Buses World News: April 2007

Bicycle-friendly * USA - Metro installing new racks on buses to make Houston

Houston,TX,USA -KHOU, From 11 News -April 21, 2007: -- Houston Metro is making the Bayou City more bicycle-friendly... Metro has installed 21 new bike racks on its hybrid diesel-electric buses... Officials hope to have similar racks put on 800 city buses by the end of the year... Houstonians can also store their bikes in the designated luggage bays of Metros Park and Ride buses or take their bikes on Metro Rail during non-peak hours...

Labels: bicycle racks

New PTS * USA - Murfreesboro buses roll out to serve growth

Expects heavy use of fledgling fleet by seniors

Murfreesboro,TN,USA -The Fairview Observer (Fairview,TN), by KATE HOWARD -21 April 2007: -- Buses finally started rolling Friday in a city where explosive growth has made public transportation a more urgent need... It's been seven years since Murfreesboro passed the 50,000-population threshold needed for federal transit money. After several studies and a year of planning, the city is home to more than 83,000 people, 6,000 of whom are 65 or older. And census data shows the senior population growing rapidly in the next decade. Murfreesboro planners see buses as more important than ever... Before this week, Murfreesboro was the biggest city in the state without its own public transit system, although the Regional Transit Authority operates an express bus between Nashville and Murfreesboro. The Rover system joins Nashville MTA, the Music City Star commuter rail, Clarksville buses and Franklin's trolley system in the Midstate... (Photo by JIM DAVIS / GANNETT TENNESSEE - Rover buses, Murfreesboro's new transit system, move out of the central pickup site to begin their routes Friday)

Labels: public transport system

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* UK - All aboard the booze bus
Peterborough,England,UK -The Peterborough Evening Telegraph -21 April 2007: -- Horrified passengers abandoned a bus after being taken on a terrifying ride by a driver who had been drinking... Some passengers decided it was safer to walk home, and rang the police... As a result, Sarah Smith (28) was arrested at the wheel of a Judd's Travel Ltd bus after parking up at the Queensgate bus station in Peterborough...

* New Zealand - Driver in bus crash may have fallen from his seat
Auckland,New Zealand -TV3 News -22 Apr 2007: -- It is thought the driver of a tourist bus that plummeted down a steep West Coast bank yesterday morning may have fallen from his seat... Two of the 44 tourists on the Kiwi Experience bus were taken to hospital after the accident on the Franz Josef Highway... Passengers who emereged covered in blood have reported the driver fell from his seat, while possibly trying to retrieve a mobile phone... The driver, who the company says is experience, has been interviewed by Police and conditions were fine at the time...

Labels: danagerous drivers

* Pakistan & Iran: To start bus service

Islamabad,Pakistan -The Times of India (New Delhi,India) -20 Apr, 2007: -- Pakistan and Iran agreed to start bus service to strengthen people-to-people contacts and provide modern travelling facilities to people of two countries, said Communications Minister Shamim Siddiqui... In first phase, a bus service from Quetta in Pakistan to Mashhad in Iran, will be introduced and agreement has been signed in Tehran, he said... Under international road transport agreement, Pakistan will be in position to link its land route to Central Asian republics and Turkey via Iran, while Iran will have extended land route cargo facilities via Pakistan for China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan... About 100 buses will ply from Quetta to Zahedan in beginning...

Labels: neighbors

Canola-seed fuel * USA - Metro buses to switch to state-grown

Seattle,WA,USA -The Seattle Times, by Sharon Pian Chan -April 20, 2007: -- King County Metro buses will switch from soy-based biodiesel to biodiesel made from canola seeds grown in Washington state... Currently, most of Metro's buses use a combination of 20 percent soy biodiesel and 80 percent low-sulfur diesel. The soy is grown in Iowa... At a news conference today, King County Executive Ron Sims said the county has purchased 2 million gallons of biodiesel made with canola seeds from Sunnyside, enough to provide 20 percent of bus fuel for a year...

Labels: canola-seed fuel

* USA - Tempe ready to roll out 20-passenger buses to serve downtown

TEMPE,Ariz,USA -KOLD/TV (Tucson,AZ) -20 April 2007: -- Tempe is getting ready to roll out some 20-passenger buses that will serve the downtown area and the Arizona State University campus... The FLASH buses are the size of a small recreational vehicle and will run though neighborhoods... But the plan has sparked fierce opposition from residents of an area south of ASU... Critics say the buses would run every 15 minutes and pull over in bike lanes, which would force bicyclists to stop, jump on the sidewalk or swerve into traffic...

Labels: new buses fleet

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * UK - Lockhead calls for yellow buses to clear UK roads

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -The Scotsman, by NICK BEVENS -20 April 2007: -- Moir Lockhead, chief executive of Aberdeen's FirstGroup, the UK's largest train and bus operator, has urged the government to throw financial support behind the national introduction of a US-style scheme to get more children on to school buses in a bid to unclog Britain's roads... Speaking after the company's shareholders backed its £1.9 billion move to become the largest private operator of America's iconic yellow school buses, through the acquisition of Laidlaw International, Lockhead said the UK can learn a lot from the US about travel to school...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

BUSES' SALES * Pakistan - Karachi to have 250 Indian CNG buses

Karachi,Pakistan -Internews/Peninsula On-line (Qatar) -April 21, 2007: -- Pakistan’s largest city is importing 250 CNG buses from India as the first batch of the promised 8,000 CNG buses experiences a delay. The 250 vehicles are expected to be on Karachi’s roads by July 2007... Executive District Officer (EDO) Transport and Communication Muhammad Athar says that a private company had proposed to bring these buses by March 2007, but a “little delay” cropped up as the strategy for set ting up CNG filling stations and the incentives of the federal government were in the pipeline...

Labels: buses sales

Special Buses * USA - CATS to help train guide dogs on buses

Charlotte,NC,USA -The Charlotte Observer, by KAREN CIMINO -20 April 2007: -- The Charlotte Area Transit System and the Southeastern Guide Dog School will work together Saturday to familiarize 15 future guide dogs with the CATS' Special Transportation Services buses... As part of the training, CATS' Special Transportation buses will take the dogs and their handlers on a trip around the city to learn how to work with disabled people... STS carries more than 850 riders a day and provided 224,131 rides in fiscal year 2006...

Labels: special buses

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECT

* Canada - *Translink approves new buses
Langley,Canada -CKNW (Vancouver,British Columbia) -Apr, 18 2007: -- The Translink Board has approved a 30 million dollar bus fleet expansion plan for 2008, as well as a 34 million dollar expansion of the Skytrain operations and maintenance centre... 45 buses will be added to the fleet by the end of next year... The new buses will help expand the Hastings 95-b line, service upgrades for the South Fraser, and improvements to ease over-crowding on busy routes... Vancouver Translink director Suzanne Anton is recommending the addition of even more buses, which will come before the board next month...

* USA - Springfield school board unanimously supports buying more buses, expanding busing
Springfield,MO,USA -The Springfield News-Leader, by Cory de Vera -19 April 2007: -- The Springfield Board of Education voted unanimously to spend $1.1 million to buy 14 additional buses for next school year, expanding busing to more students...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

DRIVERS STORIES

* UK - On The Buses

Bus driver Pat Jevons says a friendly smile and staying behind the safety screen are the keys to a safer bus

UK -News Shopper, by Jon Cheetham -18 April 2007: -- Pat Jevons has been a bus driver for six years. She wanted to be a bus driver ever since she was young... She said: "I always wanted to drive HGVs. I was a bit of a tomboy. It took me three weeks to train. It's fairly quick if you have got it. Driving a bus is all in the mirrors."... She used to run the Oakhill Tavern, Bromley Road, Beckenham with her 50-year-old partner Eamonn Cantwell... The 40-year-old from Orpington decided to make a career change as she thought life was too short... But Pat says she wouldn't change her job for the world... She said: "I enjoy the job and I am very happy to be where I am..."

* USA - Nady students start early; bus driver even more so - A look at DeWitt Schools’ transportation system

DeWitt,AR,USA -DeWitt Era-Enterprise, by Christina Verderosa -19 April 2007: -- Most of the citizens of Gillett are still snug in their beds when Charles Poll arrives at the school campus and starts up his bus... After performing his morning safety check and filling out his paperwork, Poll heads off into the darkened streets of Gillett to begin his route at 5:25 a.m... Transportation in the DeWitt School District is complex and expensive... Many of the bus routes travel long distances to Reydell, Ethel, and Humphrey, often over unpaved roads... The trip is not quite over for Poll. He checks the bus to make sure nothing is left behind — books, bags, or, as happened once, a sleeping student. He then pulls the bus over to the gas tank to get it filled up and ready to do it all over again in the afternoon...

Labels: drivers stories

NEW BUSES

* UK - Hit Roads for £1.4M
Derby,Scotland,UK -This is Aberdeen -18 April 2007: -- The drive to give Aberdeen the "best bus fleet in Scotland" has been given a £1.4 million boost... First Aberdeen has bought 10 high-tech vehicles... Joe Mackie, the company's commercial director, said: "At a cost of £140,000, each of these buses represent the very latest in technology and comfort for city centre public transport in the UK today... The buses, all single-decker, come equipped with low floor access, CCTV, cab protection screens and are fitted with Euro IV engines, which are 10-15% more fuel efficient than other engine types."...

* Singapore - Seating will ease congestion at doors
Singapore -TODAYonline, by Leong Wee Keat -18 April 2007: -- It is a common grouse among commuters — a long-awaited bus arrives, crowded at the front and the exit doors, but with plenty of standing room at the rear... With SBS Transit rolling out 100 new buses in July and new seating arrangements, the public transport operator hopes passengers will have a smoother rider... On these buses, two seats at the rear will be removed — reducing the seating capacity to 23. The extra space created would give passengers more standing room and encourage them to move to the back...

Labels: new buses fleet

ECO NEWS

* USA - Diesel Hybrid School Buses Give California Legislators New Tool to Reduce Emissions - Clean Buses Can Help Meet Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals

Sacramento,Cal,USA -PRNewswire -April 17, 2007: -- Top lawmakers received a glimpse of the future for clean and efficient student transportation as Navistar International Corporation debuted one of the first diesel hybrid
school buses here today... Company representatives highlighted the potential for this innovative technology to help meet California's climate change, energy efficiency and clean air goals, and they urged government officials to provide incentives that will expand the market for these pioneering vehicles...

* USA - New clean-burning fuel buses make debut
AZ,USA -The Arizona Republic, by Kellie Hwang -Apr. 19, 2007: -- Standard diesel fuel buses are out, clean-burning fuel buses are in... The Phoenix Public Transit Department introduced its new ultra-low sulfur diesel bus early this morning at the Phoenix Central Station downtown. Passengers en route were welcomed with steaming cups of Starbucks coffee and a sneak peak into one of the new eco-friendly 40-foot buses... Transit officials thought Earth Week was the best time to showcase the new buses, a total of 126 that will be arriving by this October...

Labels: eco buses

* USA - SGA proposes new safe buses

St. Cloud,MN,USA -The SCSU University Chronicle, by Benjamin Sobieck -16 April 2007: -- If a recent proposal is approved, the familiar weekend equation of college students and cabs could soon take a U-turn toward diesel-powered mass transit... A new, yet-to-be-named bus route would operate in the late night hours Thursday through Sunday, solely for the purpose of delivering SCSU students safely to their residences. This transit initiative would work much the same way as the current relationship between SCSU-ians and the St. Cloud Metro Transit Commission (MTC) buses. Pick-up times would be posted, students would use their SCSU ID cards to gain entrance and the bus would drop off riders at designated stops... There is a stipulation to this, however. Students must approve a referendum permitting an increase in fees to cover the cost of the new bus route...

Labels: safety

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Australia - What’s the solution to the school bus shortage?

Australia -Australasian Bus & Coach -17 April 2007: -- One of the most discussed topics around the traps is the standard of the nation's school bus fleets. Without doubt some of the buses are getting very old indeed... Notably the South Australian and Western Australian fleets need updating urgently but none more perhaps that the massive Queensland fleet of ageing school buses. Many of Queensland's school buses are approaching that magic 30-year mark. And we all know what that means, off the road without any further discussion.....

* India - When will Nanganallur get more buses?
Chennai,India -The Chennai Online -17 April 2007: -- Situated between Meenambakkam and St Thomas Mount, Nanganallur is a fast-growing suburb which houses almost a lakh of people. The residents depend a lot on the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus services which connect them to Chennai... Unfortunately, the frequency and the number of buses to and from the suburb have not kept pace with the growth of the suburb...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* Brazil - At least 12 dead, 29 injured as bus falls into ravine

Rio de Janeiro,Brazil -Deutsche Presse-Agentur/Monsters and Critics.com (Glasgow,UK) -16 April 2007: -- At least 12 people died and 29 others were injured Monday in northeastern Brazil when the bus in which they were travelling plunged into a ravine, the federal highway police said... Three children, at least, were among the dead in the accident, which happened in the Tiangua area in the state of Ceara, at around 3:30 am (0630 GMT). The bus driver - who died in the accident - apparently lost control of the vehicle on the road between Teresina, which is the capital of the state of Piaui, and Fortaleza, the capital of neighbouring Ceara...

Labels: dangerous drivers

PRODUCTS * Argentine - "Eyes on the Sky", the system for buses' enterprises

System of management and control for buses. "Eyes on the Sky" an initiative of Repecom. Up to this moment, used by buses lines 105 and 46 in Buenos Aires City

Buenos Aires,CF,ARG - CanalAR by Samanta Cuglia /BONDICOM.COM -4 Abril 2007: -- Eyes on the Sky it's a system of management and control for the public transport. Developed by Repecom, a telecomm and satelite pursuit co. , now in use in the city of Buenos Aires on buses lines 105, from Sept 2006, and the line 46, this year… The system is thought exclusively for the transports of passengers, and has several uses: to control the route, the schedules and the state of the cars, to an exclusive service for the user, whom it indicates how much it delays each bus through the different stops… Access it's doit through Bondicom site or from a cellular phone. The service is free, and it's managed by an operator in the Web…

Labels: products

* Canada - Buses to get fare-paid zone test

Surrey,British Columbia,Canada -The Leader, by Jeff Nagel -Apr 15 2007: -- Articulated buses that run on Broadway’s 99 B-Line route will become fare-paid zones like SkyTrain for an eight-week test this summer... The pilot project, to start June 25, is expected to make the run more efficient and reduce assaults on drivers, who would no longer have a role in checking fare payment... Instead there will be random inspections by TransLink’s Transit Police Service and other security to ensure passengers pay up... TransLink officials say it could be the leading edge of a move to extend the concept to more of the bus system...

Labels: security

* Malta - Buses: A solution

Zejtun,Malta -The Times of Malta (Valletta,Malta), by Peter Montebello -14 April 2007: -- It was good to read that the Public Transport Association is against the idea of extended buses. At long last common sense is being shown by some entity... This means that the present buses, seating about 53 plus standing passengers, are only fully utilised for short peak times. During slower times, and as told by the Malta Transport Authority, these buses travel with empty seats. My solution, which I had already published some time back when we had Censu Galea as transport minister, is to get smaller buses than the present ones, say 28 seaters or thereabouts. One side would have fixed seats the other retractable seats so that, during peak times, more people can be accommodated standing up... Furthermore, these smaller buses can cover more areas, while having a better frequency than at present... A shuttle service can be used during peak times. This also solves another problem since I envisage that rarely will they have empty seats during slower times...

Labels: smaller buses

'Rodeo BUS' * USA - Puts bus drivers to the test

There may not be any animals involved, but Charlotte Area Transit System bus drivers competed to be crowned best of the best Saturday in a "bus rodeo.".

Charlotte,NC,USA -News 14 Charlotte -14 April 2007: -- Sixty operators and special transportation service personnel put their driving and safety skills to the test... CATS officials said it's a great way for the drivers to demonstrate their skills behind the wheel... "Safety is the number-one priority, and we look at that and then we're also testing their skills," said CATS General Manager of Safety and Security Jim Dougherty. "But these are skills they are exhibiting in their daily driving habits on the roads as they are picking up customers and delivering safe service to the community."... The rodeo winner will represent CATS at the International Bus Rodeo in Nashville, Tenn., next month...

Labels: rodeo bus drivers

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* Mexico - Bus crashes kills 23 outside border city
Ciudad Juarez,Chihuahua,MEX -Associated Press/The Dallas Morning News -14 April 2007: -- A speeding bus crashed into a tractor-trailer outside this border city early Saturday, killing at least 23 people and injuring 11 others, authorities said... The tractor-trailer's gas tank exploded in the pre-dawn wreck, engulfing the bus in flames and trapping many of those who died along a highway near Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, said Navil Buchain, a federal police inspector... The driver, who was speeding, was among the dead, Buchain said...

* Pakistan - 16 killed as Gilgit bound bus falls in ravine
Kohistan,Pakistan -PakTribune.com -April 15, 2007: -- At least 16 persons were killed and 14 others were injured when a Gilgit bound bus from Rawalpindi plunged into a ravine on Saturday morning... The bus went down in a gorge in Sazen police precinct of Chor Mor area of District Kohistan Saturday morning at 7:35 am due to over speeding by the driver killing 11 people on the spot and injuring 14...

* Turkey - 33 killed in school bus crash
Ankara,Turkey -News24 (Cape Town,South Africa)/Anatolia news agency -14 April 2007: -- Thirty-three people, including 15 children, were killed on Saturday when a bus carrying students and a truck collided in central Turkey, authorities said... The accident, which also caused 35 injuries, occurred at around 6:00 in the province of Aksaray... In Izmir, officials with a crisis team put together by the school told that those killed included 15 children, 16 chaperones and the drivers of the two vehicles...

* Kenya - 17 dead in a bus crash
GARISSA, Kenya -ASSOCIATED PRESS/Chicago Sun-Times (Chicago,IL,USA) -April 15, 2007: -- A crowded bus overturned and burst into flames, killing 17 people and injuring more than a dozen as it rolled three times on a dirt road in remote northeast Kenya, authorities said... Highway accidents are common in Kenya, where roads and vehicles are often in poor repair. Small buses are the main form of public transport and are frequently overloaded, forcing passengers to sit on each other and stand between seats...

* Georgia - Bus crash kills 2, injures 45
Tbilisi,Georgia -UPI/Monsters and Critics.com (Glasgow,UK)/RIA Novosti news agency -Apr 15, 2007: -- Two people died and 45 others were hurt Sunday when a bus plunged into a river in the country of Georgia... The accident happened on the Martvili-Tbilisi highway in western Georgia... Excessive speed and brake failure on the Mercedes bus were factors, police said...

Labels: dangerous drivers

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Two school buses collide; 16 injured

Students and a teacher's assistant from Bear Creek Elementary suffer minor injuries

St. Petersburg,FL,USA -The St. Petersburg Times, by RITA FARLOW -April 13, 2007: -- Fifteen students and a teacher's assistant from Bear Creek Elementary School were taken to local hospitals Thursday morning after two school buses collided... The accident happened at 61st Street S and First Avenue S shortly after 8:30 a.m., when a bus driven by Malvenae Lloyd, 48, rear-ended a bus in front of hers driven by Don Williams, 70. The injured students were riding on both buses, which were headed to the school to drop off students... St. Petersburg police cited Lloyd for careless driving. She has been temporarily reassigned by the school district, pending the outcome of an investigation, said school district spokeswoman Andrea Zahn...

Labels: dangerous drivers

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* India - Bigger state buses for Thane, Panvel - MSRTC plans to introduce 60-seater buses by July on overcrowded routes
Mumbai,India -The Mumbai Newsline, by Swapnil Rawal - April 13, 2007: -- Commuters travelling in overcrowded state buses, plying between Mumbai and far-flung suburbs like Panvel, Thane etc, finally have something to smile about... To cater to its increasing number of passengers, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is planning to introduce bigger buses with a seating capacity of 60-65, from July 2007... At present, buses on these Bombay Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) routes—like Dadar-Panvel, Dadar-Thane, Borivali-Thane and Panvel-Thane—have a maximum seating capacity of 45 seats... MSRTC took the decision after realising that the profit-making BMTC is working under a 60 per cent overload...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

DEBATE * Canada - School bus safety: Do belts work?

Toronto,Ontario,Canada -The Toronto Star, by Kristin Rushowy -Apr 13, 2007: -- Experts can't agree on whether putting seat belts in school buses makes children safer, as debate keeps growing a day after a Brampton boy was killed in a crash... In Ontario alone, some 800,000 children are transported on school buses twice a day. From 1995 to 2004, five children across Canada have died in school bus accidents, and some 4,407 passengers were injured... Transport Canada, meanwhile, said it is already looking at ways to improve the vehicles... (Picture by EARNIE GRAFTON/ SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE - Seatmates buckle up in San Diego, where newer school buses are equipped with shoulder-harness belts at an additional cost of $12,000 (U.S.) per vehicle)

* Voices: Bus seatbelts
Toronto,Ontario,Canada -The Toronto Star -Apr 13, 2007: -- We asked you whether you think school buses should be fitted with seat belts. Here's what you had to say:
Frank Pellegrino, Toronto: - As far as I'm concerned, this is a ridiculous question. Of course buses should have seat belts. Why is it the law in cars and trucks and not on school buses?

Joan Quinn, Wasaga Beach: - I believe school buses going out of the city, onto highways, should have a responsible adult on board to control children and assist the driver with all emergency situations. Perhaps this wouldn't avoid an accident happening but I am sure it would be a great support for the driver, in an emergency.

Judi deLeeuw, Stoney Creek: - I am a former school bus driver. I will never agree to seat belts in the 40-foot buses. If there was ever a fire in the engine compartment of the vehicle or at the back of the bus can you imagine the driver and all of the panic-stricken passengers trying to undo the seat belts and getting out of the monster safely. Timing is everything in a panic situation.

Ovidiu Hornar, Thornhill: - It is unbelievable. The school buses are not only obsolete but the most dangerous public transportation vehicle with no protective devices and they are "designed" to transport our children. The entire school bus system should be revised.

May Camilleri, Oakville: - The bottom line is that the reason seat belts are not mandatory on school buses is because it would be too expensive to do a radical change for all school buses and transit buses.

Peter Young, Toronto: - It is easy to get emotional about a tragic story like this, but in-depth studies have shown that having no seat belts on buses (with exceptions for very small children) is safer than having seat belts.

Alagan Elavalagan, Toronto: - First, school buses don't have "seats" but they have "benches." Larger school buses have 24 benches and they allow the operators to load 48 big kids or 72 small kids. In short, it allows two big kids or three small kids per bench. How can we design seat belts for variable occupants? The seat belt idea for school buses will force the operators to limit the occupants to two per bench and that will take away some profit.

Labels: seat belts

Anniversary * Sweden - Volvo celebrates 80 years

Stockholm,Sweden -BUSINESS WIRE -April 13, 2007: -- On April 14 this year, it will be exactly 80 years since the first Volvo car, the Volvo ÖV4, rolled off the production line at the plant in Hisingen, Göteborg. Meanwhile, Volvo has developed into both a global manufacturer of commercial vehicles and a world-leading carmaker... Volvo’s founders were convinced that the company’s products had to be safe if Volvo was to make the grade as a vehicle manufacturer and 80 years of successful operations has proved the correctness of this approach... A modest start Back in the 1920s, business conditions for the hundreds of car manufacturers around the world were far from favourable...

Labels: events

DANGEROUS BUSES * USA - Speeding School Buses?

Mobile,AL,USA -WKRG-TV, News 5, by Kesshia Peyton -Apr 12, 2007: -- A News Five viewer says some Mobile County School bus drivers need to slow down... We took our speed radar gun and found some school bus drivers obeying the traffic laws...and others who were going more than ten miles per hour over the speed limit... The school transportation department says about 95% of the bus drivers in Mobile County have excellent safety records... For the other 5%, Sadie Cates urges drivers and parents who witness any reckless driving to call police...

Labels: dangerous drivers

TRAFFIC SIGNALS * Australia - No Priority for T-Way Buses

NSW,Australia -Australasian Bus and Coach -13 April 2007: -- The NSW State Government has scrapped the priority system that gives buses green lights through Sydney’s congested northwest... The System uses electronic tags fitted to buses to ensure a clear run through lights along the 17-kilometre route... The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has quietly dumped the technology that would have prevented buses waiting at red lights along the $500 million North-West T-way between Parramatta and Rouse Hill... A month after the route opened, none of the Hillsbus vehicles using the T-way have the tags, and the company says buses using the Liverpool to Parramatta route have had their tags switched off at some intersections...

Labels: traffic signals

"GREEN" NEWS

* USA - TriMet buses get filter retrofit
Portland,OR,USA -OregonLive.com/The Oregonian -April 12, 2007: -- TriMet began retrofitting 45 of its older buses Thursday with exhaust filters designed to reduce emissions by 90 percent... The particulate filters being installed on 1999 model buses will make them run six times cleaner than required by the federal regulations for that year, said agency spokesman Bruce Solberg. Exhaust soot will be reduced to levels comparable to new models, he said...

* USA - EPA-certified trucks, trailers available
USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -13 April 2007: -- Truck and trailer makers are offering 2007 models certified by the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program. The EPA says the trucks can save owners $11,000 annually while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollutants... Freightliner, International, Kenworth, Mack, Peterbilt and Volvo are participating in the program. SmartWay-designated models include the International ProStar and Volvo VN and, in 2008, the Freightliner Century Class S/T and Columbia... SmartWay-approved equipment can reduce fuel consumption 10 to 20 percent by reducing wind resistance, the EPA says...

Labels: green news

Bus Lane * New Zealand - Green light for

Wellington,New Zealand -The Dominion Post, by DAVID DICKENS -13 April 200: -- The first stage of a $16 million bus lane policy that will strip residents of their rights to park cars on busy thoroughfares has been approved by Wellington City Council... Council officers now have the authority to develop the plan to turn roadside car parks into 40 kilometres of peak-hour bus lanes on the main roads in city suburbs from Ngauranga Gorge to Island Bay... Mayor Kerry Prendergast urged councillors at yesterday's strategy and policy committee meeting not to "falter" on the bus lanes scheme...

Labels: bus lanes

BUSES' SALES

* China - Brilliance wins Russian contract for 80,000 minibuses
China -Automotive World (UK)/Reuters - April, 2007: -- Brilliance Automotive, the partner of BMW in China, has signed a US$1.3bn contract for the export of 80,000 minibuses to Russia, largely for use by government bodies... The Jinbei model minibuses are expected to be exported over the next five years... Brilliance recently started the export of the first of a planned 158,000 self-branded sedans for European markets over the next five years...

* India - Tata Motors to Supply 500 CNG Buses to Delhi
New Delhi,India -Green Car Congress (USA) -13 April 2007: -- Tata Motors has won a contract from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for 500 low-floor non-AC CNG-fueled buses... The order came as a result of a global tender floated by DTC. This is the single largest order for fully-built, low-floor buses received by Tata Motors to date. Tata Motors was the first in India to launch modern, low-floor and semi low-floor buses in 2005...

Labels: buses sales

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * Australia - Oldest School Bus fleet in the country

Brisbane,Qld,Australia -Australasian Bus & Coach -12 April 2007: -- The President of the Queensland Bus Industry Council (QBIC) Wayne Patch, has clamed that Queensland’s School Bus fleet is one of the oldest in the country. Patch says that the average age of school buses is well over 20 years... Whilst acknowledging that the State government has assisted in the provision of new buses he says that much more can be done. QBIC is holding its annual conference in Brisbane over three days this week...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

Investigators * USA - Say some buses that transport kids are unsafe

Harris County,TX,USA -KHOU 11 News (Houston,TX,USA), by Chau Nguyen -April 11, 2007: -- It happened as dozens of teens were packed inside a bus heading to school in northwest Harris County – the brakes seemed to fail and the bus driver lost control - Amazingly, no one was hurt... Bad brakes may have been to blame for an accident that could have been much worse, but Harris County investigators say the real responsibility lies with the company and its decision to hire the bus driver... The driver had expired insurance and didn’t have the correct license to be driving the kids. He’d been on the job only two days when the mishap occurred... Heights transportation, which does business as Houston Heights Bus Service, is also contracted by the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department... The company buses troubled teens to alternative schools... But records show that from 2003 to 2006, TXDOT, which oversees bus safety, pulled 19 of its buses out of service for violations that included improper exhausts, defective brakes and more... (11 News - State records show transportation company has a checkered history)

Labels: dangerous buses

Hold Traffic Signals * Buses may fast track lights to beat jams

Bay of Plenty,New Zealand -MyTown Bay of Plenty, by JOHN COUSINS -12 April 2007: -- A plan to allow Bay Hopper buses to electronically hold traffic signals on green at some major city intersections could make catching the bus to work a whole lot quicker... Several initiatives are being considered by Tauranga City Council, the most radical of which would allow Bay Hopper buses to hold traffic signals on green, or bring them forward to green, at Cameron Rd intersections with 17th Ave and 22nd Ave... There were a number of systems to trigger the signals but the most common was an electronic transponder installed in buses which automatically activated signals as the bus approached...

Labels: traffic signals

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Easter morning bus crash leaves six hurt

Hillsboro,OR,USA -The Hillsboro Argus -April 10, 2007: -- Six people were injured after a sport utility vehicle crashed into the back of a TriMet bus Sunday morning... Christopher McGuire, 22, the driver of a Dodge Durango that hit the back of the bus, was the only injured person immediately identified... Three adults and an infant, who were passengers on the bus, and a passenger in the Durango, were also taken to local hospitals with minor injuries... Washington County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Vance Stimler said the speed of the Durango appeared to be a factor in the accident...

Labels: dangerous drivers

DANGEROUS TRIPS * Sri Lanka - Truck and a passenger bus crash in Sri Lanka killing 19

Colombo,Sri Lanka -The Lanka Everything (London,Middlesex,UK)/ Reuters -10 April 2007: -- About 23 people killeds and 56 injureds, at least, when a beer truck and a passenger bus collided and caught fire in southern Sri Lanka, police said on Tuesday... "There was an accident between a passenger bus and a lorry transporting beer," said Jayantha Gamage, deputy inspector general for the Southern Province... The accident happened about 80 km (50 miles) south of the capital Colombo...

Labels: dangerous trips

System * New Zealand - Bus Connexion worth $700,000

Auckland,New Zealand -The New Zealand Herald -April 11, 2007: -- Bus information company Connexionz said it had won a $700,000 contract to provide a system to the United States city of Charlottesville, in Virginia... The real-time passenger information system will cover about 400 bus stops for the city's 28-strong bus fleet... Connexionz has already sold its bus systems overseas including to other US cities, the United Kingdom and Sydney...

Labels: infobuses

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - First fuel cell hybrid bus hits the road in Connecticut

USA -Autobloggreen, by Sam Abuelsamid -Apr 11th 2007: -- The first fuel cell hybrid bus in New England has entered service in Hartford, Connecticut with CTTRANSIT, the state-owned regional bus service. United Technologies division UTC Power is providing the bus and the first two years of service for the bus that is running on a downtown Hartford route. The hydrogen refueling station is located at the UTC Power headquarters in South Windsor. The Federal Transit Authority has given the Greater Hartford Transit District a $2.9 million grant to get the program running and build the necessary infrastructure...

* UK - Manchester bus shelters go solar
Carmarthenshire,Wales,UK -Green Building Press -10 April 2007: -- Bus shelters are to be revamped and fitted with solar-powered panels in order to improve passenger safety and energy efficiency. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) has agreed to spend £100,000 on 49 bus shelters. Roof-mounted solar panels will generate electricity during the day which is then stored in batteries to light up the bus shelter at night-time. The new shelters were first trialled at two bus stops last year...

* USA - City Hall: Newsom & Ford usher in new hybrid buses
San Francisco,CAL,USA -The Examiner -Apr 11, 2007: -- Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency chief Nat Ford on Tuesday unveiled the first of The City's new diesel-electric hybrid Muni buses... San Francisco's new Muni buses are California’s first series production diesel-electric hybrid buses in transit service, according to manufacturer Daimler-Chrysler. When all of buses are on the streets, San Francisco will have the third-largest hybrid bus fleet in the country...

Labels: green news

GREEN NEWS * Argentine - Buses working with water as fuel

Argentine's Ecological Invention - Vehicles dismiss not pollution gases

Cordoba, CBA, ARG - La Razon(City Buenos Aires,ARG) -29 Mar 2007: -- The city of Cordoba will count in a short time with Echo-Buses, with which partially combustible fossils by water will be replaced... The objective of these novel motors is the one to reduce the effects of polluting agents derived from petroleum and, simultaneously, to replace combustible that tend inevitably to the shortage in the next years… Victor Solmi, who patented the technology in 140 countries, announced that the state company "Las Delicias",owned of 250 buses now in operation, will completely renew its fleet with these units… The development of a model of partial fossil fuel substitution by water, although becomes experimenteds with echo-buses in the cities of Rosario (Santa Fe province, Arg), and Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires's province), where active communal policies of protection of environment are executeds... This technology, "already was applied successfully in different types from vehicles like tractors, automobiles, harvest machines and ice-breakers vessels", according to its creators...

Labels: eco buses

New Bus System Fails * Chile - Queue, Fume, Riot in Santiago

Santiago,Chile -Bloomberg (USA), by Matthew Walter,& contributed by: Collin Sick -9 April 2007: -- So many people in Santiago are arriving late to their jobs because of bus delays that it's hurting Chile's economy and the government of President Michelle Bachelet... Workers are rioting and clashing with police daily as they protest the government's bungled job of overhauling the mass transit system that serves the city's 6 million residents. Commuting times have doubled for many bus and subway riders since the system began operating in February...

Labels: bus systems fails

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Iran - Bus Crash Kills 30 Pilgrims In Iran

Isfahan,Iran -Playfuls.com (Targu Mures,Romania) / Islamic Republic News Agency -9 April 2007: -- At least 30 people returning from a pilgrimage to Iraq died in Iran when a truck smashed into their bus southwest of the capital of Tehran... The bus was returning to the central Iran city of Isfahan on Sunday after a pilgrimage to visit holy sites in Iraq, reported... The truck hit the bus on a bridge and sent it plunging into a valley about 440 miles southwest of Tehran... The accident in the western province of Ilam was blamed on the truck's excessive speed. More than 26,000 people die each year in road accidents in Iran due to unsafe cars and trucks, negligent driving and inadequate emergency services, the report said... Iran reportedly has one or the worst transportation safety records in the world...

Labels: dangerous drivers

BUSES' PURCHASING PROSPECT * Malta - Government considers introduction of bendy buses

Malta -MaltaMedia News/The Times -Apr 9, 2007: -- The government is looking into the possibility of introducing 18-metre long articulated buses - known as bendy buses, reported on Monday... The bendy buses, which cost about Lm100,000, are fitted with an extra set of wheels and a joint located slightly behind the middle of the bus so they can carry up to 139 passengers... However the Public Transport Authority has expressed its surprise at this suggestion. In fact when contacted, the authority’s president Mr Victor Spiteri said that this was not in line with what the association had been discussing with the transport authorities... In fact, he said, recent discussions had pointed towards the possibility of going for smaller buses to operate in village and town centres...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - San Francisco To Have Hybrid Buses By End Of April

San Francisco,CAL,USA -FoxReno.com (Reno,NV) -April 9, 2007: -- The city's public transit agency will roll out hybrid buses by the end of April to help meet a voter mandate for cleaner transportation... The San Francisco Municipal Railway scheduled the debut of its first two hybrid buses -- which cost about $488,000 each -- after one of them proved it could tackle the city's rolling terrain with a cargo of sandbags to simulate the weight of passengers...

Labels: green news

Federal Funding * USA - Group argues for school buses

Washington,DC,USA -WTHR (Indianapolis,IN), by Tom Walker -Apr 9, 2007: -- The American School Bus Council is invoking some frightening scenarios in an effort to secure funding from Washington... The American school bus is 15 times safer than riding in the family car, but it's an expense that some say school systems are finding harder to afford... Peter Japiske heads the American School Bus Council, which wants Washington to begin subsidizing school buses, something that has always been left to local schools. One place he's looking for money: the budget for Homeland Security... School transportation officials have recommended school buses be included in the highest risk category for Homeland Security...

Labels: school buses funds

Survey * Singapore - Public transport satisfactory

Singapore -Australasian Bus News (Australia) -5 April 2007: -- Eighty percent of Singapore’s commuters say public transport services in Singapore were "satisfactory"... Of the 1,000 public transport users polled in a recent survey conducted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), 94 percent say the level of train services satisfied them... Buses got a lower rating - only 77 percent say they were satisfied. According to LTA, the main reason for this is because the trains enjoy a dedicated right of way...

Labels: Survey

Transport Study * Australia - More time spent in our cars but not moving

NSW,Australia -Australasian Bus News -9 April 2007: -- Recent research shows that up to 40 percent of Sydney drivers sitting in traffic during peak hour are on trips that could be made at any time of day, such as shopping or non-time critical tasks... An analysis by the NSW Transport and Population Data Centre studied Sydney's peak hour car habits and found congestion could be reduced by encouraging people to drive at other times... The Centre found peak periods had increased from 8am to 9am to 7.30am to 9.30am, and from 3pm to 6pm to 2.30pm to 7pm in the last 24 years... Not all drivers at those times were making essential trips, such as getting to work. Almost one in five trips in the morning peak were for non-essential activities. Many of those were made by retirees, the unemployed or housewives...

Labels: studies

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * Canada - Calls for more buses

Vancouver,BC,Canada -CKNW - Apr, 08 2007: -- There is a grassroots movement underway to get more buses on Lower Mainland roads... Overcrowding and long waits at the bus stop...those are just a few of the issues being discussed at a meeting of the Bus Rider's Union... Organizer Beth Grayer says bus drivers as well as transit users are feeling the pinch... She says drivers are "driving without brakes and they are carrying heavily-loaded buses; they are forced to pass people by on a daily basis."... She says those issues are creating anger in the transit system... The group is calling for 500 new byses by the year 2010...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

Safety - Thailand - Terror on the buses must end

The throngs of Songkran travellers this weekend underscore the need for strict enforcement of safety rules

Bangkok,Thailand -The Nation Multimedia -9 April 2007: -- In a few days it will be that time of year again when millions of people hit the road on their way to celebrating the traditional Thai New Year in their native provinces. While most revellers make it to their destinations, hundreds of ill-fated ones will end up in the morgue and thousands of others will be staring at a hospital ceiling. Road accidents have been the undisputed joy-killer of the Songkran festival for several decades now... Since most Songkran travellers have to rely on public transport, chiefly inter-provincial buses, the safety standards of those vehicles are a cause for concern...

Labels: safety

Mini buses * India - To take to city roads

Chandigarh,India Express -The Chandigarh Newsline -April 8, 2007: -- With the plans improve the public transport system in the city, the Chandigarh Administration intends to introduce mini buses for the internal roads of the city... It is expected that the smaller buses would to around 40 to 50-seaters and would only be used within the city and not for carrying the interstate passengers, as is being done by the normal CTU buses at present...

Labels: minibuses

Award * UK - Bus company prized for ‘Taking a Stand’

England,UK -The Dorset Echo, by Andy Davey -9 April 2007: -- A Group set up to stop incidents of antisocial behaviour spiralling out of control on school buses in Purbeck last year has received a national award... In 2006 the Purbeck Bus Forum was set up amid safety fears following a series of complaints from bus drivers, students and residents, who raised a petition calling for action after a girl was injured on a school bus... The forum drew up a code of conduct for those travelling on the bus and introduced a range of initiatives, including ID cards, creating a bus box where students could report their concerns and segregating boys from girls... It proved such a success that the group, which includes children and staff from Purbeck School, Dorset Police, Purbeck District Council and the Wilts & Dorset Bus Company, has received a national £1,000 respect Award for Taking a Stand...

Labels: awards

"GREEN" NEWS * Holland - Amsterdam Extends Trial Period Of Fuel Cell-Powered Buses

Amsterdam,Holland -H2 Daily (Carson City,NV,USA), by OJ Fagbire -7 April 2007: -- According to Amsterdam city authorities, the decision has been made to extend a trial of fuel cell-powered buses in the Dutch capital until January 2008... The trial operators cited the fact that they where impressed with the efficiency and low environmental impact of the buses as the reason for the extension. The trial consists of three hydrogen fuel cell buses running as part of regular services in the city...

Labels: green news

END DEBATE * USA - On seat belts for buses

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News -April 07, 2007: -- For 30 years, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has debated whether seat belts should be required on commercial buses. There really is no debate. Bus travel is the safest way to travel, federal officials say. Despite occasional crashes that garner wide media attention, serious accidents are few and far between. On average, 23 people die in commercial bus accidents each year. Forcing commercial carriers to install seat belts won't likely have much impact on reducing that number, especially since there's no guarantee people would even use them...

Labels: seat belts

CHANGE * USA - AC Transit to Trade 10 More Buses For Van Hools

Berkeley,CA,USA -The Berkeley Daily Planet, by By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor -7 Apr 2007: -- The AC Transit District continued with its sudden premature replacement of its NABI bus fleet, with directors approving, on Wednesday afternoon, the request of General Manager Rick Fernandez to sell 10 more of the popular 40-foot buses five years before their scheduled retirement date and to replace them with buses from the Van Hool company...

Labels: new buses fleet

Security Cameras * USA - T puts new ones on buses

Routes in high-crime areas are targeted first

Boston,MA,USA -The Boston Globe, by Mac Daniel -April 6, 2007: -- Security cameras have been put on buses that run through high-crime areas of Boston, including the route where a Hyde Park teenager was fatally shot last week, officials announced yesterday... The cameras -- five on each bus recording everything that happens -- will also allow T police to follow buses in patrol cars and see inside them through a "live look-in" link with a laptop computer if they stay within 300 feet...

Labels: security

DANGEROUS BUSES * Colombia - 27 die when a bus crashes, catches fire

Bogota,Colombia -Caracol radio/The Associated Press/Wilkes Barre Times-Leader (Wilkes Barre,PA,USA) -7 Apr 2007: -- A bus carrying passengers on the start of the Easter holiday crashed in northern Colombia Thursday, igniting a blaze that killed 27 people, including six children, police said... A rear tire blew out on the bus as it headed to the Caribbean tourist port of Santa Marta from Dibulla, a town 370 miles north of the capital Bogota. The vehicle flipped over and the fuel tank exploded, enveloping the bus in flames, police Gen. Guillermo Aranda...

Labels: dangerous buses

COMMUTERS COMPLAINS

* USA - The Phantom Bus of Fort Greene

Fort Greene,Clinton Hill,NY,USA -The Brooklyn Papers (Brooklyn,NY), by Dana Rubinstein & Michael Giardina -April 7, 2007: -- It was like waiting for Godot — if Godot were the B-38... On any given morning, you’ll find Fort Greene commuters waiting at the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Washington Park for a B-38 bus — but that bus will never come because, unbeknownst to them, the bus stop is no longer there... (Photo: The Brooklyn Paper, by Gregory P. Mango - The MTA removed a bus stop on DeKalb Avenue, but some busses still stop there. This one, however, did not)

* United Arab Emirates - Passengers decry poor bus services
Abu Dhabi,UAE -Gulf News (Dubai), by Samir Salama -7 Apr 2007: -- Passengers say the poor transport services are getting on their nerves every day... When the government invited tenders from private operators, passengers said they had hoped for a more comfortable ride... But passengers say sometimes they have to wait for more than an hour for a bus, and many of the roads in the cities are not covered by the services...

Labels: commuters complains

BUSMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE

* Ireland - Firm is to build Irish city buses
Ireland -BBC News (UK) -5 Apr 2007: -- A County Antrim firm has won a multi-million pound contract to supply 48 buses to the Irish republic's state bus company... Wright Group in Ballymena will supply the single-deck city buses to Bus Eireann... Irish Transport Minister Martin Cullen announced the 11.5m euro (£8m) contract at the firm's Galgorm premises... (Picture: The company is to build 48 city buses)

* Russia - Tomsk reg. get 20 buses
Moscow,Russia -Analytical Information Agency -5 Apr 2007: -- GAZ Group delivered 20 buses LiAZ-5256 to the Tomsk-based entities, the company informed... The buses worth 48mln rub. were shipped within the transport program developed in Tomsky reg. Later 200-250 more buses are assumed to bedelivered... GAZ Group is the largest autmotive maker in Russia. It involves the entities working in the automobile, trucks and buses production sector. Besides, it makes the engines. The major holder is Russian Machines Holding...

Labels: busmakers news

Buses World News

23.4.07

Bicycle-friendly * USA - Metro installing new racks on buses to make Houston

New PTS * USA - Murfreesboro buses roll out to serve growth

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

* Pakistan & Iran: To start bus service

21.4.07

Canola-seed fuel * USA - Metro buses to switch to state-grown

* USA - Tempe ready to roll out 20-passenger buses to serve downtown

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * UK - Lockhead calls for yellow buses to clear UK roads

BUSES' SALES * Pakistan - Karachi to have 250 Indian CNG buses

Special Buses * USA - CATS to help train guide dogs on buses

20.4.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECT

DRIVERS STORIES

NEW BUSES

ECO NEWS

17.4.07

* USA - SGA proposes new safe buses

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

16.4.07

PRODUCTS * Argentine - "Eyes on the Sky", the system for buses' enterprises

* Canada - Buses to get fare-paid zone test

* Malta - Buses: A solution

'Rodeo BUS' * USA - Puts bus drivers to the test

DANGEROUS DRIVERS

14.4.07

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Two school buses collide; 16 injured

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

DEBATE * Canada - School bus safety: Do belts work?

13.4.07

Anniversary * Sweden - Volvo celebrates 80 years

DANGEROUS BUSES * USA - Speeding School Buses?

TRAFFIC SIGNALS * Australia - No Priority for T-Way Buses

"GREEN" NEWS

Bus Lane * New Zealand - Green light for

BUSES' SALES

12.4.07

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * Australia - Oldest School Bus fleet in the country

Investigators * USA - Say some buses that transport kids are unsafe

Hold Traffic Signals * Buses may fast track lights to beat jams

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA - Easter morning bus crash leaves six hurt

DANGEROUS TRIPS * Sri Lanka - Truck and a passenger bus crash in Sri Lanka killing 19

System * New Zealand - Bus Connexion worth $700,000

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - First fuel cell hybrid bus hits the road in Connecticut

10.4.07

GREEN NEWS * Argentine - Buses working with water as fuel

New Bus System Fails * Chile - Queue, Fume, Riot in Santiago

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Iran - Bus Crash Kills 30 Pilgrims In Iran

BUSES' PURCHASING PROSPECT * Malta - Government considers introduction of bendy buses

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - San Francisco To Have Hybrid Buses By End Of April

Federal Funding * USA - Group argues for school buses

9.4.07

Survey * Singapore - Public transport satisfactory

Transport Study * Australia - More time spent in our cars but not moving

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * Canada - Calls for more buses

Safety - Thailand - Terror on the buses must end

Mini buses * India - To take to city roads

Award * UK - Bus company prized for ‘Taking a Stand’

"GREEN" NEWS * Holland - Amsterdam Extends Trial Period Of Fuel Cell-Powered Buses

END DEBATE * USA - On seat belts for buses

7.4.07

CHANGE * USA - AC Transit to Trade 10 More Buses For Van Hools

Security Cameras * USA - T puts new ones on buses

DANGEROUS BUSES * Colombia - 27 die when a bus crashes, catches fire

COMMUTERS COMPLAINS

6.4.07

BUSMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE

Buses World News

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