Sniffer dog - UK - Drug-sniff dog on Brum's buses

Birmingham,UK -Birmingham Mail/ic Birmingham.co.uk, by David Bell -Feb 28 2006: -- A SNIFFER dog is being given a ticket to ride city buses to scent out top deck drug users... The initiative was welcomed today by deputy city leader Paul Tilsley who claimed that so many people were puffing dope on one route - the No.11 outer circle - that it had been nicknamed the Cannabis Express... Ten police community support officers have already been put on a city bus beat - and the sniffer dog and three police officers will now join them...

Entrepreneur - India - Buses made by Kochi man sell in Dubai

Kochi,Ernakulam,Kerala,India -NewKerala.com, by Sanu George -28 Feb 2006: -- Buses manufactured in Kerala by a 49-year-old entrepreneur are being sold to Dubai... This began five year ago when a Dubai-based automobile firm approached Jacob Kuruvilla, 49, if he could assemble bus parts imported from China and build the bus body as well... Kuruvilla agreed, and his Chakiath Motors is doing a roaring business. The bus is assembled in Kochi, driven to Mumbai and then put on a ship for Dubai... "First we used to make just one or two buses a month. Today this has gone up to 10 buses. From April we expect to make 15 to 20 buses a month," Kuruvilla told...

New deal - USA - Looking to replace SamTrans bus shelters

Bay City,CA, USA -San Jose Mercury News -Feb. 27, 2006: -- The San Mateo County Transit District has cut a deal with CBS Outdoor in which SamTrans will gain new bus shelters free of cost in exchange for CBS Outdoor's ability to advertise in the shelters... The 15-year contract, which stands to save the district millions of dollars in maintenance repairs, will help replace all of the district's existing 202 shelters over the next three years, the transit district reported...

Rest for Drugs - Australia - Police urge more drug-driver buses

Melbourne,Australia -Melbourne Herald Sun, by Mark Buttler -28 Feb 06: -- POLICE want every booze bus eventually equipped to test for drugs after high levels of breaches in the first year of random testing... One in 40 car drivers tested positive to detectable drugs in the first 12 months of random roadside drug testing of motorists... Official police figures for the period also show one in 69 truck drivers were nabbed with drugs in their system...

EcoNews - UK - London Mayor Commits to Having 70 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses by 2010

UK -Fuel Cell Works -27 Feb 2006: -- The Mayor of London has set out details of the extra £22 million he is proposing to invest next year on improving London's environment and tackling climate change... A commitment to introducing 70 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles into London by 2010... Work to improve air quality and Londoner's health by continuing to develop proposals for a Low Emission Zone for Greater London that will introduce high charges for the most polluting lorries, buses and coaches from the streets of London...

Purchases - India - RTC to buy 2,000 new buses

Hyderabad,Andhra Pradesh,India -Andhra Cafe -25 Feb 2006: -- The state run APSRTC is all set to buy 2,000 new busses this year... The RTC is buoyed by the rise in revenues after the recent fare hike. The corporation has seen a rise in revenues by 8 percent after the fare hike, which translates into revenue of Rs. 200 crores... The new fleet would be acquired at a cost of Rs. 240 crores...

Restraining Order - USA - Local bus line wins first round

CLIFTON,Hackensack,NJ,USA -North Jersey Herald News, by CRISTIAN SALAZAR -Feb 25, 2006: -- In the David-and-Goliath battle between a small, Clifton-based regional bus line and a national one with hundreds of routes throughout the U.S. and Canada, it was the little guy who scored Friday... At an afternoon hearing, a federal district court judge extended a temporary restraining order against Coach USA and One Bus, an Elizabeth-based affiliate, said Janine Bauer, an attorney for Genesis Bus Lines, the Clifton company that is suing Coach USA... The order restrains Coach USA and One Bus from harassing, intimidating, threatening or interfering with Genesis Bus Lines' buses, drivers and owner during their routes of service...

Purchases - USA - Bond act funds may boost upstate bus and tech firms

Binghamton, Syracuse,N.Y.,USA -WSTM-TV, by Bob Joseph -Feb 25, 2006: -- Three upstate companies stand to benefit from the 50 (m) million dollars being made available to New York public transit systems over the next five years... The money is part of the two-point-nine (b) billion dollar transportation bond act approved by state voters last November... Madison told the bond act money could make it easier for transit systems to afford to buy hybrid-electric buses made by Orion Bus Industries in the Utica area... Two other upstate companies --BAE Systems and Harris Assembly Group, both near Binghamton -- provide work on the vehicles... Madison noted the hybrid buses cost more than traditional diesel vehicles but are less polluting and have lower maintenance costs...

Purchases - Trinidad & Tobago - 50 more buses coming, says Transport Minister

Trinidad & Tobago -Trinidad Express, by Roxanne Stapleton -Feb 24, 2006: -- There are plans to acquire 50 additional buses in the next three to six months, Transport Minister Colm Imbert said yesterday... He said the Public Transport Services Corporation was being "very aggressive" in the acquisition of new buses... Ten years ago there were 300 buses on the roads, but this figure has depleted tremendously, he said...

Security - Canada - Wheel-Trans buses to get cameras

Toronto,Ont,Canada -CBC News -Feb 24 2006: -- The Toronto Transit Commission will install cameras in its vehicles for the disabled after the second sexual assault charge against a Wheel-Trans driver in the past two months... In response, Thacker said the TTC is in the process of choosing cameras for its Wheel-Trans fleet...

Luxury - India - DaimlerChrysler foray in buses

New Delhi,India -The Hindu -Feb 24, 2006: -- DaimlerChrysler today said it will launch its premium range of commercial vehicle, Actros, in India in the first half of this year, while also looking to introduce luxury buses... "The Actros range is likely to hit the markets within the first half of this year," DaimlerChrysler India MD and CEO Wilfried Aulbur told reporters here...

Jobs - USA - Bus Driver Shortage Means Cramped Rides For Students

ORLANDO, Fla.,USA -WFTV -Feb 24, 2006: -- A shortage of bus drivers means students in Orange County are being squished and squashed onto school buses. The district says it's short about 80 drivers. It's leaving many students complaining about a cramped ride... Forget about the struggle to catch the bus. The real struggle may be finding a seat on board...

Greens welcome - Ireland - Planned bio-fuel trial at Dublin Bus

Dublin,Ireland -Ireland Online -24 Feb 2006: -- The Green Party has welcomed a decision by Dublin Bus to use bio-fuel in some of its vehicles on a trial basis... The company is planning to run five of its City Tour buses on a mixture of 95% diesel and 5% plant oil from May of this year...

War Cry - USA - In a bus lane at the wrong time?

Edinburgh,UK -Scotsman, by SCOTT REID -23 Feb 2006: -- Whatever Edinburgh's official bus tally may be, it pales alongside the unofficial total. Not that there's been a sudden rise in the number of single and double-deckers pounding the Capital's crumbling streets... No, these "buses" are a good deal smaller and bear names such as Rover, Vauxhall and BMW, rather than the Dennis, Leyland and Scania badges coveted by Britain's barmy army of bus- spotters... Never mind driving in parallel lanes, the drivers of said vehicles seem to live in some parallel universe... For them, bright green road markings, big blue warning signs and several tonnes of Lothian Buses' finest bearing down fast hold no fear - "I'm in a rush, there's a queue ahead and I'm bloody well using this bus lane," goes their war cry...

EcoNews - USA - WHS junior helps switch buses to biodiesel

Watsonville,Santa Cruz,CA,USA -Santa Cruz Sentinel, by EMILY SAARMAN -23 Feb 2006: -- Watsonville High School junior Roxie Brown wants to reduce the black smoke belching from district school buses. The solution may lie in biodiesel, a vegetable oil product that can replace diesel fuel... At a school board meeting Wednesday night, Brown reported on a pilot project to test clean-burning biodiesel. The project will convert two of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District's 100 buses to run on a blend of 99 percent biodiesel and 1 percent diesel known as B99. After three months, the district plans to evaluate the project and possibly convert the entire fleet to biodiesel, explained Mary Hoagland, transport supervisor for the school district...

Reduction - USA - Education Dept. to announce anti-pollution grant for buses

Columbia,SC,USA -The State -Feb. 23, 2006: -- The S.C. Department of Education will announce a grant this morning to help reduce school bus pollution... Officials with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, the state Energy Office, USC School of Chemical Engineering, Duke Power and forest products company Weyerhaueser will join education officials at a Shop Road business to demonstrate pollution-cutting technology the grant will pay for, a health department news release said...

New drive - N. Ireland - To stop attacks on buses

Belfast,N.Ireland -Belfast Telegraph, by Maureen Coleman -23 Feb 2006: -- Community leaders and politicians in west Belfast today stepped up their campaign to prevent further attacks on public transport... Members of various Safer Neighbourhoods Projects in the area will be provided with special passes to allow them to travel on board buses to back up the drivers and confront potential troublemakers... The move comes after a driver was injured on Tuesday evening when his bus was attacked by stone throwers in Poleglass...

Old Buses - USA - Could Cause Problems

Most buses are from 1991

El Paso,TX,USA -KXTS-TV - Feb 22, 2006: -- The bus you use to get to work or school may be older than you think... Sun Metro says it needs all the help it can get new buses, and make sure your ride is as safe as possible. Each new bus has a price tag of $375,000 and Sun Metro is appealing to the federal government for three million dollars... Many of the buses in the system now are from 1991. A Sun Metro official says each bus is only supposed to last 12 years. And running any vehicle 17 hours a day in all conditions can cause some major problems, including overheating...

Eco News - USA - Hybrid Electric School Buses

USA -WomanMotorist.com, by Bill Siuru, PhD, PE -22 FReb 2006: -- The typical school bus stops and starts many times while picking up and letting offstudents. It often spends more time stopped and idling while loading and unloading than driving down the road. Hybrid electric vehicles love lots of starts and stops. That’s why there is so much interest in hybrid electric transit buses, delivery trucks, refuse pickup trucks and taxis. Features like regenerative braking and start-stop operation are key reasons why hybrids save fuel and reduce emissions. Indeed, because of this, hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape Hybrid have higher EPA city mpg ratings than highway ratings... Reducing pollution, especially from diesel engines popularly used in school buses, is of vital importance. There is much evidence that diesel emissions are especially harmful to young children. Fuel saving are also important to schools since fuel costs are a major portion of manyschool district’s budget, and rising...

Crash - Ireland - Bus Eireann charged with owning defective bus in crash

Ireland -Ireland On Line -22 Feb 2006: -- Bus Eireann was today charged with owning a defective vehicle during the Navan bus crash... Five schoolgirls were killed and 46 other school children were injured when the bus crashed on the Navan to Kentstown Road on May 23 last year...

Purchases - Australia - Bus backdown in the fast lane

Watkins said: The STA is planning to purchase 505 new buses over the next five years to improve the quality and capacity of the fleet

Australia -The Daily Telegraph, by HEATH ASTON -Feb 23, 2006: -- Stranded private bus commuters have won their battle for extra services as pressure grew yesterday for the Government to take urgent action to end overcrowding on State Transit buses... Commuters in the Hills District and Northern Beaches were being left waiting on the side of the road for up to an hour in the morning because overcrowded buses would not pick them up... Facing outrage from legions of "forgotten" passengers, Transport Minister John Watkins agreed to speed up applications for new buses for at least two major private operators...

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

* Now Detroit does not like free trade with Thailand

Detroit,MichmUSA -The Detroit News, by Michael Dunne -Feb 23, 2006: -- Last week, Stephen Collins, President of the Automotive Trade Policy Council, said: "When the U.S. sits down with their Thai counterparts, it is not Thailand alone asking for U.S. automotive tariffs to be reduced -- it is the Japanese auto industry."... Detroit is alarmed that Japanese automakers will ship pickup trucks from production bases in Thailand. Under a free trade agreement, those trucks would enter America without having to pay a 25% import duty...


* A Kinder Seoul for Foreign Cars
S. Korea -Business Week, by Moon Ihlwan -FEB 22, 2006: Domestic autos still drive 97% of Korean sales, but restrictions are loosening. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and others see opportunity... Not long ago, Korea had the least-hospitable market on earth for auto importers. As recently as 2001, 99.3% of autos sold in Korea were domestic. And today? Well, Korea still looks pretty unfriendly to the foreigners -- but progress is finally under way. Last year, importers sold 30,901 cars in Korea, or about 3% of the market. By 2012, that could triple to 100,000 cars, or as much as 8% of the market, the Korea Automotive Importers & Distributors Assn. (KAIDA) predicts...

Energy Crisis - USA - Rising Cost

Houston, TX,USA -Dert Norske Veritas -24 Feb 2006: -- With rising gas and energy costs affecting not only developing countries but industrialized ones, companies are searching for an answer. Many are turning to ISO 14001... Improvements in environmental efficiency and energy use are within reach today and can be enacted without sacrificing economic well being... To learn more, download you free copy of “Energy Crisis: Do You Have Your EMS in Place”...

AUTOS WORLD NEWS

* Europe Wants to Raise IQ of Cars for Safer Roads
BRUSSELS,Belgium -Wall Street Journal/Global Auto -Feb 24, 2006: -- The European Commission put its weight behind high-tech ways to improve auto safety in launching its Intelligent Car Initiative, although it is more lip service than actual investment since the EC is giving very little money to manufacturers to pay for the project... The European Commission has published results of a study showing that 4,000 accidents per year could be prevented in Europe is just three percent of cars on European roads had high-tech accident prevention technology. Among the solutions would be laser systems that can sense road obstacles and ensure adequate braking to avoid accidents, as well as traffic warning and awakeness-alert systems in cars, the EC said...

* Toyota Places Among Most-Admired Companies
USA -Forbes/The Car Connection -22 Feb 2006: Toyota ranked ninth on Fortune magazine's annual Most Admired Companies list. It marks the first time a non-U.S. company cracked the top 10. The magazine ranked 303 companies... DaimlerChrysler, which made the list, is sort of an American company. General Motors and Ford did not rank in the top half of the motor vehicle segment and weren't ranked in the overall list... The top five in motor vehicles were: Toyota, BMW, Honda, Nissan, and DaimlerChrysler. Ford ranked number six, while GM finished number nine, between heavy-truck manufacturers: Paccar Inc. and Navistar International...

* Global Production Up at 4 Japan Automakers
TOKYO,Japan -LATimes/Associated Press -Feb 24 2006: Global production rose at four of Japan's top automakers in January from a year ago, but the country's second largest automaker, Nissan, reported a decline, the automakers said Friday... Toyota Motor Corp., the country's top and world's second biggest automaker after General Motors Corp., churned out 631,006 vehicles in January globally, up 13.6 percent from a year ago...

* Toyota, GM to end fuel-cell alliance
Tokyo,Japan -The Asahi Shimbun -23 Feb 2006: Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp. plan to end their joint research on fuel-cell vehicle development at the end of March because of a lack of progress, sources said...

* Ford dangles more buyouts
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Bryce G. Hoffman -23 Feb 2006: -- Sweetened retirement offers are aimed at trimming 3,500 jobs at former Visteon plants... Ford Motor Co. is offering several buyout packages -- including one that provides free college tuition -- to about 3,500 blue-collar workers at the factories it took back from Visteon Corp. last fall... Though Visteon was spun off from Ford in 2000, its UAW-represented factory workers remained Ford employees. Under the terms of last year's agreement, Ford assumed responsibility for most of Visteon's North American manufacturing operations and won approval from the United Auto Workers to cut 5,000 hourly jobs through buyouts and early-retirement incentives...

* DaimlerChrysler labor representatives will not white-collar job cuts
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -23 Feb 2006: Labor representatives on DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board will not fight planned job cuts that will reduce the carmaker's white-collar staff by a fifth, a senior official said on Wednesday...

* Nanjing takes lease on MG Rover site
LONDON,UK -Reuters -23 Feb 2006: Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile took a lease on Wednesday on the former MG Rover plant at Longbridge, England, and said it still hoped to revive production at the site...

* China's SAIC to Make Cars Under Own Brand
SHANGHAI, China -AP, by ELAINE KURTENBACH -Feb 23, 2006: China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., or SAIC, a longtime partner of General Motors and Volkswagen, said Thursday it has won government permission to build its own brand of car for the first time. The automaker said it plans to launch its brand based on model designs bought from Britain's MG Rover Group Ltd...

* Honda to sell low-cost hybrid car in 2007/08
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters -22 Feb 06: Honda Motor Co. plans to sell a low-cost hybrid car, a version of its popular Fit subcompact, a Japanese daily reported, signalling the automaker's long-term commitment to the fuel-sipping powertrain...

* Audi shies away from profit target
INGOLSTADT, Germany -Reuters -23 Feb 2006: Audi AG expects another record year as car buyers snap up new models such as the Q7 SUV and the TT roadster, Volkswagen's premium unit said on Wednesday, though refraining from giving a profit target...

* Continental earnings up 17 percent
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -23 Feb 2006: German automotive supplier Continental AG on Thursday forecast higher revenue and operating profit in 2006 after fourth-quarter operating profit rose 17 percent, missing market expectations...

* Spanish vehicle production up 7.1 percent in January
MADRID,Spain -Reuters -23 Feb 2006: Spanish vehicle production made a strong start to 2006, rising 7.1 percent in January, national carmakers' association Anfac said on Thursday. The industry bounced back after 2005 when overall vehicle output fell nearly 9 percent and car production slumped almost 13 percent...

* Skoda Auto profit jumps as it sells more high-end cars
MLADA BOLESLAV, Czech Republic -Reuters -23 Feb 2006: Czech Skoda Auto, a unit of German carmaker Volkswagen, said its 2005 net profit more than doubled thanks to a rise in sales of the more expensive models in its range...

* Honda Achieves Record Monthly Overseas and Worldwide Production
Tokyo, Japan -JCN Newswire via COMTEX -Feb 24, 2006: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced production, Japanese domestic sales, and export results for the month of January 2006. Honda achieved a new monthly record for overseas and worldwide production for the month of January...

* Mitsubishi Motors Announces Production, Sales and Exports for January 2006
Tokyo, Japan -Japan Herald -Feb 24, 2006: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation today announced global production, as well as domestic sales and export results for January 2006...

* Nissan Says Two-Year China Trucks Sales May Expand 18 Percent on Economy
Japan -Asia Pacific News -Feb. 24, 2006: Nissan Motor Co., Japan's second- largest carmaker, said its sales of light commercial vehicles including Pickup models can rise by about 18 percent in China in the next two years, as economic growth ...

Permits - India - To be granted for 2,000 more mini buses soon

Government Order is expected to be issued in a few days
KARUR,Chennai,India -The Hindu, by L. Renganthan -Feb 22, 2006: -- The State is set to witness an increase in the number of mini buses plying in the districts. Under a new scheme, permits will be granted for 2,000 mini-buses, in addition the existing 3,000... Each district to have 70 per cent more permits... Norms modified to help operators earn more... Bad roads entail higher maintenance cost... The norms governing the coverage of `served' and `unserved' areas may be modified significantly to help the operators earn more revenue. Many operators have been complaining that the rules deter them from breaking even. Bad roads in the `unserved' areas entail higher maintenance cost...

Purchases - USA - TUSD to get 60 less-polluting school buses

$493,000 grant for vehicles run on natural gas
Tucson,Ariz,USA -Arizona Daily Star, by Tony Davis -21 Feb 2006: -- Sixty new school buses powered by less-polluting compressed natural gas will start taking TUSD's students to school by fall 2007, district officials said... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it would give Tucson Unified School District a $493,000 grant to help the district dramatically expand its fleet of compressed natural gas buses...

Proposals - USA - Budget would allow upgraded NET buses

Norfolk,VA,USA -The Virginian-Pilot, by TOM HOLDEN -Feb 21, 2006: -- New Downtown NET buses could hit Norfolk streets soon under competing legislative proposals... Hampton Roads Transit, which operates and maintains the aging fleet of battery-powered buses, would receive about $3.1 million to help pay for new buses if the House of Delegates gets its way... But HRT would likely receive more money from the Senate's proposed budget, which doesn't specifically earmark money for the NET but gives more funding overall to the state's transit services...

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

* Hybrid vs. Diesel: A Tale of Two Technologies
USA - Global Auto Systems, by Christopher Dwight -Feb 20, 2006: -- The most significant technology trend in 2006 will be the continuing debate between gas-electric hybrid and diesel engines. Which one will be “the” technology for the U.S. market—or will there be just be one?... Most OEMs are placing an emphasis on environmentally “green” vehicles and consider fuel economy and tailpipe emissions to be of utmost importance... The Asian automakers, mainly the Japanese, will focus energy on gas-electric hybrids, and Toyota will continue to lead the way through further development of its Hybrid Synergy Drive system...

Ford Tells Workers - USA - Drive Our Cars and Trucks, or Take a Long Hike

NEW YORK,NY,USA —Global Auto Systems/The Detroit News -Feb 16, 2006: -- Ford plants across the country are making employees park non-Ford vehicles in distant lots when they come to work... Eight Ford plants have set up restricted, less desirable parking areas for their workers who drive non-Ford products. Three other plants are considering such a move, aimed at driving home the message that workers should drive what they build... The policy was first announced at Ford’s Dearborn Truck plant starting February 1. A Ford spokeswoman told the Detroit News that “the majority” of Ford plants have now adopted the same rule...

A town in danger of dying out as GM falters

ANDERSON,Indiana: Starkest example of the damage that plant closings can do

ANDERSON,Indiana,USA -The New York Times, by Jeremy W. Peters & Micheline Maynard/International Herald Tribune -21 Feb 2006: -- General Motors once had so many plants here that it had to stagger their schedules so that the streets would not be clogged with traffic when the workday ended. At the city's peak, 35 years ago, one of every three people in Anderson worked for GM... Now there is not a single GM plant left; just two parts plants that GM once owned still survive. Anderson, which had 70,000 people in 1970, now has fewer than 58,000... A visit to Anderson, now a stripped-down shell of its former self, provides perhaps the starkest example of the damage that plant closings can do. Reminders of the once-mighty auto industry are everywhere - abandoned plants, a ghostly downtown and residents who speak with bewilderment and frustration about what has happened to the auto business... But in many ways, Anderson is still just as dependent on GM as it once was. Only now, rather than being dependent on General Motors, the corporation, it is dependent on General Motors, the welfare state... And Anderson can never hope to find anything as big, or as generous, as GM to provide its economic backbone...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* Nissan eyes LCVs for future growth
JAPAN -Reuters/just-auto.com -21 Feb 2006: Nissan plans to produce more of its own light commercial vehicles (LCVs), and buy in fewer rebadged models in the future, according to Reuters... Longer term, Palmer told Reuters, Nissan is aiming to become a global leader in LCV sales by 2010, which the news agency calculated would mean selling an additional million units a year...

* GM reviewing Europe
Chicago,Ill,USA -The Chicago Tribune -Feb 21, 2006: General Motors Corp. has begun a review of operations at its European commercial vehicle plants and said a report that says the Azambuja, Portugal, factory may be closed is "highly speculative." Automotive News Europe said the factory may be shuttered in 2008, citing unidentified suppliers. "We do not confirm that story," said Ruediger Assion, a spokesman in Zurich for the Detroit-based carmaker...

* GM-AvtoVAZ Set to Restart Production
Moscow,Russia -The Moscow Times, by Anna Smolchenko -Feb 21, 2006: GM-AvtoVAZ is set to restart production Tuesday following a shutdown that lasted more than a week after the company's main shareholders reached an agreement at an emergency meeting on Monday... The GM-AvtoVAZ venture and its parent companies declined to disclose what terms had been agreed on, saying only that the companies remained in negotiations... The deal allowing GM-AvtoVAZ to restart production comes as speculation mounts over a government plan to pump $5 billion into the country's automotive industry...

* Hyundai May Build Cars in Czech Republic
PRAGUE,Czech -Global Auto Systems -Feb 17, 2006: The Korean automaker is said to have concluded negotiations on a $1.2 billion facility to assemble 300,000 vehicles a year... Hyundai's Kia subsidiary will begin assembling cars this year at a new plant in neighboring Slovakia. The two brands are among the fastest-growing in Europe...

* U.S. auto sales drop in early February
DETROIT,Mich,USA -AP, by DEE-ANN DURBIN -Feb 21, 2006: Sales of new vehicles fell 8 percent overall during the first two weeks in February, but there was some indication General Motors Corp.'s new vehicles and lower prices are attracting buyers, an automotive data firm reported Tuesday... Honda Motor Co. was the only manufacturer that saw its U.S. vehicle sales climb in the first 12 days of the month, up 4 percent from the same time a year ago... Several automakers, including GM, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., saw their sales fall slightly but at a slower rate than the industry. GM and Toyota both saw 1 percent sales declines, while Nissan was down 7 percent. It was the first time GM has outperformed the industry since its employee discount incentive program ended last fall...

* Moody's further cuts General Motors' debt rating into 'junk' territory
DETROIT,Mich,USA -AP, by DEE-ANN DURBIN -Feb 21, 2006: Moody's Investors Service lowered General Motors Corp.'s debt rating further into "junk" territory Tuesday, citing uncertainty the company can establish competitive wages and benefits without filing for bankruptcy protection... Moody's lowered GM's $30 billion US in debt one level to B2 from B1, five rungs below investment grade...

* Wages talks adjourned at VW unit Auto 5000
HAMBURG,Germany -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 21, 2006: Wage talks for around 3,800 staff at Volkswagen's low-cost division Auto 5000 have adjourned until mid-March with both sides far apart, the IG Metall labor union said on Tuesday... IG Metall chief negotiator Hartmut Meine rejected as unacceptable VW's demand for a pay freeze and fewer holidays. The union is pushing for a 5 percent pay increase, in line with increases it is seeking for other German metalworkers...

* Hungary not out of race on Hyundai car plant
BUDAPEST,Hungary -Reuters/Automotive News/daily Vilaggazdasag -Feb 21, 2006: Hungary is in talks with Hyundai Motor Co. on a car plant investment which the Czech Republic is hoping to win, business daily Vilaggazdasag said on Tuesday, without revealing its sources...

* Nissan targets net sales of commercial vehicles
YOKOHAMA,Japan -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 21, 2006: Nissan Motor Co., currently a net buyer of business-use vehicles built by other automakers for sale under its own badge, said on Tuesday it wanted to reverse that situation to become a net seller as early as 2008 to boost the segment's lagging profitability...

Jobs Bank - USA - GM put to test in Okla.

Slipping sales of TrailBlazer, Envoy shut plant, but automaker will still foot bill for paychecks

Oklahoma,USA -The Detroit News, by Bill Vlasic -21 Feb 2006: -- They punched out Monday after the last TrailBlazer came off the line, the first casualties of General Motors Corp.'s plan to slash 30,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs by 2008... After 27 years and nearly 6 million vehicles, one of GM's most stalwart assembly plants had gone silent, possibly forever... But its 2,200 hourly workers will be back next week, not to build cars or trucks in Oklahoma City but to clock in as the newest members of GM's "jobs bank" for surplus union labor... It is believed to be the first time the work force of an entire assembly plant has been dropped in the jobs bank, where members of the United Auto Workers continue receiving their $31-an-hour pay and full benefits -- even after their work has left the building...

Gangs - El Salvador - Sets buses on fire

San Salvador,El Salvador -EFE/Daily Journal (Caracas,Venezuela) –20 Feb 2006: -- Suspected gang members in El Salvador have set two minibuses on fire in less than 24 hours because the vehicles’ owners refused to pay them off, a transport association said... A spokesman for the ACOSTE de RL bus owners association, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said gang members were behind the attacks on both vehicles, one on Saturday afternoon and the second early Sunday, in San Salvador...

Tours - UK - All aboard for bus of city's secrets

EDINBURGH,Scotland,UK -Scotsman -20 Feb 2006: -- Edinburgh's residents are being encouraged to discover parts of the Capital they never knew existed... Lothian Buses has started a campaign to entice city residents to use its guided tour services... During February and March, Edinburgh Bus Tours is offering special discounts to pensioners and Ridacard holders... Iain Coupar, Lothian Buses' marketing director, said: "This fantastic opportunity allows Edinburgh residents the chance to explore their city."...

Conditions - China - Torturous on city's over-crowded buses

Shanghai,China -Shanghai Daily, by Wang Yanlin 20 Feb 2006: -- To ride on a crowded bus is never comfortable. When the bus is air-conditioned, the discomfort escalates into a torture. This is especially true in the winter when people wear their heavy clothes to combat the chilly weather... With improved facilities, many buses in Shanghai are equipped with air-conditioning systems. None, or very few of the windows on such buses can be opened, for some mysterious reason... It makes people feel good when they initially step onto the bus out of the cold. But in rush hours when most buses are filled with commuters, people are likely to get dizzy within ten minutes due to the heat and the bad air quality... The situation worsens in the winter. Many people have the experience of sweating in the bus when it is freezing outside. They can hardly move because it is so crowded, let alone take off their heavy clothes...

Purchases - Ireland - Dublin Bus hails fleet expansion

DUBLIN,Ireland -The Sunday Times, by Douglas Dalby -Feb 19, 2006: -- Dublin Bus has lodged an application to the department of transport for the purchase of 200 new buses at a cost of €70m as the first stage of a proposed fleet replacement programme... The company is set to request as many as 700 new buses as a central plank of a radical review of services that it is due to deliver to Martin Cullen, the transport minister, in the next few weeks. The review was conducted by consultants MVA...

Purchases - Cuba - Cuba to buy more vehicles from China

• In upcoming weeks, some of these will go into service for inter-provincial travel between Havana and Pinar del Río
Havana,Cuba -Granma daily, by MARIA JULIA MAYORAL -Feb 17, 2006: -- Cuba is negotiating the purchase of approximately 8,000 vehicles from the People’s Republic of China, President Fidel Castro informed after announcing that in upcoming weeks, 30 buses from that Asian nation will go into service to transport passengers between Havana and Pinar del Río...

Ceasing - Australia - Bus Builder closes doors

Brisbane,Australia -Australasian Bus and Coach/busnews.com.au -17 Feb 2006: Australian Autobus of Brisbane ceased trading on Wednesday February 15... Several vehicles were in various stages of construction including some reported for Victorian operators Nuline (B7R Volvo 57 seater) and Driver's (two 57 seat school buses and two coaches). Hino and other OEM's also had chassis in the factory... Australian Autobus was founded in 1993 by Kevin Johnson and Athol McKinnon who each brought 25 years of experience in the coach building industry...

Welcoming - Cuba - Fidel Castro Attends Chinese Buses

Havana,Cuba -Ahora.cu -17 Feb 2006: -- President Fidel Castro attended on Thursday in Havana the official welcoming of Chinese Yutong buses purchased by Cuba... A large portion of the 1,000 buses ordered by Cuba are already on the island, aimed at reinforcing inter-provincial transportation and other uses vital for the economic development of the country...

Weight - UK - Go-Ahead seeks lighter buses as fuel bills grow

London,UK -The Times, by Angela Jameson -Feb 18, 2006: -- Go-Ahead, the bus and train operator, is talking to the bus makers Mercedes-Benz, Alexander Dennis and Volvo about cutting the weight of their buses in the face of soaring fuel bills... The modern buses that the company has been obliged to introduce meet new standards for access and environmental emissions but are much heavier and consume more fuel...

Fail - UK - Half of Metro buses 'arrive late'

UK -BBC News -17 Feb 2006: -- Half of the buses running on Belfast's new Metro service fail to arrive on time, the Consumer Council has said... Last week the council had a team of assembly member and volunteers test the Translink-run service... Issuing the findings the council's Eddie Lynch said while it seemed to work well for some users "reliability and punctuality problems remain"...

Terror - USA - The war on terror has a new front line--the school bus line

The latest defense against terrorism 600,000 school bus drivers to get U.S. training
NORFOLK,Fredericksburg,VA,USA -The Free Lance Star, by BEN FELLER -18 Feb 2006: -- Financed by the Homeland Security Department, school bus drivers are being trained to watch for potential terrorists, people who may be casing their routes or plotting to blow up their buses... At Norview High School in Norfolk, Jeff Beatty of Total Security US talks yesterday to city public school bus drivers about places in their vehicles where an explosive device could be hidden...

Friendly Buses - Singapore/China - All public buses to be wheelchair-friendly by 2023

Singapore,China -Channel NewsAsia, by Valarie Tan -15 Feb 2006: -- Singapore has rolled out its first wheelchair-friendly bus... This follows a recent report by the Committee on Aging Issues calling for a more elder-friendly public transport system... The government is funding the $21 million required to make sure all public buses are wheelchair-accessible by 2023... It is part of some $172 million it will be spending over the long-term to make Singapore's land transport infrastructure and system more accessible and user-friendly...

Security - USA - Seat belts in school buses?

A House panel considers whether installing seat belts in school buses -- at $8,000 to $10,000 per bus -- would protect children

Topeka,Wichita,KNS,USA -TopekaEagle, by BRENT D. WISTROM -Feb. 15, 2006: -- Nancy Stauffer's voice fell apart Tuesday as she told the House Transportation Committee "there is no price we can put on the well-being or life of a child"... School districts estimate they would have to spend $67.22 million -- $3.5 million in the Wichita district to comply with the bill... It would cost $8,000 to $10,000 per bus to retrofit each of the state's 5,700 buses. Also, districts would have to buy more buses because bench seats equipped with seat belts could hold only two students instead of three... Treaster drafted the bill, but he has already suggested changing it to require seat belts only in new buses. That would add about $6,500 to the cost of a new bus. No statewide estimate is available...

Finance - USA - QSBF Committee endorses bus sale and to lease 20 new buses

Quincy,IL,USA -Quincy Herald Whig, by Holly Wagner -Feb 15, 2006: -- The Quincy School Board's Finance Committee will recommend that the board accept bids totaling $31,177 from four vendors interested in buying 20 school buses the district wants to sell... Central States Bus Sales was the high bidder to buy 15 of the buses. High bids for two buses each were received from Ponder Equipment and Quincy Raceways, and for one bus from Reeves Bus Service. Two other companies also submitted bids... The district expects to take delivery at the end of the month on 20 new buses being leased from Central States at an estimated annual cost of $230,653...

More riders - USA - Ridership of light rail, buses rose 7% in 2005

Metro Transit cites gas prices, weather

St. Paul,MN,USA -Pioneer Press, by CHARLES LASZEWSKI -Feb. 14, 2006: -- Dramatically higher fuel prices and a mild winter trumped fare increases and bus service cuts as more people jumped on Metro Transit's buses and light-rail trains in 2005 than the year before... Metro Transit officials told a Metropolitan Council committee Monday that the number of rides jumped 4.7 million in 2005 to just under 70 million — a 7.2 percent increase. What's more, last month continued the trend, with Twin Cities residents taking a half-million more rides than they did the previous January, a nearly 10 percent increase...

Figures - New Zealand - Auckland Public Transport Use Increases

Auckland,New Zealand -Newswire.co.nz -15 Feb 2006: -- Figures released by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority show steady growth in the number of passengers using ferries, buses and trains... Bus patronage dipped last year following a strike by Stagecoach drivers and has still not quite recovered, but the Regional Transport Authority says it is on the increase again... Mr Alan Thompson says the increase in petrol prices has also contributed to the growth...

Refused - UK - Bus driver rejected as too heavy for seat

BOLTON,England -The London Mirror/UPI -Feb. 14, 2006: -- A British bus driver says his former employer refused to rehire him, saying his 266-pound body could break the seat.. Stuart Wood, 28, said officials at First Bus in Bolton, England, told him their bus driver weight limit is 238 pounds "in case the seat collapsed and the driver sued the company"... "I was shocked to be refused because they're always crying out for drivers," the 6-foot-1 man told... Bus officials cited safety considerations for rejecting Wood...

Strike - Iran - Bus strike: for workers and against empire

Tehran,Iran -Socialistworker, (London,UK), by Naz Massoumi & Peyman Jafari -18 Feb 2006: -- A courageous strike in Tehran has attracted the world’s attention... Trade unionists and activists across the world are calling for the immediate release of hundreds of bus workers being held in Iran’s capital Tehran... Workers employed by the United Bus Company of Tehran (Sharekat-e Vahed) have been arrested and detained in Evin prison over the last week in an attempt to prevent a strike... The workers are demanding a pay rise, collective bargaining, recognition of their union and the release of their union’s president... On 22 December last year, 12 leading members of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company were arrested following their fight for better pay and working conditions... Three days later 3,000 bus workers staged a walkout in protest. Police responded by making further arrests...

Strike - Australia - Tas-wide bus to affect thousands

Tasmania,Australia -ABC Online -Feb 15, 2006: -- Thousands of Tasmanian commuters, school children and pensioners who rely on public transport will be affected by a state-wide strike today by Metro bus drivers... The drivers walked off the job late yesterday after rejecting Metro's latest pay offer... More than 10,000 school children will be affected by today's stoppage... The Industrial Relations Commission has been asked to rule on the legality of a strike, but the union says even if the commission rules against it, the drivers will continue their action...

AUTOS WORLD NEWS

* Boom Times for the Industry?
USA - The Car Connection, by Paul A. Eisenstein -6 Feb 2006: Last year was the third-best ever for the U.S. auto industry, but just barely. Sales were heavily driven by lavish incentives, and tumbled late in the year when the programs wrapped up... Volumes showed some improvement in January, and Toyota Motor Sales' Jim Press believes the figures will reach 17.2 million for all of 2006, which would be the industry's second-best year... Press pointed to a variety of factors for his optimism, including the coming of age of Millennial drivers, booming immigration, and the general affluence of American motorists. It also helps to have Baby Boomers living longer than ever and planning to keep driving as long as possible... Press did admit there's a potentially dark side to automotive growth: rising demand for decreasing reserves of oil, for one thing, resulting in global warming and increased traffic congestion. Products like the high-mileage Prius hybrid are an example, said Press, of how cars can "become part of the solution, not the pollution"...

* Asian companies snag top spots in ‘green car’ survey
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Los Angeles Times -Feb 15, 2006: Cars from Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. occupy 10 of the top dozen spots in the annual "green car" survey... But only three of the most environmentally friendly vehicles are gas-electric hybrids because advances in fuel economy and emissions controls have boosted several conventional cars onto the list compiled by the Washington-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy... General Motors Corp., the only American carmaker on the top 12 list this year, placed three models, all with conventional engines...

* GM Will Invest $500 Million in Michigan
USA -Wall Street Journal /The Car Connection -14 Feb 2006: GM is expected to confirm the company's investment of half a billion dollars in the state of Michigan... GM will spend $500 million to upgrade five manufacturing facilities in the state - two assembly plants, one stamping plant, and two powertrain facilities. Among the facilities is GM's Orion plant... The investments will be a spot of good news for the state, which has been inundated with news from Ford and GM regarding job cuts and from suppliers, by bankruptcies...

* Reports of DCX Collapse Overdone
USA - The Car Connection, by Joe Szczesny -6 Feb 2006: Tom LaSorda, the Chrysler Group chief executive officer, said despite reports to the contrary, it was premature to suggest that Chrysler's comeback is over... While the company has been reducing production of some vehicles such as the Dodge Durango to reduce inventories, it is using incentives to boost sales of other vehicles. But it also is preparing to launch ten new vehicles this year, which promise to create new opportunities for sales... LaSorda, however, also stressed the company is taking a close look at costs and has already launched a study of GM's plan to cap the pension benefits and post-retirement healthcare benefits of workers, to see if similar changes make sense for the Chrysler Group...

* LaSorda Hits Cost of Litigation
USA - The Car Connection, by Joe Szczesny -6 Feb 2006: Lawsuits are adding $500 to the cost of every car and truck sold in the United States, said one of DaimlerChrysler AG's top executives... Thomas LaSorda, the chief executive officer of DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group, said during a visit to the Chicago Auto Show that the legal system levies what amounts to a tort tax, which results in higher consumer prices, higher insurance rates, higher healthcare costs, and less innovation by American-based companies... The U.S. now spends about 2.23 percent of its GDP on legal fees and other costs associated with litigation while countries such as France, Japan, and Canada spend less than one percent of the gross domestic product on litigation... "In my business, we have a word for this kind of non-value added cost: waste," LaSorda said...

* Volkswagen to cut up to 20,000 workers at VW brand
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 10, 2006: Volkswagen expects to cut up to 20,000 employees in the next three years at its core VW brand in a sweeping restructuring program that could also see production capacity cut, the company said on Friday... It said it expects higher operating profit before special items this year, along with slightly higher revenue...

* Volkswagen aims for 30 percent rise in productivity
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 13, 2006: Volkswagen's VW Brand Group aims to improve productivity by as much as 30 percent in the next three years, its main west German VW plants having made a loss in the order of hundreds of millions of euros...

* Audi sees double-digit China growth after big January
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 14, 2006: German carmaker Audi has targeted growth of at least 10 percent in China this year after sales leapt 245 percent in January to 6,384 units, the premium division of Volkswagen said on Tuesday...

* Chrysler Going Its Own Way to Fuel Gains
USA - The Car Connection, by Paul A. Eisenstein -6 Feb 2006: Ethanol fuel clearly has a place in the U.S. market... "You need to be there with a product," said Chrysler Group marketing czar Joe Eberhardt. But unlike its cross-town rivals, Ford and GM, the DaimlerChrysler unit does not intend to make a big push for E85... Chrysler will focus more of its attention on another type of fuel that could improve mileage and reduce dependence on import oil, said Eberhardt: "We'll take a leadership role in diesels"... Eberhardt declined to say what other models might be in the offing, but he said diesel will definitely have more of a role at Chrysler... Part of the problem right now is that tough new emissions standards require the most advanced diesel control systems. But that technology won't work in the U.S. until low-sulfur fuel becomes available, about a year from now... Until then, diesels will largely be locked out of markets such as California and New York. But, added Eberhardt, "Eventually, I would see it (the diesel) having the same penetration as hybrids"...

* Survey: Consumers do not check their personal credit score
USA -PRNewswire -10 Feb 2006: A new survey reveals that more than 7 out of 10 consumers do not check their personal credit score (76 percent) or compare financing options from dealers (71 percent) and credit unions / banks (72 percent) before heading to the showroom. This is despite the fact that almost 6 out of 10 (57 percent) of those polled say they do conduct research on particular car or truck models before going to the dealer...

* Greg Smith, Ford's vice chairman, to retire
USA -AN/ANE Daily News -10 Feb 2006: Greg Smith, Ford Motor Co.'s vice chairman, is retiring on March 1, the automaker said Friday... Smith, 54, will not be replaced, a Ford spokeswoman said...

* Mazda raises forecasts after rosy third quarter
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters -10 Feb 2006: Mazda Motor Corp. raised its annual earnings forecasts on Friday for the second time in three months after quarterly results zoomed past expectations, sending its shares up 9 percent to levels not seen since 1999...

* Hyundai Motor to supply $2 billion auto kits to Russia
SEOUL,S.Korea -Reuters Automotive News / Feb 10, 2006: Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said on Friday it had reached a $2 billion deal to supply a Russian firm with vehicle kits, part of a bid to more than quadruple its market share in commercial vehicles... Hyundai said it would deliver parts, including knock-down kit forms, for 77,000 commercial vehicles such as buses, to Rostovskiy Zavod Gruzovih Avtomobiley by 2010. The Russian company would set up production facilities to assemble the kits...

* U.S. panel to open patent probe on Toyota hybrids
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 10, 2006: -- A U.S. trade body is to investigate a complaint that Toyota Motor Corp.'s popular Prius and Highlander hybrid models infringed a patent, according to the body's website... The U.S. International Trade Commission will look at a claim that the patent is owned by Florida-based Solomon Technologies Inc., it said... Solomon Technologies filed a complaint with the panel last month saying the hybrid transmission in the two popular vehicles infringed its patent related to motor and transmission systems...

* Toyota says to buy back own shares worth $686 million
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters -14 Feb 2006: Toyota Motor Corp. said on Tuesday it would buy back $685.5 million (80.73 billion yen) worth of its own shares on Wednesday morning before the market opens...

* Western European car sales up 2.9 percent in January
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -13 Feb 2006: Western European new car registrations rose 2.9 percent to 1.206 million vehicles in January, the German automotive industry association VDA said on Monday, citing preliminary data...

* Who's No. 1? Ford, Chevy Debate Sales Numbers
Cincinnati, Ohio,USA -eCommerce Times/The Cincinnati Post, by Dee-Ann Durbin -Feb 13, 2006: Registration numbers may not match sales because a vehicle could be sold in one year and registered to an owner the next, GM spokesman Jeff Kuhlman said. He said sales figures -- not registrations -- give a more accurate picture. "I know 100 percent that our numbers are accurate," Kuhlman said... Ford Motor told dealers Sunday that new data shows the Ford brand outsold the Chevrolet brand in 2005, contradicting General Motors' claim that Chevy came out on top... Ford said it will ask GM to stop referring to Chevrolet as the nation's No. 1 brand in its ads, but GM said it's standing by its numbers...

Purchases - India - Bengal to introduce 1500 new modern buses within 2006

Kolkata,Ernakulam,Kerala,India -NewKerala.com -13 Feb 2006: -- The West Bengal Government would introduce about 1,500 new buses in the state in phases by the end of 2006 to meet the shortage of passenger vehicles and need for a pollution-free environment, Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty said here today... Chakraborty told the Assembly the new modern buses would join the existing fleet of the state undertakings like CSTC, NBSTC and SBSTC in phases... He encouraged women to take up driving as profession, saying the state has a lone Punjabi woman taxi driver...

Selling - Brazil - VOLVO's Brazil unit sells 220 buses to Venezuela for $20M

São Paulo,Brazil - daily Valor Econômico/Agência Estado/Newstex/Earthtimes.org (USA) -13 Feb 2006: -- Volvo's Brazilian unit last week received an order for 220 buses from C.A. Metro de Caracas, a state-run firm that operates the subway system in the Venezuelan capital... The deal is valued at $20 million...

Investments - UK - Stagecoach to spend £50m on new buses

Huddersfield,England,UK -The Huddersfield Daily Examiner -Feb 13 2006: -- Transpot group Stagecoach - owner of Yorkshire Traction - today announced plans to spend £50m on more than 460 new vehicles... The group, which operates about 8,000 buses and coaches carrying some 2m passengers a day, will roll out the vehicles from April across its services outside of London... Most of the buses will be made by UK-based Alexander Dennis, with others supplied by Optare and a joint venture of Plaxton and Volvo...

Advice - UK - Wise investment can get buses on track

Scotland,UK -Scotsman, by Jim Stanton -13 Feb 2006: -- Wait ages for a bus and two come along at once, goes the oft-muttered moan of the bus-travelling public... To those who have suffered at the hands of this gross annoyance, I sympathise and would offer some advice. You really should complain, strongly and unceasingly until such an utterly unacceptable situation is remedied... Last week, Lothian Buses announced a capital spend of £14 million on 85 new all-singing, all-dancing buses. This is good for anyone who might think 30 minutes in a £150,000-plus, chauffeur-drive vehicle to travel a mile is what the people really want... Surely some cash spent on better use of current resources might have been a better idea. After all, I still can't get a direct bus between home and work...

Changes - New Zealand - U-turn on banned bus and taxi drivers

New Zealand -New Zealand Herald, by Derek Cheng -14 Feb 2006: -- The Government is moving to change a law that has caused some taxi and bus drivers to put their jobs on hold because of minor, historic sex convictions... Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven said 162 drivers have not been able to carry passengers since changes to the Land Transport Act came into effect last month... The changes prevent people convicted of murder, sexual offences punishable by seven or more years' imprisonment or serious violent offences from holding P (passenger) endorsement licences...

China - Ecological News -

* China pushes hybrid cars
BEIJING, China -United Press International/Xinhua -Feb 12, 2006: -- China will see its first hybrid car some time this year and, hybrids are expected to become a staple for families there by 2010... The push to create low-emission hybrids is part of a 5-year plan to advance technology and environmental protection... Hybrid buses have already rolled off the assembly line, including some that run on fuel-cells and electricity alone... Twenty hybrid-electric buses are in service in Wuhan, China...

* Environment-friendly car set to rev up market
BEIJING,China -Xinhuanet -Feb.12, 2006: -- Environment-friendly hybrid car is expected to hit the Chinese market at the end of 2006 after four years of development... The cars run on a mixture of electricity and fuel and are made by several Chinese car makers, including the Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM), Chang'an Motor Corp, Chery Auto Company and the China FAW Group Corporation...

EcoNews - USA - Cooking up new ways to fuel buses

State seeks $500,000 grant to help fund conversion of fleet to eco-friendly biodiesel
Charlotte,NC,USA -Charlotte Observer, by DEBORAH HIRSCH -Feb. 12, 2006: -- S.C. Department of Education officials, they have applied for a $500,000 federal grant that would pay for equipment and research to make the state's bus fleet a little more eco-friendly... The Environmental Protection Agency plans to announce the grant winners by the end of the month... The agency has received more than $50 million in requests and has $7.5 million to give out, she said... The state uses about 12.5 million gallons of diesel to transport more than 330,000 children in its 5,000-plus buses each year...

Timetables - Ireland - It's forcing buses to break law

Dublin,Ireland -The Sunday Times (UK) , by Douglas Dalby -Feb 12, 2006: -- The transport department is to review private bus operators’ timetables following claims that many of their journey times cannot be completed without breaking the speed limit... As concern grows that speeding buses and trucks are contributing to the mounting carnage on Irish roads, Martin Cullen, the transport minister, has told officials to check the journey times that bus companies put on the licensing applications they send in to the department... The minister has also written to Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann warning the state-owned companies to stay within the speed limits. This follows a report by the National Roads Authority (NRA), which shows that buses are among the biggest culprits for speeding...

Purchase - Thailand - Cabinet approves planned purchase of 2,000 NGV-engine buses

BANGKOK,Thailand -TNA -14 Feb 2006: -- Transport Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal on Tuesday revealed that the cabinet had approved the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA)’s planned purchase of 2,000 air-conditioned buses with engines modified for natural gas for vehicle (NGV) in a bid to reduce higher fuel costs at present... Also approved was a plan to improve the BMTA’s operation performance... He said a committee would be set up to set terms and conditions on a procurement of the vehicles...

Looking the World - Russia - G-8 calls fot stable oil supply

Eyes solid world economy growth

Moscow,Russia -KYODO/TNA -12 Feb 2006: -- The world's Group of Eight (G8) finance ministers on Saturday called for greater investments by oil producers in drilling, transport and refining to ensure stable supply and improved energy efficiency among consumers in a joint quest to curb ''high and volatile'' oil prices... While confirming solid world economic growth in 2006, the ministers said after a two-day meeting in Moscow that rising oil prices, sparked most recently by the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, and the spread of avian influenza from Asia to parts of Europe and Africa pose a threat to economic growth and financial markets... ''Overall global growth remains solid and this is expected to continue in 2006,'' the financial chiefs of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States said in a joint statement issued after the talks. ''Risks remain, including high and volatile energy prices"...

Privatisation -Ireland - FF/PD row over privatisation of bus routes

Dublin,Ireland -Sunday Business Post, by Niamh Connolly -12 Feb 2006: -- The government parties are on a collision course over the planned privatisation of Dublin’s bus routes, with Tanaiste and Progressive Democrats leader Mary Harney insisting that city-centre bus routes be included in any future shake-up... A draft framework drawn up by the minister aimed to privatise up to 15 per cent of the greater Dublin bus market, leaving Dublin Bus with its existing city centre routes... The plan was positively received by the trade unions, although it represents a compromise on a radical plan by Cullen’s predecessor, Seamus Brennan, to franchise at least 25 per cent of existing Dublin Bus routes. This was rejected out of hand by the unions, prompting a deadlock...

EcoNews - USA - Twelve Pima school districts aim to reduce bus idling

Tucson, Ariz,USA -Arizona Daily Star, by Tim Ellis -12 Feb 2006: -- Twelve Pima County school districts have adopted a policy to reduce the amount of time that school buses are allowed to idle on campus, belching harmful exhaust... Three local districts were among the first seven statewide to adopt the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's School Bus Idling Program in August 2004, said Steve Owens, the department's director... They are Amphitheater Public Schools, Sunnyside Unified School District and Tucson Unified School District...

Snowstorm - NJ/USA - Transit bus service to resume

Asbury Park ,NJ,USA -Asbury Park Press -12 Feb 2006: -- NJ Transit, which had suspended bus service as of 7:30 a.m. today due to the snowstorm, will resume service as of 4 p.m. today... However, NJ Transit officials warned passengers that they may experience delays and detours on some routes, as the result of local road conditions... NJ Transit has extended full system-wide cross-honoring through midnight Monday. Customers holding any NJ Transit ticket or multi-ride pass will be able to use it on any mode of travel - rail, bus or light rail...

'NO CORRELATION' -USA - Rookie drivers didn't steer buses wrong, report says

Ottawa,Canada -Ottawa Sun, by DEREK PUDDICOMBE -Feb 11, 2006: -- Driver inexperience played no role in the number of OC Transpo buses that became stuck in a snowstorm that brought the city to a near standstill on Dec. 16... In a memo to members of the city's transportation committee, the acting director of transit services, Helen Gault, answered concerns that the inexperience of bus drivers was a factor when 107 buses became stuck in the snow that day...

Purchases - USA - Atlantic County buying vans, buses that use diesel-vegetable oil fuel

Atlantic City,NJ,USA -Press of Atlantic City, by THOMAS BARLAS -Feb 11, 2006: -- Atlantic County is turning to soybeans to move some of its residents from place to place... The county plans to buy up to 25 biodiesel-fueled vans and buses over the next three years and use those vehicles as part of its transportation fleet to take senior citizens and the disabled to doctors appointments, shopping centers and recreational facilities...

Costs - India - Wedding bells may change transportation costs

UP State Road Transport Corporation will offer bus charters, special fare of Rs 16.72 per kilometre
New Delhi, India -Business Standard, by Vishal Sharma -February 10, 2006: -- Each year, during the wedding season, private tour operators in Uttar Pradesh charge hefty sums reaching upto Rs 20 thousand for ferrying a wedding party from one city to the other all over the state... Their prices are mostly determined by demand during the wedding rush, rather than the distances involved, and the age of the buses made available by them... But the state-owned UP State Road Transport Corporation is all set to change the transportation scene this wedding season by offering “Bus Charters” at cheaper, per-kilometer rates, thereby utilising its spare fleet of old buses in a profitable venture instead of keeping them idling in the various depots of the state...

Production - India - Tata to create new platform for buses

India - AWKnowledge -10 Feb, 2006: -- Tata recently announced that it would spend nearly Rs10bn (US$226.35m) by 2009 towards product development and expansion in commercial vehicle and passenger car segments... As part of this investment, the company plans to develop a new bus platform by u...

Drugs - UK - Sniffer dogs on the buses

Birmingham,UK -Birmingham Mail/ic Birmingham.co.uk, by Mark Cowan -Feb 10 2006: -- Drug dogs are to be used on the city's buses to sniff out addicts, it has been revealed... Officers tasked with patrolling public transport are adopting the tactic after concerns from passengers that..

Politicians' Tour - N. Ireland - Drive on to test city buses

Belfast,North Ireland,UK -Daily Ireland -8 Feb 2006: -- Politicians in Belfast yesterday hopped on a bus to test the quality of the city’s Metro service... Joined the challenge of testing all 12 routes for reliability, accessibility, convenience and value for money... “This unique challenge aims to get a snapshot of what passengers really think of the Metro one year on.”... Those taking part are undertaking a range of bus journeys based on real-life scenarios at different times of the day to see how well the service is meeting passenger needs... Mr Lynch said the Metro had helped halt the decline in passenger numbers and improved reliability and the introduction of daily tickets were popular with passengers...

"Super-duper" - USA - Riders can keep cool in new buses

Phoenix,Ariz,USA -The Arizona Republic, by Bob Golfen -Feb. 9, 2006: -- Ten new 60-foot long articulated buses with "super-duper" air-conditioners are being added to the East Valley's bus fleet, replacing those that left passengers sweating last summer... "Last summer, we had air-conditioning issues: They didn't work," said Susan Tierney, spokeswoman for Valley Metro, which oversees metropolitan-area transit... "These (new buses) have super-duper air-conditioners that can deal with the doors opening and closing when its 110 degrees"...

TechnoNews -Japan - Testing broadband on buses for efficiency

TOKYO, Japan -UPI, by Shihoko Goto -Feb 9, 2006: -- Traveling by bus can be notoriously unreliable, even in a country like Japan, where the public transportation system prides itself on efficiency and predictability. So buses have taken a back seat to trains in Japan, where railways are more or less punctual to the minute, with only rare exceptions... Still, technology may well make bus rides less stressful, if it doesn`t succeed in eliminating the challenges of traffic congestion, accidents and bad weather... Tokyo-based ROOT -- Real Object Oriented Technologies -- said earlier this week that it will start testing a mobile router system that will allow users broadband access even when moving at around 130 miles per hour... Named the Fitbus, given the fact it`s based in Fukuoka as an information-technology experiment, the project will take place from Feb. 15 until March 31... While riders themselves will not be able to use their own personal computers to test the router`s abilities, each network-equipped bus will have a screen to allow customers to see how exactly their ride is progressing, whether there are any problems or delays up ahead, and it will also provide advertising and other information as well. Meanwhile, those waiting for their ride at bus stops will be able to monitor how the bus they are about to take is doing on the road... So while the system cannot prevent accidents or delays, at least people both on the bus and those waiting for the vehicle to arrive will know when exactly their rides will arrive, and know what is causing the delays...