loud rap and Reggae music. It is true that a number of bus drivers would willfully and spitefully turn the music higher when a passenger asks that it be turn lower, or off... In addition to the loud music, passengers are sometimes subjected to vile behaviour and obscene language from young persons on the buses — and even drivers. They also put up with buses making excessive speeds as the drivers overtake with abandon... There are also those drivers who stop their vehicles on the route, go into wholesale outlets (package stores) and come back with their brown bags... No, it cannot be that the bus drivers have taken the law into their own hands, and that certainly cannot be seen to be the case. The Ministry of Transport, the Road Traffic Department and the Police must move expeditiously to shore up whatever deficiencies exist to ameliorate the conditions on the public roads and to make them friendly to every user...

Vowing - USA - Low-Key Union Leader Reaps Loyalty

Phil,USA -The Philadelphia Inquirer, by Tina Moore/Red Orbit (Tyler,TX) -7 Nov 2005: -- Jeffrey Brooks was elected president of SEPTA's largest union last year vowing that the city's bus drivers, subway operators and other members would not pay more for health care... But after a weeklong strike, clogged roads, stranded riders and political pressure may make that promise difficult to keep... Under SEPTA's proposal, drivers, subway operators and other workers would pay 5 percent of their health-insurance premiums, or $3 to $12 a week. Now, they pay nothing on the premiums if they have been on the job for more than 27 months. The agency also wants increases in employee co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses for doctor's visits, hospital stays, and a number of other medical benefits...

Happy Rider - USA - Commuting By Bus

Traffic congestion threatens the quality of life in Central Texas
Austin,TX,USA -KXAN 36 -Nov 8, 2005: -- Twice a day. Five days a week. Ten hours of your life -- a whole workday -- just getting to work and back again... There will never be enough pavement... But is there a better way? We spend millions on Capital Metro, but how many commuters have actually tried it?... We test it out and see if taking the bus could work for you... When gas prices spiked, Central Texans started looking at other ways to get around. Cap Metro says ridership on commuter bus routes jumped nine percent this summer... But even though gasoline is recently less expensive, who knows what it will cost a year from now... So, we'd give the bus a try... For a dollar, we get a comfortable and clean bus with airplane style air vents and seats... the bus is nice. The folks are friendly and true bus believers... Off we go into the flood of traffic. Outside our windows, the morning battle rages. For some, it's way to cut the cost of commuting. For others, it's little extra snooze time. Some passengers visit. Others read, work or just pass the time... That afternoon... Forty-seven minutes later and we're back in Cedar Park. I feel relaxed -- do you? I feel relaxed."... The next day, we tried a commuter route into downtown... Again... That afternoon, we catch the Flyer southbound. Traffic's a mess... Forty-three minutes later, and we're back in Oak Hill. But the important things is that it was a relaxed 43 minutes... Overall, ride time on the buses was not much different than taking a car since we're all in the same traffic... Dan has commuted in his own car for years, but on the bus was the first time he said ever enjoyed rush hour...

Riders Up - USA - It's the price of gas !!

As gas prices rise, more people are letting someone else drive
Yakima,WA,USA -Yakima Herald Republic, by JANE GARGAS -Nov 6, 2005: -- No wonder the wheels of the bus go 'round and 'round, 'round and 'round. It's the price of gas... The high cost of gasoline is driving up ridership on local public transportation, specifically the Yakima Transit System... As the price of gasoline started edging toward $3 a gallon this spring, more people began edging toward the bus... Bus ridership is 4 percent higher here this year than last, with most of the increase coming during the past few months... While 22 percent of the transit riders here are older than 62, they don't make up the bulk of those riding; about 40 percent of the riders are ages 18-61, and nearly 35 percent are ages 6-17... All city buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts and kneelers, which lower the bus 6 inches to make boarding easier. For the more mobile, each bus has a bike rack, too... In addition to saving on the price of gasoline, riding the bus has other advantages, Mehin points out. People can read, nap, play video games or do homework, he says...

Riders Penalization - USA - No-show clients of transportation service might be penalized

DART rules might change
Central Midlands,S.Carol,USA -The State, by CLIF LeBLANC -Nov. 05, 2005: -- Memory lapses or the lack of common courtesy might start costing disabled riders on the Columbia-area’s fleet of minibuses... The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority is weighing whether to start penalizing riders who make Dial-A-Ride Transit reservations then fail to show up or to properly cancel them... If the proposal goes into effect, any rider who has three no-shows in a month would be barred for about a month from using the 21 minibuses that take the system’s 4,200 clients to the doctor’s office, to work or to the grocery store... Also, riders, who pay $2 per trip, would be required to cancel a reservation 24 hours in advance instead of the current one hour...

Safety - USA - City Moves to Improve Safety on Orange Line Busway

Reacting to a rash of bus-car collisions on the new route, officials will change signs and lights

Los Angeles,Cal,USA - LA Times, by Caitlin Liu -Nov 5, 2005: -- Concerned about three recent collisions along the Metro Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley, transportation officials have ordered adjustments to traffic lights and signs to make the new busway safer... The measures that the Los Angeles City Department of Transportation will be implementing over the weekend include: 1- Adjusting the timing of traffic signals so that lights stay red or green longer to give buses more time to clear intersections. 2- Lowering some warning signs, such as those prohibiting right turns on a red light, from 12 feet to 7 feet, so that they are closer to eye level. 3- Replacing the round green signal lights at intersections with green-arrow signal lights for through traffic to reduce confusion... The 14-mile busway opened last weekend. All three accidents involved motorists running red lights, according to authorities. Drivers have said they found some busway intersections, which resemble rail crossings, confusing... other ideas from the meeting of transportation officials, traffic engineers and law enforcement officials needed to be evaluated and would take longer to implement... Those included strobe lights on buses to increase their visibility and cameras at crossings to catch motorists who run red lights. Officials also are considering warning devices similar to the kind used at rail crossings, such as flashing lights, a noise alert system and crossing gates...

TechnoNews - USA - IC Corp. offers GPS technology in school buses

Bethesda,MD,USA -eSchool News, by Robert Brumfield (subscription) -Nov 14, 2005: -- IC Corp., one of North America's largest school bus manufacturers, is now offering factory-installed remote tracking components to provide real-time information on the location and performance of its vehicles... The company's Aware Vehicle Intelligence (AVI) technology is fully integrated with the electronics components of its buses, so all important functions can be monitored remotely, IC says...

Production - Abu Dhabi - Australian firms to make buses in ADIC

Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates WAM/Emirates News Agency -13 Nov. 05: -- Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Support Group has entered into an agreement with the Australian bus maker Volgren to manufacture buses at the Abu Dhabi Industrial City (ADIC)... Sources told that the plant will have the capacity of making 300 buses (of 26 to 51 passengers) a year... ''Initial investment is put at Dh 75 million and is expected to be raised latter to Dh 125 million.The plant is projected to go on stream by the end of 2006,'' they said, noting that buses would be used inside the UAE and surpluses will be exported to neighbouring GCC markets... They said that the buses would be fully made of the Australian decay-tolerant aluminum which give them long life, keep them light and consume less fuel... ''The buses will be air-conditioned and equipped with closed TV circuit and state-of-the-art safety systems".

Safety - Thailand - No guarantee of repeated accidents

MORE MUST BE DONE TO MAKE BUSES SAFER

Bangkok, Thailand -Bangkok Post -13 Nov 2005: -- Many commuters know taking a ride on privately-run city buses operating under concession from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority is unsafe, but they feel they have no choice. ``I feel anxious every time I take this bus but I have to take it because I have no other choice,'' said Duangnaparat Srisuk, a 31-year-old company employee... BMTA drivers did not pose similar problems because they were better recruited and regularly trained. They are paid salaries plus a daily allowance and are subject to strict regulations as the BMTA is a state enterprise, he said... BMTA drivers enjoy increased salaries for long service and their pay has reached as much as 22,240 baht a month... He said BMTA buses were in better condition as they underwent regular maintenance thanks to state subsidies... However, it has only 3,623 buses, accounting for just 23% of all buses in Bangkok. The rest belong to private concessionaires...

Security - Australia - Minister backs review of belts in buses

Canberra, Australia - The Age, by Phillip Hudson (subscription) ( Melbourne,Victoria,Aus) -Nov 13, 2005: -- STATE governments should consider installing seatbelts in school buses on "high-risk" routes, federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd said yesterday... Mr Lloyd said he would back moves to adopt voluntary national guidelines for risk assessments of school bus routes, which would be discussed at a meeting of federal and state transport ministers in Hobart on Friday... Western Australia recently said it would make seatbelts mandatory in school buses after a serious crash between a school bus and a truck in Perth. The 25 children on board were wearing seatbelts, which has been credited with saving their lives...

Tracking system - USA - Officials hope alerts on 'next bus' will ease wait anxieties

SAN FRANCISCO,CA,USA - The San Francisco Chronicle, by Rachel Gordon -Nov 4, 2005: -- Recent budget cuts may have forced Municipal Railway riders in San Francisco to wait longer for their buses and trains, but officials hope to ease people's anxiety by at least letting them know when their next ride will arrive... San Francisco has been experimenting with the automated tracking "NextBus'' system since 1999 on a limited number of routes, but it now has funding to expand the system citywide... NextBus uses a global satellite system to track the location of specially equipped Muni vehicles. The data is then translated into alerts notifying people how long the estimated wait is before the next bus or train is likely to arrive. The real-time data is updated regularly. The information is available on electronic message boards at certain bus stops and can be retrieved from any personal computer, cell phone or digital assistant, such as a BlackBerry, that is hooked into the Internet... Eventually, officials hope the information can be retrieved by phone on the regional "5-1-1'' transportation number...

Experience? - Malaysia - Why only bus drivers?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -New Straits Times, by Arman Ahmad -Nov 13 2005: -- A bus operators' association and a transport union have shot down a proposal by Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu that only drivers with more than 10 years' experience be allowed to drive express buses, as impractical and not worthy of consideration.
Pan Malaysian Bus Operators' Association president Datuk Mohd Ashfar Ali said the proposal implied that bus drivers were incompetent. He also questioned why only bus drivers were targeted... "In a year, some bus drivers will probably clock more hours than what other drivers could achieve in their lifetime... But no operator will want to take the risk of entrusting their buses, which cost between RM300,000 and RM600,000, to inexperienced drivers. If anything happens, they have much to lose."... He said the Government should tighten the issue of permits for heavy vehicles, have stricter enforcement and increase the standard of driving tests... Secretary-general Zainal Rampak said what needed to be done was to enhance the driving curriculum. He said bus operators should also be taken to task, especially those who put their drivers through long working hours... Another problem, he said, was the practice of paying commission based on the number of journeys made, as this encouraged bus drivers to break the speed limit to make more trips...

Voted - Ireland - Dublin Bus drivers back strike action over new rosters

Dublin,Ireland -Ireland Online -11 Nov 2005: -- Dublin Bus drivers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action over the introduction of new rosters... The company is bringing in the new timetables next month to comply with EU regulations limiting the working week to 48 hours... The National Bus and Railworkers Union is concerned about a potential loss of earnings for its members and has slammed the company for introducing the new arrangements without consultation... Drivers want their basic pay to be increased for the resulting loss in earnings and have now voted to take industrial action if Dublin Bus presses ahead with its plans...

GreenNews - China - Beijing cleans up diesel buses

BEIJING, China -Xinhuanet/China Daily -11 Nov 2005: -- Beijing has launched a clean-up project by modifying diesel buses aiming at reducing 90 percent of the respirable particle emissions belched from them... The pilot modification project will be carried out among 25 diesel buses of the city, said Merrylin Zaw-Mon, director of the Certification and Compliance Division of the United States' Environmental Protection Agency... According to the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, respirable particles are a major threat to Beijing's air, and many of those particles are emitted by diesel engines... With the project, a filter and diesel oxidation catalyst will be fitted to the vehicles, which will be run on low sulphur diesel... Currently about 120,000 diesel-fueled vehicles are on the road in Beijing. Only 24 percent of them conform to the Euro II exhauste missions standard, and 37 percent do not even meet the Euro I standard, according to the English-language newspaper... The number of vehicles on road is expected to amount to 3.5 million in 2008, up from the current number of 2.5 million. Controlling exhaust emissions will be a major task for the municipal authorities...

Don't Work - USA - Metro to Improve Destination Signs on Buses

Washington D.C., USA -ABC7 News7/AP -Nov 10, 2005: -- Metrobus riders should soon have a better idea of where they're going... Metro's budget committee has approved spending $680,000 to hire a contractor to maintain destination signs... Metro will replace the signs on 270 buses. Hundreds of new buses arriving over the next seven months also will have improved technology.... The chief operating officer for Metro's bus system says about 16 percent of the buses have destination signs that don't work...

GreenNews - Canada - Bus drivers asked to turn off buses

Charlottetown,Prince Edward Island,Canada -CBC Prince Edward Island - Nov 10 2005: -- P.E.I.'s two biggest school boards are encouraging their bus drivers to cut back on how much time they idle their engines in an effort to save fuel prices and clear the air at Island schools... The board responsible for schools in the western end of the province is going a step further and asking drivers to plug in their buses at home overnight to cut back on morning idling. The Western School Board is also looking at installing plugs at the schools so buses are kept warm during the day...

Alternatives - India - CNG buses conquer Ahmedabad roads

Ahmedabad,India -Business Standard -Nov 11, 2005: -- Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Corporation (AMTS), the transport arm of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), is riding high on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses... AMC plans to have a total of 750 buses by December, with 400 CNG buses and 350 other buses. Though there have been enough of delays in procurement of CNG buses, AMTS by this December plans to have 400 CNG buses...

GreeNews - USA - 50 Conway-built Buses Heading for California

Arkansas,USA -Arkansas Business -10 Nov 2005: -- A convoy of 50 “environmentally friendly” school buses manufactured in Conway by the IC Corp. headed for San Francisco on Wednesday for ultimate delivery to a school district there... The “Green Diesel Technology” buses are outfitted with International DT 466 diesel engines, which IC claims produce smokeless, odorless emissions containing 90 percent less hydrocarbons and particulate matter than standard bus engines. The new engines use ultralow-sulfur diesel fuel, which will become the standard fuel for diesel engines manufactured in 2007 and later. Because the ultralow-sulfur fuel is currently in limited supply, a fuel tanker truck will be traveling with the bus convoy, the company said in a press release...

Votes - USA - Livonia votes out of SMART, jeopardizing regional bus system

LIVONIA,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Joel Kurth -Nov 8, 2005: -- One of Metro Detroit's biggest suburbs wants to dump the region's beleaguered bus system, leaving a gaping hole in an already patchwork service... Livonia residents voted Tuesday to give the city council approval to withdraw the city's $2.4 million tax subsidy of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), prompting worry among bus advocates that other suburbs may follow suit. The council is expected to make the move official by year's end... With 100,000 residents, Livonia would be the largest city to end the service, which serves 50 of 103 communities in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Farmington Hills officials are debating whether to bow out of the system in 2006...

Sales - Canada - 95 new CNG buses for Vancouver

London,UK -AWKnowledge (subscription) -9 Nov, 2005: -- The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, TransLink, has placed an order for 95 Compressed Natural Gas powered buses from New Flyer for its fleet transit service... "We’ve seen our transit ridership jump by over 20% in the last three years... "...

Production - India - Marcopolo plans to make buses in India

Tata Motors, Leyland in talks with Brazilian major
Mumbai,India -Business Standard -Nov 10, 2005: -- Brazilian bus major Marcopolo SA is in talks with Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland to set up a manufacturing base in India... Marcopolo’s Indian venture, if established, will be the 10th production base of the $750-million company, and will cater for the Southeast Asian market... Marcopolo has got four manufacturing facilities in Brazil, and one each in Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, South Africa and Portugal. Marcopolo Director-General Jose Rubens de La Rosa said his company had initiated talks with some Indian firms as its corporate strategy was to enter a new market in collaboration with a local player. Marcopolo was keen to enter China as well, he added... He also said the Indian venture was expected to be firmed up before the Chinese one... Marcopolo produces 16,500 buses a year. It exports to over 80 countries, including France, England, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia...

Purchases - USA - Chicago buying 20 new diesel-electric hybrid buses

CHICAGO,Ill,USA -kwqc TV6 -9 Nov 2005: -- Twenty new diesel-electric hybrid buses should be on the streets of Chicago next year... The Chicago Transit Authority announced yesterday that it's buying the buses in an effort to reduce fuel costs. The hybrids will cost about 530-thousand dollars each... That's compared with 341-thousand for a conventional bus... The city is spending a total of 95 (m) million dollars on 265 new buses to replace ones bought in 1991...

Sales - Sweden - 182 Double Deckers from Volvo Buses to Dublin and London

GOTEBORG, Sweden -PRIMEZONE -Nov. 8, 2005: -- Volvo Buses has received two orders for 182 double deckers. 120 of them will go into service in Dublin and the rest will run on three new bus routes in London... The Dublin Bus order is for 100 Volvo B7TLs. This is a 10.7 metre low-floor chassis. The coachwork will be the Alexander Dennis ALX400, which has seating for 76 passengers and standing room for 15. Deliveries will take place in Spring/Summer 2006... The second part of the order consists of 20 triple-axle Volvo B9TLs. The chassis is 12 metres long with a low floor the full length of the bus. This is the biggest order to date for this product in the UK and the first ever for Ireland... The second order is from London Central and consists of 62 low-floor double deckers. The chassis is the 10.1 metre Volvo B7TL. The stipulation within Go Ahead Group's environmental policy of using Ultralow Sulphur Diesel (USD), in conjunction with the buses being equipped with particulate traps (CRT), will further contribute to the reduction of particulates in the atmosphere...

Removing - UK - Transport boss admits bollards were mistake

Reading,England,UK -Reading Evening Post -8 Nov 2005: -- Bollards installed to stop double decker buses driving on to a kerb as they turn around were taken down a day later after the council admitted it was wrong to put them in... Reading Borough Council installed bollards outside The Three Tuns pub in Wokingham Road on Tuesday last week to prevent kerbs being damaged by buses making U-turns at the end of their route... But the obstructions were taken away the next day when council transport chiefs realised they should never have been there in the first place...
“Bollards were installed to protect the pathway but Reading Buses raised concerns that this made the manoeuvre more dangerous. The bollards have now been removed while the council looks at alternative ways of resolving the situation"...

Study -Greece - Athens buses shift up a gear

Athens,Greece -Kathimerini -8 Nov 2005: -- Police launched a crackdown on cars illegally entering bus lanes yesterday as the government steps up attempts to improve the city’s transport network and get more commuters onto buses... Bus lanes operate in different parts of the city, however, parked cars, along with drivers who try to save time by illegally using the dedicated area, limit the advantage public transport was meant to have... A recent study showed that if the lanes were clear, buses could travel nearly twice as fast... showed that buses can reach a speed of about 21 kilometers an hour when the lane is free of other cars. Otherwise, buses travel at a slower 12 to 15 kilometers per hour... In normal traffic, a bus travels between 7 and 10 kilometers an hour, according to the study... Fourteen cameras have helped police to keep an eye on bus lanes, they've been placed to monitor Athens bus lanes and normally result in 950 fines per month. Traffic police, on the other hand, normally write about 150 fines per month...

"King of the Road" - USA - Couple rents biggest party buses around

Fort Collins, CO,USA -Coloradoan, by KIRSTEN ORSINI-MEINHARD -Nov 7, 2005: -- Imagine one of those big, red double-decker buses that tourists ride around London. Compared with Fort Collins-based A Royalty Coach's new party bus, the double-decker bus of English fame seems like a Mini Cooper... Nicknamed "King of the Road," the bus is 50-feet long and two giant stories high. And when it's completely finished in about a month, riders will be able to order a drink or a hot dog, play poker in the back or lounge across one of 80 seats...

Alternatives - Canada - Ballard-powered Fuel Cell Buses Surpass 1 M km Mark

Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada -Renewable Energy Access -Nov 7, 2005: -- Ballard Power Systems' fleet of 33 Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel cell buses currently operating in Europe, Iceland and Australia has surpassed one million kilometers of service. The buses have carried more than four million passengers... Ballard fuel cells are also powering three Gillig-built fuel cells buses in Santa Clara, California. An additional three Ballard fuel cell-powered Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses are expected to enter service on the streets of Beijing, China, before the end of the year...

Congestion - Hong Kong - Buses biggest cause of traffic snarl, drivers note

Hong Kong,China -The Standard, by Mimi Lau -Nov 07, 2005: -- Buses, not private cars and small vehicles, are the main cause of traffic congestion on Nathan Road in Mong Kok, drivers and district councillors say... Their comments were made Sunday at a City Forum debate over the government's controversial proposals to ease traffic and reduce accidents in one of the city's worst black spots... He said newspaper stalls, automatic teller machines and bus stops were the main obstructions along Nathan Road that force pedestrians to spill from footpaths... "The width of the footpath outside Allied Plaza is 4.04 meters, but the bus stop itself takes up 2.11 meters. It's the bus companies' favorite trick to build excessively large light boxes to charge more for advertising space," Chan said...

Sex Assault - UK - Teenager assaulted on bus

UK -LIFE STYLE EXTRA -6 NOv 2005: -- A 15-year-old girl has been sexually assaulted on a bus as she was on her way to school... The teenager, from Sutton, was attacked on the 131 bus, which travels between Raynes Park and Wimbledon in south-west London, on September 27... Scotland Yard said their suspect is "wanted for a series of similar offences" as they issued a CCTV image of him... The suspect is described as a balding man aged between 40 and 50 years old of dark European appearance. He is seen wearing a knitted cardigan, turquoise trousers and yellow and green trainers...

Vote - USA - Livonia bus vote reaches beyond city

Regional system's cost is weighed against loss that may strand students, seniors, some workers
LIVONIA,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Darren A. Nichols and Catherine Jun -5 Nov 2005: -- It's either a money-saver, or an issue that could, in the words of one critic, set the stage for economic disaster... What is clear is that a proposal that Livonia pull out of the regional Suburban Mobility Authority for Transportation (SMART) bus system, to which it now pays $2.4 million per year, is an important one... City residents will vote Tuesday whether to drop out of SMART, despite opposition from some residents who ride the buses... Though ridership has increased about 25 percent in the last three years, 53 communities in Wayne and Oakland counties have already backed out of SMART. Farmington Hills is the latest city to consider bowing out of the SMART system in 2006...

Stars' Fight? - USA - Schwarzenegger's bus group duels with Beatty's at Montgomery Field

San Diego,CAL,USA -The Union Tribune/SignOnSanDiego, by John Marelius -Nov 6, 2005: -- The campaign for Tuesday's special election turned into a celebrity showdown in San Diego yesterday... Or maybe it was dueling buses as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger embarked on a bus tour of Southern California to rally support for his four ballot propositions... The Schwarzenegger bus was trailed from San Diego to Anaheim to Riverside by a bus carrying actor Warren Beatty and his wife, actress Annette Bening, and the leaders of various labor unions opposing the Republican governor's agenda... Then it was off to Montgomery Field, where Beatty and Bening tried to enter Schwarzenegger's rally in an airplane hangar... The entrance was blocked by Schwarzenegger campaign volunteers and press aide Darrel Ng, who said only invited guests were allowed in... What might that something else be? That Beatty has emerged as such a visible Schwarzenegger critic has fueled speculation that the long-time Democratic activist might challenge him for re-election next year... Beatty demurred: "I don't want to run for governor," he told reporters, "I want to say what I think"...

Trendy - USA - With high gas prices, commuter buses are the ticket

Riding the bus is becoming trendy in these days of costly fuel - especially if you can commute on a luxury coach
MN,USA -Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription), by Joy Powell, Nov 4, 2005: -- When gasoline prices hit $3 a gallon in the summer, Tom Teale of Zimmerman, Minn., did something he never dreamed he'd do. He parked his pickup and began taking a bus to work... He rides the Northstar Commuter Coach, a luxury bus that has soared in popularity since gas prices jumped... "You can sleep. You can read. You can just sit there," Teale said. "There's literally no stress, and it's really convenient, too"... By taking the Northstar, he said, there's less wear and tear on him and his pickup, and fewer $80-to-$90 tankfuls of gas. Teale gets to work about the same time as if he drove, and sometimes faster... It's a far cry from spending spend up to 90 minutes driving through snarled traffic and listening to radio traffic reports... "I don't even bother with that anymore. That's the bus driver's problem"...

Switching - USA - Across the nation from straight diesel to a biodiesel mixture

USA - New Energy Report -5 Nov 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 is estimated that usage will surpass 50 million gallons this year, said Amber Pearson with the Missouri-based National Biodiesel Board... About 100 systems nationwide have made the switch, "and that number is growing all the time" ... "The good part of that is we've displaced 600,000 gallons of petroleum fuel," said Giordano... While county and school officials say they haven't noticed any appreciable increase in miles-per-gallon, they all say biodiesel doesn't require expensive modifications to their diesel engine buses... Also, the fuel produces less emissions and is healthier for the 24 million schoolchildren who ride buses daily... And, perhaps, more importantly, recent petroleum price increases _ coupled with state and federal incentives _ now makes biodiesel an economical choice... The EPA announced a $7.5 million grant program over the summer to help school systems reduce emissions from their older buses through replacing engines or switching to alternative fuels...

Recall - India - All new BEST buses recalled after another catches fire

Bombay,India -Mid-Day Mumbai -5 Nov 2005: -- BEST has decided to recall the nine newly-inaugurated low-floor buses plying various routes in the city... According to BEST officials, this decision was taken after another bus; on route number 8 caught fire near Bharatmata theatre in Parel. No one was injured... Describing the incident, which took place at 11.55 am yesterday, a senior BEST official said, “This was a comparatively smaller incident compared to the one that happened a few days back when the whole bus was charred. The electrical cable brushed against the exhaust pipe of the bus, which eventually led to the fire”... The alert driver evacuated the bus when he saw the smoke and thus saved the day, he said. BEST will recall the buses to its Backbay depot, where the TATA-manufactured buses will undergo a thorough inspection.

Low Floor - India - High-capacity buses hit the road in Capital

NEW DELHI,India -The Times of India -Nov 04, 2005: -- The ambitious high-capacity bus project finally took off on Thursday with the Chief Minister flagging off five buses from DTC depot. But the original plan has been dumped, the fleet is called "low floor urban buses" and it will act as a feeder service... Five of the six buses started their journey from DTC's depot at Indraprastha at 11 am on Thursday. Decked with garlands, the buses attracted a lot of curious looks from people on the roads. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and transport minister Haroon Yusuf boarded the first bus...

Gridlock - Ireland - Why not more buses to more places at a fraction of the cost?

Ireland -IrishExaminer.com -4 Nov 2005: -- The €34 billion transport plan is long on aspirations and timescales, but short on measures to address the gridlock in our cities... The obvious answer is more buses and bus corridors... While Transport Minister Martin Cullen dangles the prospect of large scale increases in bus capacity over the next ten years, all he is offering immediately is 20 new vehicles for Dublin, when what we need is another 150... To put this in context, what this allocation represents is roughly one half day's apportionment of the overall investment plan, which is calculated at €9.4 million...

Taken Out - USA - Justice Department reach settlement over city buses

Detroit,Mich,USA -6 News WLNS(WASHINGTON,DC) -4 Nov 2005: -- Detroit buses not equipped to handle disabled passengers will be taken out of circulation under a settlement the city has reached with the federal government... The deal calls on the city to continue retiring buses without lifts, repair and maintain lifts and buy new buses... Drivers and mechanics also would be trained in deploying the lifts and helping disabled passengers... Five residents sued Detroit's Transportation Department last year. They said many buses lacked functioning lifts. The Justice Department intervened in March...

Future - UK - Buses in the fast lane

A glimmer of hope for frustrated commuters
Leeds,Yorkshire,UK -Yorkshire Post Today, by William Green-4 Nov 2005: -- With its sleek lines and futuristic name, the bus that looks a bit like a tram may now be the only way forward for fed-up Yorkshire commuters, after the Government yesterday finally killed off the Leeds Supertram... The so-called "ftr" vehicle is set to begin running in York's streets early next year and may now come to Leeds after Transport Secretary Alistair Darling signalled such a system was preferable to a tram system... The cost of the vehicle is about a fifth of the price of a tram – about £1.7m. The price of laying track for light rail is just under £14m per kilometre (0.6miles), while the cost of installing a priority lane for a guided bus is about £160,000 per kilometre... Mr Darling yesterday said rapid bus transit systems could carry a large number of people quickly, like trams, but deliver results at 50 per cent of the cost... But experts are unsure about the benefits of choosing a bus-based system over a light rail scheme... The executive director of environmental pressure group Transport 2000, Stephen Joseph, said: "Buses can do a lot but beyond a certain level, only light rail can give you the quality and capacity in transport that you need to keep cities moving"...

Security - UK - Buses' top decks to close at night

Birmingham,UK -ic Birmingham.co.uk. by David Bell -4 Nov 2005: -- PASSENGERS could be barred from the top decks of Birmingham's buses in a bid to curb late night violence... Transport bosses desperate to boost public confidence in safety on city routes are poised to seal off the stairs at night... They hope the radical step, which could be trialled on after-dark city routes early next year, will keep drink-fuelled trouble in check... Surveys have shown that fear of robbery and violent assault are a major factor in keeping late night passengers off the buses...

Hybrids - USA - First Fleet Of Hybrid Taxi Cabs Hits The Streets

N.Y.,USA -NY1 -Nov 04, 2005: -- Although they won't officially be unveiled until next week, the city's first fleet of six hybrid taxi cabs hit the streets Friday... The new cabs are SUVs, hybrid versions of the Ford Escape... Hybrids run on a combination of gasoline and electricity, getting much better gas mileage and releasing fewer pollutants.

Prospects - USA - MTA Plan To Replace Buses On Private Queens Lines Now On Hold

NY,USA -NY1 -Nov 04, 2005: -- An MTA plan to replace the buses on private lines that serve thousands of Queens riders is now on hold until after Tuesday’s election... New York City Transit was planning to spend $128 million on 250 new buses, but the measure needs approval from the State Senate... However, lawmakers say they want to hold off on making a decision until the private lines are officially put under MTA control, which could happen any day now...

Hero - India - Bus driver who saved passengers 'inspired by Bollywood

New Delhi,India -Ireland OnLine (Ireland)/The Pioneer (India) -4 Nov 2005: -- A driver who spotted a bomb and threw it out of his New Delhi bus – possibly saving dozens of lives – said he was able to recognise the device from watching Bollywood movies... “I had only seen it in Hindi movies – a ticking clock wrapped in colourful wires connected to bombs. I never thought I will come across such a thing in real life,” Kuldeep Singh was quoted as saying by The Pioneer newspaper today... Singh was the driver of the state-run Delhi Transport Corporation bus that was targeted along with two markets in blasts on October 30 that killed 60 people... A passenger in his 20s refused to buy a ticket and got off, leaving behind a large black bag. When some of the 40 passengers raised an alarm, Singh and the conductor, Budh Prakash, examined it and ordered the bus evacuated... "Seeing the wires and the clock, I realised it was a bomb. I was about to get down after throwing the bag out of the bus, but could not escape injury as the bomb went off,” Singh was quoted as saying while recovering in a New Delhi hospital...

Dangerous - Brazil - Rio gang shoots up bus

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -Reuters -Nov 4, 2005: -- One woman died and seven people were wounded when presumed drug traffickers armed with assault rifles opened fire into a bus on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, police said on Friday... An investigator said the motive for the shooting was not clear as none of the bus passengers had any obvious links to trafficking. Drug gangs have in the past wiped out rivals inside crammed buses, injuring innocent passengers... The bus came under attack on Thursday night as it passed by the Rebu slum. Police blamed the attack on a criminal group which controls drug trade in the slum and is battling over turf with a rival gang in a nearby slum. The woman who died was travelling with her two small children... On Friday morning, in another part of crime-ridden Rio, residents of Vila Joaniza slum torched a bus to protest the killing of a young man by police in a raid. A teenage girl and a small child were also wounded. Police said they only shot back when greeted with fire by drug traffickers...

Sales - China - Yutong to export 1,000 buses to Iran

London, UK -Xinhuanet/WebReport Yutong -3 Nov 2005: -- Yutong, a leading bus manufacturer in Henan Province, central China, has signed an agreement with Iran's Saipa Diesel to export 1,000 buses to Iran, reports Xinhuanet. The deal, worth US$30m, includes 500 complete buses and 500 completely knocked down, including two models, ZK6831HE and ZK6798H. Yutong too export to Cuba more than 1000 buses...

Modern - USA - RR to use new buses, wave ‘bye-bye’ to trolley

RED RIVER,NM,USA -Sangre de Cristo Chronicle, by Eric Mack (Angel Fire,NM) -4 Nov 2005: -- Red River Town Administrator Jake Pierce is hoping to help usher in a new era of transportation along the northern arc of the Enchanted Circle... Two new buses have been ordered and will be added to the Miner’s Transit fleet in early 2006. Last month the town council approved a plan to take advantage of available federal transportation funds and purchase the new vehicles... The new buses are Ford F-350s with cut-away chassis that will be capable of navigating and turning in tight areas, said Town Director of Transportation Bob Perry...

Purchases - USA - Justice Department reach settlement over city buses

WASHINGTON,DC,USA -Detroit Free Press/AP -Nov 3, 2005 -- The Detroit Department of Transportation would expand programs to retire buses that lack functioning lifts and make repairs under a settlement announced Thursday by the Justice Department... The settlement agreement, which must be approved by a federal judge, would call on the city to continue to retire buses without lifts, repair and maintain lifts and buy new buses. Drivers and mechanics would also be trained in deploying the lifts and helping disabled passengers... DDOT Director Norman White said the city upgraded its service to people in wheelchairs by purchasing 120 buses equipped with front-door ramps that lower to the ground to allow boarding. Meanwhile, 196 old buses that could not be repaired have been retired...

Modern - India - Diwali gift: A score of low-floor buses

Chandigarh,India -Express News Service -Nov 2, 2005: -- A batch of 20 low-floor buses finally arrived in the city today. A UT official said these buses would be passed on Monday by the State Transport Authority and would hit the city roads by November 10... The official said that till the grid system was implemented these buses would ply on the existing routes, and added a total of over 100 low-floor buses would arrive in the city, and the grid system was likely to be implemented from January 26 next year...

TechNews - USA - Vehicle Intelligence Solution Offers Tracking and Performance of School Buses

AUSTIN, TX, USA -PRNewswire -Nov. 2, 2005: -- IC Corporation, North America'slargest school bus manufacturer, has continued to showcase it leadership inthe industry by becoming the first school bus manufacturer to offer factory-installed GPS tracking in its school buses... Monitoring can range from keeping track of the location of a bus at alltimes to tracking how often the flashing red warning lights are activated... Designated officials can visit a password-protected Web site to getinformation about the school bus fleet...

Schemes - UK - Buses to get £20 million boost

Bus passengers are to benefit from an additional £20 million Government funding, Transport Minister Karen Buck announced today

London,UK -I-Newswire -1 Nov 2005: -- The funds, which will provide pump priming investment for new and improved bus services, will be shared among 43 schemes across England... The aim of the funds is to boost local bus use... Transport Minister Karen Buck said: "This is great news for bus users who will benefit from faster and more reliable services with better waiting facilities and improved journey experiences. Buses can offer inexpensive and flexible transport and can help tackle congestion by encouraging people out of their cars. This new funding demonstrates Government's commitment to buses"...

Pollution out - UK - Plan to ban ageing buses can clear city air

Cambridge,UK -Cambridge Evening News- 01 Nov 2005: -- Plans are being made to get rid of old buses in Cambridge city centre to help beat pollution... Cambridgeshire County Council is working on an idea to remove buses which are eight years old or more, unless they are equipped with environmentally-friendly engines... Members of the Cambridge Area Joint Committee have agreed to the plan which would see the council strike up a partnership with bus operators to improve the city's transport and environment... If the plan is introduced, the old buses would be banned from the city centre from 2007. All buses would also have to have wheelchair access...

Production - China - 'Green' electric buses on track for Olympics

YANTAI, Shadong,China -China Daily, by Ju Chuangjiang and Zhu Chengpei 1 Nov 2005: -- Construction on the first factory to build environment friendly electric buses is under way in this coastal city in East China's Shandong Province... With an investment of 250 million yuan (US$30.9 million) in the first phase of the project, the first bus should roll off the assembly line late next year, said Xie Rongan, chairman of the Yantan-based China-Rising Motors Tech Zone Co Ltd... Almost two months of tests have shown no big problems. "We haven't received any complaints from passengers," Jiang said... Tests showed energy costs for the new buses are only one third of costs for those using gas... An annual turnout of 12,000 buses is expected to reach an output value of 15 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) when completed... The buses are highly valued by 'green' experts and are expected to replace public buses, trolleybuses and tramcars operating in downtown areas in Chinese cities...

Efforts - USA - AC Transit starts anti-vandalism campaign

OAKLAND,CAL,USA -San Francisco Chronicle, by Simone Sebastian -Oct 31, 2005: -- Alameda County authorities are ganging up on taggers and vandals in an effort to keep public buses clean through a campaign that could save AC Transit as much as $2 million a year on maintenance, the transit agency said today... AC Transit officials unveiled the campaign -- called "TAG, You're It"... The effort combines a public awareness push with aggressive prosecution of those who deface buses and other property...

Buses World News

22.11.05