Buses World News: August 2006

Big Brother - USA - Ohio district bans talking on school buses

FINNEYTOWN, Ohio,USA - UPI -Aug. 29, 2006: -- The Finneytown, Ohio, school district, just outside Cincinnati, has banned students from talking on school buses... Nothing specific led to the harsh decree, which was implemented this year to "keep the students in line," Shawn Maus, the district's communications director, told Tuesday's Cincinnati Enquirer...

Back to schools - USA - Watching Out for Buses

ROCHESTER,MN,USA -KTTC TV, by Karna Bergstrom- 29 Aug 2006: -- The sight of school starting will be coming down a street near you and those behind the wheel of the big yellow buses want you to know the rules of the road, specifically the rules at the bus stops... Bus driver's here in Rochester go through more than 35 hours of training to keep kids safe on their rides to and from school... Those same driver's ask for motorists help when it comes to being aware when their passengers are loading and unloading. The buses are designed to let driver's know when they need to stop...

"GREEN" BUSES

* China - To take the streets
Shanghai,China -The Shanghai Daily, by Zhang Jun -29 Aug 2006: -- Ten new environmentally friendly buses were unveiled yesterday by the city government... The buses are powered by 360 ultra-capacitors and are charged at bus stops with equipment attached to the roof of each vehicle along the No. 11 line, which has 10 stops around Laoximen in Huangpu District... Each charge takes only 30 seconds and can power the bus for 3 to 8 kilometers...

* USA - Hybrid buses come to Iowa
SIGOURNEY,IO,USA -KTVO (Kirksville,MO) -29 Aug 2006: -- New fuel-and-electric school buses are coming to Iowa soon. Two Iowa school districts, Sigourney and Nevada, volunteered to be part of only 19 districts across the country to try a hybrid bus... Sigourney's hybrid bus should arrive in late spring. The outside will look like any other school bus, but under the hood is a V-8 diesel engine and electric drive trains that capture the energy of braking to recharge its own battery while the bus moves from stop to stop... The bus is predicted to get 40 percent better mileage and cut the emissions of particular pollutants outside and inside the bus...

* USA - NABI delivers articulated CNG buses to LAX
Ontario,CA,USA -High Performance Composites -30 Aug 2006: -- North American Bus Industries, Inc. (NABI, .) recently completed delivery of 12 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to Los Angeles World Airports, the operating body of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). These stylized, articulated 60-BRT buses will be the first articulated vehicles for passenger service at LAX...

* Brazil - To Operate Fuel Cell Powered Public Buses from 2007

RIO DE JANEIRO,Brazuk -Inter Press Service/Fuell Cell Today -28 August 2006: -- Brazil has joined the race for hydrogen power, announcing the development of public buses running on this source of "clean" energy. But experts say the new vehicles will not be commercially viable until at least the end of the next decade... Five buses with hydrogen fuel cells will be put to the test in 2007 in Sao Paulo and neighboring cities. The four-year experiment calls for total travel distance of 1 million kilometers. If they pass the test, the hydrogen bus fleet will be expanded to 100 or 200... A similar project will get under way next year in Rio de Janeiro...

Purchases - USA - OCTA considering buying 249 natural-gas buses

Orange County,CA,USA -The Orange County Register, by ELLYN PAK -August 28, 2006: -- Freeway towing services, updates on the Garden Grove (22) Freeway widening project, and natural-gas buses were scheduled to be up for discussion at today's Orange County Transportation Authority's board meeting... Board members were also scheduled to recognize three bus drivers for 30 years of safe driving... On the agenda: - • The purchase of property for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, plans that could involve relocating the current Anaheim Metrolink station. - • Funding of a new bus route that takes passengers from Riverside to Orange County. - • Evaluate the purchase of 249 compressed natural-gas buses...

Smartcard - Australia - Trial on city buses

Sydney,Australia -The Australian -August 29, 2006: -- The NSW Government is calling for 1000 volunteers to trial a smartcard system on Sydney's public transport... NSW Transport Minister John Watkins today said the first public trial of the TCard smartcard ticketing system would begin on several bus routes in October... The TCard system was designed to allow commuters to travel on all trains, buses and ferries in Sydney with one card, and is expected to be in operation by the end of 2007...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS WORLDWIDE

* USA - Truck strikes bus on Interstate 93
Andover,MASS,USA -Associated Press/The Boston Herald -August 28, 2006: -- More than a dozen children from a Woburn church group avoid serious injury yesterday when their bus was struck by a pickup truck on I-93 in Andover... State Police say Victor Pizzotti of Stoneham lost control of his pickup truck around 10:30 a.m. while driving south... The truck hit a guard rail and rolled over after hitting the bus. Pizzotti was treated at the scene with minor injuries... The 18 children on the bus were taken to area hospitals as a precaution...

* China - Two colliding buses kill eleven
Shanghai,China -The Shanghai Daily -29 Aug 2006: -- Two buses collided, killing 11 people and injuring 25 others on a highway in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region yesterday afternoon, police said... Two buses collided head-on at 12:17pm on Hui'anpu section of No. 211 national highway in Yanchi County of Ningxia, the police said...

Super luxury bus - India - Trial Service to rival Shatabdi soon

Haryana Roadways to take up new service on trial basis

Chandigarh,India -The Chandigarh Newsline, by Munish Shekhavat -August 28, 2006: -- Buoyed with the success of Volvo bus service in the region, the Haryana Roadways is all set to launch a super luxury bus service in the Chandigarh-New Delhi route... A notch above the rest in terms of luxury, the Haryana Roadways is all set to give its competitors a run for their money... As of now, Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation and Punjab Roadways too, are operating Volvo deluxe buses in the Chandigarh-New Delhi route. The "super luxury" service will be started on a trial basis and will be extended to other routes only if it gets an optimum response...

Fueling bus ridership - USA - Growth, not gas prices

LAWRENCEVILLE,GA,USA -The Gwinnett Daily Post (Griffin,GA), by Arielle Kass -27 Aug 2006: -- More students are riding school buses this year, local districts say, but students piling onto the buses are a result of growth, not parents trying to save gas money... Sloan Roach, spokeswoman for Gwinnett County Public Schools, said about 75 percent of students take the bus to school. Some schools have reported increased ridership, she said, but not because of gas prices — parents were asked to put their children on buses to decrease traffic and for safety reasons...

Safety - Usa - District, bus companies rely on background checks

North Andover,MA,USA -The Eagle-Tribune, by Terry Date & Michael Busack -August 27, 2006: -- Safeguards to prevent those with criminal records or a history of reckless motor vehicle operation from driving school buses have worked, according to spokesmen for area bus companies... Prospective drivers are disqualified from getting a state school bus driving certification for any of a host of crimes including sexual assault, commission of a crime using a motor vehicle, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, arrest or indictment for driving under the influence of alcohol, or leaving the scene of an accident...

Study - New Zealand - Huge Response to North Wellington Transport

Wellington,N.Z. -Press Release -28 Aug 2006: -- Wellington City Council Deputy Mayor Alick Shaw says the submissions show that people are interested in the future of public transport and are prepared to take the time to make their views known. "This is an excellent result which builds on the 500 submissions received during the first stage of consultation.".. The analysis shows some interesting conclusions regarding differences between geographical areas... For some suburbs that are close to rail, such as Ngaio, Khandallah and Crofton Downs, there is strong support for rail... For suburbs which are currently served by bus, as Grenada Village, Churton Park, Newlands, Paparangi and Woodridge are, there is strong support for the busway... In areas where there is a choice of public transport, such as Johnsonville and Broadmeadows, there is majority support for the busway scenario... (Picture: Oriental Bay beach and the monastery above)

More buses - USA - To roll out after Labour Day

New buses are slow in arriving

BC, Canada -The Richmond Review/Black Press, by Jeff Nagel -Aug 26 2006: -- TransLink claims a big boost in bus service around the region will roll out after Labour Day even though most new buses it has on order have yet to arrive... Changes were unveiled Wednesday even though only 18 new buses will actually be in operation as of Sept. 5... They’re the leading edge of about 200 new buses, trolleys and shuttles due to arrive by the end of the year, with hundreds more to come in future years...

TECHNO-BUSES WORLDWIDE

* India - Himachal buses to get electronic ticketing machines
Shimla,Himachal Pradesh,India -Monsters and Critics.com (Glasgow,UK)/IANS -Aug 26, 2006: -- Buses in Himachal Pradesh will get a facelift as the roadways authorities plan to install electronic ticketing machines... "To start with, the state government plans to install these machines in some two dozen of its buses operating on long routes some time next month", said an official of the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HPRTC) here... It would be the bus driver's responsibility to distribute the machine-generated tickets after collecting money from passengers...

* India - CCTVs on buses
MUMBAI,India -The Times of India - 26 Aug, 2006: -- After railway stations, BEST buses too are being fitted with close circuit cameras to allow the authorities to keep an eye on trouble-makers... On Friday, CM Vilasrao Deshmukh unveiled a CCTV, a smart card machine (for automated fare collection) and a local phone installed on a BEST bus... The undertaking's general manager Uttam Khobragade announced that all the buses will be equipped with cameras in the next three months. He said 200 buses will have smart card systems in the same period...

* USA - Buses will be tracked by GPS
Durham,CHAPEL HILL,NC,USA -News 14 Carolina (Raleigh,NC), by Vernon Fraley -26 Aug 2006: -- Chapel Hill bus riders are in for a treat. Gone are the days when they would have to wait for the bus, now they'll know where it is and when it will arrive at the stop... "We have equipped our 85 coach fleet with what we call automated vehicle locating systems,” said Steve Spade of Chapel Hill Transit. “It's a GPS tracking device that allows us to know where each bus is and the bus actually knows what its schedule is supposed to be."... (Photo: Passengers will be able to look on the Internet or use their cell phones to check out arrival times for buses)

GREEN BUSES

* India - CNG buses between Sonepat and Delhi
Sonepat,Haryana,India -The Hindu (Chennai,Ind)/PTI -Aug. 27, 2006: -- The Haryana Transport Department will begin plying 15 CNG buses between Sonepat and Delhi from September 10... The department had already decided to ply such buses in the cities and towns of Haryana falling under the jurisdiction of the National Capital Region (NCR), official sources said...

* Australia - Cooking oil on the menu as STA buses try green route
Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by Daniel Dasey -August 27, 2006: -- Buses that run on fuel made from cooking oil could soon be making their trial run on Sydney streets, after transport authorities signed an alternative fuel deal with an international vehicle maker... Sydney would become one of three international testing grounds for environmentally friendly vehicles being developed by Volvo... Hybrid vehicles rely on two power sources. A clean diesel engine is complemented by an electric motor. Often a generator for the electric motor is charged using friction generated when the brakes are applied... Earlier this year, Volvo successfully tendered for part of the $250 million contract for 250 new clean Euro-5 diesel buses and 255 compressed-natural-gas buses...

Introducing - USA - Manteca ready to roll out citywide bus system

Citywide system starts in November

MANTECA,CA,USA-The Stockton Record (Stockton,CA), by Daniel Thigpen -26 Aug 2006: -- For Mantecans stuck in traffic jams, if the city's new bus system catches on as officials hope, there could be 84,000 fewer cars on the road on any given day... In November, Manteca will debut its first citywide bus system...

Safety - USA - Proper behavior is a must on bus

Wilmington,DE,USA -The News Journal, by ROBIN BROWN -August 26, 2006: -- Think of a class of 72 kids... Think of the kids going wild... "It's a little crazy, but that's normal this time of year," said Joan Rossell, who spent 20 years driving school buses... Rossell is an owner of Lehane's Bus Service near New Castle, one of many Delaware facilities where big yellow buses now rumble out daily... After 36 years in the business, Rossell has concluded that drivers don't know the laws about stopping for school buses, and parents don't teach kids how to behave while aboard...

Bus Lanes - UK - It's all go for cars in city

Edinburgh,Scotland -The Scotman, by ALAN RODEN -26 Aug 206: -- Cars are set to be allowed access to Edinburgh's Greenways outside the rush-hour... Moves to do away with all-day restrictions on key routes into the city have already been discussed by city chiefs... It is expected all of the Capital's bus lanes will have the same operating hours if trams return to city streets in 2010... (Picture by Paul Parke - FAST TRACKED: Greenway restrictions on Calder Road keep cars in the outside lane, leaving the inside lane clear for buses)

Step Backwards - UK - Disabled fears on ftr buses

York,UK -The York Press, by Lucy Stephens -25 Aug 2006: -- IT was billed as the bus of the future - but for some sectors of the community, it's taken a step backwards... Blind and disabled people living in York have voiced serious concerns about the controversial new ftr bus which was launched in the city in May... Despite its sleek, futuristic design, they say it contains more hazards for people with mobility and visual problems than buses of the past... One of the main problems for blind people was the fact that the bus driver was separated from the customers by being placed low down in front of the vehicle in an individual compartment - making it impossible for blind people to ask him to shout out their stop...

Ssfety - India - BEST buses to become hi-tech soon

BEST has decided to install close CCTVs in its entire fleet of 3,400 buses

Mumbai,India -CNN/IBN (New Delhi), by Jency Jacob -August 25, 2006: -- After the July 11 serial blasts, as a precautionary measure to ensure safety checks for passengers, Mumbai’s BEST bus service has decided to install close circuit cameras in its entire fleet of over 3,000 buses... The CCTV (closed circuit camera TV) installed at various positions in BEST buses will keep an eye on all activities of passengers... (HI-TECH BUS: BEST has decided to install close CCTVs in its entire fleet of 3,400 buses)

Business - USA - School Bus Maker Blue Bird to Be Bought

FORT VALLEY,Ga..USA -The Associated Press -Aug. 25, 2006: -- School bus and motor coach maker Blue Bird Corp. is being acquired by an affiliate of private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, the companies said Friday... Terms of the deal, expected to close in September, were not disclosed...

Finally Proof - USA - Public transport is crowded for a reason

The MTA says that ridership has grown 36% in the past ten years

NY,USA -Gothamist/AMNewYork -24 Aug 2006: -- Trips on New York City Transit subway trains and buses have grown 36 percent, from 1.6 billion in 1995 to 2.2 billion in 2005. Meanwhile, the population of the city grew 7 percent from 7.6 million to 8.2 million... Likewise, regular commuter rail trips jumped 14 percent to 155 million between 1995 and 2005, while the suburban population grew just 6 percent...

DANGEROUS DRIVER

* USA - Blacks ordered to back of bus
Coushatta,La,USA -News24 - 24 August 2006: -- Nine black children were directed last week to the back of a school bus by a white driver who designated the front seats to white children, said the mother of one of the children on Thursday... "All nine children were assigned to two seats in the back of the bus and the older ones had to hold the smaller ones on their laps," said Iva Richmond, mother of two of the children...

* USA - Back of the Bus: School bus drivers to get training
Coushatta,La,USA -KATC (Lafayette,LA,USA) -24 August 2006: -- Every school bus driver in Red River Parish will undergo training as a result of complaints that a white driver made black children sit in the back of her bus...

* China - Bus-truck collision kills 17 people in Guangdong
Beijing,China -Press Trust of India -August 26, 2006: -- At least 17 people were killed and 33 injured when a bus in which they were travelling carrying them rammed into a stationary truck on a freeway in south China's Guangdong Province early on Saturday, traffic police said... The bus crashed into a parked truck at 1:10 am on Saturday. The truck, carrying a heavy load of ore, had pulled over on the freeway near Shaoguan city to repair a tyre problem...

* Iran - 24 students killed in bus accident
Mashhad,Irán -ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jerusalem Post (Israel) -26 Aug 2006: -- At least 24 students were killed Saturday when a tour bus they were riding in overturned on a highway in northern Iran, state-run radio reported... The student were heading to the religious and tourist city of Mashhad, located about 1,000 kilometers northeast of Teheran, the radio report said. No other details were immediately provided...

Drivers' shortage - USA - MTA To Expand Bus Driver Recruitment Efforts

Los Angeles,CA,USA -CBS 2 -Aug 24, 2006: -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board Thursday agreed to allocate $50,000 to expand bus driver recruitment efforts, and another $10,000 to fund an employee referral program under a proposal sponsored by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa... Metro is trying to hire 300 bus drivers to staff new routes and increase hours of service. The agency already employs 4,200 full- and part-time drivers... (metro.net: The MTA board agreed Thursday to allocate $50,000 to expand bus driver recruitment efforts)

Block Traffic - Thailand - Over 100 buses around Wong Wian Yai

Bangkok,Thailand -Nation Multimedia -24 Aug 2006: -- Over 100 passenger buses operated by private firms gathered on Taksin Road and around Wong Wian Yai in Thon Buri at 11:30 pm Wednesday night to protest against mini Subaru passenger cars... The bus drivers said the mini passenger vehicles operate on their routes, causing them to lose passengers and suffer a loss...

High-capacity buses - India - Work to finally start on dedicated lane

New Delhi,India -Delhi Newsline, by Anubhuti Vishnoi -August 23, 2006: -- Almost three years after the High Capacity Bus System (HCBS) plan was first announced in the October 2002 transport policy and nearly two years after the tenders were first invited and then scrapped for a pilot project stretch, the project has finally got moving... The transport department has awarded the contract for constructing the 16 km-long HCBS corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Delhi Gate and the work is likely to begin by mid-September...

Greater Transparency - UK - Bus routes opened to private firms

Belfast,UK -The Belfast Telegraph, by Robin Morton -22 August 2006: -- Private sector operators are to be given access to Ulsterbus routes in a shake-up of public transport provision announced today... Regional Development Minister, David Cairns, said the changes would benefit the travelling public by providing more competition... He said the overhaul did not represent wholesale privatisation or complete deregulation, but would provide greater transparency... The key proposal is the setting up of a new Passenger Transport Authority for Northern Ireland which will design, secure and manage services...

Vodka Ad - USA - Too Sexy for Buses, Okay for Taxis

"The city didn't like such a sexy ad, but if you go five blocks in the city you'll find sexier ads than this one": Martin Silver, the chief executive officer of Star Industries, distributors Georgi's vodka
New York,NY,USA -New York Sun, by BRADLEY HOPE -August 23, 2006: -- The advertisement could be considered run-of-the-mill these days: Beside the word "Georgi" in bright yellow block letters is a close-up of the backside of a woman wearing a string-bikini. Her skin is dusted with sand, as if she has just risen from a short rest at the beach. A bottle of vodka is superimposed next to her; the word "Georgi" is written in green letters on the bikini bottom... However, the vodka advertisement was removed from 365 city buses last December for a reason the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's marketing company... The company replaced the advertisements with another, almost identical advertisement — instead of the bikini bottom, there is a naked woman who covers herself by crossing her legs and arms... While the MTA deemed the advertising too risqué for the city's buses, the Taxi and Limousine Commission decided that it was appropriate for the tops of the city's yellow cabs. The advertisements have run on 150 yellow cabs since the beginning of the month, and will stay up for at least another week...

Dangerous Streets - Australia - Bus ban in force but attacks continue

Sydney,New South Wales,AUS -Australasian Bus & Coach -24 August 2006: -- Bus drivers met today to formally impose a no-go zone over vehicle attacks in western Sydney - even as one of their colleagues was being robbed, apparently by students, just kilometres away... The drivers staged a stop-work meeting in Penrith, at which they agreed to avoid a 3km stretch in Mt Druitt where drivers have been attacked - mainly by thugs throwing rocks - at least six times in the past six weeks...

* Australia - Chaos as bus drivers walk out
Sydney,New South Wales,AUS -The Daily Telegraph -24 Aug 2006: -- WESTERN Sydney bus drivers are to hold a stop-work meeting after this morning'speak period over recent rock-throwing attacks in the area...

BUSES' PURCHASES WORLDWIDE

* Canada - Transit adds 53 new buses
Mississauga,Ontario, Canada -The Mississauga News, by John Stewart -Aug 26, 2006: -- A reduction in environmental emissions and more bus service on the road are two one of the benefits of 53 freshly-minted New Flyer buses being delivered to Mississauga Transit over the next few weeks... (Photo: Mississauga Transit has added 53 new restyled buses that feature a new contoured look)

* Australia - Adelaide buys second hand buses for city routes
Brisbane,AUS -Australasian Bus & Coach -22 August 2006: -- Adelaide's largest bus operator, Torrens Transit has bought two 15-year-old MAN SL202 buses from Brisbane Transport in a bid to meet the surge in public transport use ahead of major route changes in September. The buses, built in 1990, are expected to be put into service within eight weeks on peak morning services... The Government has an $81.7 million three-year contract with Scania to provide new buses at a rate of one a week. Under the terms of the contract, which ends in June 2008, Scania must deliver 170 new buses...

* Australia - Council Budget surplus to fund Brisbane buses
Brisbane,AUS -Australia ABC Online -August 22, 2006: -- Brisbane's Labor councillors say they have uncovered a larger than expected Budget surplus... The Lord Mayor's Budget, handed down in June, contained a surplus of about $175,000... But Deputy Mayor David Hinchliffe says Labor has identified an additional $34 million during the recent Budget review process... With Labor set to seize control of public transport, he says some of the surplus should be ploughed into the struggling bus network... "Ten million of that needs to be allocated to be put to more buses on the roads," he said...

* Australia - Investment in public transport set to double
Wellington,AUS -Australasian Bus & Coach -23 August 2006: -- Greater Wellington Regional Council is doubling its investment in the region’s public transport system over the next ten years as the number of people using public transport continues to grow... Councilor and Passenger Transport Committee Chairman Glen Evans says Greater Wellington is committed to improving public transport in the region within available funding sources. Over the next ten years, the Council has budgeted to invest $1.3 billion in passenger transport...

* USA - Facing Big Dig detours, Boston schools add buses
Boston,Mass,USA -The Boston Globe, by Tracy Jan -August 24, 2006: -- Boston public schools will add more than two dozen buses to its fleet of 611 this fall to help cut the amount of time students are stuck in traffic stemming from the continued closure of a Big Dig tunnel...

* Canada - TransLink adding more buses
LOWER MAINLAND,British Columbia,Canada -News1130 (Vancouver) - 24 Aug 206: -- It will be easier to catch a bus around the Lower Mainland by the end of the year... TransLink is adding 200 more buses, the most comprehensive bus service expansion since TransLink came into being in 1999...

* Jamaica - JUTC to Get 50 New Buses Next Year
KINGSTON,Jamaica -JIS/Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service -August 25, 2006: -- The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) will be acquiring 50 new buses early next year, while at the same time, overhauling number of seven-year old units in its fleet, to meet public transport needs in the corporate area...

Safety - Canada - School bus, all about protecting Alberta’s children

Wetaskiwin,Alberta, Canada -Wetaskiwin Times Advertiser -21 Aug 2006: -- For a quarter of a million Alberta students, including hundreds in Wetaskiwin and area, the day starts and ends with a ride on a school bus... Most trips are routine and students arrive at their destination without incident... Transport Canada studies show school bus travel is the safest mode of transportation to and from schools -- 16 times safer than the family car... Maintaining this level of safety takes effort on the part of everyone...

Dangerous Story - Kenya - Passenger Tells of Unsettling Experience On 'Flying' Bus

Nairobi,Kenya -The East African Standard/AllAfrica.com (Washington,USA), by Dann OkothNairobi -August 21, 2006: -- It is early in the morning on July 29 and I am on a bus belonging to a popular bus company heading to Nairobi from western Kenya. The journey proceeds on well until we pass Kericho when it suddenly picks up speed... I am strategically seated next to the conductor just one row away from the driver and I can clearly see the dashboard. I notice that the driver does about 140 to 160 kilometres per hour on most sections of the road between Kericho and Kedowa town, which is well past the recommended speed of 80kph... Meanwhile I engage the conductor, who all this time appears so cool as though nothing is amiss in a conversation about their work. It is then that I receive the rude shock. The conductor tells me that they make two trips between Busia and Nairobi - more than 1,400km - in just 18 hours. As if it is nothing out of the ordinary, the conductor proceeds to narrate to me how the crew including the driver have just a little more than 15 minutes to rest before they embark on the next journey...

"Miracle" - Australia - Students relive bus ordeal

Australia -NEWS.com.au -21 Aug 2006: -- Police said it was a "miracle" the students were not seriously injured... The accident between the two-and-a-half tonne Toyota Dyna and the Torrens Transit articulated bus happened just after 8am... A police spokesman said the bus had been taking Loreto College, Maryatville High School and Mary McKillop College students to their schools... And, after the crash, many of the youngsters had left the scene before patrols and the emergency services arrived... (Pictures: The Advertiser - Horror crash ... A student escaped death by just centimetres when steel girders pierced the side of a school bus)

Transaction - USA - Optima Bus purchased by Alabama bus company

Park City,KS,USA -Kansas.com -Aug. 21, 2006: -- Park City-based Optima Bus Corp. has been purchased by North American Bus Industries, the companies announced today... Terms of the transaction were not disclosed... The purchase will help Optima with its ambitious growth plans, chief executive Michael Monteferrante said. The company employs about 200 people...

Warn - USA - 20 buses had potential fire hazards

Defects were fixed, education agency officials say

Columbia,SC,USA -The State -Aug. 19, 2006: -- Mechanics have completed inspections of all 2,100 Type D buses and found potential fire hazards in the electrical systems of 20 buses... During the inspections, mechanics found potential fire hazards in three buses identical to the problems that caused two bus fires earlier this year... Two 1995 rear-engine buses assigned to the Summerville maintenance shop had worn cables, as did a third inspected at a garage in Chesterfield, according to a State Department of Education report released Friday... The repairs to 17 buses were characterized as “related defects.”... All 20 buses were repaired...

Efficiency - USA - Buses, Suburbans see mileage decrease from last year

Fairfield,IA,USA -Fairfield Daily Ledger, by Vicki Tillis -21 Aug 2006: -- Fairfield Community School District's fleet of vehicles traveled 24,302 fewer miles during the 2005-2006 school year than they did the year before... Fred McElwee, the district's director of auxiliary services, said part of the decrease was due to not having to transport a special education student to class in the Cardinal Community School District at Eldon... (Photo: School buses in the Fairfield Community School District are given a thorough going-over each summer before school begins. Stan Parsons had to lift the hood to be able to wash the windshield)

TechnoNews - USA - New Cameras on Bossier School Buses

Shreveport,LA,USA-KTBS -21 Aug 2006: -- The Bossier Parish school system hopes to make permanent mounted security cameras a fixture on every bus in its fleet... The parish has 235 school buses in the fleet. The older cameras have been in use for 15 years and were rotated throughout the fleet as needed... The new cameras will be a permanent fixture on each bus. Last year, the parish begin buying security cameras and 23 buses are now equipped with a similar style permanent mount camera...

TechNews - USA - Santa Barbara investing in high-tech Buses

Santa Barbara,CA,USA -KESQ (Palm Desert,CA) -21 Aug 2006: -- Santa Barbara's transportation agency is moving one step closer to creating a computerized system that would allow passengers to know when the next bus will pull into the station in real time... The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District this week voted to spend 25(M)-dollars to buy portable global positioning devices that would allow the agency to see how well its fleets of buses stick to their schedules... The system would allow passengers to log onto the Internet and find out if a bus is on schedule...

Security - Australia - School buses are old and unsafe

Northern Australia,Australia -Townsville Bulletin -20aug06: -- Hundreds of old buses that fail Australian safety standards are being brought into the country to be used on school runs... The Bus Industry Confederation, representing manufacturers and operators, says the practice is continuing because of a loophole in Australia's vehicle importing laws... He said the buses did not have to comply with Australian design rules and emission standards and breached laws requiring access for disabled people...

Shipment - Barbados - Sixty-five new buses for New Year

Barbados -Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation -17 August 2006: -- There are some changes in store for the Transport Board... Chairman Ian Gooding-Edghill says it is getting 65 new buses, as part of a plan to put the board back on the road to profitability... He was speaking in the Senate on a resolution to grant the Transport Board 22 million dollars... This money will make life easier for Barbadian commuters at the beginning of next year when the new units are added to the existing fleet... The Brazilian made buses will arrive on December 31... They are coming with some new features including additional seating, and a roomier area for drivers. About 42 per cent of the existing units are over nine years old...

Security - USA - Police To Ride On School Buses

Bus awareness program conducted through start of school

MISSION,TX,USA -KRGV (Westlaco,TX) -August 18, 2006 : -- Mission school buses will have some extra passengers. Police will be onboard several buses to make sure drivers obey the laws... Fourteen police officers will be on the lookout for violators... The new bus awareness program will be conducted through the beginning of the school year...

Can you help -UK - To stop to vandalism on buses?

UK -News Shopper -19 Aug 2006: -- As part of Operation BusTag, police would like to talk to the two teenagers in pictures 5065A and B... They were travelling on the Thamesmead to Peckham 177 route on March 7 when windows were etched... They got on at the boiler house in Carlyle Road, Thamesmead at 5.46pm and got off in Plumstead High Street seven minutes later... Call Operation BusTag if you recognise them. (Picture: 5065A)

Security - USA - Time for drivers to heed school zones, buses

A new school year is around the corner, and so are the school buses

Durango,CO,USA -Durango Herald, by Mary Jane Carroll -August 17, 2006: -- Morning and afternoon traffic will increase starting Wednesday, the first day of school for Durango School District 9-R... The Colorado State Patrol, the La Plata County Sheriff's Office and the Durango Police Department all have adopted a no-tolerance policy toward drivers who fail to stop for buses when required... The majority of violations in school zones are speeding faster than the 20 mph limit. Due to the higher traffic flow and amount of residents, College Drive near Park Elementary, and Florida Road near Riverview Elementary tend to have many speed violators, said Martinez...

Woman's buses - India - 1,000 Volvo buses for BMTC

Fares to be cut by 30 per cent

Bangalore,Karnataka,India -The Hindu (Chennai) - 19 Aug 2006: -- To popularise the Volvo bus service, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is planning to reduce its fares by 30 per cent... Announcing this after inaugurating the newly constructed bus depot at Hebbal, Transport Minister N. Cheluvaraswamy said the move was planned to ensure that people from all sections of society used the service so that the number of private passenger vehicles on the road was reduced... (Photo, by K. Murali Kumar - COMFY JOURNEY: The new BMTC buses, exclusively for women, parked at the Hebbal bus depot, in Bangalore on Wednesday)

Purchases - USA - Board buys buses, acts to forestall vandalism

Washington Local to install cameras

Toledo,OH,USA -The Toledo Blade -August 18, 2006: -- The Washington Local Board of Education is updating its bus fleet and taking action to fend off vandalism at school buildings... The board approved contracts Wednesday with Wise Bus Sales to buy three 84-passenger buses for $234,222 and two 59-passenger buses for $134,694. The deals include trade-ins... David Hunter, board president, said the district annually replaces several buses. The practice was begun in recent years and has resulted in the entire fleet regularly passing state inspection, he said...

They are not happy - Australia - Brisbane bus drivers

Brisbane,Australia -ABC Online -19 Aug 2006: -- Brisbane's bus drivers say they are not happy at having to leave behind passengers at bus stops because of overcrowding... Three reports in the past two months have found that the bus network is unable to meet passenger demand... In response, Labor says it will use its numbers in Brisbane City Council to create a new cabinet position which will have responsibility for public transport... Rail, Tram and Bus Union spokesman Dave Matters says he hopes it will help improve the system...

Bus Fires -USA - State says 20 buses had battery-related defects

COLUMBIA, S.C.,USA -Associated Press -19 Aug 2006: -- Three South Carolina school buses were found to have a defect that officials say was to blame for two bus fires in recent months... Another 17 buses had a related defect, the state Department of Education said Friday.. The problems were found and repaired in an inspection of all 2,100 rear-engine buses the state operates after a battery cable defect was identified as the cause of the two bus fires...

Changes - Australia - Shake-up in bus routes

Adelaide,South Australia,Australia -Advertiser Adelaide, by RENATO CASTELLO -August 20, 2006: -- BUS services on major routes through Adelaide's western and inner southern suburbs will be doubled under changes coming into effect in October... A major improvement is the upgrading to Go Zones of 10 routes servicing major shopping hubs Marion and Arndale... The overhaul coincides with a Sunday Mail campaign for the Rann Government to improve the ailing public transport system which is struggling to deal with inadequate services and overcrowding... Some of the routes have not changed for more than 10 years...

DANGEROUS STREETS

* UK - 12-year-olds drive off with rush-hour bus
Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -The Scotman, by JOANNA VALLELY -19 Aug 2006: -- A gang of joyriders as young as 12 stole a rush-hour bus after it stopped in a busy supermarket, and drove it through the streets of the Capital... Stunned shoppers watched as the hooded gang snatched the single-decker First Bus from under the nose of its driver as it sat in the Asda superstore terminus around 5pm... The driver of the bus was understood to be taking a quick rest break at the Jewel terminus when between four and five youngsters jumped on the No.141 and sped off... (Picture by Gareth Easton - DAMAGE: The flattened stone wall and mangled fence at Niddrie Mill Grove where the joyriders crashed the bus)

To Go Out - USA - SC Bus Contracts To Bid

Riverhead,NY,USA -Suffolk Life Newspapers, by Michelle Pirraglia -August 16, 2006: -- Settling a lawsuit that has been in the courts for more than a decade, Suffolk has reached a tentative agreement with the six bus companies that contract with the county... The compromise will allow the county to put its busing contract out to bid in five years, something Suffolk has not been able to do since bus routes were developed more than 25 years ago...

Heroic - UK - Driver saves kids

He blocks runaway bus with own car
Norwich,UK -Electric New Paper (Singapore) -August 18, 2006: -- Motorist is being hailed as a hero after he drove his own car into the path of a runaway bus to stop it from careening into a group of children... According to the British press, Mr Dean Sutcliffe, 33, was driving along Bank Plain in Norwich yesterday when he spotted the empty bus rolling erratically down the street... He knew something was wrong when the bus started bouncing off lampposts and trash bins as it gathered speed towards a pedestrian crossing... Realising the potential danger, Mr Sutcliffe nudged his black Vauxhall Zafira MPV into the path of the runaway bus, and slammed the car into first gear as it was spun around by the impact of the bus...

Differences - Australia - Bus pressure grows

Brisbane,Australia -Courier Mail, by Michael Corkill -August 19, 2006: -- This is the man who Brisbane's Labor councillors claim is responsible for the lack of buses on the roads... But Liberal councillor Graham Quirk, who is in the process of being stripped of his powerful transport portfolio by the Labor majority in City Hall, says there are more buses now in Brisbane than ever before... Cr Quirk said the attempt by Labor to take control of public transport was more about the "politics of envy" than any concern for bus passengers... (Picture, by Giulio Saggin: NUMBERS game ... Cr Graham Quirk, at a suburban bus station, says Brisbane City Council is outperforming any previous Labor administration)

Safety - USA - New MBTA Bus Equipped With Security Cameras

BOSTON,Mass,USA -CBS4Boston -18 Aug 2006: -- The MBTA unveiled a new, redesigned bus Thursday and the most compelling feature is a system of new surveillance cameras... The cameras, which sit above the driver inside and above the front door outside, are designed to increase safety in and around the bus...

Production - Germany - DaimlerChrysler mulls bus tie-up with Indian firms

Frankfurt,Germany -Press Trust of India/daily Handelsblatt -August 18, 2006: -- German-US auto maker DaimlerChrysler is in talks with a number of Indian groups, including Sutlej Motors, with a view to possible cooperation in bus production... DaimlerChrysler was also in talks with other potential partners in India, the newspaper added, without revealing its sources...

To beat vandals - UK - Cameras at bus stops

Glasgow,Scotland,UK -Glasgow Evening Times -18 Aug 2006: -- Yobs who vandalise city bus shelters and harass passengers could soon be caught on CCTV... A scheme to boost safety for the travelling public by installing security cameras at bus stops has been given the go-ahead, with trials to begin later this year... Nine cameras will be installed in trouble hot-spots in Glasgow, South Lanarkshire and North Ayrshire... New technology means the cameras could be almost invisible, although the law states the public must be informed they are there... (Picture: ONE of 25 bus stops targeted by vandals who went on a late-night wrecking spree armed with an airgun along a two-mile route)

Big to Big - USA - The ... Apple for the ... Green Bus

Hanover,NH,USADartmouth News, by Laurel Stavis -16 Aug 2006: -- Visitors to Times Square in New York and viewers of "Good Morning, America" got a glimpse today of how Dartmouth students are changing the world... After two grueling cross-country road trips in a school bus retrofitted to run on used vegetable oil, the Big Green Bus (BGB) team explained to viewers nationwide the benefits of alternative fuel... Fueled by used cooking oil, cameraderie, and a desire to show how feasible it is to get around without ever having to pay at the pump, they are spreading the word about one way to decrease harmful emissions into the atmosphere...
(Photo: The Big Green Bus on "Good Morning America")

Moderns - USA - Miami buses get new look

New company adds makeover to old buses and replaces Hamilton Tours

Miami,FL,USA -Oxford Press (Oxford,OH), by Charlie Turner -August 16, 2006: -- Students at Miami University will see a new brand of Miami Metro buses this fall now that the school has signed up a new company for moving students... Laidlaw International, a holding company for some of the largest providers of transportation including Greyhound Buses, will replace Hamilton Tours, a privately owned local company... Laidlaw, according to Gordon, proved to be the most economical choice for the university...

Overworkeds - UK - Crashes spark rift on buses

Norwich,England,UK -The Norwich Evening News -16 August 2006: -- Bus drivers and their union are at loggerheads over who is to blame for a recent spate of crashes... Since Monday there have been two accidents involving First buses in Norwich city centre, and drivers said they were as a result of being overworked... The Evening News told yesterday how on Monday motorist David Sutcliffe, from Thetford, stopped an empty bus from ploughing into pedestrians by skilfully driving his car into it...
(Picture by NAOMI CANTON: The parked Honda which was wrecked when a First bus ploughed into it on Bracondale in Norwich)

Takeover - UK - Burnley buys up Blackburn buses

UK -Burnley Citizen, by David Bartlett -16 Aug 2006: -- The takeover of Blackburn Transport by Blazefield Holdings will secure the future of the transport company'... The company behind bus firm Burnley and Pendle Travel has taken over its Blackburn counterpart... Blazefield Holdings is to take over the Blackburn with Darwen Council-owned company Blackburn Transport, taking the firm into private hands for the first time in 125 years... The agreement will see a multi-million pound investment in new buses along with a commitment by Blazefield to replace the company's 124-bus fleet within a certain amount of time...

To change - USA - How buses run to schools

Newport News,VA,USA -Daily Press -August 16, 2006: -- School officials expect to save about $400,000 over five years by increasing the number of children on buses and condensing bus routes. No Isle of Wight County bus drivers will be laid off, but they will drive fewer routes, administrators said... Starting in September, elementary children will sit three to a seat instead of two. That will allow most buses to transport 60 or so students instead of just 45, school officials said. The buses can hold as many as 65 students, the officials said...

EcoNews - UK - New eco-friendly buses for Winchester City Council

Winchester,Herefordshire,UK -24dash.com (Hereford,Herefordshire), by Ian Morgan -16 Aug 2006: -- Winchester City Council has taken delivery of five new eco-friendly buses for use on the park and ride route around the city, amongst the first to go in service across the country... The buses are fitted with top-of-the-range Euro 4 engines, which give out much less pollution than the old park and ride buses... They have a capacity of 44 seated and 27 standing passengers...

No driver - UK - Driver halts runaway bus with car

UK -BBC News -15 Aug 2006: -- A motorist brought a runaway bus to a halt as it careered towards a group of children by ramming the 10-tonne vehicle with his own car... Dean Sutcliffe, 33, from Thetford, Norfolk, drove his Vauxhall Zafira into the path of the empty bus as it rolled along Bank Plain in Norwich... He managed to stop it before clambering aboard and jamming on the handbrake... Norfolk Police are investigating claims two youths were seen tampering with the bus before it started moving...

Safety - Australia - School bus rule just not enough

Adelaide,South Australia,Australia -Advertiser Adelaide -August 16, 2006: -- At first glance, yesterday's announcement by the State Government that all new school buses will be fitted with seatbelts was reassuring... After days of procrastination, it seemed the Government was finally listening to sensible, conservative groups like the Australian Medical Association and school principals and acting to improve the safety of children on school buses...

Dangerous buses - Australia - Buses to the moon and back again

Australia -Australasian Bus and Coach -15 August 2006: -- The latest statement by NSW Liberal Leader Peter Debnam and Shadow Minister for Transport Barry O'Farrell brings up a previously released (and oft used) claim about the distance some of Sydney’s buses have travelled. They say the number of State Transit buses travelling more than one million kilometres has jumped nearly 50 percent (in the last two years... They claim that there are 272 buses - or 15 percent of the State Transit fleet that have travelled more than one million kilometres. This compares with just 185 buses in 2004 – an increase of 47 percent. Another 100 buses have travelled more than 900,000 kilometres...

Products - China - Another Chinese bus coming

Australia -Australasian Bus & Coach -15 August 2006: -- Chinese bus and coach manufacturer Zonda is assessing the Australian and New Zealand markets... The company, whose parent Zhongda Group is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, builds 15,000 buses and coaches a year, as well as having a large repair equipment business, and exports to the US, Russia, Africa and recently started a joint venture in Iran... It won Coach of the Year at the Busworld Asia conferenc in Shanghai for its new A7 bus series...

Incredible - Australia - BT buses say ‘sorry bus full’

Brisbane,Australia -Australasian Bus and Coach -15 August 2006: -- Brisbane is in the midst of a public transport crisis with insufficient buses to cater for demand and not enough city kerb space to load or unload passengers. Two out of three buses on major city routes are overcrowded during peak hours... The council will need to more than double it’s 642-strong bus fleet by 2026 if current growth trends continue... The report says the council, which bodies most of its buses at its workshop at Toowong, needs to dramatically increase its bus production to keep pace with demand... The facility currently builds 71 new buses a year, but will need to increase that to 75 buses a year after 2008 and to 160 buses a year by 2018...

Selling - Germany - DamilerChysler wins contract to sell 600 Conecto buses to Russia's Mostransavto

FRANKFURT,Germany -Forbes/AFX News Limited -14 Aug 2006: -- DaimlerChrysler AG's Russian unit EvoBus Russia has won a contract to deliver 600 Mercedes-Benz Conecto H intercity buses to the Moscow transportation company Mostransavto... The Conecto H regular-service intercity bus is designed to accommodate up to 53 passengers, DaimlerChrysler said in a written statement. The engine and transmission are built at German DaimlerChrysler plants, while the rest of the bus is manufactured in Turkey...

Future - USA - Of Amsterdam buses in question

Albany,NY,USA -Capital News 9 -15 Aug 2006: -- Amsterdam bus riders are trying to send a message to the city's mayor and council. It's over the future of the city's bus system. Many say they depend on the buses for their everyday needs and they simply just want to be kept in the loop on the future of the buses... But city officials said there is a plan in the works. A proposal was sent to the state DOT a couple weeks ago, documenting how much the city would need to keep the bus system running. Now officials said all they are doing is waiting to hear back from the state...

DANGEROUS ROADS WORLDWIDE

* Philippines - Buses, cars buried in mudslide; 3 dead
ILIGAN CITY,Philippines -The Sun Star, by Lino Dela Cruz and Richel V. Umel -August 15, 2006: -- Five persons were killed when a landslide early Monday morning hit and covered two passenger buses passing through a narrow mountain road in Barangay Anonang, Zamboanga del Sur, according to authorities... the two passenger buses owned by Rural Transit Inc. were passing a narrow road on top of a mountain at 5 a.m. Monday, in Barangay Anonang, Aurora town prior to the landslide...

* USA - Metro Buses Collide in Downtown Los Angeles
Los Angeles,CA,USA -LAFD News & Information -August 14, 2006: -- ... responded to a Multi-Patient Traffic Collision at the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles... According to witnesses, a pair of Metro transit buses collided with one of the buses coming to rest within an adjacent building... A total of twelve patients were evaluated, nine of which required transport to the local area hospitals. The cause of the crash in under active investigation...

* USA - Questions Remain Surrounding Tour Bus Company
PITTSBURGH,PEN,USA -KDKA -Aug 15, 2006: -- A tour bus accident on the parkway today raises questions about where the bus was coming from, where it was going, who operated it and how safe it was... Investigator Paul Martino says the name of the company is Shun Fa. The company is based out of the Buffalo area and very little is known about it... What is known is that there are a number of Chinese tour bus lines that operate more than 350 trips a week on the east coast and that it's a cheap way to travel to places, like New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh... In a report issued by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York, the Chinatown bus companies have a safety and driver rating three times worse than the national average and three times worse than major carrier greyhound. (Photo: KDKA)

* USA - 14 work release inmates hurt in morning bus wreck
ROBERTSDALE, Ala,USA -Associated Press -Aug. 15, 2006: -- An early morning bus accident in Baldwin County injured 14 state work release inmates, sending them to three area hospitals... Twenty-four inmates were on the bus at the time of the wreck. Of the 14 injured, eight were treated and released. Six other inmates remain hospitalized... The cause of the wreck is under investigation... The inmates were returning to the Loxley Work Release Center from job assignments in Gulf Shores...

* South Africa - One dead, 47 injured in Limpopo bus accident
Auckland Park,South Africa -SABC News -August 15, 2006: -- An early morning Greyhound bus accident left 47 people injured and a man dead on Makhado Road outside Polokwane today, police said... Inspector Lesiba Ramoshaba said the driver of the luxury bus seemed to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer off the road and overturn shortly before sunrise today...

Penalties - New Zealand - Commission seeks $2.5m from NZ Bus

Wellington,New Zealand -Stuff.co.nz, by ADRIAN BATHGATE -15 August 2006: -- The Commerce Commission wants New Zealand Bus to pay up to $2.5 million in penalties relating to its failed bid to take over Mana Coach Services... The commission also wants the offshoot of Infratil to pay $652,068 in costs relating to its investigation of the takeover... Yesterday was the first day of a two-day hearing on the matter in the High Court at Wellington... Two of the owners of Mana, Kerry and Ian Waddell, have also been targeted by the Commission for up to $50,000 in damages. It claims they were party to a prohibited purchase...

Success - UK - Four out of ten commuters taking the bus into Capital

Edinburgh,UK -The Scotsman, by ALAN RODEN -14 Aug 2006: -- More than 40 per cent of commuters heading into Edinburgh city centre on key routes are travelling by bus... A new study, released today, shows that four out of ten people using the busy West Approach Road choose to travel to work with Lothian Buses during an average morning rush hour... said similar results would also be expected on the Calder Road and Corstorphine Road Greenways. The city's largest public transport operator said the study proved the success of Edinburgh's bus lanes policy, following criticism from business leaders in recent weeks... Last month, the Scottish arm of the Institute of Directors said the system is adding to congestion by leaving traffic lanes "largely empty" for the exclusive use of buses and taxis...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* USA - Bus driver accused of hitting child
MERRIMACK, N.H.,USA -The Boston Globe -Boston,Mass) -August 14, 2006: -- A school bus driver is out on bail after pleading not guilty Monday to hitting an 11-year-old child with a backpack... Maria Reyes of Leominster, Mass., 58, is charged with assault. Investigators said she shoved the boy on May 19 because he was late for the bus and threw a backpack at him, hitting him in the face... Reyes told police the incident never happened, but investigators said children on the bus say differently...

* USA - RT Bus Goes Out Of Control - Driver Suffers Unknown Medical Problem
NORTH HIGHLANDS, CA,USA -KCRA.com (Sacramento,CA) -August 14, 2006: -- A Regional Transit bus went out of control and crashed through a bus stop Monday afternoon after the driver suffered a medical problem, authorities said. The driver later died... Passengers on the bus told authorities that the driver appeared to lose consciousness, but it was not known what type of medical problem he suffered...

Safety - USA - Bus drivers strive for safe, smooth routine

First day usually holds delays

Louisville,KY,USA -The Louisville Courier-Journal, by Chris Kenning -August 14, 2006: -- ... Tomorrow, when most Jefferson County public schools reopen, Shepherd will be driving one of 830 buses that will clock a combined 85,000 miles each day carrying 60,000 students. Buses will make more than 10 million stops during the school year... Parents can stress the following tips with their children (Source: Jefferson County Public Schools; National Safety Council): * Wait for a bus away from traffic and the street, and avoid roughhousing that can lead to carelessness. * Stay away from the bus until the driver says it's safe to board. Use handrails. * Always sit when on the bus, and never put arms out the window. Keep aisles clear. * If you must cross the street in front of the bus, make sure the driver can see you and signals you before you cross... (Photo: The Courier-Journal, by Carla Winn - Joe Shepherd, a driver for Jefferson County Public Schools, took his school bus on a trial run of his route last week. )

Stop Purchase - New Zealand - NZ Bus to appeal Mana Bus decision

Wellington,New Zealand -Stuff.co.nz, by SUE ALLEN -14 August 2006: -- New Zealand Bus, an offshoot of Infratil, says it is appealing against a court decision relating to an attempted purchase of Mana Coach Services earlier this year... Problems started for New Zealand Bus, which trades as Stagecoach, in January when it applied to the commission for clearance to buy rival local bus operator Mana Bus... New Zealand Bus later withdrew the application, prompting a Commerce Commission inquiry and an application for an injunction to stop the purchase on the basis it would substantially lessen competition...

Crisis - Australia - No getting on the buses

BRISBANE,Australia -NEWS.com.au, by Michael Corkill -August 14, 2006: -- Brisbane is in the midst of a public transport crisis with not enough buses and not enough CBD kerb space to handle many more... Two out of three buses on major city routes are overcrowded during peak hours... And the situation is only going to get worse, with the council needing to more than double its 642-strong bus fleet by 2026 if growth trends continue... The details were contained in a Brisbane City Council bus report which Liberal transport and major projects chairman Cr Graham Quirk kept secret for a fortnight...

Health - Australia - Doctors urge bus belt safety

Australia -NEWS.com.au, by MICHAEL OWEN -August 14, 2006: -- Concerned doctors are urging parents to target school principals in the campaign for compulsory seatbelts on school buses... The Australian Medical Association has drafted a form letter, available on its website, that it is asking parents to send to their school to put pressure on education and transport authorities to fit bus seatbelts... It also wants schools to hire only seatbelt-equipped buses for excursions with students...

Figures - USA - Asheville hopes to drive traffic to buses

Asheville,NC,USA -The Asheville Citizen/Times, by Joel Burgess, -August 13, 2006: — Residents and merchants call the new bus stop at the corner of Livingston and Depot streets a “work of art.”... This year, City Council boosted the public transit budget 12 percent. Most of the $480,483 increase — $305,000 — went to the routes and other new programs, including a 90-day ride-for-free period beginning Monday and a “passport” program in which businesses and educational institutions pay fares for employees and students... They argue that public transit has direct but less apparent benefits in reducing problems of modern urbanization, including traffic congestion, air pollution and sprawl. These problems, they say, have their own costs...

Know how - USA - To keep kids safe around school buses

Meridian,MS,USA -The Meridian Star, by Capt. Rick McCary -August 12, 2006: -- Summer vacation is over and your local schools and Meridian Police Department are preparing to keep your children safe... The following information is offered to refresh drivers and children about the laws and precautions necessary in order to arrive at school and return to home safely:... The speed limit in school zones is 15 mph... If a school bus is stopped on a street or road which has fewer than four lanes, all traffic in either direction must stop... Should you fail to stop for a school bus picking up or dropping off students, the bus driver can report your vehicle and license plate to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in that area... The law enforcement agency will conduct an investigation to confirm the driver of the vehicle and may issue a citation for the violation... If issued a citation, you must appear in court and you can be fined up to $325.00... Here are some safety drills and tips to share with your children:...

PURCHASES

* India - State to add 30 Volvo buses to fleet
Mumbai,India -Daily News & Analysis, by Baljeet Parmar -August 13, 2006: -- Frequent visitors to the holy shrine of Shirdi and the historic city of Nashik can soon travel in luxurious, air-conditioned Volvo buses... Encouraged by the profitable run of its 20 Volvos, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is all set to add 30 more to the fleet for the new routes...

* USA - School board will vote to OK settlement
Bradenton,FL, United States -The Bradenton Herald, by SYLVIA LIM -Aug. 13, 2006: -- The Manatee school board may receive a $150,000 settlement as part of a lawsuit against a bankrupt phosphate company... • School administrators will ask the board to approve spending $449,607 to buy two diesel-electric buses. The 71-seat buses, which cost two to three times more than conventional buses, will reduce fuel costs in the long run... • The board will a consider a contract for a new charter school, set to open its permanent campus in Parrish in 2007...

GreenNews - USA - City buses to use cleaner fuel

Some experts say less-polluting diesel could improve health

Rochester,NY,USA -Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, by Misty Edgecomb -August 12, 2006: -- Rochester's public buses will be switching to a new, less polluting diesel fuel formulation this fall... A vote taken by the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority board of commissioners this week unanimously approved the switch to ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel... The change — which will affect all 225 public buses and the nearly 28,000 gallons of fuel they burn every week — should be complete by October, said Jacquie Halldow, director of communications for the authority... Standard diesel has 500 parts per million of sulfur, which serves as a lubricant but is responsible for pollutants that lead to acid rain, high ozone levels and smog. Ultra-low sulfur diesel can have no more than 15 ppm of sulfur...

Statistics - USA - Numbers on trains and buses increase

With heightened airline security measures causing delays, some train and bus companies yesterday reported slight increases in ridership

Boston,Mass,USA -The Boston Globe, by Yuxing Zheng -August 12, 2006: -- An Amtrak spokeswoman said reservation centers received about 15 percent more calls the last two days compared with the same period last year... The number of passengers on two New York-bound Peter Pan buses yesterday morning doubled from the same time last year, said Robert Schwarz , executive vice president for the company. He said he suspects the airport delays could have played a factor in the increased ridership... (Photo by Wiqan Ang/Globe Staff: "'I wish there was a way to screen bags." - Marni Nicolella, actress traveling to New York)

Buses World News

31.8.06