Buses World News: November 2006

BUSES' PURCHASES * New Zealand - Volvo Buses win order to supply 20 city buses to

Stockholm,Sweden -AFX,AFX News Limited/Forbes (NY,USA) -23 Nov 2006: -- AB Volvo unit Volvo Buses, said it has won an order to supply 20 Volvo B7RLE city buses to New Zealand's Infratil Public Transport... The buses will be used in Auckland...

Survey * UK - Businesses blast congestion

Weybridge,UK -Environmental Transport Association -21 Nov 2006: -- Ninety per cent of businesses are now in favour of nationwide road tolls as a means of beating congestion, a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has found... The state of the road network has led many British businesses 'to breaking point', the BCC said, with many now prepared to embrace new ways of paying for free-flowing roads. More than eight out of ten of the businesses surveyed said that transport infrastructure failures had led them to experience increased operating costs, while 78 per cent had lost man hours due to clogged roads... On average, businesses counted additional costs of £18,000 per year due to congestion, with volume of traffic the main reason behind the problem...

FIRST WORLD TROUBLES * UK - Transport minister announces 'walking buses'

Weybridge,UK -Environmental Transport Association -22 Nov 2006: -- A 'walking bus' has absolutely nothing to do with roads, but instead is meant to increase traffic on the sidewalks as it gets kids walking to school again... The transport secretary, Douglas Alexander, announced £15 million in grants over two years for schools with walking programs in place today... Walking bus programs are being implemented in primary schools all over the UK, where children are escorted from a "bus stop" to school in packs by teachers or community volunteers... The program would not only provide an element of physical fitness to the children's day, but would also decrease transport emissions that school buses use, and help fight climate change...

* UK - Mayor calls for music-free buses

London,UK -BBC News -24 Nov 2006: -- Young people who play their music out loud on buses in London could be stripped of their free travel passes, the mayor has said... Ken Livingstone's announcement is part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour and crime on buses in the city... He called for an "absolute" ban on anyone playing music on mobile systems... However, the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G), said its 4,500 bus drivers are not prepared to enforce any clampdown...

Passengers * New Zealand - Commuter bus patronage on the rise

Wanganui,New Zealand -The Wanganui Chronicle, by COLIN ROWATT -24 Nov 2006: -- A small but steady increase in passenger numbers has vindicated Horizons Regional Council’s decision to persevere with the Marton-Palmerston North daily commuter bus service... Poor performance during its one-year trial period, which ended in March this year, almost saw the service axed... However, the “use it or lose it” message delivered by Horizons passenger transport committee eventually prompted a significant increase in patronage... Since January, passenger numbers have climbed from a low of just 200 a month to more than 450 a month...

Hero Boy * USA - Boy Grabs Steering Wheel After Bus Driver Collapses

Charleston, SC,USA -AP/ABC News 4 -Nov 23, 2006: -- A school bus driver has his students to be thankful for after they took the wheel and steered the bus to safety after he fell unconscious Tuesday afternoon in rush hour traffic in Charleston... Ten-year-old DeAndrew Hobson says he saw the driver slouch in his seat... DeAndrew says he tapped the driver a few times, then took the wheel when he didn't respond. DeAndrew slowed the bus down, but couldn't get it stopped... A passing truck driver managed to board the bus and bring it to a stop...

PRECAUTION ROADS

* India - 3 girls killed in train-bus collision near
Jalandhar,Chandigarh,India -The Jalandhar Tribune -23 Nov 2006: -- Human error and fog led to the death of three students of PTM Arya Girls College, Noormahl, when Dhanbad Express rammed into a bus carrying the students at an unmanned level crossing at Gumtala, near Bilga, this morning... Sixteen persons were injured in the accident...

Fares * South Korea - Bus, Subway ones to Rise 15%

Seoul,South Korea -The Korea Times, by Bae Ji-sook - 23 Nov 2006: -- Public transportation fares are expected to rise by 15 percent next February... The Seoul Metropolitan City government said Thursday it plans to raise the basic subway and bus fares from 800 won to 900 (0.97 U$S) won for transportation card users and from 900 won to 1,100 won for those paying by cash...

Later 20 years of deregulation * UK - Getting on track for better buses

Bolton,UK -The Bolton News /GMPTA: by Cllr Nick Peel, Bolton spokesman -22 Nov 2006: -- A Draft Road Transport Bill has been announced in the recent Queen's Speech, bringing the opportunity of greater public control over the bus services much closer... The GMPTA has led the campaign for the return of bus regulation and we welcome more control of our bus services... The details of the draft bill, it is understood, that it will include details of significantly more control of our bus services, that would go some way to rectify the decision that was made 20 years ago to deregulate bus services... With congestion on our roads rising, it is more important than ever that people are attracted to the bus network. To do this, the right regulatory framework needs to be in place, and the Government is absolutely right to tackle the increasing lack of public service that the current system provides...

Drunken bus driver * Australia - Asks to continue school run

Canberra,Australia -Reuters -Nov 22, 2006: -- A bus driver who was 13 times over the legal alcohol limit while driving a bus load of schoolchildren had a simple request for police who arrested him for drunken driving, an Australian court heard on Wednesday... "Can I finish my run, at least to drop these kids off?"... A country court in New South Wales state was told 50-year old David Stack had a blood alcohol level of 0.26, which is 13 times the legal limit for a bus driver, when he was stopped on November 7... Now unemployed, Stack will be sentenced in February...

Prohibitions * USA - Cell Phone Use by Bus Drivers Should be Banned

Norwalk, CT,USA -TMCnet, by Mae Kowalke -Nov 22, 2006: -- It may come as a surprise to learn that there is no overarching Federal government prohibition against motor coach and school bus drivers using cell phones while on the road... Yet, that is exactly what the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicated in its final report regarding a non-fatal motor coach accident in Virginia earlier this month that was blamed on cell phone use by the driver... In its report, NTSB urged Federal and state governments to institute appropriate bans as a way to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future...

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* India - Loan proposal for PMT buses approved
Pune,India -Pune Newsline -Nov 21, 2006: -- PMC's Standing committee gave approval to the proposal empowering the Municipal Commissioner to raise loan for purchase of 200 new PMT buses...

"GREEN" NEWS

* Qatar - Mowasalat introduces 20 LPG-operated buses
Doha,Qatar -The Peninsula -Nov 22, 2006: -- The Public Transport Company (Mowasalat) has introduced 20 buses operating with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as part of its motto to make Doha pollution-free, a senior official of the company said yesterday...

BUSES' BUSINESS AFFAIRS

* UK - French firm takes over Neath buses
Knighton,UK -News Wales -21 Nov 2006: -- French owned global company Veolia Transport UK has bought two bus companies that operate services in Neath Port Talbot... Both the Shamrock Travel Group and Abercrave based Long's coaches operate a number of local bus and school contracts on behalf of the council...

PRODUCTION

* Kazakhstan - Willing to Supply Daewoo Buses to Azerbaijan
Baku,Azerbaijan -Trend Information, by S.Aliyev /Kazinform.-21 Nov 2006: -- Semipalatinsk automobile plant of Kazakhstan intends to launch the production of Daewoo and PAZ buses. The completed product will be exported to Azerbaijan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine... In December 2006 Semipalatinsk will set up the assembly of equipment. The setting up of technological lines is scheduled for the second quarter of 2007... In November 2006 Kazakh investors namely Vitaj and Almaty Company Commercial Transport, signed an agreement with the South Korean company, Daewoo Bus Global Corporation, on joint activities on the establishment of an enterprise and the purchase of a license and the technology to assemble Daewoo cars... A total of $8.8 mln has been invested in the enterprise. The annual output will total 2,000 buses...
* Japan - Toyota to sell diesel hybrid by 2010 thanks to Isuzu
Japan -Free Republic (USA) by Red Badger -22 Nov 2006: -- ... that Toyota's recent purchase of a 5.9% stake in Isuzu will bear fruit in 2010 when the Japanese juggernaut marries its Synergy hybrid drive system with a diesel engine... Presumably such a hook up was made possible, or at least hastened, by the expertise in diesels that Isuzu brings to the table. Toyota knows its way around an oil burner too, but its Hino commercial truck division usually deals with diesels meant for trucks and buses...

POLLUTION * Thailand - Bus fumes verdict may be appealed

Bangkok,Thailand -Nation Multimedia -21Nov 2006: -- A charity foundation is planning to appeal a recent Central Administrative Court decision ruling that the Pollution Control Department (PCD) was not directly responsible for the increase in toxic fumes emitted from city buses... The decision on November 10, the first by the Central Administrative Court in favour of environmental protection, ruled that the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority was responsible for allowing its city buses and those operating under its concession to emit toxic fumes...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* USA - NTSB Urges Cell Phone Ban for Bus Drivers
Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Bill Brubaker -Nov 21, 2006: -- The National Transportation Safety Board today urged the federal and state governments to forbid motor coach and school bus drivers from using cell phones while driving, except in emergencies... The recommendation came in an NTSB report on a non-fatal bus accident on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Alexandria in November 2004. The tour bus of Catholic school students from Massachusetts slammed into a low, stone overpass along the parkway, crushing the roof and injuring 11 teenagers on a class trip, according to police and the NTSB... The bus driver was talking on a hands-free cell phone at the time of the accident, and he told investigators he did not see the signs on the parkway that alert motorists to the height of the overpass, the NTSB said...

* China - 8 students killed in China bus plunge
Beijing,CHI -Xinhua/AP/Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX,USA) -21 Nov 2006: -- A bus carrying primary school students plunged off a bridge in northeastern China on Tuesday, killing eight of the children and injuring 39, state media said... Police said the accident likely occurred because the driver was speeding and the bus, which was licensed to carry only 26 passengers, was overloaded, it said...

* USA - Bus hits trailer in Pa.; 12 hurt
Monroeville, Pa,USA -The Seattle Post Intelligencer -Nov 21, 2006: -- A Greyhound bus hit a trailer that disconnected from a truck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Tuesday, injuring 12 passengers, none seriously, state police said...
The tractor-trailer driver apparently did not realize his rig had become detached, and the trailer was sitting in the roadway when it was hit by the bus...

Striking - UK - Bus drivers tell of long hours and low wages

London,UK -Socialistworker.co.uk, by Esme Choonara -22 Nov 206: -- Over 2,000 striking Metroline bus drivers brought whole areas of north and central London to a standstill on Monday... This was the second one-day strike by members of the T&G union campaigning for a pay rise to bring them into line with other bus workers in London... There is also a wider issue of transport policy. “If London mayor Ken Livingstone wants people out of their cars, then there has to be a first class bus service,” said Paul. “That means treating the bus workers as professionals – treating people with some respect.”... (Picture: Sarah Cox - “We’re fighting back”, say Metroline strikers in Willesden, north London)

"GREEN" NEWS

* USA - GVSD buses now burning biodiesel
MALVERNPA,USA -Chester Daily Local Online (Chester,PA), by ANNE PICKERING -20 Nov 2006: -- The Great Valley School District is doing its part to improve air quality for children riding its buses by burning a much cleaner fuel -- B20 biodiesel -- in its fleet of 70 school buses, and is the first school district in the state to do this... It is also reducing reliance on foreign oil and reducing greenhouse gases by making the switch to the alternative fuel which is a 20 percent blend of soybean oil and diesel...

Transit TV Buses * USA - What you're forced to watch while riding the bus.

Los Angeles,CA,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Tim Cavanaugh -Nov 20, 2006: -- Riding a bus, especially in an auto-centric city such as Los Angeles, can be a grind, replete with 45-minute waits, urine-soaked street theater, surly drivers and constant reminders that if you were one of the city's winners, you'd already be wherever you're going... But the bus has always offered one compensation: the chance to zone out in a state of placid unhappiness. No more... Say hello to the Transit Television Network, a collection of 4,782 screens installed over the last couple of years on more than 2,200 Los Angeles buses... Twice a day, city buses download fresh programming from wireless hotspots across town, so there's a timely program of text news, La Opinion reports, X-treme sports shows, cooking tips from the Clever Cleaver Brothers and a GPS map that tracks your snail-like progress...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* USA - Ala. bus crashes nose-first; 3 teens die
HUNTSVILLE,ALA,USA -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX), by DESIREE HUNTER/AP -Nov. 20, 2006: -- A school bus packed with high school students smashed through a guardrail along an overpass Monday and crashed nose-first 30 feet below, killing three teenage girls and injuring at least 30 other people, some critically, authorities said... A car driven by another high school student apparently came close to or struck the bus, causing it to plow through the concrete rail on the elevated section of Interstate 565 and crash onto Church Street below, said Police Chief Rex Reynolds. Two girls died at the scene, and a third died at a hospital...

* Australia - Ten accident-prone bus drivers sacked
Sydney,Australia -The Australian -Nov 20, 2006: -- Sydney Buses has sacked 10 of its drivers following a crackdown on the number of accidents its services are involved in... A specific investigation on the driver accident rate has found 32 Sydney Buses' drivers had each been involved in 30 or more accidents since January 2000... This had led to Sydney Buses' terminating the jobs of 10 drivers...

* India - LE CORBUSIER: He was for public transport, overbridges

Chandigarh,India -The Chandigarh Newsline, by Neelam Sharma -Nov 18,206: -- ‘NOVETTE AUTOBUS’, a shuttle bus service between identified points in the city, is the future of effective traffic management in Chandigarh, pointed out Chandigarh’s planner Le Corbusier way back in 1959, even as the UT Administration today is toying with the idea of point-to-point AC bus services, skybus and metro to cater to the increasing demands of the city residents... That a large number of residents will ultimately own a car and the basic human tendency to park the car right in his premises would lead to traffic chaos in the city, was something that the architect had feared almost five decades ago... Precisely why Le Corbusier wanted to discourage the residents to use personal vehicles and designed an urban city which, according to his plan, should have relied more on common transport for its success rather than individual vehicles for commuting...

Colours * USA - City hopes green bus fleet will be a go

Transit system to run in spring

Fairview,TN,USA -The Fairview Observer, by CLAY CAREY-19 Nov 2006: -- Murfreesboro Transit Director Bob Nugent said the city picked a "somewhat unique" loud paint job to make its new buses stand out, in hopes of attracting riders who've never used mass transit before... The bright green buses — which will probably include a cartoon image of a dog and the name of the transit system, "Rover" — will try to appeal to people in Murfreesboro who might otherwise drive...

TechnoNews * USA - CT buses can get more green lights

Lynnwood,WA,USA -HeraldNet (Everett,WA), by Bill Sheets -Nov 19, 2006: -- Imagine if you could have a device in your car that allowed green lights to stay green an extra several seconds if you're running behind... Some buses in south Snohomish County already are equipped with those devices... Community Transit, the city of Lynnwood and the University of Washington are testing an electronic signal that allows a stoplight to stay green - or change from red to green more quickly - for a bus that's running behind schedule... If the bus is running late - and if several other circumstances line up - the signal can be made to stay green up to 15 seconds longer, or change to green up to 15 seconds earlier...

Grope-free buses * Brazil

Goiania,Goias,Brazil -The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney,New South Wales,Australia) -Nov 19, 2006: -- In an effort to curb peak-hour groping on crowded buses, a major Brazilian city is about to introduce women-only buses... The city council of Goiania, capital of the central state of Goias, has approved a bill calling for women-only buses during rush hours. They should be operating by mid next year... Last year Rio de Janeiro's subway started women-only cars, which run all day. In Mexico City carriages are designated for women and children only...

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Canada - Transit system growing
Maple Ridge,BC, Canada -The Maple Ridge News - Nov 18 2006: -- B.C. Transit is receiving an extra $10 million from the sale of surplus land to meet rising costs and buy new equipment, Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon says... Half the funds are to be used to buy 27 new buses for the B.C. Transit fleet, which provides service to 50 B.C. communities... The B.C. government also announced $10 million toward the development of the world's first fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses... B.C. Transit has issued a call for proposals to develop zero-emission vehicles that can be integrated into existing transit fleets...

* USA - Push is on for more buses - Transit officials say residents' demands for better service are driving expansion

Harford County,Mar,USA -The Baltimore Sun, by Mary Gail Hare -Nov 19, 2006: -- Anticipating a sharp rise in demand for public transportation and trying to respond to requests from riders, Harford County transit officials say they plan to push for more bus lines and expanded hours of operation. Users of the service want improvements including better signs and shelters at bus stops, and more extensive routes with evening, weekend and holiday service, said Michael Hannan, administrator of Harford Transit Service, the county's public transportation agency... The agency is preparing for a growing ridership and plans to add routes and expand hours of operation, Hannan said... The service operates 31 buses, most of which have 20 seats. Hannan's operating proposal calls for replacing 10 aging vehicles and includes a request for a greater proportion of larger buses to accommodate growing ridership between Bel Air and Aberdeen...

OPINION * Bermuda - Free the buses: A boon for all

Bermuda -Royal Gazette Mid Ocean News, by Dr. Edward Harris MBE -Nov 17. 2006: -- ... The plague of automobiles will likely be upon us until the end of time, which in the case of Bermuda could have come in the form of a nuclear winter during the Cold War, or in the future by global warming, as the sea inundates low-lying land and roads, such as the airport and Causeway... In the meantime, we need to come up with some solutions to the problem of traffic, which will also be with us forever, but can be lessened by the application of a good idea or two... Premier Ewart Brown last week enunciated one such idea in the media under what can be titled Free the buses and the ferries...

New youth bus * UK - Costs £20,000

Cambridge,England,UK -Cambridge Evening News -18 Nov 2006: -- Young people in Cambridge will soon be able to get on board a new community bus after the last one broke down... Cambridge City Council is to spend £20,000 on a new child and youth bus. It has been decided to get another secondhand bus which it is hoped will last twice as long as the last one... The vehicle, known as the Dec bus, is kitted out with computers, games and information on a wide range of topics and staffed by project workers. They travel around the city offering youngsters somewhere to go and tackle anti-social behaviour...

DEBATES & DISCUSSIONS

* USA - School bus safety - Accident adds to discussion about seat belts
MARION,NC,USA -The Asheville Citizen-Times, by Adam Behsudi -Nov 18, 2006: -- So many screaming second-graders surrounded Misty Gilliland that she never saw what exactly happened to her son the day their school bus slipped off a road shoulder and crashed on its side... The accident last week sent all 54 Nebo Elementary School students on board to the hospital — her son with hand injuries that would force the amputation of two fingers... Gilliland said she isn’t convinced seat belts would have helped in her case, one that happened as the issue of using seat restraints on school buses has drawn debate nationwide...

* USA - Screeching halt to city school bus cuts
New York,NY,USA -The New York Daily News -18 Nov 2006: -- A judge yesterday put the brakes on the city's plan to alter school bus routes next month... Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Shirley Werner Kornreich temporarily barred the Education Department from moving ahead with its plan to cut 250 routes... School administrators will fight the decision at a hearing on Dec. 1 - just three days before the route changes are slated to take effect... The decision was cheered by Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents school bus drivers. The bus companies believe nearly 300 drivers could lose their jobs if the reorganization goes through...

Transit goes double-decker

* USA - Double-deck bus embarks on Trial Run
San Diego,CAL,USA -The San Diego Union Tribune -Nov 18, 2006: -- The Metropolitan Transit System will operate a double-deck bus on Route 20 from Escondido to San Diego, and on certain other routes, beginning on Monday... The Enviro500, a 40-foot double deck bus on loan from Alexander Dennis Inc., is first in a new generation of low-floor, air-conditioned double deck buses promising high passenger capacity and a high level of comfort, according to transit officials. It will be in operation for 30 days... The new bus is among those being evaluated by the Metropolitan Transit System as it replaces existing buses...

* Canada - Advantage iy's increased capacity: 80 seats
Toronto,Ontario,Canada -680 News, by James Koole -Nov 19, 2006: -- GO Transit already has double decker trains, and by early 2008 GO Transit bus riders will be getting the double treatment as well... GO is buying a dozen double-decker highway coaches at a cost of almost $11 million, reports... The agency says a trial using a two-level coach along its Yonge Street route in the York region back in 2002 was a hit with commuters... The big advantage in buying the buses is increased capacity: 80 seats, compared with 57 on a standard GO coach... (Photo: Modern London Double Decker Bus)

PRODUCTION

* USA - New Mexico Factory Churning Out Buses for N.J.
Roswell,NM,USA -AP/6abcNews (Philadelphia,USA) -Nov 17, 2006: -- A factory in New Mexico has begun building 289 buses for NJ Transit... The contract is worth 94 (m) million dollars for Millennium Transit Services... Millennium Transit operates in the old NovaBus factory, which has been shut down for about four years. The NovaBus factory once was Roswell's largest private employer with 850 workers...

Silence it's health - UK - Campaign to silence music on the buses

South London,UK -ic SouthLondon.co.uk, by Robert Dex -18 Nov 2006: -- Thousands of commuters are joining a campaign calling for a clampdown on music on buses... The attempt to stop mobile phones and MP3 players blasting out music and intimidating passengers was discussed at mayor's questions on Wednesday... Two commuters, Tom Wright, 31, and Valeria Martinelli, 38, started the campaign in September after suffering dozens of noisy journeys... They want a ban on the use of mobile phones and MP3 players without headphones...

"GREEN" NEWS

* Canada - British Columbia commits funding to hydrogen buses
BC,CAN -Fuel Cell Today (press release -UK) -17 Nov 2006: -- British Columbia authorities are to commit CAN$10 million (£4.65 million) to the development of a fleet of hydrogen-powered buses, it has been announced... The buses will be developed in support of the 'Hydrogen Highway' project currently underway in the Canadian province...

Claims * UK - Damning report on the buses

Stevenage,Herts,UK -Dunmow Broadcast -16 Nov 2006: -- A DAMNING report has highlighted the sorry state of bus services in Saffron Walden... A survey carried out in the High Street on October 2 by the Uttlesford Local Agenda 21 Transport Group revealed services are often unreliable and poorly advertised and bus shelters are inadequate... Uttlesford District Council's environment committee is now awaiting Essex County Council's response as eight of the 10 recommendations it passed at a meeting last Tuesday require action from the highways department...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* USA - 1 dead, 11 hurt in West Palm bus crash
West Palm Beach,FL,USA -The Florida Today (Melbourne,FL)/AP -17 Nov 2006: -- One person was killed and 11 were injured Thursday after a bus carrying senior citizens was hit by a truck, authorities said. The bus, operated by a Jewish community center, was traveling in West Palm Beach when it was struck by a Speedy Rooter truck at about 9:30 a.m., said Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue spokesman Don DeLucia... The driver of the Speedy Rooter truck, Humberto Corrales, 59, was not hurt, said Ted White, a spokesman for the West Palm Beach Police Department. Initial witness reports indicate Corrales may have run a red light when he crashed into the bus, White said...

Did sleepy bus driver cause this horrifc accident? * Taiwan - 3 killed as bus, truck and tanker crash

Taipei,Taiwan -The Electric New Paper (Singapore)/Apple Daily (Taiwan) -Nov 17, 2006: -- The driver had barely four hours of rest before he started driving the bus to Kaohsiung from Taipei... Now, his fatigue is what grieving relatives suspect caused a horrific crash in Chungshan yesterday morning. It left three dead and seven injured, reported... The bus driver, Mr Chen Cong Ming, 55, and four passengers seated in the first two rows were flung out of the bus when it veered into the next lane and collided head-on with a trailer truck... According to police investigations, Mr Chen had started his shift with Freego bus company on Tuesday night at 9pm, driving from Chungli to Taipei, a two-hour journey... He barely rested for four hours, before setting off from Taipei at 3am the next morning, bound for Kaohsiung... Freego is a well-known bus company in Taiwan and plies major intercity routes in the country...

PRODUCTION * Ethiopia - Local/Russian Cos to Manufacture Electric Bus

Addis Abeba,ETHI -The Daily Monitor, by Hayal Alemayehu -Nov 16, 2006: -- AFRO ASIA Technical Trading Enterprise, a local private company, and the Russian Electronic and Transport Factory giant, Trolza Joint Stock Co., yesterday officially signed a joint venture agreement to establish what would be "the first of its kind electric bus manufacturer in Africa" with an investment outlay of 100 million USD... "Rus Afro-trol", will be installed at Debre Markos town of the Amhara region, on a 43 hectares plot of land. The new establishment has already secured license from the Ethiopian Investment Agency...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS'

* Egypt - Bus crash kills 18 people

CAIRO,IL,USA -Reuters -Nov 14, 2006: -- Eighteen Egyptians were killed when a public bus and a truck collided on Tuesday on a highway south of the Egyptian capital, security sources said... The sources said the bus was carrying passengers from the southern city of Assiut to Cairo when it collided with a truck traveling in the same direction. The impact caused the bus to overturn... Reckless driving and the poor condition of roads are blamed for many road crashes in Egypt...

* USA - City Public School Buses To Go Green

Buses Will Be Converted To Ethanol-Diesel Blend

CHICAGO,ILL,USA -CBS2 Chicago/AP -Nov 14, 2006: -- Yellow buses in the nation's third-largest school district are about to get a little greener... Chicago Public Schools and Falcon Transportation say they're converting 27 school buses to O2 Diesel, an ethanol-diesel blend, from diesel fuel...

"Chaos" - UK - 'City's buses are in'

Manchester,England,UK -The Manchester Evening News -14 Nov 2006: -- Manchester's bus service is in chaos, the city council leader has admitted... Sir Richard Leese said buses were failing commuters and had been ever since Margaret Thatcher's government brought about deregulation 20 years ago... He said: "I think at the moment public transport in Greater Manchester is in a mess."...

"GREEN" NEWS * Canada - Tour buses to cut emissions

Thunder Bay,Ontario,Canada -The Thunder Bay&Source -13 Nov 2006: -- Ontario's tour bus operators say advances in exhaust systems and fuel technology will cut pollutants from motor coaches by 90 per cent... The Ontario Motor Coach Association, along with Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield announced today a new fleet of environmentally friendly buses... Starting in 2007, all motor coaches in the country must meet new emission standards. Association officials say new technology will make tour buses almost twice as green as before...

"GREEN" STORY * USA - Electric trolley buses created quite a hum in Akron transportation 65 years ago

Akron,OH,USA -The Akron Beacon Journal, by Mark J. Price -Nov. 13, 2006: -- Electric trolley buses provided the spark that Akron needed to modernize its public transportation system in November 1941... The gleaming new coaches delivered and arrived just in time for a date which will live in infamy.
The Akron Transportation Co., a forerunner of Metro Regional Transit Authority, proposed the trackless trolley system in 1939 to eliminate the need for the aging streetcars that rumbled through the city... "The quietest, smoothest, most luxurious ride of your life'' was sold as scrap... (Akron Beacon Journal file photo - Electric trolley buses line up for mechanical service in 1948 a the Akron Transportation Co. garage in the Kenmore neighborhood. The buses operated in Akron from 1941 to 1959)

PRODUCTION * Viet Nam - Chinese joint venture to manufacture buses in

Hanoi,Vietnam -The Vietnam Economic Times -13 Nov 2006: -- Chinese bus manufacturer Jiangsu Zonda will enter into a joint venture with Viet Nam Deawoo Motor Co., Ltd. (Vidamco)... The Viet Nam Zonda joint venture, capitalised at 60 million USD, will produce 20,000 buses per year... Construction of the first phase of the manufacturing facility, to be built at a cost of 20 million USD, will begin in December and be operational in October next year...

Changes - Germany - DaimlerChrysler Bus Chief Resigns

Discovered "irregularities" at the division

Berlin,Germany -Associated Press/Washington Post, by STEPHEN GRAHAM -Nov 13, 2006: -- DaimlerChrysler AG said Monday that the head of its bus unit, Wolfgang Diez, had resigned and that it had discovered "irregularities" at the division... The German-U.S. automaker said it found the problems at the unit, the world's largest bus manufacturer, during a "routine investigation of its own business."... The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice are investigating whether the company violated U.S. anti-bribery laws... German prosecutors are also investigating former employees of DaimlerChrysler for suspected corruption in its business in Poland and Ghana...

New buses - USA - School buses cleaner, cooler

SANFORD,FL,USA -The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando,FL), by Tammie Wersinger-Nov 12, 2006: -- ... Just a few buses back in the line waiting to pick up students at Wicklow Elementary School, Grace Tincher was the picture of coolness... Tincher is one of the lucky few who have received new wheels to usher students to and from county schools... The 45 new buses in Seminole County Public Schools' fleet of about 460 feature lower emissions and better gas mileage, and, more important for parents, all of them have seat belts...

"GREEN" NEWS

* India - Electric buses may roll in soon
Bangalore,India -The Hindu, by S. Rajendran -12 Nov 2006: -- The State Government's ambitious plan to introduce electric trolley buses for operation, initially in Mysore, is expected to have the support of the Union Government... The Centre has told States to introduce electric buses for public transport in an effort to reduce air and noise pollution in all the major cities of the country. The project is expected to be cleared under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) programme... (Photo: STATE-OF-THE-ART TRANSPORT: An electric trolley bus running on the streets of Lyon in France)

No Agreement - India - UP buses not to ply in Delhi from tomorrow

New Delhi,India -Press Trust of India -Nov 12, 2006: -- The Delhi government has decided not to allow buses of the Uttar Pradesh Transport Corporation to enter the capital, a move that could worsen the already strained relations with the neighbouring state... The government will not allow Uttar Pradesh to ply its 20 bus services from Monday as there was no agreement to this effect between the two states, a senior Delhi government official said... The official claimed that Uttar Pradesh government had unilaterally decided to operate the services to the capital...

DANGEROUS ROADS * Chile - Bus carrying Chilean military band crashes, killing at least 18

Santiago,Chile -International Herald Tribune (France)/Associated Press -Nov 12, 2006: -- A bus carrying members of a Chilean military band skidded off a precipice in the rain and fell into a river Sunday, killing 18 people and injuring nine, police said... Other members of the band from the Chacabuco regiment were feared missing after the bus plunged into the Tucapel river in central Chile, said police commander Juan Marcos Gonzalez... The bus was traveling on a curved, rain-slicked stretch of road just north of Canete, by the Quelen Quelen bridge, when it went off the 15-meter-high (50-foot-high) precipice, Interior Minister Belisario Velasco said...

VIOLENCE & VANDALISM

* France - Where bus drivers live in fear
BOBIGNY,France -ASSOCIATED PRESS/Detroit Free Press,by JENNY BARCHFIELD -Nov 12, 2006: -- The first thing driver Sacha Ristet does upon entering his bus is raise the partition that separates him from his passengers... Ristet works in Seine-Saint-Denis, a depressed region north of Paris that was the epicenter of three weeks of fiery riots that shook France last year... More recently, a spate of bus burnings by disaffected youths have plagued the area -- home to many Muslim immigrants from France's former colonies in Africa and their French-born children... The bus attacks coincide with the anniversary of the 2005 riots, in which youths burned thousands of cars, clashed with police and vandalized shops in poor areas. Sparked by the Oct. 27, 2005, accidental electrocutions of two teens who were hiding from police in a power substation, the riots were fueled by anger at France's failure to offer opportunities to minorities. Though many buses are now outfitted with cameras, microphones and emergency call buttons, the measures haven't eased Ristet's mind. "By the time the cops got here, everything would be over and the criminals gone," he said... (Photo by CHRISTIAN HARTMANN/Associated Press -- A policeman stands by a public transport bus in Le Blanc-Mesnil, north of Paris, after youth gangs set it on fire. Recent attacks have made bus drivers leery on routes)

* Australia - NT Govt to put police at Casuarina Bus exchange
Darwin,NTG,AUS -ABC Regional Online -Nov 13, 2006: -- The Northern Territory Government says a mobile police station will be established at Darwin's Casuarina Bus exchange in an effort to curb gang violence in the area... The move comes after the assault of two bus drivers at the Casuarina interchange on Friday night...

BORDER TROUBLES

* Pakistan/India - Nankana bus costs Pakistan Rs 1.5 lakh per month
Islamabad,PAK -Pakistan Link (Inglewood,CA,USA)/DailyTimes.com.pk -Nov 12, 2006: -- India’s strict visa policy for passengers travelling on the Amritsar-Nankana bus service is causing monthly losses of Rs 1.5 lakh to Pakistan, a report has said... It has found that due to New Delhi’s stringent visa requirements and lengthy approval procedures, only two or three passengers have been able to make use of the bus service on any given day, translating into a daily loss of Rs 16,000 to Islamabad... The report recommends that a smaller vehicle be used and that the service be run on a bi-monthly basis...

BUSES' PURCHASES PROSPECTS

* Panama - Colorful school buses on road to extinction

Panama City -PAN -The Miami Herald, by SKY GILBAR -11 Nov 2006: -- The gleaming glass and steel towers in the upscale Marbella district could be in downtown Miami, until an army of old American Bluebird school buses, covered in stridently colorful murals, barrel down the streets... Nearly 2,000 such colorful buses known as diablos rojos, or ''Red Devils,'' now roam the capital, many with paintings of religious icons, pop culture heroes and usually salty street expressions... But the largely independent buses will be replaced by a $300 million municipal bus system next year, and many fear that this traditional form of urban art, along with the artists who create it, may disappear forever... The decorated buses first appeared in 1911. By the late 1960s, used buses from the U.S.-run Canal Zone appeared on the streets, each with a different owner wanting to show off with increasingly intricate artistic designs and murals... (Photo)

"GREEN" NEWS

* USA - Orange eyes green buses - Hybrid versions use 25% less fuel
Goshen,NY,USA -Times Herald/Record (Middletown,NY), by Brendan Scott -Nov 10, 2006: -- Orange County might hop a bus to a greener future. A hybrid bus, that is... The county, which owns 43 buses, coaches and trollies, hopes the municipalities that operate and help pay for them will consider switching to clean diesel-electric buses in the years ahead... County Executive Ed Diana got a look at one such bus — a 28-seat model built by the California-based Gillig Corp. — while it was parked for public viewing in the Government Center parking lot yesterday... (Photo: Times Herald-Record, by DOMINICK FIORILLE - Orange County Executive Ed Diana gets instructions yesterday from driver Ray “Lefty” Bathke in a new diesel-electric bus in Goshen)

* UK - Mayor launches plan for London hybrid bus fleet
London,UK -london.gov.uk (PR) -31 Oct 2006: -- The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone today announced plans for a hybrid bus fleet for London, as he unveiled the first hybrid double-decker bus in the world... Hybrid buses, which use a combination of diesel and electric power, are central to Transport for London’s plans for a cleaner, greener fleet, and will contribute to cutting the capital’s Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. These hybrid buses are an important step towards the Mayor's long- term goal of a low carbon hydrogen based transport system...

PRODUCTION * UAE - First locally built buses roll out of Abu Dhabi factory

Abu Dhabi -Gulf News (Dubai,United Arab Emirates), by Stanley Carvalho -9 Nov 2006: -- The UAE's first locally built buses rolled off the production line at an Abu Dhabi factory last week, signalling a major advance in the country's industrial capability... The first 10 air-conditioned coaches was shipped to Oman and the second batch of 20 coaches for Qatar will be ready next week, said Vinay V. Kulkarni, director of Plant Operations at Trans Continental Industries LLC.... The company is a 51:49 joint venture between the local Bin Jabr Group and UK-based Vectra Aza, the technology provider... (Photo: The buses rolled out for Petroleum Development Oman carry the Ashok Leyland brand as Trans Continental Industries has a strategic alliance with the Indian giant)

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Canada - City threatens local businesses with luxury buses
Saskatoon,Saskatchewan,Canada -StarPhoenix (Subscrption) -9 Nov 2006: -- A least one local tour operator is seeing red over city council's decision to spend about a quarter of a million dollars on leather-seated luxury replacements for the two aging red shuttle buses offering free rides between Saskatoon's central shopping districts...

* USA - Oceanside Unified to weigh use of buses
Ocean Side,CAL,USA -San Diego Union Tribune (San Diego,CAL), by Sherry Saavedra -Nov 10, 2006: -- The Oceanside Unified School District board will vote Tuesday on whether to authorize the superintendent to develop a plan to restore transportation... The estimated cost is $880,000 annually. In addition, 23 district buses are nearing 300,000 miles, the threshold for replacement. Restoring middle school transportation will hasten that need, and the board will also be asked to vote on whether to request bids for 13 new buses...

DANGEROUS BUSES

* USA - School Charter Bus Wreck Sends 18 To Hospital
Erwin,N.C.,USA -WRAL.com (Raleigh,NC) -Nov 9, 2006: -- Eighteen people were taken to the hospital Thursday morning after two charter buses carrying students from Fuquay-Varina Middle School on a field trip were involved in an accident, authorities said... The driver of the last of six buses in a caravan to Myrtle Beach said his brakes failed to work properly, and the bus ran into another bus in the caravan. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, authorities said...

* USA - 2 dozen hurt as school bus flips on way back from field trip
Marion,NC,USA -The Chicago Tribune (Chicago,Ill) -Nov 9, 2006: -- A bus carrying elementary school students back from a field trip crashed Wednesday, injuring more than two dozen people aboard, officials said... The bus was carrying 54 2nd graders from Nebo Elementary School and seven adults when it went off the road south of Marion in western North Carolina... The shoulder was soft from recent rainfall, and when the driver tried to get the bus back on the road, it turned over on its side, said Patty McQuillan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety...

TRANSPORT BUSINESS AFFAIRS

* USA - Laidlaw narrows loss as higher prices boost revenue
San Francisco,CAL,USA -MarketWatch, by Shawn Langlois -Nov 9, 2006: -- School and inter-city bus operator Laidlaw International on Thursday posted a loss of $1.5 million, or 2 cents a share, narrower than the loss of $83.6 million, or 83 cents a share, turned in a year ago...

If service were - Canada - Most would pay more for public transit

Montreal,Quebec,Canada -The Montreal Gazette -Nov 08, 2006: -- A monthly pass to ride Montreal's buses and the metro cost $50 in 2002. La Presse reports that by next year, it likely will have increased to $65 - a 30-per-cent hike, far more than twice the rate of inflation over that period. The Agence metropolitaine de transport, which runs the commuter trains, is also set to announce rate hikes this month, adding to the 13.1-per-cent jump since January 2004 - and more for zone-two West Islanders... No one, however, would claim that mass-transit service has improved at that same breathless speed... If the transit agencies want more money, taxpayers have the right to expect corresponding improvements in the system...

DRIVERS` SHORTAGE

* Poland - Drivers get crash course
London,UK -The Guardian Unlimited, by Dan Milmo -Nov 8, 2006: -- For the trainee bus drivers of Lublin it is an unusual introduction to their profession - episodes of Only Fools and Horses and copies of the Stoke Sentinel - but it has helped overcome a staff drought at Britain's biggest bus company... FirstGroup revealed today that it employs 1,000 Polish drivers across its network and has set up a training base in the Lublin, south-east Poland... Prospective employees take a crash course in regional dialects, with screenings of Only Fools and Horses for anyone taking charge of a London bus and Billy Connolly concerts for Glasgow-bound drivers...

Driver's Sentence - Bulgaria - Parents of Bus Crash Victims Protest

Sofia,Bulgaria -Sof ia News Agency -8 Nov 2006: -- Parents of the 12 Bulgarian children, who drowned in river Lim after a bus accident, will appeal in front of VelikoTarnovo's Court of Appeals the reduced sentence of the bus driver... Parents consider the sentence of the bus driver, which was reduced from seven to four years, absolutely insufficient and doubt the just decision of the judges. Izmirliev was sentenced in March of 2006, and apart from him having to serve seven years behind bars, the court then decided to revoke his driver's licence for a seven-year period too... Technical reports on what caused the tragic crash are still dubious and leave many questions unanswered... Both the prosecution and the defence still haven't been able to prove whether the reason for the crash was a technical failure of the bus or the driver's negligence...

"GREEN" NEWS

* UK - Stagecoach's £9m for environmentally friendly buses
Scotsland,UK -The Scotsman, by HAMISH RUTHERFORD -8 Nov 2006: -- Stagecoach is to spend £9 million buying 100 state-of-the-art buses, the first major order to comply with new environmental standards... Built by Leeds-based manufacturer Optare, the new buses will use the hi-tech MAN exhaust gas recirculation four-cylinder engines, and will be among the most environmentally friendly in Stagecoach's fleet...

SECURITY

* USA - Smile: Video's Coming to NYC Buses
New York,NY,USA -1010 Wins -8 Nov 2006: -- New York City is moving forward with plans to install video surveillance cameras on Manhattan buses... The pilot program is costing the city more than $ 5 million... It will put video cameras on 450 buses -- mostly on Manhattan routes -- by June 2007...

"big success"... - Quatar - Buses carried 7.5mn passengers in first year, says official

Doha,Qatar -The Gulf Times, by Ramesh Mathew -7 Nov 2006: -- In the first year of its operations, buses of the government-owned transport firm Mowasalat carried about 7.5mn passengers... The company has already allotted more than 300 buses for the use of the Doha Asian Games Organising Committee (Dagoc) for special use during the games... The Mowasalat official said the company buses held a test run for the Asian Games last Friday. More than 300 buses, with at least 4,000 passengers on board organised the test run, which Tallant described as a "big success"...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* Australia - Bus driver five times over alcohol limit
Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by Jano Gibson -Nov 8, 2006: -- A NSW bus driver carrying seven school-aged children has been charged after allegedly registering a blood alcohol reading 5.3 times the legal limit... The 50-year-old male driver was arrested and a subsequent breath test found he had a blood alcohol reading of 0.265, police said... He was charged with driving with a high range PCA (prescribed concentration of alcohol) and had his licence suspended...

* Australia - Bus driver fell asleep at wheel
Melbourne,Australia -The Melbourne Herald Sun, by Norrie Ross -Nov 09, 2006: -- The driver of an Egyptian bus in which five Victorians died earlier this year fell asleep before the horror accident... The Coroner's Court heard yesterday that Mahmoud Muhamed Hafez had been at the wheel for up to 17 hours without a break... State Coroner Graeme Johnstone was told an inquest would hear evidence from a senior Victorian policeman who saw Hafez doze off...

* USA - 22 students seek care after bus accident
Red Springs,N.C.,USA -The Seattle Post Intelligencer (Seattle ,WASH)/AP -Nov 8, 2006: -- A car collided with a school bus Wednesday and 22 middle school students and their bus driver were taken to a hospital, authorities said. No one was seriously injured... The car pulled out to pass the Robeson County bus, but moved in front of a tractor-trailer that had already changed lanes to pass the school vehicle... The car struck the truck and then the bus, and became lodged under the bus, he said... The bus went out of control and ended up in a ditch...

Firecrackers blast in bus - Pakistan - LHC seeks report from govt by 27th

Lahore,Pakistan -Daily Time -8 Nov 2006: -- The Lahore High Court on Tuesday directed the Punjab government’s counsel to report by November 27 about the steps, which were taken for the safety of bus passengers... The court issued these directions during the hearing of a petition by Advocate Muhammad Azhar... who submitted that the government did not seem to have learnt a lesson from the tragic incident, as it had taken no measures to exercise legal discipline on the manufacturing, trade and transportation of firecrackers. He submitted that the rescue department was also not adequately equipped to combat accidents...

DANGEROUS ROADS

* Norway - Two bus accidents injure about 20 people; roads icy
Oslo, Norway -AP/Canadian Press -Nov 07, 2006: -- At least 16 people were injured, some seriously, when a bus with about 40 Polish workers aboard ran off an icy road and rolled over on a central Norway highway Tuesday, police said... The accident came an hour after a school bus had a similar accident in southern Norway, injuring four people... Police Inspector Arne Engtroe said, "We don't know the cause yet, but it was slippery,"...

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* USA - School district revs up idea of having own bus service
Seattle,WASH,USA -The Seattle Times, by Emily Heffter -Nov 7, 2006: -- The Seattle School Board is considering bringing student bus service in-house — an additional $6 million annual expense that would bring driver salaries and benefits in line with surrounding districts'... The board's Operations Committee will consider the proposal this afternoon... The district has been contracting for bus service since the 1970s, so providing it would mean starting from scratch: hiring about 400 drivers, buying buses and leasing land for a bus barn...

* USA - So, We Have to Replace Our Van with a Bus...
Phoenix,AZ,USA -The Church Business, by Evan Kushner - 7 Nov 2006: -- By now, it’s no secret the van your church bought from the local car dealer can’t be used to transport children from church-run educational programs, nor should it be used to carry them at all... First To start, let’s understand the applicable laws. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act prohibits the sale or lease of vehicles to schools (public or private) for transporting students if that vehicle doesn’t meet stringent federal school bus safety standards. This means for a vehicle to legally be sold for purposes of transporting school-age children, it must be certified as a school bus or a multifunction school activity bus (MFSAB)...

* Ireland - More buses and raised toll barrier can ease congestion
Cork,Ireland -Irish Examiner -7 Nov 2006: -- An extra 200 buses should be purchased and Dublin’s Westlink toll barrier raised at peak times to help struggling commuters, it was claimed today... Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny said there were a number of short-term and long-term measures which should be adopted as a matter of urgency to help ease traffic chaos in Dublin... Some of the measures proposed by the opposition party included the purchase of 200 more buses for Dublin Bus, granting 100 new private operator licences and raising the Westlink Barrier on the M50 at peak hours to ease the traffic flow...

* USA - Broward considers raising taxes to add buses
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News (CA,USA) -8 Nov 2006: -- Broward County voters were being asked Tuesday to raise the county's sales tax by 1 percentage point to improve its mass transit system and lessen gridlock... The measure would increase the sales tax from 6 cents per dollar to 7, and cost the average consumer $45 per year. The plan would spend $4 billion over 25 years to add buses and depots and synchronize traffic lights... Backers, including many of the county's largest businesses, said the measure was needed to alleviate the county's worsening traffic problems...

* Ghana - Parliament approves loans for more MMT buses
Accra,Ghana -The Accra Daily Mail -Nov 09, 2006: -- Parliament on Tuesday approved a loan of 25.450 million Euro agreement between Ghana and VDL Jonckheere Bus and Coach N.V. Roeselare, Belgium for the supply of 150 buses and spares to improve public transportation...

Accidents * USA - School bus injury reports up

The results provide a strong argument for requiring safety belts on school buses...

Chicago,Ill,USA -AP/San Jose Mercury News (CAL,USA) -Nov. 06, 2006: -- New national data show that school bus-related accidents send 17,000 children to emergency rooms each year... A new study appearing in the November issue of Pediatrics is the first to use a national sample. And that's allowed researchers to discover many more injuries than previously reported, because those estimates focused only on crashes. The reported injuries range from cuts and sprains to broken bones, but most are not life-threatening and don't require hospitalization... While the numbers are higher, they represent a small fraction of the more than 23 million children who travel on school buses nationwide each year... Doctor Gary Smith, the director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Children's Hospital in Columbus Ohio, and study co-author, says the results provide a strong argument for requing safety belts on school buses... (Photo Getty Images, by Alex Wong: Two children were killed after this school bus collided head-on with a garbage truck on April 18, 2005 in Arlington, Virginia)

STRIKES

* USA - Drivers for 'T' vote to strike, but officials say buses will run
Fort Worth,TX,USA -The Fort Worth Star Telegram, by MARK AGEE -Nov. 05, 2006: -- A transit workers union that represents Fort Worth Transportation Authority bus drivers voted Sunday night to begin a strike, but officials at the agency, also known as The T, said that buses will be running Monday morning... Paul Geisel, T board chairman, said that service will be limited but Monday will be a “free-fare day.” Geisel did not know which routes would be affected... Negotiators for McDonald Transit Associates, the company that manages the bus service, did not immediately return phone messages...

New Name & Colour - New Zealand - Wellington buses to be re-branded

Wellington,NZ -Newstalk ZB -7 Nov 2006: -- Wellington's buses are getting a new name and a new colour... More than 200 Stagecoach buses are being re-branded GO Wellington, and from next year will be bright yellow with a black logo... The changes are being made by the new owners Infratil, who bought Stagecoach from its former Scottish owner last year...

Attempt - UK - Bid to boost buses to be dashed

Norwich,England,UK -The Norwich Evening News, by DAN GRIMMER -6 Nov 2006: -- An attempt to get better bus services by forcing bus firms to sign up to a special contract looks to have been dashed... Last year Norwich City Council voted to try to get a Quality Bus Contract signed with firms such as First which would have given local authorities the power to set standards private bus firms are expected to meet... Instead the draft bus strategy makes a raft of other recommendations to improve the bus services in the city. It aims to increase the availability of buses, increase the number of people using buses by 10 per cent within the next five years, increase the percentage of buses starting their routes on time to 90 per cent by 2010/11 and make buses more affordable...

"GREEN" NEWS

* New Zealand - Success for Akld bus service
Auckland,NZ -TVNZ -Nov 7, 2006: -- Auckland's Northern Express Bus service has passed its first birthday and has removed 400 cars from the northern motorway at peak hour every day... A survey undertaken by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority earlier this year showed that 39% of the passengers were first time users who intended to keep using the service...

Not Comprehending Climate Change - Australia - Drought bus a relief for farmers, but not the environment

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by Stephanie Peatling -Nov 7, 2006: -- Environmentalists have been accusing the Federal Government of not comprehending climate change for some years now... Yesterday the Minister for Agriculture, Peter McGauran, called a news conference to show off his new drought truck, a Winnebago-type vehicle that will travel around rural and regional areas over the next fortnight as a mobile advertisement for the Government's drought-relief payments... The bus will also generate several tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions - an irony not lost on the Greens senator Rachel Siewert...

NEW BUSES

* India - RTC’s hi-tech bus service to Noida soon
Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh,India -The Hindustan Times -Nov 6, 2005: -- The UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) will kick-off its hi-tech city bus service in Noida on November 12... The UPSRTC will begin its operation with 42 buses—21 CNG non-AC and as many diesel AC buses in the first phase. In total, it will operate 250 buses... It will also ply CNG AC buses too but presently no company is manufacturing the chassis of the CNG AC buses. Azad Body Builders, a Jaipur-based company, is manufacturing the buses for the UPSRTC... Significantly, the UPSRTC has not investing a single penny. The Noida and Greater Noida have agreed to give Rs 60 crore to it for purchasing buses. It has already got Rs 30 crore. As per an agreement, the two authorities will also bear losses the UPSRTC might suffer during the next three years for providing city bus service...

* India - Finally, fast bus lanes for Mumbai buses from January
Mumbai,India -The Hindustan Times, by Rajendra Aklekar -Nov 6, 2006: -- If the BEST has its way, the commuters in eastern suburbs will have an option to travel upto Dadar in the comfort of airconditioned buses plying on dedicated bus lanes from January... The BEST has begun the process to acquire luxury buses to be run on dedicated high capacity corridors between Thane and Mumbai. In the first phase, 20 such buses will ply between Thane and Dadar from January... The motive of the undertaking is to reduce the number of cars on the roads. The buses will travel along the eastern express highway between the two points...

Buses World News

24.11.06

BUSES' PURCHASES * New Zealand - Volvo Buses win order to supply 20 city buses to

Survey * UK - Businesses blast congestion

FIRST WORLD TROUBLES * UK - Transport minister announces 'walking buses'

* UK - Mayor calls for music-free buses

Passengers * New Zealand - Commuter bus patronage on the rise

Hero Boy * USA - Boy Grabs Steering Wheel After Bus Driver Collapses

PRECAUTION ROADS

Fares * South Korea - Bus, Subway ones to Rise 15%

Later 20 years of deregulation * UK - Getting on track for better buses

Drunken bus driver * Australia - Asks to continue school run

Prohibitions * USA - Cell Phone Use by Bus Drivers Should be Banned

22.11.06

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

"GREEN" NEWS

BUSES' BUSINESS AFFAIRS

PRODUCTION

POLLUTION * Thailand - Bus fumes verdict may be appealed

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

Striking - UK - Bus drivers tell of long hours and low wages

21.11.06

"GREEN" NEWS

Transit TV Buses * USA - What you're forced to watch while riding the bus.

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

20.11.06

* India - LE CORBUSIER: He was for public transport, overbridges

Colours * USA - City hopes green bus fleet will be a go

TechnoNews * USA - CT buses can get more green lights

Grope-free buses * Brazil

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

OPINION * Bermuda - Free the buses: A boon for all

New youth bus * UK - Costs £20,000

DEBATES & DISCUSSIONS

Transit goes double-decker

18.11.06

PRODUCTION

Silence it's health - UK - Campaign to silence music on the buses

"GREEN" NEWS

17.11.06

Claims * UK - Damning report on the buses

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

Did sleepy bus driver cause this horrifc accident? * Taiwan - 3 killed as bus, truck and tanker crash

16.11.06

PRODUCTION * Ethiopia - Local/Russian Cos to Manufacture Electric Bus

15.11.06

DANGEROUS DRIVERS'

* USA - City Public School Buses To Go Green

"Chaos" - UK - 'City's buses are in'

14.11.06

"GREEN" NEWS * Canada - Tour buses to cut emissions

"GREEN" STORY * USA - Electric trolley buses created quite a hum in Akron transportation 65 years ago

PRODUCTION * Viet Nam - Chinese joint venture to manufacture buses in

Changes - Germany - DaimlerChrysler Bus Chief Resigns

13.11.06

New buses - USA - School buses cleaner, cooler

"GREEN" NEWS

No Agreement - India - UP buses not to ply in Delhi from tomorrow

DANGEROUS ROADS * Chile - Bus carrying Chilean military band crashes, killing at least 18

VIOLENCE & VANDALISM

BORDER TROUBLES

BUSES' PURCHASES PROSPECTS

11.11.06

"GREEN" NEWS

PRODUCTION * UAE - First locally built buses roll out of Abu Dhabi factory

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

DANGEROUS BUSES

10.11.06

TRANSPORT BUSINESS AFFAIRS

9.11.06

If service were - Canada - Most would pay more for public transit

DRIVERS` SHORTAGE

Driver's Sentence - Bulgaria - Parents of Bus Crash Victims Protest

"GREEN" NEWS

SECURITY

"big success"... - Quatar - Buses carried 7.5mn passengers in first year, says official

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

Firecrackers blast in bus - Pakistan - LHC seeks report from govt by 27th

DANGEROUS ROADS

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS