Buses World News: May 2006

EcoNews - Ireland - Dublin Bus to begin using biodiesel

Dublin,Ireland -Ireland Online -30 May 2006: -- Dublin Bus is due to begin using biofuels in some of its vehicles today in an effort to reduce its dependence on imported oil... The company is planning to use a percentage of environmentally-friendly biodiesel in its tour bus fleet... The fuel is derived from biological sources like vegetable oil and animal fat and gives off fewer harmful emissions than petrol and diesel...

Riders increase - USA - Faster in SLO than in most American cities

SLO bus ridership growing

San Luis Obispo,CA,USA -San Luis Obispo Tribune, by Leslie Griffy -May. 30, 2006: -- San Luis Obispo Transit saw more new riders get on the bus than most other cities — big and small — in the country, according to an American Public Transportation Association survey... The survey ranked SLO Transit the fourth-fastest growing public transportation system in surveyed. The service has seen a ridership jump of about 22 percent from 2004 to 2005... Atlanta, Canton, Ohio, and Tulsa, Okla., beat out the local the routes for the top growth honors, but many of those services had added new lines and increased ridership that way... San Luis Obispo transit growth during the survey period, from Nov. 2004 to Nov. 2005, didn’t stem so much from new lines as a changed system... Changes included making schedules easier to remember — by having buses arrive every half-an-hour, for example — posting schedules at bus stops and tweaking the routes...

Survey - USA - Attracting Rhode Island bus riders may be difficult

PROVIDENCE, R.I.,USA -Boston Globe -May 30, 2006: -- Persuading more Rhode Islanders to ride the state's bus system could prove difficult, according to a new survey... A private firm commissioned by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority polled 450 people in who hadn't taken a bus in at least three months. Of that group, 45 percent said there's nothing RIPTA could do to persuade them to ride the bus... The ridership study was ordered by the General Assembly, which is trying to figure a new course for the transit agency after several years of financial problems... According to the survey, which was conducted in February and March, the majority of non-riders polled have free parking at work or school. A large number told pollsters they wouldn't ride the bus even if it were free and went nonstop to their destination...

Bus service - Canada - Can proceed once approvals obtained

Caledon,Ontario,Canada -Caledon Citizen, by ALAN LICZYK -May 31, 2006: -- Mtis Transit Ltd. will be allowed to operate a bus service within the Town of Caledon once it has obtained the appropriate licences and complied with the applicable provincial laws, Caledon council declared recently... Mtis Transit Ltd. has proposed three bus routes... Staff explained because the Premium Express route involves the operation of a public vehicle that includes taking on and discharging passengers in more than one municipality, Mtis Transit Ltd. will require an operating licence from the Ontario Highway Transport Board, according to the Public Vehicles Act... Staff added where the passengers are picked up and discharged wholly within the limits of one municipality, the bus service operator is required to comply with any bylaws enacted by the municipality...

Free buses - UK - A transport of delight

And why not? It is, after all, free...

Glasgow,Scotland,UK -The Herald, by MARTYN McLAUGHLIN -May 29 2006: -- It is a pursuit normally associated with the young, but over the past eight weeks, Scotland's older generations have taken to road trips with a passion... With around 85% of the 60-plus bracket already signed up for the national entitlement card, their weekends are increasingly spent on comfortable coaches visiting far-flung towns and cities...

Fury on the buses - Spain - Bus Station, become a haven for drug dealers and crime

Mallorca,Malaga,Spain -Euro Weekly News -29 May 2006: -- Travel bosses in the south west of Mallorca have been accused of failing to provide a proper service – despite receiving millions of euros from local authorities and government... Residents in Calvia and Palma claim the new timetable linking the capital with the coastal resorts has under-estimated the number of passengers attempting to use the service during the summer months... They say the timetable bears no resemblance to the service operated by the drivers and there are too few buses on the busy routes along the coastline... Palma office worker Jennie Hurst claims she waited almost an hour for a bus and, when it eventually arrived, it was full... In March, The Euro Weekly News featured the uproar surrounding Palma Nova’s multi-million euro bus station, which has stood empty for months. Local politicians on the Socialist group of Calvia Council are now demanding to know the authority’s plans for the empty bus station, which has allegedly become a haven for drug dealers and crime...

Caution - India - City buses to have PCOs, FM radio during rains

MUMBAI,India -Economic Times -MAY 30, 2006: -- Telephones and FM radios will be installed in Mumbai’s public buses to help commuters in case of a repeat of last year’s monsoon deluge that severely disrupted the city’s transport services... The BEST, which carries 450,000 Mumbaikars across 335 routes everyday, has initiated a project to facilitate easy communication for commuters across the 3,391-strong fleet in case of an emergency...

Job Opportunities - Ghana - MMT increases fleet, creates

Tamale,Ghana -Crusading Guide -26 May 2006: -- The Metro Mass Transit (MMT) Limited is expected to increase its current operational fleet of 445 buses to 800 by the end of this year to provide transport services to a large number of commuters in the urban and the rural areas... Mr Cas van Eerden, Managing Director of the MMT announced this at a press briefing in Tamale on Thursday... He said the MMT would be creating a rural-urban service division with the arrival of 100 TATA buses and 150 DAF commuter buses within the period, which would be expected to serve several communities in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions...

Driving ? - Australia - Bus drivers in drinking probe

VICTORIA, Melbourne,Australia -Melbourne Herald Sun, by GLENN MILNE -28 May 2006: -- The Defence Department has suspended the drivers of three buses carrying more than 100 military officer cadets, allegedly for drink driving... Military and civilian police are investigating after a bus allegedly ran off the road outside Puckapunyal about 6am on Friday, May 19... Four buses had been ferrying Duntroon cadet officers from the Puckapunyal training base near Seymour to their Canberra college...

Marketing - Malaysia - Kosmo to venture into Asean bus mart

Malaysia - Business Times, by Dalila Abu Bakar -May 26 2006: -- KOSMO Motor Co Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kosmo Technology Industrial Bhd, is in talks with several parties in Asean countries to market its compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered bus chassis... Mohd Azham said the company is also in talks with some parties in Australia where it plans to sell complete buses...

Joint - New Zealand - Bus companies 'one head in the market'

Wellington,New Zealand - Stuff.co.nz -25 May 2006: -- New Zealand Bus and Mana should be regarded as "one head in the market" by the Commerce Commission, the High Court in Wellington was told yesterday...

Report - USA - Aging U.S. School Buses Still Fouling Air

A report says $16 billion is needed to replace or upgrade 500,000 of the worst-polluting vehicles
Los Angeles,CA,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Janet Wilson -May 25, 2006: -- Aging school buses continue to spew harmful diesel across the United States, a new report based on federal and state data says, and major funding is needed to address the problem... The report, released Wednesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists in Berkeley, found that the nation's 505,000 school buses were some of the oldest and dirtiest vehicles on the road. More than a third have been in use for more than a decade, and a single bus can produce between twice and 10 times as much diesel soot as a big rig...

Jobs - USA - Wanted: Drivers to keep school buses going

Gloucester is hiring qualified applicants who want to work a few hours twice a day

Newport News,VA,USA -GLOUCESTER Daily Press,by MATHEW PAUST -May 25, 2006: -- Gloucester High School might be able to start a little later next year if only 10 more Sandy Shipleys could be hired... Shipley drives a school bus -loves driving a school bus, and, unfortunately, her kind is getting tougher to find... A perennial shortage of drivers puts a strain on scheduling and route assignments, which ultimately makes life harder for the students... Last year, Transportation Director Roger Kelly introduced a new routing system to ensure that elementary school children would no longer have to ride the same bus as older children. That meant that 10 of the 95 buses had to make three runs each morning and night to carry middle and high school students...

Study - USA - Are School Buses Making Children Sick?

PLUM BOROUGH, Pa.,USA -Pittsburgh Channel.com -May 25, 2006:L -- The school bus is considered the safest way to get your kids to school, but are buses making kids sick?... Every day, kids inhale dangerous exhaust fumes when they ride the school bus... Diesel soot includes 40 toxic air contaminants, including cancer-causing substances.... Children are particularly vulnerable because they have smaller bodies and are more likely to suffer from asthma and hospitalizations.... A new study graded states on their school bus fleets. Pennsylvania buses got a B for soot pollution. That's because the average Pennsylvania school bus is 7 years old and emits 11.9 pounds of soot each year. That's more soot per mile than a tractor-trailer... The cost of retro-fitting each bus is $8,000...

Study - USA - Maine Ranks High In Low Emission School Buses

Portland,ME,USA -WCSH-TV, by Rebecca Stefansky -25 May 2006: -- The study released Wednesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists gave the highest mark, a "B," to Maine, Alaska, Connecticut, Nevada and New York... The lowest grade was a "D," which went to a dozen states. In order to reduce tailpipe emissions, the study recommends that school districts practice what it calls "the five R's": These include retrofitting, refueling, replacement, repair and reduced idling...

Report - UK - Calls for more to use the buses

Wiltshire,UK -This is Wiltshire -24 May 2006: -- More needs to be done to get people out of their cars and on to buses, a committee of MPs has said... A report by the Public Accounts Committee revealed that bus use is falling nearly everywhere in the UK, except London... In the south west, the numbers travelling by bus has fallen by 0.25 per cent between 2000/01 and 2004/05. London, in comparison, has seen the number of bus travellers jump by 32 per cent in recent years... The report urges more concessionary fares, including for children travelling to school to reduce traffic caused by the school run...

Sales - Colombia - Volvo wins order for 118 articulated buses for Bogota

STOCKHOLM,Sweden -Forbes/AFX -24 May 2006: -- Volvo AB said it won an order for 118 articulated buses from the Colombian capital of Bogota... Volvo said the order takes its share of the articulated bus market in Colombia to 50 pct... Bogota operates a Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) whereby buses operate in separate lanes on a number of corridors through the city and passengers pay in advance at bus stops to reduce boarding time...

New Advanced Buses - USA - New Gold Country Stage Buses Arrive

Nevada City,CA,USA -YubaNet -May 24, 2006: -- Two new advanced design buses have been delivered to Gold Country Stage and will soon be placed in service, the Nevada County Transit Services Division announced today... The new 27-passenger buses, built by the Optima Bus Corporation of Valley Center Kansas, are larger than the other buses in the Gold Country Stage fleet, and incorporate many passenger convenience and accessibility features. These include low floors, wheelchair ramps in place of lifts, luggage racks, bike racks, and electronic destination signs. They also have a "kneeling" feature that makes it easier for people to board the bus... (Photo: YubaNet.com - The new bus arrives at the Rood Center)

Not to board them - Ghana - 207 Benz Buses Not Suitable For Long Journey

Accra,Ghana -Daily Graphic -24 May 2006: -- The Chairman of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mr Cliff J. Aboagye, has advised passengers on long journeys to rethink joining 207 Mercedes Benz buses because they are for carrying only goods... He said since the country did not yet have the standards for converting 207 Mercedes Benz buses to passenger buses, the most appropriate action was for passengers to decide not to board them when embarking on long journeys...

Study - USA - NJ school buses cleaner than most, but have a ways to go

New Jersey,USA -Newsday (Long Island,NY)/Associated Press, by GEOFF MULVIHILL -May 24, 2006: -- New Jersey's efforts to clean up soot emissions from diesel-powered school buses are getting "poor" marks according to a national report... But state environmental officials say a new program should improve the state's grade... The Union of Concerned Scientists, a Cambridge, Mass.-based advocacy group, rated the states in two areas: how much soot buses pump into the environment and how well states do at cleaning the soot up... On the amount of soot _ which scientists say is linked to asthma, cancer and heart disease, especially among children _ New Jersey got a "B". The group of scientists said the reason for such a high grade was largely that New Jersey has a relatively young fleet of buses averaging about seven years old. The state mandates that large buses be retired after 12 years... But through 2005, controls mandated by the state were reducing soot emissions by only .3 percent compared to the national average of 2.2 percent. California did the most, with policies to reduce soot by 8.7 percent...

Purchase - UAE - RTA buys 80 hi-tech buses from Mercedes-Benz

Dubai,United Arab Emirates --AME Info -May 23 2006 : -- The Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed an agreement with Gargash Enterprises, the official Mercedes-Benz Distributor for Dubai, to purchase 80 state-of-the-art public transport buses... This latest development is part of an ambitious transport strategy for an Intelligent Transport System, which will integrate buses, ferries, the Metro and taxis, and will be implemented in Dubai over the next two years...

More buses will ease road stress

Dubai,United Arab Emirates -Gulf News -24 May 2006: -- The plane can take the pain, the train can take the strain and no fuss with the bus. Public transport makes living in cities more pleasant and helps to ease traffic congestion... Buses in Dubai will soon be running 24 hours a day according to a plan unveiled by the Roads and Transport Authority. They will be integrated into a comprehensive transport strategy that will utilise trains, taxis and boats...

Security - UK - Install seatbelts on all our school buses

Shock accident figures prompt calls for action
Belfast,Ulster,UK .Belfast Telegraph, by Michael McHugh -23 May 2006: -- Demands were made today for an urgent review of safety on school buses after the Belfast Telegraph learned that Ulster schoolchildren are involved in accidents at a rate of more than four a week... The shocking statistics issued in Westminster recently - 2,393 bus accidents in a decade - have prompted calls for swift action from teachers' and parents' groups...

Report - UK - Warns on falling bus use

LONDON,UK -Reuters -May 23, 2006: -- Britain is failing to encourage people to use buses, leading to congestion and environmental problems, a report by parliamentarians said... With the exception of London where buses are being used more than ever, bus and light rail usage was falling in all other regions, continuing a trend that has lasted for 40 years, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said... The government has set a target of increasing bus and light rail usage by 12 percent by 2010 from the 2000 level... Compared with underground rail usage which is at an all-time high, bus usage has been in decline since the 1950s due to increased car ownership and a growing middle class...

Buying suspended - New Zealand - Court Considers Bus Company Merger

Wellington's two biggest bus companies go ahead

Havelock Nth,Hawkes Bay,New Zealand -newswire.co.nz -23 May 2006: -- The High Court has started considering whether to let a merger involving Wellington's two biggest bus companies go ahead... New Zealand Bus has suspended moves to buy the 74 percent of Mana Coach Services it doesn't already own while the court decides if the deal hinders competition in the market... The Commerce Commission says the deal reduces competition for the provision of subsidised bus services in the Wellington region, and could raise ticket prices... But the Infratil-owned New Zealand Bus argues that the merger shouldn't stop other bus operators from entering the market... The trial is scheduled to last for two weeks, with the High Court expected to release its judgement towards the middle of June...

Purchase - India - PMC to buy 200 new buses

Pune,India -Pune Newsline -22 May 2006: -- Pune will get its first brush with luxury travel in public transport with the addition of 25 Volvo buses to the Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) fleet... The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s General Body (GB) on Monday approved the proposal to purchase 200 new buses, including 25 Volvo buses, at the cost of Rs 30 crore... The decision comes after Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer forwarded a proposal for the purchase of 200 new buses...

Trolley Buses - New Zealand - Copeland goes to bat for Wellington

"...running a trolley bus is the same as running a diesel bus..."

Wellington,New Zealand -Scoop.co.nz (press release)/United Future NZ Party -23 May 2006: -- Miramar based United Future MP, Gordon Copeland, has gone into bat for the retention of the Wellington trolley bus service... "My office has made inquiries with both Vector and Stagecoach in relation to this matter and it appears that Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ) are creating the current log jam," said Mr Copeland... "LTNZ is insisting that running a trolley bus is the same as running a diesel bus and will, according to the information supplied to me, provide funding for trolley buses that equates to only half the cost of the diesel buses..."

Security Cameras - USA - Transportation board OKs on

OCTA will install the devices on 82 vehicles

Orange County,CA,USA -The Orange County Register, by JIM RADCLIFFE -May 22, 2006: -- The Orange County Transportation Authority will follow the lead of its brethren in public busing and add up to seven video-surveillance cameras for each coach... The OCTA board today voted to spend up to $902,000 to outfit 82 buses with the cameras... Cameras will make passengers feel safer and allow the agency to investigate any assaults or traffic accidents, board members and OCTA staffers say...

Motorists illegally parked - UK - Wardens on buses to catch drivers

Motorists clog up bus lanes by parking on them

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -BBC News -22 May 2006: -- Traffic wardens in Edinburgh are to travel on the city's buses in a bid to catch motorists illegally parked on bus lanes... Greenway patrollers in the capital will use public transport in a pilot scheme to trap drivers who flout the rules... Two wardens will hop off the buses whenever they see vehicles blocking one of the city's priority routes... Once they have issued £60 fixed penalty fines, they will catch the next bus to continue their patrol...

Tourism - UK - The Preseli Green Dragon bus

Preseli Hills,UK -Pembrokeshiretv.com -22 May 2006: -- The Preseli Green Dragon bus service is proving a boon to locals and visitors, allowing much-needed access to areas in the north of the county... The bus service is part of a project funded by the Welsh Assembly Government's Sustainable Development Fund (SDF), and provides a twice-weekly 'Dial a Ride' route serving the Preseli Hills and surrounding communities. The 16 seater minibus offers wheelchair access, and links with public transport routes in Crymych and Newport...

Modern - U.Arab Emirates - RTA to get 80 buses

DUBAI,U.A.E -Khaleej Times Online -22 May 2006: -- The Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) will procure 80 state-of-the-art public transport buses as part of its ambitious transport strategy for an Intelligent Transport System, which will integrate buses, ferries, the Metro and taxis. The strategy would be implemented over the next two years... The fleet of new Citaro buses, specially designed by Mercedes Benz to deliver cutting-edge technology and luxury, consists of state-of-the-art low-floor buses, representing a milestone within the transport strategy... Some 49 articulated buses, 18 standard buses and 13 coaches will be supplied to operate on the newly planned bus services for Dubai Metro, the Airport, VIP services, and inter-Emirate Emirates Express services...

Purchases - USA - District stocks up on buses

ANGLETON,TX,USA -The Facts (Clute,TX) /Brazosport facts (subscription), by Lucretia Fernandez -May 21, 2006: -- Angleton ISD is purchasing eight new school buses to avoid large price increases in 2007... Director of Transportation Steve Davis and Executive Director of Operations Scott McLean recommended the board purchase eight 2006 buses this year — at a cost of more than $67,000 each — because the 2007 buses come with additional, federally required, emissions standards equipment to reduce pollution. Each 2007 bus costs about $7,000 more than a 2006 bus, Davis said...

Traffic - Australia - Clear run for buses, trams run out of town

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald, by Sherrill Nixon -May 20, 2006: -- Less than three months after scrapping plans for six new bus lanes in the city centre, the State Government is again reviewing ways to give buses a smoother run to reduce congestion... The Transport Minister, John Watkins, said improving bus journeys through the city was a higher priority, and revealed the Roads and Traffic Authority and the City of Sydney Council were in talks about bus priority measures... His commitment to new measures - such as extended hours for bus lanes or bus priority at lights - comes after the much-criticised abandonment of six planned bus lanes. They were dumped after road changes were made to pacify public outrage over the Cross City Tunnel...

Bigger Buses - USA - Wilshire Rapid Line Gets

Los Angeles,CA,USA -LA Downtown News Online -22 May 2006: -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is phasing in the first of 78 articulated 60-foot, 57-passenger buses on the Metro Rapid Line 720. The buses will replace 40-passenger, 40-foot buses that operate between Santa Monica and Downtown along Wilshire Boulevard, although the first handful will only make the Westwood-Downtown run. Full service along the 720 route is expected by the end of June, with all 78 buses becoming operational by the end of July... Approximately 40,000 riders commute daily along the heavily congested Wilshire corridor, according to the MTA. The new buses will increase seating capacity by 43%. The MTA currently operates 15 Metro Rapid Lines, and 13 more are expected to come online by 2008...

Sightseers - Canada - Trolleys, buses give tourists a ticket to ride

Toronto,Ontario, Canada -The Toronto Star, by GREG COATES -May 20, 2006: -- In a bid to attract more sightseers, the Vancouver Trolley and Gray Line West have teamed up to make tickets for their hop-on, hop-off tours valid on both services... Visitors can now buy a ticket aboard one of Vancouver Trolley's replica, turn-of-the-century style trolleys and then use it on one of Gray Line West's red, double-decker buses and vice-versa...

TechnoNews - USA - Satellite Tracking Could Be Coming To A Bus Near You

New York,NY,USA -NY1 - May 19, 2006: -- A plan using a satellite tracking system for buses is moving forward... New York City Transit says a pilot program proposed last year could be in place by November... Technology will allow for website displays with real-time bus locations and arrival times... Updates would also be available on electronic message boards... Riders will even be able to access times on your cell phone or BlackBerry. The program will start on seven Manhattan bus routes...

Newspaper report - USA - Prompts crackdown on school bus drivers

QUINCY, Mass.,USA -Boston Globe -19 May 2006: -- State officials are pushing for laws to prohibit anyone with a drunken driving conviction from driving a school bus or van... Amie O'Hearn, spokeswoman for the Registry of Motor Vehicles, said the Romney administration will seek to strengthen the school bus licensing law following an investigation by The Patriot Ledger newspaper of Quincy, which revealed several communities don't run background checks on drivers... Currently, a license can be denied to anyone convicted of drunken driving in the previous five years. O'Hearn said Registry officials have asked lawmakers to consider changing the law so that no one ever convicted of drunken driving can drive a school bus... The Patriot Ledger found that several school districts fail to run background checks on school bus drivers, and others can't produce the names of people allowed behind the wheel... The Department of Education says school districts are responsible for checking the criminal and driving records of all bus drivers, but some districts leave it to bus companies to do their own background checks...

Inspections - Ireland - Transport Minister orders review of school bus

Dublin,Ireland -Irish Independent -18 May 2006: -- The Transport Minister has ordered a full review of how school buses are inspected, following two separate incidents this week involving Bus Eireann vehicles...

Sales - Canada - New Flyer inks $160M in bus deals

WINNIPEG,Ontario, Canada -The Toronto Star -May 18, 2006: -- New Flyer Industries Inc. has announced firm orders for 441 buses worth $156.9 million US, mostly from transit authorities in Chicago and Orange County, Calif... New Flyer said Thursday that the Chicago Transit Authority has exercised options from a November 2004 contract, adding 185 buses to the existing contract for 265 vehicles. The additional 40-foot clean-diesel buses are valued at $62.8 million... The Orange County Transportation Authority in southern California, meanwhile, is expanding a September 2005 contract for 50 40-foot compressed natural gas buses by 249 units worth $91.6 million US... New Flyer also announced a $2.5-million sale to the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority of Aspen, Colo., of seven 40-foot diesel buses...

Sales - Canada - New Flyer inks $160M in bus deals

WINNIPEG,Ontario, Canada -The Toronto Star -May 18, 2006: -- New Flyer Industries Inc. has announced firm orders for 441 buses worth $156.9 million US, mostly from transit authorities in Chicago and Orange County, Calif... New Flyer said Thursday that the Chicago Transit Authority has exercised options from a November 2004 contract, adding 185 buses to the existing contract for 265 vehicles. The additional 40-foot clean-diesel buses are valued at $62.8 million... The Orange County Transportation Authority in southern California, meanwhile, is expanding a September 2005 contract for 50 40-foot compressed natural gas buses by 249 units worth $91.6 million US... New Flyer also announced a $2.5-million sale to the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority of Aspen, Colo., of seven 40-foot diesel buses...

Environment News - Singapore - Bus stops and the Aedes mosquitoes

LTA to seal off all bus stops' drains

Singapore -TODAY on line/Channel NewsAsia -18 May 2006: -- Bus stops will no longer be built with drains on their roofs... This, after it was found that the drains can be breeding grounds for mosquitoes... The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will also be sealing the drains on all 623 bus stops by next month, ahead of the Aedes mosquitoes' peak breeding period... By installing plastic covers before waterproofing them, it is hoping to prevent the 10cm deep drains from getting clogged with fallen leaves and water... Even after the drains are sealed, it said it would continue to check the bus stops once a week for mosquitoes... The LTA was fined by the National Environment Agency (NEA) last year after two bus stops were found to be breeding sites for mosquitoes... Since the beginning of the year, NEA found Aedes mosquitoes at six bus stops... (Picture: A typical bus stop in Singapore. These bus stops are all flag stops)

Traffic Chaos - Australia - Transport shambles

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald, by Sherrill Nixon -May 19, 2006: -- Traffic chaos in the CBD will worsen if the State Government continues to rely on buses instead of expanding light rail or charging motorists to drive into the city, a report prepared for the Government warns... The Parsons Brinckerhoff report analysed how a light rail system along George Street or Castlereagh Street would cater for increased passenger demand compared with conventional or articulated buses, an extended monorail system, increased train services or measures to limit private cars in the city, such as a congestion levy or increased parking charges... The independent study finds extending light rail from Central to Circular Quay would be a more efficient and reliable way of relieving pressure on the city's public transport than adding buses or depending on trains... If the Government did nothing to improve public transport, an extra 36 buses would have to travel along George Street in the morning peak period to cater for the increase in passengers expected by 2021, it says... Light rail beat or drew equal with its closest rival, articulated buses, on all criteria except for the initial infrastructure costs, which would be about $126 million for a new light rail route. Signal priority would be the greatest challenge facing the project, the report said... (Picture: Of course this it's not the chaos hours... But it's the up-to-date photo of the place..)

Confort - UK - 'Voice of London buses' announced

London,UK -BBC News -18 May 2006: -- A radio presenter has landed the job to become the voice of London's buses... Emma Hignett will start recording about 30,000 announcements such as "next stop Victoria" for 700 bus routes. Her voice will be accompanied by visual displays... It is part of a scheme to make buses easier to use for those with hearing and vision difficulties, as well as visitors to the city... (Foto: BBC: Emma Hignett said she was thrilled)

To hit the City - Qatar - Expats eagerly await city buses

Doha,Qatar -The Peninsula, by Satish Kanadi -May 19, 2006: -- With hardly four days to go for the Mowasalat buses to hit the city roads in a big way, the mood is upbeat in the middle and low-income expatriate communities... The immediate reaction to Mowasalat's plans from these people is good news for the company... A cross-section of people this newspaper spoke to, said they were eagerly awaiting the D-day. Some of them have dropped plans, at least for the time being, to buy a low budget or used car... The main beneficiaries of Mowasalat's plans will be middle-level employees of private firms... (Foto: by Salim Matramkot -A Mowasalat bus stop at a busy commercial complex near a residential area in Doha)

To Enhance - USA - Greyhound to Refurbish Buses

DALLAS,TX,USA -The Ledger (Lakeland,FL) -May 18, 2006: -- Greyhound Lines Inc. will announce today it will refurbish hundreds of buses and modernize its terminals nationwide over the next 18 months as part of a new program to enhance its brand image and improve customer service... The "Elevate Everything" program, which begins in Texas on Friday, represents another move by the nation's largest interstate bus company to attract more passengers as it rebounds from several years of losses...

Purchases - USA - District to buy new buses

Neosho,MO,USA -Neosho Daily News, by Todd G. Higdon -May 16, 2006: -- There will be some new school buses on routes in the 2006-2007 school year, the Neosho R-5 School Board decided Monday night... “We are purchasing five 78-passenger Blue Bird Transit buses and one Blue Bird 18-passenger and three wheelchair buses,” said Charles Brazeale, assistant superintendent of business and finance. “These buses are a little bit larger capacity than the others”...

Ban them! - Ghana - "207" and Urvan buses fingered as culprits in road carnage

Accra,Ghana -Accra Daily Mail, by Kofi Agyepong -May 17, 2006: -- Shocked by the recent road accident which claimed the lives of close to 40 passengers, people are calling for a ban on "207" and Urvan buses from traveling on long journeys... According to people who have been expressing their worries to the ADM since the recent slaughter, most of the accidents on Ghana's urban roads and highways are caused by vehicles in that category... A driver at the Neoplan Station at circle told ADM that "207 busses are cargo trucks converted in Ghana to be used as passenger buses. This is the reason why they are always involved in accidents"...
He said normally 207 cars should not exceed a speed limit of 75km, but most drivers who go long distances, drive above that speed limit...

Transport - Australia -We mustn't miss this very fast bus

There's a much better alternative to trains, trams and traffic

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald, by David Hensher -May 18, 2006: -- The continuing media focus that suggests the need for greater investment in public transport is to be commended - but let's place this recognition in context... There are many ways of investing in improved public transport, assuming it will substantially resolve the claims about Sydney's traffic congestion. These include heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, where buses have their own roads just like trains have their own track and do not compete with cars in mixed traffic... Globally there is growing support for delivering service capacity through bus rapid transit as a legitimate alternative to heavy and light rail within the traffic density range that Sydney experiences... Typically, $1 billion buys 400 kilometres of dedicated bus rapid transport in contrast to 15 kilometres of elevated rail or seven kilometres of underground rail. Most importantly, this not only delivers greater network coverage but also shows the error of the accepted view of the capacity of specific public transport modes (buses up to 6000 passengers an hour in one direction, compared with up to 15,000 for light rail/tram and more than 15,000 for heavy rail/metro). Advanced bus rapid transport systems can move 38,000 passengers an hour in each direction...

Biodiesel fuel - USA - Makes buses run cleaner

Charleston,WV,USA -Charleston Daily Mail, by Jessica M. Karmasek -May 16, 2006: -- Studies have shown that diesel exhaust can contribute to asthma and other respiratory problems, particularly among children and the elderly... School officials in West Virginia say they are doing their part to protect children from the potentially harmful fumes by encouraging school systems to use fuel alternatives such as biodiesel and prohibiting unnecessary idling... Ben Shew, executive director of transportation for the state Department of Education, estimates 75 to 80 percent of school buses in the state still use diesel... At the state level, some school systems can receive reimbursements of up to 95 percent of the cost. The reimbursements can be used for maintenance and operations. There also are federal rebates available...

Production - Venezuela - Chinese buses for assembly in

Caracas,Venezuela -El Universal -16 May 2006: -- Chinese firm Worldwide Group said it would import to Venezuela 5,000 buses in the next few weeks, while it is opening a plant to assemble passenger transportation vehicles in northwestern Falcón state... Company spokespeople said in a news conference the assembly plant is expected to start operating within 18 months. Corporate representatives Hu Jingham and Zhu Baojie would not disclose figures regarding investment, production or job generation... Sources said the buses are to be sold 40 percent under current domestic market prices...

City unveils new fleet of buses

Saskatoon,Saskatchewan,Canada -The StarPhoenix, by Lori Coolican -May 16, 2006: -- Saskatoon Transit rolled out 17 brand new buses Monday, offering a sneak peak at the upcoming Direct Access Rapid Transit (DART) system... Passengers can soon settle into high-backed upholstered chairs and enjoy the quiet comfort offered by noise-absorbing walls and air conditioning, along with fewer stops... Starting July 2, a fleet of 27 green buses (17 new and 10 repainted existing buses) will begin the more frequent DART service to carry passengers to the city's two most popular destinations: the University of Saskatchewan and the downtown area...

Bike racks - USA - Valley Transit buses to support they

Certification a must for riders who use service

Appleton,WI, USA -Appleton Post Crescent, by Steve Wideman -May 16, 2006: -- Bicyclists in the Fox Cities are about to get a lift from Valley Transit... Beginning June 5, they will be able to hitch their favorite two-wheeler to public buses to save sore muscles and time... Bike racks, each capable of holding two bicycles, are being mounted on 20 Valley Transit buses that make the rounds between Kaukauna and Neenah...

Hybrid Buses - USA - Optima closes first deal for

Avon, Col,USA -Bizjournals.com(Charlotte,NC)/Wichita Business Journal, by Ken Vandruff -16 May 2006: -- The Town of Avon Transit in Avon, Colo., is the first customer for Optima Bus Corp.'s new hybrid bus... The order for five Opus ISE Series Hybrid Low-floor buses, with options for 10 more buses, is valued at $7.5 million... Optima announced development of the hybrid-electric bus last year. The bus looks like a convention bus but uses its internal combustion engine to generate electricity that powers the electric motors that make up the drivetrain...

Only promises - Australia - Missing the bus

Tomorrow the State Government is due to launch its long-awaited transport and liveability statement. But as Melbourne heads towards gridlock, is it too little too late?

Melbourne,Victoria,Australia The Age, by Royce Millar & Stephen Moynihan -May 16, 2006: -- If you visit the sparkling new Casey Hospital in Berwick and decide to take public transport home, be warned. The State Government has built a very nice bus stop there — it just forgot to provide the bus... Nearby, at its Cranbourne sales office, a developer has a model of the new Hunt Club Estate. It includes the Cranbourne East railway station that Labor pledged to build — but never did... And over in Whittlesea, the council has pointedly left a gaping hole at the heart of its new South Morang town centre. That's where Labor promised to extend the Epping line to a new station — but didn't...

Learning - UK - Better by bus, kids are told

Lancashire,UK -Lancashire Evening Telegraph -15 May 2006: -- Pupils at Todmorden High School are being encouraged to use the bus on their journey to and from the Burnley Road school by older children... Sixth-formers are being trained by a bus company to come up with a plan to encourage pupils who live in Cornholme and Walsden to use the My Bus service... Sheena Pickersgill, Metro's director of corporate services, said the scheme at Todmorden was very successful because the senior pupils were entering into it... They had been learning the techniques of marketing Metro's services, organising a passes scheme, setting a quiz for the school to take part in and learning about the dangers associated with congestion...

New - Canada - City Buses Go Green

Saskatoon,Sasketchewan,Canada -650 CKOM News Talk Radio, by Tom Dukovac -May 15, 2006: -- It's going to be much easier to get where you need to go on Saskatoon Transit pretty soon... On July 2nd new routes are starting, as well as 17 brand new buses hitting the streets... 4 of those buses are a new diesel-electric hybrid - and Saskatoon will be the first city in the country using them...

Spain - Retired Titsa buses travel the world

Tenerife,Spain -Fortnightly Tenerife News -15 May 2006: -- Tenerife’s public transport service Titsa has revealed it makes between €10,000 and €40,000 a year from the sales of its used buses... The vehicles are sold off – or sometimes given away – in mainland Spain or further afield. A total of around forty superannuated buses leave the Titsa fleet each year... Although the majority of vehicles are purchased in the peninsula by private companies for use as staff transport, some are given away to places like Cuba or Cape Verde... Titsa has a fleet of 557 buses...

Improve - Canada - TTC service adding more buses

The public transportation system in Toronto is very unreliable and should be improved...

Toronto,Ontario, Canada -Toronto Star, by Lauren Monaco -May 14, 2006: -- The TTC says that its buses arrive every five minutes or so, yet I wait for the bus up to 30 minutes each day... Instead of improving the quality of the buses, the TTC should add more buses and stress the importance of a vigilant schedule... If increasing the number of buses involves an increase in fares, I wouldn't mind paying extra knowing that the bus I want will be on time...

Satellite-controlled - Australia - Green light buses

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia Daily Telegraph, by SIMON BENSON -May 15, 2006: -- The first satellite-controlled buses, which can change traffic lights to green to avoid gridlock, take to Sydney streets in a fortnight... The buses will be fitted with global positioning systems to allow RTA Traffic Management Centre staff to monitor their movements. If the bus is running late, more "green light time" will be allocated... The Miranda corridor experiment will cost $2.5 million but will be the first of a $135 million investment in improving bus services...

TechnoNews - USA - Perth to take part in EU trial of hydrogen-powered buses

USA -Fuel Cell Works/WA Business News -14 May 2006: -- Perth is to be part of an expanded European Commission trial in which 48 million euros will be invested in alternative fuels for public transport... European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs says the plan should put about 200 hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road in Australia, China and Europe... Under the new scheme, 50 hydrogen-fueled buses will operate in Perth, Beijing and the Icelandic capital Reykjavik... The project follows a three-year trial that placed 27 hydrogen-powered buses in service in nine European cities... Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Luxembourg and Madrid, complete the cities trialling buses, while smaller vehicles including cars, scooters, vans and wheelchairs will be introduced in German, Italian, French and Spanish cities...

Need passengers? - India - Buses without passengers

India -Indian Muslims (San Diego,Cal,USA), by Muhammad Abd al-Hameed -13 May 2006: -- To run a bus service, you need a bus. That is obvious. But don't you also need passengers? Not necessarily, according to the governments of Pakistan and India... Recently, a bus left Nankana Sahib for Amritsar without a single passenger. And there were just seven passengers in the bus going from Lahore to Amritsar... The exemption from visa will benefit not only the Lahore-Delhi, Lahore-Amritsar and Nankana Sahib-Amritsar bus services but also the two railway trains running between the two countries as the senior citizens will increase substantially the number of passengers. That will open the way to much more revenue for the bus and train services on both sides...

Discount - Thailand - Buses catch a break on diesel

Bangkok,Thailand -Bangkok Post -13 May 2006: -- In a bid to ease the hardship now being suffered by the public transportation sector, service stations of the PTT Plc, Thailand's biggest petroleum firm, will discount the price of diesel for state-owned city and tourist buses by one baht a litre, starting on Monday. The discount will last for at least three months... PTT Executive Vice President for Oil Business Group Chaivat Churitti said the company would reduce the price of diesel directly pumped into buses of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and the Transport Co., Ltd, through Aug 15... The company is willing to assist other operators of public carriers and is now compiling names of their companies and oil consumption demand from the Transport Ministry...

Sentenced to death - China - Bus conductor for strangling teenager

BEIJING,China -Xinhua -May 12, 2006: -- A Beijing woman bus conductor was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on Friday for strangling a teenage girl who was suspected of not paying the fullfare... The 14-year-old, Yan Jiqin, and her parents got into an argument with the 42-year-old ticket seller Zhu Yuqin on the bus on Oct. 4, and the conductor strangled the girl until she lost consciousness, the Beijing Municipal No.1 Intermediate People's Court heard.

GreenNews - USA - Overhaul of school buses hits snag

Money cannot be used to retrofit vehicles to make engine burn cleaner

Centre County,PA,USA -Centre Daily Times, by S. Heather Duncan -12 May 2006: -- The Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition learned Thursday it can't use a $4.5 million Congressional appropriation to overhaul old school buses as planned... The project was intended to retrofit buses with equipment to make the engines burn cleaner, reducing Middle Georgia air pollution... Bibb County and a portion of Monroe County are in a federal "non-attainment zone" for having unhealthy levels of ozone, the primary component of smog, and for fine particle pollution like soot...

Slammed - Canada - Merchants, shoppers back Dundas buses

London,Ontario,Canada -London Free Press, by APRIL KEMICK -May 12, 2006: -- A controversial suggestion to remove city buses from the congested Dundas Street corridor was slammed last night at a public meeting at London's convention centre... Dozens of downtown business owners and shoppers weighed in at the meeting, held to get input on improving traffic flow in the core... Attic Books owner Marvin Post said bus passengers bring more than just congestion to the core... A survey of 81 businesses by the London Downtown Business Association showed nearly 14 per cent of respondents said transit riders comprise more than 75 per cent of their business...

Security - USA - Deputies to ride Palm Beach County trains, buses

In search of suspicious activity

Fort Lauderdale,FL,USA -South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Leon Fooksman -May 11, 2006: -- By late summer, sheriff's deputies will be riding Tri-Rail trains and Palm Tran buses, but they won't be looking for the typical bad guys... Much like federal air marshals, the plainclothes deputies will be blending in with the riders in an attempt to stop terrorist or any other significant threats to or from other passengers... They will be watching for anything suspicious -- packages, people and situations that may be deemed potential threats...

Protesting - UK - Buses bust-up

Ilkeston,England,UK -Ilkeston Advertiser -11 May 2006: -- Changed bus routes in Kirk Hallam have sparked an outcry from the people who relied on the services to get to work and hospital... Over 300 people have signed their names to a letter protesting at the April 30 cancellation of the 25 route and the re-routing of the 21 and 23 routes between Kirk Hallam and Ilkeston... A county council spokesperson said: "The county council continues to spend £5 million on subsidised bus routes throughout the county and we remain committed to working with bus companies and other local authorities to make sure local people have a good, reliable bus service"...

Hydrogen - Europe - EU extends push after city bus success

FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -May 11, 2006: -- A pilot program has shown hydrogen-powered city buses work well without polluting the environment, the European Commission said on Thursday, extending its push to promote emission-free vehicles... Twenty-seven public buses running in nine European cities since mid-2003 have carried more than 4 million people and clocked up more than 1 million km without incident, it noted... A new 105-million-euro ($134 million) project will track the performance of around 200 hydrogen-powered vehicles and the infrastructure needed to keep them running...

New Fuel ? - UK - Cow Pats

Plan for cow pats to power city buses

Birmingham,UK -Birmingham Mail, by Ben Hurst -May 11, 2006: -- Birmingham's buses could get a new weapon in the battle against rising fuel prices - cow pat power!... The Birmingham Mail has learned that officials are planning to produce a report into using radical new sources of energy... The move has been prompted by rocketing costs for fuel and increased pressure to meet emissions targets... Potential types of power include cow pats, vegetable oil and gasses produced by livestock, said West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority scrutiny chairman Coun Chaman Lal...

Purchases ? - USA - Fratturelli: Buses not profitable

LEOMINSTER,MA,USA -Fitchburg Sentinel (Fitchburg,MA), byMarisa Donelan -11 May 2006: -- School officials should begin shopping around to replace four district-owned buses with money from a revolving transportation fund, Superintendent Marilyn Fratturelli said... The district's four buses are used for field trips and sporting events, and bring in revenue for those services, Fratturelli said... But the district isn't profiting from any of its busing charges, she said... Mayor Dean Mazzarella said city and school officials have looked into purchasing a whole fleet of buses for the school district, but he is not certain that would be a viable solution to a busing money shortage... The initial cost of buying buses for the city may not be worth the risks, he said...

Kills - Egypt - 21 die as bus plunges into canal

Dublin,Ireland -Ireland Online -11 May 2006: -- A bus carrying Egyptian workers plunged into a canal today, killing 21 people and injuring 22 others... The accident happened near the Mediterranean port city of Damietta, 100 miles north-east of Cairo, a police official said... Road accidents are common in Egypt because of bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic laws... Police estimate that traffic accidents kill about 6,000 people each year...

"Pulls Plug" - USA - Milwaukee mayor's veto on proposed electric buses

Milwaukee,MN,USA -Duluth News Tribune (Duluth,MN)/Associated Press -May. 10, 2006: -- The mayor pulled the plug Wednesday on a proposed $300 million electric bus system for Milwaukee - a day after the Common Council endorsed the plan... As proposed, the Milwaukee Connector would have routes linking downtown with Miller Park, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the city's north side. Planners estimate it would cost about $9 million a year to run the guided electric buses, powered by overhead wires... Barrett said in his veto message that he supports public transit, but the proposal had too many unanswered questions, such as where some $57 million in local funding would come from and what would happen if the expected $243 million in federal money didn't materialize...

Prognosis - UK - Wireless buses are future of business

United Kingdom -Scotsman, by GORDON THOMSON -11 May 2006: -- Whether it's the slow evening crawl through Corstorphine, delays on the by-pass or queuing for the Forth Road Bridge, Edinburgh's motorists have to cope with their fair share of congestion. But can punitive measures, such as congestion charging and higher fuel duty, ever succeed in isolation?... Two-hour round trips to work take valuable time away from both the individual and the business. In an era where demands for improved productivity often conflict with the desire to maintain a fulfilling life outside the office, this is clearly madness... However, while there are plenty of arguments against our continued reliance on the automobile, public transport has yet to provide a compelling enough alternative. Rather than making cars less attractive, we need to look at the whole picture and give people positive incentives to make the switch...

Purchases - USA - Richland 2 needs 15 buses

Growth leads to shortage - More than 1,200 new students drive demand for more transportation

Richland,SC,USA -The State S. Carolina's, by DEVON MARROW -May. 10, 2006: -- Richland 2 will likely join a handful of school districts in the state that have been forced to start leasing buses because of the state’s underfunded transportation system... The General Assembly is allocating $36.8 million to buy more than 600 buses for the state’s 6,000 bus fleet. For the most part, the new buses will be replacements for older buses... (Photo: GERRY MELENDEZ - The State S. Carolina's - Buses arrive Tuesday to pick up students at Richland 2’s Rice Creek Elementary. District officials want 15 more school buses to meet student population growth)

'Smart card' - UK - Will pay for trains, trams and buses

London,England,UK -The Independent, by Barrie Clement -11 May 2006: -- A "smart card" to pay for trains, buses and trams all over Britain has been given the go ahead by the new Transport Secretary... Douglas Alexander announced that the "Oyster" ticketing system, which covers public transport in London but does not apply to most journeys on the main rail network, would be extended to trains in the capital and would lay the foundation for a system to cover all public transport...

Trolleybuses - UK - Bombardier to drive they

UK -The Engineer Online -May 8, 2006: -- Bombardier Transportation has won an order from Neoman Bus Group for the design and manufacture of its MITRAC 500 propulsion system to power 80 trolleybuses... The trolleybuses are destined for Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Delivery is scheduled to start mid-2007 and shall be completed in September 2008... Bombardier has expanded the application of its MITRAC propulsion system to the trolleybus market...

Jobs - UK - Now 400 Poles on the buses

Wolverhampton,England,UK -expressandstar.com, by Mark Douglas -May 9, 2006: -- An army of more than 400 Polish drivers has been drafted in to work on buses in the West Midlands, the Express & Star can reveal... The newcomers, who were recruited and trained in Wroclaw in Poland, now make up around one eighth of the total number of drivers on the payroll at bus giant Travel West Midlands... Most have been brought in during the last 18 months to ease a staffing crisis... Despite the influx of Poles there are still vacancies for drivers all over the Black Country and Birmingham, including Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich and Birmingham...

World’s first - United Arab Emirates - AC bus stop is unveiled

Dubai,United Arab Emirates -Khaleej Times -9 May 2006: -- The prototype of the world’s first air-conditioned bus shelter, one of the 500 to be installed in Dubai, was launched on Tuesday at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority's (RTA) headquarters... The futuristically-designed, crescent shaped shelter, has a contemporary metallic finish and sliding glass doors. Over the next 18 months, more than 500 such bus shelters will be built all across Dubai to encourage people with additional comfort to opt for public transport buses... The ultramodern bus shelters will have a range of facilities such as ATMs and vending machines for newspapers, snacks and soft drinks. Further, garbage will be collected in three recycling units outside the shelters for paper, glass and metal... (Picture: gulfnews)

Classes Canceled - USA - After almost 100 buses vandalized

Norristown,Pa,USA - Associated Press -May 08, 2006: -- The Methacton School District in Montgomery County canceled classes for about 5,300 students Monday after discovering that someone had vandalized the tires of 98 buses - almost the entire bus fleet... When transportation workers arrived for work at 5:15 a.m., they found that the valve stems of the right front tire of each bus had been removed, Superintendent Jeffrey Miller said. The deflating tires broke the clips attaching them to the rim, causing an estimated $2,500 damage, he said...

Comparison - USA - New buses will help cut costs

Rochester,NY,USA -WHEC-TV -7 May 2006: -- Triple A said the average price of gas in Rochester is just more than three dollars a gallon. The price of gas keeps going up, but so is the number of hybrid vehicles on the road... Soon RTS buses will join the ranks. RGRTA bought 19 hybrid buses... The goal is to cut costs and keep fares at the same price. RTS paid twice as much for the hybrid buses compared to regular diesel-fueled buses, but officials said adding hybrids will save the city nearly 100-thousand dollars a year in fuel. That means bus riders will save money too... The new buses are expected to be up and running by next year...

Purchases - USA - Of 249 natural-gas buses

Transit agency OKs purchase

Orange County,CA,USA -The Orange County Register, by JIM RADCLIFFE -May 8, 2006: -- The county’s mass-transit agency decided today to buy 249 compressed-natural gas buses – in part to prepare for a possible rush of passengers should motorists ditch their autos because of the skyrocketing cost of gas... With a unanimous vote, the Orange County Transportation Authority board agreed to pay $106 million for this round of CNG buses... In June the OCTA ordered 50 of them for $21.4 million as it prepared to convert is fleet away from diesel fuel...

Confort - India - Air-conditioned local buses

Panchkula,Chandigarh,India -Chandigarh Newsline -May 8, 2006: -- Haryana Transport Department has decided to ply air-conditioned local buses in Gurgaon, CNG buses in the National Capital Region and the far-flung rural areas of Delhi and introduce city bus service in major towns of the state... Said 10 air-conditioned buses would be introduced in next one-and-a-half month in Gurgaon... Haryana Transport Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said there was a plan to add 3,000 new buses to the fleet of State Roadways during the next four years. As many as 559 buses were purchased during the last financial year. He said the bodies of the State Roadways buses were being designed and fabricated at Haryana Roadways Engineering Corporation, a state government undertaking...

Security - New Zealand - Union wants police or guards on buses

Wellington,New Zealand -Radio New Zealand -9 May 2006: -- The Tramways Employees' Union says it would like to see a police presence or security guard on every bus to keep its drivers safe... The comments followed an attack on a Christchurch bus driver at the weekend by a group of teenagers; who left the driver with possible spinal damage, as well as bruises and cuts... Tramways Employees' Union national secretary, Gary Froggatt, told that increasing security on buses would make people think twice before they attack drivers... Bus & Coach Association executive director, John Collyns, told the programme the idea has merit, but would cost a significant amount of money...

Hopes - USA - To see increase in number of bus commuters

Raleigh,NC,USA -News 14 Carolina, by Ashley Smith -8 May 2006: -- The Triangle Transit Authority is hoping high gases prices along with free bus rides will encourage more drivers to take the bus... Last week, the TTA offered free bus rides. The promotion was in response to high gas prices. But despite their promotional efforts, most commuters admit they aren't ready to make the change... The TTA says about 3200 people ride the bus each day. That’s up 12 percent from last year and Julie Woosley of the TTA says, it’s because more people are choosing to ride the bus instead of paying high gas prices...

Purchases - Canada - New Flyer receives $183 million in 416 new bus orders

TORONTO,Ont,CAN -Reuters -May 8, 2006: -- New Flyer Industries Inc. expects to increase its production by about 30 percent as the manufacturer of heavy-duty transit vehicles received $183 million in new orders... The company said late on Sunday it received orders for 416 new buses, with the bulk of the orders coming from Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, DC... New Flyer said the orders include a wide range of vehicles, including 35-foot, 40-foot and 60-foot buses with diesel, diesel-electric, compressed natural gas and electric trolley propulsion systems... ($1=$1.11 Canadian)

Tapes - USA - Could be rolling along with big yellow buses

Allentown, PA,USA -TMCnet -May 7, 2006: -- Bethlehem Area School District Transportation Supervisor David C. Himmelberger stands inside a school bus equipped with a video camera that records audio... While sitting on a Bethlehem school bus next year, your conversations and outbursts may be recorded... Bethlehem Area School Board goes ahead with a recommendation from its lawyer to put audio recorders on buses to deter unruly behavior... The administration's proposed policy stems from wiretap guidelines written last month by a prosecutor in western Pennsylvania, who said bus-mounted audio recorders could be legal if districts draw up a written policy, post warning signs in the buses and write letters to parents and students...

Promises - New Zealand - More Buses And Trains

Havelock Nth,Hawkes Bay,New Zealand -newswire.co.nz -8 May 2006: -- Transport managers in Wellington and Auckland are promising more buses and trains to help meet an increasing passenger demand driven by high petrol prices... With a litre of 91 octane now costing just under $1.71, more and more commuters are switching to public transport... In Wellington, the StageCoach bus company says it has already called on Wellington Regional Council to allow more buses on the roads; which should see more services in a matter of weeks... Auckland Regional Transport Authority chair Brian Roache says they are also asking for extra funding to help put on more services... Train passenger journeys reached half a million for the first time in Auckland's history last month, up almost 40 percent on the same time last year... (Picture: The recently refurbished Kingsland station)

Peak Capacity - China - Planes, trains, buses run at

Shanghai,China -Shanghai Daily, by Nicholas Ning -8 May 2006: -- A RECORD number of travelers flooded the city's railways, airports and long-distance bus stations during the Labor Day holiday... The passenger flow was close to, or in some cases, bigger than that during the Spring Festival, which is historically the busiest time for transport facility operators as people head to ancestral homes to be with their family... But transport operators said things went smoothly as more trains and planes were added for the anticipated surge in demand... Shanghai Railway Station handled nearly 270,000 passengers since Thursday when residents began returning to the city, an increase of about 8 percent year on year... At peak times, the station handled nearly 140,000, similar to the figure during the Spring Festival holiday... (Photo: Suo Qing -- People rush to board trains at Shanghai Railway Station yesterday. Officials said operations went smoothly during the Labor Day holiday thanks to additional trains being put into service)

Fuel cell technology - USA - Comes to state's roads

USA -TMCnet/Stamford Advocate -7 May 2006: -- The cutting edge of mass transit technology is expected to arrive in the state when the first hydrogen fuel cell bus is delivered later this year... The federally funded bus will be used by CTTransit's Hartford division as part of a demonstration project to determine the technology's efficiency and practicality... It also would be the only bus of its kind in the Northeast, CTTransit officials said... "Hydrogen is the fuel of the future"... State officials said the buses would be "significantly more" than the diesel vehicles now used, which cost more than $200,000 each...

To Cut Air Pollutants - USA - Warwick fits its school buses with filter

WARWICK, R.I.,USA -AP/WLNE-TV/ABC6 (Providence,RI) -May 6,2006: -- Warwick is the first community in Rhode Island to fit all its 62 school buses with technology that would filter out as much as 90% of harmful emissions... The two-year effort was financed by a $350,000 grant from the U-S Environmental Protection Agency. EPA administrator Stephen Johnson says school bus emission are one of the leading causes of asthma in children. He says reducing the harmful pollutants created cleaner air and should lead to healthier students... The Warwick school buses are also using cleaner fuel, which may cost more per gallon than regular diesel but is more efficient in getting one or two miles more per gallon...

Enormous Bill - New Zealand - Trolley buses' fate in LTNZ's hands

Wellington,New Zealand -TVNZ -May 6, 2006: -- Ratepayers in Wellington are facing an enormous bill to keep the city's trolley buses on the roads... The 60-strong fleet of trolley buses, which have been in service for more than 80 years, are badly in need of a $30 million overhaul. Stagecoach, the company which runs the fleet, and the regional council are seeking another $10 million to keep the electricity-run trolleys on the road...

School Bus Fees - USA - Stafford County considering they

STAFFORD, Va.,USA -WAVY-TV (Portsmouth,VA) -5 May 2006: -- You may soon have to pay up for a ride on a Stafford County school bus... The county's school board is considering a plan where it would charge a fee for bus rides, student parking permits, athletics and extracurricular clubs... Stafford County is trying to raise money because it will be getting 14-point-two (m) million dollars less next year than the school board had budgeted... (Picture: stafford opener)

Rules - Europe - EU mandates seat belts for tour buses

BRUSSELS, Belgium -THE ASSOCIATED PRESS -May 5, 2006: -- Safety belts will have to be used in all seats on tour buses and vans across the European Union, the European Commission said in a new directive presented Friday... The measure was designed to help meet the 25-nation bloc's target of halving the number of road deaths by 2010... The directive also requires children less than 4.4 feet tall to be restrained in cars by a seat adapted to their weight...

Buses World News

31.5.06

EcoNews - Ireland - Dublin Bus to begin using biodiesel

Riders increase - USA - Faster in SLO than in most American cities

Survey - USA - Attracting Rhode Island bus riders may be difficult

Bus service - Canada - Can proceed once approvals obtained

Free buses - UK - A transport of delight

Fury on the buses - Spain - Bus Station, become a haven for drug dealers and crime

Caution - India - City buses to have PCOs, FM radio during rains

Job Opportunities - Ghana - MMT increases fleet, creates

Driving ? - Australia - Bus drivers in drinking probe

Marketing - Malaysia - Kosmo to venture into Asean bus mart

Joint - New Zealand - Bus companies 'one head in the market'

Report - USA - Aging U.S. School Buses Still Fouling Air

Jobs - USA - Wanted: Drivers to keep school buses going

Study - USA - Are School Buses Making Children Sick?

Study - USA - Maine Ranks High In Low Emission School Buses

29.5.06

Report - UK - Calls for more to use the buses

Sales - Colombia - Volvo wins order for 118 articulated buses for Bogota

New Advanced Buses - USA - New Gold Country Stage Buses Arrive

Not to board them - Ghana - 207 Benz Buses Not Suitable For Long Journey

Study - USA - NJ school buses cleaner than most, but have a ways to go

24.5.06

Purchase - UAE - RTA buys 80 hi-tech buses from Mercedes-Benz

More buses will ease road stress

Security - UK - Install seatbelts on all our school buses

23.5.06

Report - UK - Warns on falling bus use

Buying suspended - New Zealand - Court Considers Bus Company Merger

Purchase - India - PMC to buy 200 new buses

Trolley Buses - New Zealand - Copeland goes to bat for Wellington

Security Cameras - USA - Transportation board OKs on

Motorists illegally parked - UK - Wardens on buses to catch drivers

Tourism - UK - The Preseli Green Dragon bus

Modern - U.Arab Emirates - RTA to get 80 buses

22.5.06

Purchases - USA - District stocks up on buses

Traffic - Australia - Clear run for buses, trams run out of town

Bigger Buses - USA - Wilshire Rapid Line Gets

Sightseers - Canada - Trolleys, buses give tourists a ticket to ride

19.5.06

TechnoNews - USA - Satellite Tracking Could Be Coming To A Bus Near You

Newspaper report - USA - Prompts crackdown on school bus drivers

Inspections - Ireland - Transport Minister orders review of school bus

Sales - Canada - New Flyer inks $160M in bus deals

Sales - Canada - New Flyer inks $160M in bus deals

Environment News - Singapore - Bus stops and the Aedes mosquitoes

Traffic Chaos - Australia - Transport shambles

Confort - UK - 'Voice of London buses' announced

To hit the City - Qatar - Expats eagerly await city buses

To Enhance - USA - Greyhound to Refurbish Buses

18.5.06

Purchases - USA - District to buy new buses

Ban them! - Ghana - "207" and Urvan buses fingered as culprits in road carnage

17.5.06

Transport - Australia -We mustn't miss this very fast bus

Biodiesel fuel - USA - Makes buses run cleaner

Production - Venezuela - Chinese buses for assembly in

City unveils new fleet of buses

Bike racks - USA - Valley Transit buses to support they

Hybrid Buses - USA - Optima closes first deal for

16.5.06

Only promises - Australia - Missing the bus

Learning - UK - Better by bus, kids are told

New - Canada - City Buses Go Green

Spain - Retired Titsa buses travel the world

Improve - Canada - TTC service adding more buses

Satellite-controlled - Australia - Green light buses

TechnoNews - USA - Perth to take part in EU trial of hydrogen-powered buses

Need passengers? - India - Buses without passengers

Discount - Thailand - Buses catch a break on diesel

Sentenced to death - China - Bus conductor for strangling teenager

GreenNews - USA - Overhaul of school buses hits snag

Slammed - Canada - Merchants, shoppers back Dundas buses

Security - USA - Deputies to ride Palm Beach County trains, buses

Protesting - UK - Buses bust-up

Hydrogen - Europe - EU extends push after city bus success

New Fuel ? - UK - Cow Pats

Purchases ? - USA - Fratturelli: Buses not profitable