User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Buses World News: January 2006
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Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

30.1.06

Purchases - USA - N.Y.C. needs extra school buses

NEW YORK, NY, USA -UPI/Monsters and Critics.com (Glasgow,UK) -Jan 29, 2006: -- Extra tutoring for New York City schoolchildren will require some $48 million for extra buses to take the students home, school officials said... The extra 462 school buses will cost $24 million for the rest of this school year, and $48 million for the whole year, city officials said...

posted by Unknown @ 1:59 PM  0 Comments

BUSES' WORLD NEWS - Condenseds -

* Orbital bus - clean, empty and on time
Norwich,England,UK -Evening News/Norwich Evening News, by SARA HARDMAN -28 Jan 2006: Norwich's Orbital bus service is under threat because so few people are using it. Yesterday, the Evening News revealed the service, introduced in November last year, was facing an uncertain future because just four people on average are boarding each service. Reporter spent the afternoon travelling on the buses to speak to travellers who have discovered the route...

* Broke Himachal Roadways to buy 95 buses
India -Web India -Jan 28, 2006: The Himachal Pradesh state roadways, one of the most cash-strapped state-run company in the hill state, is to buy 95 new buses to add to its fleet... The Himachal Roadways Transport Corp (HRTC) is to buy 52-seater and 42-seater buses from Tata and Ashok Leyland for Rs.100 million, said R.N. Negi, an HRTC official...

* Lynx plans to add 16 new buses to fleet
Orlando,FL,USA -Orlando Sentinel, by Jay Hamburg -Jan 28, 2006: Officials think the additions will alleviate congestion and increase mass-transit options... Lynx will get 16 new buses to put on new or already crowded routes in southern Lake County, the Osceola County tourist corridor and the University of Central Florida area... The $5.2 million for the new buses will come in equal parts from a state grant that's part of a new Transportation Regional Incentive Program, or TRIP...

* More state buses to hit city roads
New Delhi,India -Kolkata Newsline -Jan 27, 2006: More than 300 buses will be added to the present fleet of buses run by the state government.. Happy over about introduction of the air-conditioned buses in the city, Subhash Chakraborty, state Transport Minister said that as many as 300 new buses, of which around 70 in February, will be made available for public transportation... In addition 200 buses will be provided to the North Bengal State Transport... The Calcutta State Transport Corporation, which has already been provided with 260 new buses, will receive 140 more, said...

* BEST to add 532 buses to fleet
MUMBAI, India -Times of India -Jan 28, 2006: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking will add 532 new buses to its fleet in the next financial year. Of these, 150 will run on compressed natural gas...

* Rio buses and trams 'unsafe'
United Kingdom -Telegraph.co.uk , by Charles Starmer-Smith -28 Jan 2006: The Foreign Office has advised travellers not to use buses and trams in major Brazilian cities after 31 Britons were attacked and robbed at gunpoint on the way from Rio airport to their city centre hotel last week...

* MTA takes over private bus line in Queens
Long Island,NY,USA -AP/Newsday -Jan 29, 2006: The sixth of seven private bus lines that once operated parts of the city's transportation network has been taken over by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will begin operating its lines Monday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said... The MTA finalized an agreement with Jamaica Bus Lines, a private company that operates over 100 buses serving about 10 million riders a year on four local and express lines in Queens and Nassau County...

posted by Unknown @ 1:58 PM  0 Comments

Incidents - Australia - Council buses cop a hiding

Queensland, Australia -Brisbane Courier Mail, by Jason Gregory -30 Jan 2006: -- Ratepayers are being slugged $6000 a day to repair damage to Brisbane City Council buses, alarming new figures show... About 16,000 "incidents" were reported in the past five years, or about 10 a day, ranging from bus drivers running over pedestrians to hoons throwing bricks through bus windows... The report also showed bus drivers received more than 400 traffic fines, including 193 red-light camera infringements and almost 110 speeding tickets... More than 70 of the speeding tickets involved drivers exceeding the limit by up to 30km/h... Many incidents were not the fault of bus drivers, who had to deal with louts throwing stubbies, bricks, rocks and other objects at their vehicles... Some drivers were assaulted, others were spat on or threatened... Some of the most common incidents were drivers hitting poles, cyclists, fixed and mobile electronic signs, pedestrians, cars, trees, overhanging branches and shop fronts...

posted by Unknown @ 1:47 PM  0 Comments

28.1.06

Changes - UK - Iconic overland trucks under threat

Cooped with chickens in Calcutta? Stuck in the salt pans of Namibia?

UK -Times Online, by Ginny McGrath -Jan 26, 2006: -- Crossing southern Africa in a canvas-sided truck will be an experience consigned to history if changes to road laws go ahead.. For decades, the iconic four-wheel-drive vehicles have taken travellers on overland trips hundreds of miles in length, with seats facing outwards to allow the best views and interaction with the environment – but all that could change... Guerba, which operates 33 overland tours in Africa, is adapting its vehicles to comply with anticipated changes in legislation... (Photos: The original overland truck (top) with its canvas sides and outward-facing seats is being replaced by the more 'bus-like' model, below)

posted by Unknown @ 1:19 PM  0 Comments

Bankruptcy - USA - Blue Bird files plan for restructuring

FORT VALLEY, Ga.,USA -WALB TV 10/AP -28 Jan 2006: -- School bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation is asking a federal court to approve a prepackaged bankruptcy plan as part of its restructuring... The company said in a statement that it is moving forward with a debt-for-equity conversion plan that will strengthen its balance sheet.... Company could not say when the plant would resume full production. About 400 employees were working yesterday... Spokesman Mike McCurdy says the temporary shutdown and the company's financial troubles are the result of the slow time of year for the company as most schools order buses in May...

posted by Unknown @ 12:04 PM  0 Comments

27.1.06

BUSES' WORLD NEWS

* GM's hybrid technology buses save on fuel and reduce emissions
WASHINGTON, D.C.,USA -Auto Spectator -26 Jan 2006: General Motors announced today at the Washington Auto Show, that the first of 50 GM hybrid-powered buses manufactured by New Flyer Industries are beginning to roll into the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) fleet. GM's hybrid technology offers greater fuel economy and reduced emissions than conventional diesel buses...

* Local Buses to Run Cleaner - Old Lyme wins $167,000 from EPA
Old Lyme,Madison,CT,USA -Shore Publishing, by Erica Gradecki-27 Jan 2006: Residents within the Region 18 Lyme-Old Lyme school district will be breathing a little easier now that a grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been approved to reduce gas emissions from school buses... Using that grant, 19 school buses will have diesel particulate matter filters installed and will convert to ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. One bus will have a diesel oxidation catalyst...

* New hydrogen struts for buses: DRDOTIRUCHIRAPPALLI, India -Indiacar.net -Jan 24, 2006: The Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed an advanced electronic Automatic Transmission system that could be used in Light Commercial Vehicles... The 'Advanced Automatic Electronic System' would make engine transmission more effective and also help monitor the wheels... DRDO was also ready with Hydrogen Struts that could be installed in buses to give superior comfort to passe...

* Commuter-friendly buses to paint the town redBombay,India -Afternoon Dispatch & Courier -Jan 24, 2006: Come April, and city’s rush-hour commuters have a smile on their faces as Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) will press into service 522 passenger-friendly, brighter and spacious buses on the road...

* Faulty buses to be denied CNG Chennai,India -Hindu -25 Jan 2006: Buses and rural transport vehicles (RTVs) not possessing the necessary dust plugs and caps will be refused refilling of compressed natural gas (CNG) by Indraprastha Gas Limited from February 1st....

* Ilfov residents took to streets asking for more buses
Bucharest,Romania -Bucharest Daily News, by Denisa Maruntoiu -23 Jan 2006: Over 200 people from the village of Popesti-Leordeni, Ilfov County, protested against the lack of public transportation means by blocking the main road linking their village to the Capital on Sunday... Before blocking the road, the protesters gathered in front of the mayor's office, asking for more buses and demanding the private transportation companies to lower ticket prices...

* New Buses with old Fares
Armenia -A1plus -23 Jan 2006: 50 new buses have been imported into Armenia from Russia. They will work for 4 new bus routes. “This is not enough to provide the people, but 150 more buses are still to be imported”, the head of the Yerevan municipality Transport administration Ashot Sahakyan says... The buses will work with gas. The drivers are paid by the piece-rate system...
* Pee Dee school districts skeptical of state decision on buses
Florence,SC,USA -Florence Morning News, by SHIREESE M. BELL -Jan 22, 2006: Bus drivers across the state will no longer receive one of the perks that comes with the job: driving the buses to and from work...


* Optima delivers 12 buses to Memphis
KS,USA -Kansas.com -Jan. 24, 2006: Optima Bus Corp. has delivered 12 buses to the Memphis Area Transit Authority, which will be put into service later this month, the company said in a news release today...

* Optima to partner with bus dealer in western U.S.
Kansas,usa -Kansas.com -23 Jan 2006: Optima Bus Corp. will partner with BusWest to increase its presence in the western United States, the company said today. BusWest, a commercial bus dealership, has its headquarters in Los Angeles. It offers sales, parts and body shop services at its facilities throughout California and Nevada. It plans to open a sales facility in Phoenix...

posted by Unknown @ 9:30 PM  0 Comments

EcoNews - USA - Engineers tout eco-friendly fuel for campus buses

NY,USA -University at Buffalo: The Spectrum, by KATHERINE BECZAK -Jan 27, 2006: -- Engineers for a Sustainable Environment hope to clean up what comes out of the tailpipes of the UB Stampede buses... While shuttling back and forth between dorms and campuses on UB's fleet of buses, students may notice the dark clouds of smoke blasting from the shuttles' tailpipes. Many remain more concerned with making it to class on time rather than the potential damage for pollution, but not UB's Engineers for a Sustainable World, a new SA club focused on making the campus environmentally friendly...

posted by Unknown @ 9:24 PM  0 Comments

Hybrids - USA - Metro system unveils new buses

Gaithersburg,MD,USA -Business Gazette, by Jennifer Donatelli -Jan. 26, 2006: -- Except for cosmetic differences to their exteriors, the six new Metro buses unveiled Wednesday look like those already on the streets... They are the newest addition to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s fleet of nearly 1,500 buses and they run on diesel hybrid electric technology... (Pjoto: By Bryan Haynes⁄The Gazette -Harold Pettigrew of the District shares a laugh with Metro bus driver Kenneth Lee of Landover as Pettigrew tours one of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s new hybrid buses, which were unveiled Wednesday in Landover)

posted by Unknown @ 9:14 PM  0 Comments

Safety - UK - Bus spitting up despite crackdown


London, UK -BBC News -25 Jan 2006: -- The Spit Bus-ter posters are shown on all Cardiff buses... More bus drivers in Cardiff were spat on over the last year despite being issued with DNA testing kits to help prosecute spitting passengers... The kits were handed out to drivers as part of a campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour on buses... "With the increased awareness of CCTV and DNA swab kits on board buses, their effectiveness as a deterrent is increasing", Chris Dexter, Cardiff Bus' driver...

posted by Unknown @ 9:01 PM  0 Comments

Original - USA - Buses become poetry in motion

Pittsburgh,PA,USA -Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Elwin Green - Jan 24, 2006: -- Each weekday morning, thousands of commuters ride to work wrapped in poetry -- not the high pentameter of sonnets, but the syncopated rhythms of quatrains such as:
That big shiny bus... Is really no riddle... But it sure is odd... How it bends in the middle...
For a really good time... Where the fun never ends... Hop on a bus... With a case of the bends...

posted by Unknown @ 8:52 PM  0 Comments

Fire - New Zealand - Bus drivers want second opinion

Auckland, New Zealand -New Zealand Herald, by Mathew Dearnaley -24 Jan 2006: -- Auckland bus drivers want Stagecoach to widen an investigation into the latest of three fires in the company's fleet, to ensure no common fault is endangering them and passengers... Stagecoach engineering director Allan Cannell said the MAN 2400 series bus was registered in 2004. The vehicle struck by fire in New North Rd after a suspected electrical fault in the rear was a 700 series from 1998, and was unclear about whether the diesel leak may have caused the latest fire, which he said broke out in the engine bay of the bus, destroying its back end...

posted by Unknown @ 8:37 PM  0 Comments

Security - USA - Caught On Camera: Dump Truck Slams Into Bus


Security Video On The Bus Captures The Accident As It Happened

CUTLER BAYMiami,FL,USA -CBS 4, by Nefertiti Jáquez -Jan 24, 2006: -- One minute, they were sitting on the bus trying to wake up on their way to work. The next, more than 22 victims were lying on the floor, thrown from their seats by a collision between their Metro Transit Bus and a dump truck - onboard the bus, a sophisticated video security system caught everything that happened on board, from six angles, on tape.

posted by Unknown @ 8:16 PM  0 Comments

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* Chief of ailing GM won't ask for federal aid
Houston,TX,USA -The Houston Chronicle, by PURVA PATEL -Jan. 27, 2006: A day after General Motors Corp. reported a huge loss for 2005, the company's chief executive officer said today in Houston the automaker doesn't plan on asking the federal government for aid... "the reaction in Washington has been very slow," said Rick Wagoner...

* President offers auto makers little encouragement on possible bailout
NEW YORK,NY,USA -AP/The Wall Street Journal -Jan 26, 2006: President Bush is offering no encouragement to any U.S. automobile companies who might be thinking about turning to the federal government for a financial bailout... "I think it's very important for the market to function," he said in an interview...

* Moody's considers another cut to GM debt rating
NEW YORK,NY,USA -Reuters -Jan 27, 2006: Moody's Investors Service on Thursday said it may lower General Motors' long-term debt rating deeper into junk, saying the automaker's fourth-quarter earnings results were below expectations... Standard & Poor's lowered GM's corporate credit rating two notches on Dec. 12 to "B," five levels below investment grade, from "BB-minus" Fitch Ratings cut the automaker two notches to "B-plus," four levels below investment grade, from "BB" on Nov. 9...

* GM reserves $3.6 billion for possible Delphi pensions
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Auto News -26 Jan 2006: General Motors said Thursday that it set aside $3.6 billion as a reserve for future costs of covering pension benefits for former hourly employees who transferred to Delphi Corp., the company's former parts unit that is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy...

* Analysts see gains for Asian automakers
USA -Business Week/AP, by Dee-Ann Durbin -Jan. 27, 2006: Asian automakers will gain more U.S. market share this month despite General Motors Corp.'s decision to drop prices on most vehicles, analysts predicted... It's a familiar pattern, and one that has helped drive U.S. automakers to declining profits, restructurings that will cost GM and Ford at least 64,000 jobs in the next six years, and the possibility that Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. could topple GM as the world's largest automaker...

* Toyota, Honda sales to show big jumps in January
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Auto News -25 Jan 2006: Edmunds.com said it expects the U.S. auto industry to sell 1.07 million new light vehicles this month, up 1.6 percent from January 2005... Ford sales will decline by 8 percent, Edmunds predicts, while GM sales will fall by 5 percent and Chrysler group sales by 3 percent... At the same time, Honda and Toyota sales are likely to show sharp sales increases this month...

* Weak yen, brisk sales to lift Japan carmakers' third quarter
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters -Automotive New -Jan 27, 2006: Most Japanese carmakers look set to report firm profit growth for the latest quarter as soaring sales, deeper cost cuts and a weaker yen offset higher spending on manufacturing facilities and research into new technologies... Japanese automakers, including smaller brands such as Suzuki Motor Corp., are also racing ahead in fast-growing Asian markets, with many investing heavily on new and expanded manufacturing facilities to keep up with demand...

* Volvo recalls 42,000 trucks from U.S. market
STOCKHOLM,Sweden -Reuters -Jan 26, 2006: Sweden's Volvo said on Thursday that it had decided to recall 42,000 trucks of its Volvo VN and VHD model in the U.S. market due to a possible fire risk from pipes leaking hot gases into the engine... It said it would inspect and replace any damaged parts and install a heat shield on all trucks...

* UAW, DCX Talking Healthcare
USA -The Car Connection -27 Jan 2006: The United Auto Workers has granted Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. concessions on the healthcare benefits for union workers, albeit reluctantly... But when it comes to DaimlerChrysler, the signals for a deal on healthcare are altogether more ambiguous...

* Fiat CEO says no need for bond in first half
MILAN,Italy -Reuters -Jan 26, 2006: Fiat has strong liquidity and does not need to issue a bond in the first half of 2006, CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Thursday... Fiat, rated BB- by Standard & Poor's, hoped to return to capital markets "as soon as possible" in 2006... The CEO also reiterated Fiat had no plans to sell its 49 percent stake in consumer financing arm Fidis, denying reports... Fiat sold the majority of Fidis to banks Sanpaolo, UniCredito, Banca Intesa and Capitalia in 2003. Last year, the banks extended to 2008 an option for Fiat to buy back the stake...

* Renault strategy plan to emphasize new models
PARIS,France -Reuters -Jan 27, 2006 -- Renault earlier announced it was creating five regional management teams (France, Europe outside France, Euromed region -includes eastern Europe, Russia/CIS, Turkey, North Africa and Israel-, Asia and Africa, Americas), putting members of its group executive team in charge of various parts of the world... The move reflected the group's strategy to seek growth beyond its French and main European markets, which have become very mature and are currently characterized by fierce price competition... Renault added that the head of the Renault Samsung Motors car venture in South Korea, would become managing director of the Mercosur area in South America...

posted by Unknown @ 8:11 PM  0 Comments

GM News - USA - Automaker is dragged down by losses in its North American division

GM loses $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter - Restructuring costs

DETROIT,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Bill Vlasic & Brett Clanton -Jan 26, 2006: -- General Motors Corp. closed the books Thursday on a miserable 2005, but in the process took major steps toward downsizing its North American auto operations and resolving its long-term pension obligations at bankrupt Delphi Corp... GM's staggering $8.6 billion loss last year was the second worst in its history, underscoring the automaker's dismal performance in the U.S. market and its crippling problems with excess factories and health care costs... But the huge loss was due in part to $3.6 billion in charges taken in the fourth quarter to fund the cost of factory closures and long-term pension and benefit obligations to former GM workers employed at Delphi... GM also disclosed that it is in discussions with the UAW on "an accelerated attrition program" that could pave the way for a wave of early retirements in its hourly work force... By some estimates, about half of GM's 105,000 blue-collar workers in the United States will be eligible to retire by 2007 with 30 years of service...

posted by Unknown @ 7:47 PM  0 Comments

23.1.06

BUSES' WORLD NEWS - Condenseds

* Unitrans tests modern double-deck bus
Davis,CAL,USA -The California Aggie Online, by Marion Everidge -23 Jan 2006: Vintage London double-deck buses have operated in Davis since 1968 as a city icon. Looking toward the future, Unitrans is testing a modern model for possible service operation... Students urged to provide feedback...

* Transit officials look to hybrid buses
Montreal,QUE,Canada -The Gazette, by MICHELLE LaLONDE -Jan 22, 2006: Montreal's transit authority will buy 14 hybrid buses in 2007 but would like to have the cleaner and more economical vehicles on city roads sooner, says the vice-chairperson of the Montreal Transit Corp... But Quebec manufacturer Nova can't have vehicles on the market before 2007, Rotrand complains...

* 1 in 4 feels scared travelling on buses and trains at night
Glasgow,Scotland,UK -Glasgow Evening Times -17 Jan 2006: More than one in four people feels scared on a bus or train in Glasgow in the evening... A study into public transport across Scotland found 28% of passengers in the city did not feel safe using buses at night. And 26% said they didn't feel safe from crime on trains...

* Mississinewa reports interest, 'on new Schools buses '
GAS CITY,Marion,IN,USA -Marion Chronicle Tribune, by KATIE ALBRIGHT -17 Jan 2006: Mississinewa Community Schools earned more than $90,000 in interest in 2005, according to the district's Board of Finance investment report, presented Monday night after the regular school board meeting... The board approved the purchase of two new passenger buses and a special needs bus through Midwest Transit Equipment of Indiana Inc., Whitestown...

* Mini bus service: HC order to RTOs
Madurai,Chennai,India -Chennai Online - Jan 18, 2005: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court today directed Road Transport Officers (RTOs) in Madurai district to grant permission within eight weeks to mini bus operators to operate the services on various routes based on seniority of applications... The eight-cylinder, 66-passenger buses will be purchased for a net price, after trade in, of $102,108, and the special needs bus will be purchased for $37,206, for a total of roughly $139,000...

* Volvo buses join BMTC fleet
Karnataka,Bangalore,Chennai,India-The Hindu -18 Jan 2006: Three low-floor Volvo buses joined the fleet of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) here on Tuesday marking a beginning in revolutionising the urban transport system in the country... Fully air-conditioned Volvo buses are Euro-III compliant... Gold pass scheme to be introduced... Cauvery bus used for city ride replaced...

* LTFRB phasing out old buses
Manila,Philippines -Tempo -18 Jan 2006: ... Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) urged yesterdaybus operators to comply with the phase-out program for 15-year-old public utility buses ...

* Passenger drowns as bus plunges through ice in Siberia
MOSCOW,Russia -RIA Novosti -Jan 19, 2006: One person has drowned after a bus plunged through ice covering a Siberian river, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Thursday... All the other 20 passengers of the privately-owned bus have been rescued, said Vladimir Berdnikov, the chief spokesman for the ministry's Siberian department...

* Livonia leaves SMART bus line
LIVONIA,Detroit,MI,USA -The Detroit News, by Catherine Jun -Jan 19, 2006: The Livonia City Council voted Wednesday night to withdraw from the regional suburban bus system in the fall and put a local transportation service in its place... The motion comes months after the city's voters approved a referendum for a replacement transit system, paving the way for Livonia to exit SMART, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation...

* Board considers replacing school buses
Pittsburgh,PA,USA -Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, by Genea Webb -Jan 19, 2006: Students in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District may be riding new buses to school in the near future... The board last week voted 8-1 to look into adopting a capitol replacement schedule reducing the age of its 93-vehicle bus fleet over a five-year period...

* FAW ties up with private manufacturer to produce buses
China -AWKnowledge (UK) -19 Jan, 2006: FAW's first joint venture with a private manufacturer was set up on 17 January. FAW Bus (Chengdu) Corp. is a 50:50 joint venture between FAW and Chengdu-based Anda Special Vehicle Company... In 2006, the venture plans to produce and sell 3,000 buses...

* Call for competition on city bus routes
Dublin,Ireland -Ireland Online -20 Jan 2006: Opening Dublin’s bus system to competing operators could lead to a huge leap in the number of people using public transport, it was claimed today... Fine Gael Transport Spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said allowing new companies to enter the market would provide more buses and more routes for a greater number of passengers in the city...

* Boss urges town to get on the buses
London,UK -Bucks Free Press, by Paul Leat -20 Jan 2006: CALLS are being made to bring buses up to speed in time for Wycombe's new town centre redevelopment... Steve Burns co-owner of bus company Carousel in Baker Street, High Wycombe, said: "We should be encouraging people in Wycombe to get out of their cars, but at the moment, I'm not sure if there are even any plans for more bus lanes. More people should be using buses because of the traffic and the environment"...

* KC buses get more riders
Kansas City,MO,USA -The Kansas City Star, by BRAD COOPER -22 Jan 2006: All three area transit agencies report increases... With gas prices climbing to new heights last year, more people across the metro area turned to the bus for transportation, new figures show... The ATA reported a 5.6 percent increase in average weekday ridership, snapping a three-year decline that began in 2002. The ATA’s ridership had declined four of the previous five years...

* Count them in: NJ Transit tallies riders
TOMS RIVER,NJ,USA -Ocean County Observer, by Lawrence Meegan -19 Jan 2006: NJ Transit officials were taking a head count yesterday morning of the riders who take their express buses to New York City... Bus ridership in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 increased to 39.6 million trips, an increase of 3.1 percent over the same period last year. The largest gain (5 percent to 7 percent) was in the lines serving New York City. NJ Transit now carries more than 531,000 customers on a typical weekday...

* Most mass transit riders in 3 years
Pittsburgh, Penn,USA - The Pittsburgh Business Times -Jan 20, 2006: The Port Authority of Allegheny County said nearly 70 million people used its buses, light rail lines and incline in 2005, the highest number in three years. The number represented a 2.2 percent increase from 2004, while the average weekday light rail ridership was 25,187, its best in eight years... Weekday use of mass transit in the Pittsburgh area has risen for 16 straight months...

posted by Unknown @ 1:05 PM  0 Comments

Story - USA - Day in life of bus rider

Getting around Hampton Roads on the bus is a foreign experience to most. Here's a look at what the journey is like
Hampton Roads, Virginia -Daily Press, by TONY GABRIELE -Jan 23, 2006: It's a weekday morning in January, and I'm riding the bus. And you're not.... Well, probably you're not. Thousands of Peninsula residents do take Hampton Roads Transit buses every day to get where they're going... So what have I learned? It'll probably be hard to get many people to forsake their cars for bus commuting, because of the extra time it takes and the routes that don't go everywhere... HRT spokesmen have said they'd like to extend the system but don't have the money... But if you're near a bus stop - and energetic folks note, many HRT buses now have bicycle racks - the bus is a fairly comfortable, economical (and gas-saving) way to get around the Peninsula.And when you car lets you down, you may not be stranded... (Photo: Sangjib Min/Daily Press)

posted by Unknown @ 12:54 PM  0 Comments

Troubles - India - 1,300 Toyota employees arrested

India -libcom.org - Jan 22, 2006: -- 1,300 employees at Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), were arrested on Saturday as they gathered at the State Labour Secretary's office after buses failed to pick them up from work... 60 employees attended the TKM plant on Saturday after it was decided to resume talks following a wildcat action and lock-out this week, although TKM claimed 200 employees were back at work... However a union representative stated that around 1,000 workers waited for State Goverment buses which did not turn up: "We suspect the hand of BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) authorities in not allowing the buses to pick us up," he told Business Line...

posted by Unknown @ 12:19 PM  0 Comments

Icy Roads - USA - School Buses On

Bristol,TN,USA -WJHL NewsChannel 11/Bristol Herald Courier, by Josh Green -18 Jan 2006: -- Police worked more than two-dozen automobile accidents Wednesday morning in the Tri-Cities....most are blamed on icy roadways... But school buses were still on the roads...we asked why: "A lot of times there have been nights when we wished nobody had cars," Cheryl Miller said as she knight a blanket for her grand-daughter Wednesday night...

posted by Unknown @ 12:06 PM  0 Comments

Opinion - Australia - The cure for blocked arteries

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald, by Elizabeth Farrelly -Jan 21, 2006: -- As Sydney traffic moves closer to unbearable congestion, it is time to develop the only real solution: light rail... When I lived in London years ago, no one I knew drove into the city centre. No one would dream of doing such a thing - except, surprise, Australians and New Zealanders... Helplessly individualist, the downunderers figured that getting bogged on Regent Street or Oxford Circus was at least going to be picturesque, given the endless pedestrian throng... What they weren't getting, though, was that London was no longer that kind of city...

posted by Unknown @ 11:51 AM  0 Comments

GreenNews - Macedonia - First 30 Environmentally Friendly Buses Released in Skopje

JSP buses were among the biggest polluters in Skopje until now

Skopje,Macedonia -OneWorld.net(London,UK), by Elena Simonoska -19 Jan 2006: -- Earlier this week, the Skopje Public Transportation Company (JSP) released for daily use the first 30 buses that use mixture of diesel and natural gas as fuel, to mark the company’s 58th Anniversary... The buses will not emit pollutant gasses into the environment, and the engine generated noise will be reduced to the minimum. JSP expects the new buses to be quite frugal and save the company approximated 16,000 EUR monthly...

posted by Unknown @ 11:45 AM  0 Comments

Free Shuttle Buses - USA - St. John’s Spurred by Students’ Input

Queens,NY,USA -St. John's University -Jan 19, 2006: St. John’s University students will have an enhanced system of free University-sponsored shuttle buses at their disposal as they start their second semester... A new shuttle connecting the Queens campus with the Long Island Railroad Jamaica Station transportation hub will be offered starting January 18... This is in addition to the shuttle between campus and the Kew Gardens subway stop, which ran successfully throughout last semester...

posted by Unknown @ 11:28 AM  0 Comments

Councillors - Canada - Put brakes on buying more articulated buses

Ottawa,Ontario,Canada -CBC NewsOttawa -Jan 19 2006: -- Some city councillors called for a moratorium on buying articulated buses during a meeting Wednesday about how the transit system fared during a snowstorm last month... One of many articulated buses stuck on Dec. 16, when 24 cm of heavy snow fell the morning, 107 of the 800 OC Transpo buses became stuck, clogging the Transitway and streets across the city. About 83 per cent of those were the long, two-section buses...

posted by Unknown @ 11:22 AM  0 Comments

Fire - USA - Probers check on potential for bus disaster

New York,NY,USA -New York Daily News, by Pete Donohue -Jan 19, 2006: -- A rise in the number of potentially disastrous bus fires has prompted state investigators to launch a multiyear review to better identify trends and causes... The number of public bus blazes statewide has more than doubled in recent years - from 16 in 2002 to 34 in 2004, according to the state Transportation Department... The state Public Transportation Safety Board has directed staffers to review data from the Transit Authority, other MTA subsidiaries and other state-funded bus operators going back three or so years... The buses involved are 45-foot rigs built by Motor Coach Industries Inc., and an advisory of the potential problem has been sent to bus operators across the state, the board said...

posted by Unknown @ 11:08 AM  0 Comments

GrennNews - USA - Buses a valuable option

Aspen,CO,USA -Aspen Times -Jan 18, 2006: -- Nearly 215,000 more people rode Roaring Fork Transportation Authority buses in 2005 than did in 2004... The surge of riders has RFTA, Colorado's second-largest public transportation agency, scrambling to find new seats for all those passengers standing in the aisle. This is very good news for the valley... The increase in ridership means thousands upon thousands of cars didn't crowd Highway 82 in 2005, and thousands of pounds of pollutants didn't enter the atmosphere...

posted by Unknown @ 11:01 AM  0 Comments

Losses - USA - Buses back, but not all riders

Only handfuls of Lakota students carried on some

WEST CHESTER,Cincinnati,OH,USA -Cincinnati Enquirer, by Michael D. Clark -Jan 18, 2006: -- School buses returned to Lakota neighborhoods Tuesday but with fewer riders... More than 3,000 students in the Butler County school system lost their bus transportation last January while district officials struggled with millions in budget cuts brought on by three consecutive levy defeats... Busing was eliminated for all high-schoolers and for kindergartners through ninth-graders who lived less than a mile from school...

posted by Unknown @ 10:49 AM  0 Comments

Purchases - USA - Polk bought 37 new Thomas C-2 school buses

New and Better Buses

Lakeland,FL,USA -Lakeland Ledger -Jan 17, 2006: -- The wheels on Polk County's new school buses still go 'round and 'round. But now they turn with a better turning radius and a sleek new body that gives drivers better visibility... The Polk County School Board bought 37 new Thomas C-2 school buses this year. The new buses, still painted the traditional cheese yellow with black trim, have more safety features and are safer for drivers and students, said Fred Murphy, assistant superintendent of Facilities and Operations...

posted by Unknown @ 10:33 AM  0 Comments

21.1.06

BUSES WORLD NEWS - Condenseds

* Volvo may target city bus segment
Delhi,India -The Economic Times -14 Jan 2006: Volvo India is moving into the next stage of expansion in the country. The Swedish bus maker that had been focusing on the inter-city and tourist coach market in India till now, announced its entry into the city bus segment...

* India & China Asian sourcing hub in bus manufacturing segment
Bangalore,New Delhi,India -Press Trust of India -Jan 16, 2006: Volvo would make India, along with China, the Asian sourcing hub in the bus manufacturing segment for domestic and global markets, a top company executive said today... Volvo Bus Corporation President Hakan Karlsson also said that the company was looking at increasing Volvo bus exports from India from the current 10 per cent to 20-25 per cent in the "short-term"...

* Ashok Leyland plans unit in Dubai
Taramani,Chennai,India -Sify -14 Jan , 2006: Commercial Vehicle manufacturer and Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland (ALL) has announced additional investments to the tune of Rs 550 crore to be pumped in during the next two years for increasing production capacities at its existing plants and for setting up two new bus body and chassis assembly units, one of which will be located in Dubai, U.A.E...

* Tata to supply CNG buses to Philippines
Mumbai, India -Business Standard -Jan 17, 2006: Tata Motors is exploring the possibility of supplying compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to the Philippines.... This was revealed today by executives of Tata Sons, promoters of Tata Motors, at a meeting with a delegation which came from the Philippines...

* Cameras To Be Installed On IndyGo Buses
Indianapolis, Ind., USA -The Indy TV Channel -Jan 13, 2006: IndyGo says it will install video surveillance systems on its 237 buses by the end of the summer... The public transportation provider said onboard and outboard cameras will partly be used to provide evidence in cases of complaints...

* Aloha cuts bus fares by half in standoff
Taiwan -The China Post 156 Jan 2006: Taking advantage of the ongoing battle between intercity bus operator Aloha and Taipei municipal officials, many savvy consumers in Taipei area got a rare treat of a 50 percent discount in bus fares...

* Costly and cumbersome: it's time to get off the light rail bandwagon
Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald -Jan 17, 2006: Sydney already has the right combination of heavy rail and buses, so why change, asks John Lee... If there is one issue in public transport policy that ranks as a cargo cult, it is light rail. After six or so years of operating public transport, I believe the existing combination of heavy rail and buses is the right mix for Sydney... There is no substitute for heavy rail for mass transit over a distance. For sheer people-moving power around a spread-out city such as Sydney, it cannot be beaten...

posted by Unknown @ 1:27 PM  0 Comments

Technology - UK - Self-steering buses set the new course in Britain

UK - The Peninsula Times(Qatar) -15 Jan 2006: -- SPOTTING a bus driver accelerating down the street with both hands off the wheel should no longer be cause for alarm under plans to introduce Britain’s first self-steering bus... The streets of Cambridge are to be the test ground for a system that will allow thousands of miles of new bus lanes to be installed on roads that are too narrow for ordinary buses... The self-steering bus, which uses a camera mounted at the top of the windscreen to follow lines painted on the road, does not deviate more than a few millimetres from its course...

posted by Unknown @ 1:11 PM  0 Comments

Fuller loads - USA - Pain at pump means full school buses

Eagle County, Col,USA -Vail Daily, by Connie Steiert -Jan 14, 2006: -- When gas prices started skyrocketing this past summer, consumers began to look for ways to save at the pump. Some purchased hybrid cars, some carpooled and others rode the bus... Many local parents decided one way to save pennies at the pump was to send their children to school on the bus. Parents, who used to chauffeur tykes to the front door of their neighborhood school, are now waving them off at the bus stop near home... School buses have been carrying much fuller loads since the beginning of the school year, says Melanie McMichael, director of transportation for the Eagle County School District...

posted by Unknown @ 1:11 PM  0 Comments

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* Daimler chairman denies breaking German law
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -Jan 19, 2006: DaimlerChrysler Chairman Hilmar Kopper has denied allegations that he violated insider trading regulations, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported in an advanced copy of its Friday edition... On Wednesday, Jan. 18, German prosecutors launched an insider trading investigation into Kopper's dealings, but an official declined to provide details on why it had started the probe...

* Agnelli family denies plans to split interests
MILAN,Italy -Reuters -Jan 20, 2006: The Agnelli family, which controls Fiat, has no plans to split its interests and put the carmaker in the hands of deputy chairman John Elkann and his branch of the family, parent company Giovanni Agnelli & C said, denying a news report... I would like to make clear ... that the idea of a "break up" referred to in the article has no echo in the operations or in the plans of our group," Gianluigi Gabetti, chairman of the Agnelli family holding firms, said in a letter to weekly magazine Panorama which is due to publish the report Friday... John Elkann is a grandson of Gianni Agnelli, who died in 2003, and a great-great grandson of Fiat's founder...

* VW boardroom strife eases as investors end row
FRANKFURT -Reuters -Jan 20, 2006: A divisive boardroom power struggle at Volkswagen that threatened to delay crucial restructuring efforts at Europe's largest carmaker eased on Friday as its two biggest investors ended a row... The deal announced by Porsche and the German state of Lower Saxony puts the sports car maker's CEO on VW's supervisory board next week while strengthening the hand of embattled VW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder and providing for a more independent chairman to oversee VW in the future...

* "Hydrogen isn't the only answer to powertrain puzzle"
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Amy Wilson -Jan 18, 2006: Gasoline-powered internal combustion engines will be around for at least 50 years, Ford Motor Co.'s top environmental engineer says... But the industry will turn to a wide variety of alternate technologies, including diesels and fuel cells, in the meantime. "You're going to see everything," said Sue Cischke, Ford vice president of environmental and safety engineering... "There's not just one answer. The question of whether hydrogen will be the answer or not is still one that everybody's debating."...

* Delphi’s Miller earned $3.87 million in 2005
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by David Barkholz -Jan 20, 2006: Delphi Corp. CEO Steve Miller earned $875,000 in salary between June and year’s end before he reduced his salary to $1 for 2006 in light of the company’s bankruptcy filing...

* Audi sales up 18 percent so far in January, CEO says
MUNICH,Germany -Reuters -Jan 19, 2006: Volkswagen's premium brand Audi has increased car sales by 18 percent so far in January from the same period last year, CEO Martin Winterkorn told Reuters on Thursday...

* Suzuki Motor sees global car sales up 10 percent in 2006
TOKYO, Japan -Reuters -Jan 20, 2006: Suzuki Motor Corp. predicted on Friday that its global car sales would rise 10 percent to a record 2.22 million units this year, boosted by robust demand for the Swift and other compact cars abroad...

* Renault leads 2005 German short-term registrations
FRANKFURT, Germany -Reuters -Jan 20, 2006: More than 21,600 new Renault cars registered in Germany in 2005 were de-registered within a month, putting the French carmaker top of the list for such short-term moves, official statistics showed on Friday...

* DaimlerChrysler raises Mercedes-Benz prices in Germany
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -Jan 20, 2006: DaimlerChrysler will raise list prices for Mercedes-Benz cars in the core German market by an average 0.9 percent from Feb. 13, the world's fifth-biggest carmaker said on Friday...

* Johnson Controls earnings, sales above expectations
CHICAGO,Ill,USA -Reuters -20 Jan 2006: Auto parts maker Johnson Controls Inc. on Friday posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales driven by growing demand in its automotive interior and batteries businesses...

* "Competition from India isn't in the cards any time soon"
DETROIT -Automotive News, by Greg Migliore -Jan 19, 2006: U.S. automakers may be concerned about imports from China, but competition from India isn't in the cards any time soon, says the president of India's second-biggest automaker... "In terms of quality, the Indian manufacturers are ahead of the Chinese", said Prakash Telang, Tata Motors' President ...

* Toyota to expand Mexico truck plant
Tokyo,Japan -Automotive News, by Greg Migliore -Jan 20, 2006: Toyota Motor Co. is spending $37 million to expand its Tacoma pickup plant in Tijuana, Mexico.The expansion will boost the annual capacity of the plant, called Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California, by 20,000 units to 50,000. It also will be able to make 200,000 beds a year for Tacoma trucks. The expansion is to be complete by 2007...


* VW plant in Portugal to build additional model
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -Jan 20, 2006: Volkswagen has decided to build an additional vehicle at its Portugese plant in Setubal from the first half of 2008, Europe's biggest carmaker said on Friday... "The decision to make a new model at Autoeuropa in Portugal is based on the plant's competitive cost level and the positive conditions that were created along with the Portugese government and labour representatives"...

posted by Unknown @ 12:51 PM  0 Comments

FORD - USA - Downsizing will cut deeper than expected

Ford restructuring plan will include at least 10 plant closures and loss of at least 25,000 hourly jobs

DEARBORN,Mich,USA - The Detroit News, by Bryce Hoffman -Jan 21, 2006: -- Ford Motor Co. will unveil a restructuring plan Monday that calls for closing at least 10 assembly and component plants and eliminating 25,000 to 30,000 hourly jobs in North America within five years, according to people familiar with the plan... The cuts would be deeper than many had expected, signaling the urgency of Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr.'s push to restore the automaker's ailing North American operations... Bill Ford has promised the impending moves will affect all levels of the company. As such, the automaker will announce plans to reduce the number of top executives on Monday. One of those will be sales and marketing vice president Steve Lyons...

posted by Unknown @ 12:08 PM  0 Comments

19.1.06

Purchases - USA - Consortium Orders 157 GM Hybrid-Powered Buses

USA - MassTransit -Jan 18, 2006: -- A hybrid bus consortium consisting of 11 transit agencies in California, Nevada and New Mexico has awarded a contract to Gillig Corp. for the purchase of up to 157 diesel-electric hybrid buses powered by General Motors' advanced hybrid propulsion system... The purchase contract is the second largest since GM's hybrid diesel-electric system debuted in 2003 and was spearheaded by the San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) in California. San Joaquin RTD formed the consortium with other transit agencies to boost purchasing power and reduce per-vehicle costs through mass ordering. San Joaquin RTD plans on buying 50 hybrid buses, while the remaining 107 buses will be available for other consortium members...

posted by Unknown @ 9:26 PM  0 Comments

Nader - USA - Ford and GM stifle innovation

"Ford and GM must liberate their engineering and scientific talent if they are to survive"
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by David Kushma -Jan 18, 2006: -- Said consumer advocate Ralph Nader speaking on Automotive News World Congress. But he's not optimistic about their ability to do so... Nader called the two U.S. automakers "companies of huge bulk, shrinking to be sure, but very autocratic, very hierarchical". Their focus on finance and marketing emphasizes short-term gain and stifles technological innovation, he said... Nader offered a four-point agenda for U.S. automakers: -1. Respect suppliers, which he said have become major forces for safety innovation. -2. Place a higher priority on vehicle safety. -3. Rethink globalization and free trade. -4. Eliminate impediments to innovation... Responding to a question after his speech, Nader said he does not own a car. He called that decision "a small contribution to decongesting" traffic in Washington, D.C., where he lives...

posted by Unknown @ 7:04 PM  0 Comments

15.1.06

State-of-the art - Australia - Ogden's invests more than $1 million

Mudgee,New South Wales,Australia -Mudgeee Guardian & Gulgong Advertiser, by LISA GERVAIS -13 Jan 2006: -- Mudgee's Ogden's Coaches has purchased another half-a-million-dollar coach for its CountryLink run to and from Lithgow... The coaches are state-of-the art... A major feature is a wheelchair hoist that allows wheelchairs to be wheeled to the side of the coach and taken up onto the coach on a lift...

posted by Unknown @ 5:37 PM  0 Comments

14.1.06

BUSES WORLD NEWS - Condenseds

* Seatbelt plea for all buses used by kids
Belfast,N.I., United Kingdom -Belfast Telegraph, by Michael McHugh -6 Jan 2006: There were calls for a fleet of buses solely for school children yesterday as the controversy about kids standing on buses took another twist...

* Service with a smile on the buses lands Mo top award
Scotland,United Kingdom -Scotsman, by ALAN RODEN -6 Jan 2005: A Bus driver who provides tips to tourists on where to eat and says hello to every passenger has been named the best public transport worker in Scotland... Mo Phillips, who drives the number 31 service for Lothian Buses, was praised as an "ambassador" for Edinburgh at a national awards ceremony... The 41-year-old from Prestonfield, one of only 55 female drivers with Lothian Buses, specialises in talking to her passengers - in contrast with stereotypical grumpy bus drivers...

* Now welcome aboard buses without barriers
NEW DELHI,Chennai,India -The Hindu, by Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar -7 Jan 2006: A visually-impaired man about 30 feet from a bus terminal in the Capital strains his ears and starts walking towards a speaker installed at the bus stop which beckons him with a recorded announcement, "Welcome to Hauz Khas bus terminal... ." The man soon finds bright yellow guiding and warning tiles beneath his feet that guide him to the bus shelter which also has a ramp for easy movement... Then as a bus approaches the stand, speaker on board announcing, "This bus is plying on route 620 and going to Shivaji Stadium... ." With the height of the stand being 38 cm, the man is able to simply walk into the bus and take a reserved seat...

* Hybrid buses enter transit mix
EDMONTON,ALB,Canada -The Edmonton Journal, by Keith Gerein -Jan 07, 2006: With eye on replacing older vehicles, ETS will begin tests on three models... Edmonton Transit customers can take a ride into the future this year when the city test drives three types of hybrid diesel-electric buses that could one day become the mainstay of the city's fleet...

* With MnDOT help, public buses may run in OTC
Fergus Falls, Minnesota The Fergus Falls Journal, by Sarah Horner -Jan 7, 2006: Otter Tail is one of the few counties in Minnesota that doesn't provide public transportation for its residents, but maybe not for long... the DOT might finally have enough money to help fund such a project... The county initially applied for a $875,000 grant three years ago to fund countywide public transit, and operation costs have likely climbed since then. MnDOT's recent financial commitment to Skauge was for $250,000 to $500,000...

* 4,000 new buses, shorter routes
Bangkok, Thailand -The Bangkok Post -8 Jan 2006: The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) will start revamping bus routesthis month and deploy 4,000 new air-conditioned buses in a major exercise to provide ...

* Bikes on buses? Tracked by deficits - Advances vowed, but some skeptical
ROXBURY,Boston,Conn,USA -The Boston Globe, by Jennifer Schwartz -Jan 8, 2006: MBTA buses emerge from their garage during her daily commute to work. Some of the buses on three cross-town routes, lack bike racks, which have been touted by the T as available ''to be used at all times" since 2000... The T says that the temporary absence of racks owes to bus maintenance, and further, that it plans to outfit 250 more buses with bike racks this spring, with the possibility of adding more in the future. But cyclists, says she doubts the commitment to the expansion...

* Banish rickety buses, Govt is ready with new rules: safe, comfortable and disabled friendly
NEW DELHI,India -Indian Express, by KANDULA SUBRAMANIAM -Jan 8, 2006: City and inter-state buses, run by private operators and state-owned companies across the country, would soon have to meet minimum safety and comfort standards before getting a permit to hit the road...

* MTA takes over fifth private bus line
NEW YORK,NY,USA -AP -Jan 8, 2006: A fifth private bus line has been brought under the operation of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority... Four other lines have already been transferred to the MTA, and the remaining two lines, Jamaica and Triboro, are expected to be taken over by the MTA this winter, Bloomberg said...

* Fiat, Suzuki hitch local rides
New Delhi,India -Business Standard -Jan 14, 2006: Italian, Japanese majors to sell cars, bikes through Tata, Maruti dealers... The second day of the Auto Expo saw back-to-back announcements about two multinationals — Italy’s Fiat and Suzuki Motors of Japan — looking to leverage their more established partners’ networks in the country...

* Leyland heads for Dubai, lines up Rs 550 cr plan
New Delhi,India -Business Standard -Jan 14, 2006: Flagship company of the Hindujas, Ashok Leyland, today said that it would invest Rs 550 crore in the next two years on capacity expansion for all its commercial vehicles... This will include setting up of a unit in Dubai to build bodies of buses, a bus manufacturing factory in North India and a unit to manufacture gears for export...

* Pact with Fiat our window to the world: Tata
New Delhi,India -Business Standard -Jan 14, 2006: Says Tata Motors will be able to access Fiat’s technology and its vast marketing network in Europe... Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata today described the deal with Italy’s Fiat Group under which Tata dealers will sell Fiat cars and "evolving relationship with no barriers or boundaries"...

* Anger grows over plan to halt buses
Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -The Age, by Dan Silkstone -Jan 10, 2006: Saturday night and Sunday bus services in Dandenong and Springvale will halt next month because the State Government is refusing to fund them... The Government says its transport priorities are improving bus services in outer Melbourne and lifting public transport capacity in the fast-growing Dandenong corridor. But two bus routes —which meet both of those goals and have carried 900,000 people in the past year— have been axed because the Government does not want to pay for them... In last May's state budget the Government committed $45 million over four years for outer suburban bus services, including $1 million for the Dandenong area. Experts say that is only a fraction of what is needed...

* New buses for Yarmouth route
Norfolk,England,UK -Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, by TOM SMITHARD -9 Jan 2006: Passengers along the East Coast will find their bus travel just the ticket from Tuesday as £600,000 of investment is rolled out along their route... First Eastern Counties has bought three new single-decker buses for route eight - from Caister to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston via Yarmouth - and spent £100,000 upgrading six double-deckers...

* Over-speeding buses a menace on our roads
Gaberones,Botswana -Mmegi -10 Jan 2006: We always feared something bad was going to happen. But like everybody else, we believed that good sense would somehow prevail to avert catastrophic consequences... The A1 road (in particular Gaborone-Francistown road) has a lot of traffic congestion... The long distance buses that ply this route everyday are either driven by speed maniacs or they have been constructed in such a way that they have difficulty keeping to the speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour. They whiz past bemused motorists at supersonic speed. For bus operators, this road has been turned into a race-course for their latest double-deck acquisitions and sleek state of the art Marcopollos, Volvos and Man...

* Bee-Line Buses Will Soon Accept MetroCards
New York,NY,USA -NY1 News -Jan 10, 2006: Riders of Westchester's bee-line buses who also use city buses and subways will soon be able to use their MetroCards for travel north of the city...

* Trams 'won't drive buses away'
Scotland,United Kingdom -Scotsman, by JANE BRADLEY -13 Jan 2006: Transport leader Andrew Burns has insisted Edinburgh's proposed trams network will not affect the city's bus companies... Union leaders fear the network will spell disaster for Lothian Buses by luring passengers off buses, instead of drivers out of their cars... But Councillor Burns told a public meeting held by the Edinburgh Traffic Forum (ETF) last night that trams may even increase the number of bus passengers...

* Council to control buses?
London,UK -Bucks Free Press -13 Jan 2006: Greater council control of bus routes may help tackle High Wycombe's "unreliable" bus services... Buckinghamshire County Council has said it is considering getting more involved in running services, the week after Arriva upped its bus fares again and slashed child discount...

posted by Unknown @ 6:24 PM  0 Comments

Sales - Romania - DaimlerChrysler wins order for 400 city buses

Bucharest,ROMANIA -AWKnowledge, UK, (subscription)/Reuters-13 Jan 2005: DaimlerChrysler has won an order from the bus operator RATB in Bucharest,Romania to supply 400 Mercedes-Benz brand Citaro city buses in 2006...

posted by Unknown @ 6:05 PM  0 Comments

Purchases - Canada - GO gets more buses, trains

Ontario,Canada -CBC News -Jan 11 2006: -- Ontario will spend more than $73 million on new railcars and buses for GO Transit, Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar announced Tuesday... The government is adding 20 more bi-level railcars and 31 buses to its fleet to meet the growing demand for service... Takhar said the new vehicles would allow GO to carry an additional 6,400 passengers each day... The purchases will increase GO's bi-level rail fleet to 415 cars and its bus fleet to 299 vehicles...

posted by Unknown @ 5:32 PM  0 Comments

Up to dated - India - BMTC to run hitech bus services soon

The low-floor buses will be air-conditioned - All the buses will be equipped with global positioning system

Karnataka,Bangalore,India -The Hindu, by Anil Kumar Sastry -11 Jan 2006: -- Bangalore will soon get a gift from Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in the form of air-conditioned, low-floor and auto transmission Volvo buses of Euro III model... While 25 buses are to be taken on contract from private operators, BMTC will deploy another 25 on its own, officials said. BMTC conductors will be deputed for the private buses, while the private operators will employ their own drivers...

posted by Unknown @ 5:26 PM  0 Comments

Sales - Cuba - China helps Cuba boost transit with trains, buses

Buses are part of a 1,000-bus deal
HAVANA,Cuba -Associated Press/daily Granma -Jan 10 2006: -- Twelve new locomotives and 80 buses purchased from China to help improve local transportation have arrived in Havana... The value of the locomotives, which were bought last year with credit, plus the cost to transport them was more than $15 million... The 80 buses are part of a 1,000-bus deal worth more than $100 million, the newspaper said...

posted by Unknown @ 5:21 PM  0 Comments

WIRELESS system - India - For BEST buses likely

Bombay,India -Mid-Day Mumbai -10 Jan 2006: BEST has finally woken up to the need for better communication after the 26/7 deluge... It is likely to introduce wireless communication in its buses so that drivers and the depot can stay connected during emergencies... This will help 25 bus depots and 3,391 buses...

posted by Unknown @ 5:13 PM  0 Comments

Plans - UK - Costs worry over bus travel scheme

Scotland,United Kingdom -Scotsman -10 Jan 2006: -- MSPs demanded an urgent update on ministers' plans to give free bus travel to the elderly and disabled following a large increase in its cost... Holyrood's Finance Committee questioned whether the scheme was under control following a £15 million increase in its revised operating costs for 2005-06... The national concessions scheme, due to come into force in April, will allow users unlimited, Scotland-wide free bus travel at any time of the day...

posted by Unknown @ 5:01 PM  0 Comments

Market - India - Volvo to foray into city bus segment

New Delhi,India -Press Trust Of India -Jan 10, 2006: -- After creating a niche in the inter-city bus market, luxury bus maker Volvo is now targeting the city-bus segment, bagging the first order in Bangalore... “We have bagged the first order for city buses in Bangalore and will expand the segment further by targeting newer cities,” Volvo buses South Asia head and vice-president Akash Passey said.... “We will deliver the first lot of 25 buses in Bangalore before March”... The company is already a preferred player on the inter-city route, having sold as many as 1,000 buses since 2001.... In fact, in 2005, it sold 400 units and Volvo buses are not only being used by inter-city operators in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab but also on the India-Pakistan bus route...

posted by Unknown @ 4:46 PM  0 Comments

Service - USA - Capitol Board Sets Up Satellite Parking

SALT LAKE CITY,UTH,USA -KUTV -Jan 14, 2006: -- Free transit tokens will be available at 60 city parking lots, where people can park and take public transportation to visit the state Capitol during the legislative session... Because the Capitol is undergoing renovations, parking is already limited and will be even more when state lawmakers convene Monday...

posted by Unknown @ 4:32 PM  0 Comments

Fuel Alternatives - USA - Natural gas buses still cheaper to run than diesel

Blue Water Transit's fuel prices up 65% in a year
Port Huron,MI,USA -Port Huron Times Herald, by MOLLY MONTAG -Jan 8, 2006: -- There's good news and bad news about the "This Vehicle Powered by Natural Gas" stickers on the back of Blue Water Area Transit vehicles... The good news? Natural gas burns cleaner and cheaper than diesel. The bad news? It's the same natural gas that heats homes and has skyrocketed in cost... The system is enjoying an increase in ridership at the same time it's suffering rising fuel prices...

posted by Unknown @ 4:29 PM  0 Comments

EcoNews - Ireland - Dublin Bus in bio-fuel pilot scheme

Dublin, Ireland -RTE News -23 Dec 2005: -- Dublin Bus is to commence a pilot project on the use of bio-fuels in its fleet next year, because the spike in oil prices means its diesel bill will double in just three years... The Government says last month's Budget will incentivise the creation of domestic green fuel alternatives, however, some farmers say it is simply 'too little, too late'... This year, the Dublin Bus fleet travelled 59 million kilometres. Next year that will increase by 5%. In 2005, the fleet used 25,000 tonnes of diesel...

posted by Unknown @ 3:47 PM  0 Comments

Congestion -Ireland - Costing Dublin Bus €60m

Dublin,Ireland -RTE.ie -6 Jan 2006: -- New research has shown that increased traffic congestion in Dublin is slowing down the average speed of bus journeys in the capital, leading to longer journey times for commuters... The consultants' report also shows that traffic gridlock at peak times is costing Dublin Bus millions of euro each year... Consultants BDO Simpson Xavier concluded that the speed of the Dublin Bus fleet at peak times in the morning is 36% slower than international comparative cities...

posted by Unknown @ 3:43 PM  0 Comments

5.1.06

EXCUSES & GREETINGS

Best Wishes

Our sincere worry because we had to rest for the celebrations of year end.

We renew year with the best auguries for all you !!!...

And of course for us...!!!

That the New Year, be for all you the best one, an uncomparably good year...!!!...

Santiago the Publisher

posted by Unknown @ 11:35 AM  0 Comments