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Buses World News: August 2009
Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
20.8.09
IDEAS * USA - Exit in the Back of the Bus
New York,NY,USA -The New York Times, by Peter Ranis-August 12, 2009: --One of the more obvious reasons for slow-moving New York City buses is thatthe Metropolitan Transportation Authority allows passengers to disembark through the front doors.This always causes the interminable gridlock before the new passengers manage to enter... Many cities (I am familiar with Buenos Aires) allow passengers to disembark only from the rear doors.This creates a much more fluid circulation and greatly speeds up travel time... (Photo from njcommute: inside of the buses)
Tokyo,Japan -Pulse2, by Amit Chowdhry -August 12, 2009: --As of right now there are cars and trains that are electric, but electric buses have not been made in mass production yet. The Japanese wants to get in on this. Several local companies and institutions are partnering in Japan to produce large-sized and eco-friendly buses... The electric bus will be based on an Electric Lithium-Ion Car (Eliica) that was developed at Keio University. The Eliica (pictured above)almost reminded me of the Ghostbusters car. The Eliica can hit a top speed of 230MPH. Isuzu will be in charge of the final design of the car... The Japan Ministry of the Environment is sponsoring the electric bus project with $5 million. Mass production is expected to start in 2011. On a single charge, the bus is expected to run 150km on a single charge. The costs of running an electric bus is supposedly 90% lower than diesel buses...
New Fleet * Canada - Articulated buses hits Montreal streets
202 buses ordered at cost of $182 million
Montreal,QUE,CAN -The Gazette, by MONIQUE MUISE -August 12, 2009: ... The first of a fleet of fully accessible, articulated buses pulled onto Notre Dame St. E. just after 2 p.m., drawing curious glances from motorists and pedestrians as it came to a stop in front of a throng of reporters and television cameras.Arriving on-board the sparkling blue and yellow "accordion-bus" were Mayor Gérard Tremblay, STM chairman Michel Labrecque and André Lavallée, president of the city's executive committee in charge of transportation...(Photo from buzzer.translink)
Controversy * USA - Over public transportation cuts
New Port Richey,FL,USA -My Fox Tampa Bay, by Peter Linton-Smith -11 Aug 2009: -- Viola Young sat in the hot sun Tuesday morning waiting for a bus. “I don’t drive, I never have,”said Young... She is among the nearly 130-thousand people a year who rely on Pasco County Public Transit...“Right now I don’t have a car so it’s pretty important,” saidGerard Denato, another bus rider... But Pasco County may not be able to afford to keep the buses rolling six days a week. By next month the county must cut nearly $35-million from its budget and transit services, along with every other department, will be required to cut 15 percent. The possible bus cuts include the elimination of route 33 which serves the city of Zephyrhills... The route averaged just 53 passengers a day compared with more than 1-thousand daily passengers along the busiest route... Commissiners will make a final decision on the proposed cuts later this month...
Mekong buses * Vietnam - Notorious for smuggling and accidents
HCM City,Vietnam -Look at Vietnam-11 Aug 2009: --Soon after departing the station, a bus carrying passengers en route from southern An Giang ProvincetoCan Tho Citypulls over and stops at a secluded house... The driver jumps out and begins to load two sacks of illegal cigarettes onto the vehicle as the passengers look on in confusion...The scenario is a common one on the 115-kilometer stretch of National Road 91 connecting the border province of An Giang to Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta... Buses along the route are notorious for transporting cigarettes smuggled from Cambodia, often while passengers are onboard... According to authorities, most of the vehicles are high-quality 16-seaters belonging to the private Phuoc Sanh Company... The buses are also infamous for speeding and carrying more passengers than allowed, which has led to a number of recent accidents in which people have been injured and even killed...(Photo: Police search a bus owned by the private Phuoc Sanh Company carrying smuggled goods on June 18)
New York,NY,USA -Gadling, by Mike Barish -Aug 10, 2009: -- When you think of modern travel, you probably don't spend much time considering buses. However, Greyhound, the largest bus service in the United States, is trying to change that with new buses that may just make ground transportation enjoyable (and modern)... This past April, Greyhound introduced 102 new buses to east coast routes servicing cities such as New York, Montreal, Washington, Boston and Toronto. Equipped with free wi-fi, two AC power outlets at every seat and three-point seatbelts, the new buses are poised to change Greyhound's image and move bus travel closer to the forefront of people's minds.In addition to those new features, the buses have fewer seats to allow for more legroom...
* Dubai/UAE - DubaiBus
Dubai,UAE -Dubai.com -11 Aug 2009: --Dubai transportation system is maintained by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)...Transportation Service: Includes traveling in buses whether in city or inter-emirates. Bus services are large and expansive as it’s the most cheapest and easiest way to reach any destination.Currently RTA runs 504 buses on peak schedules on 62 bus routes. On weekends, Fridays and public holidays schedules are re-arranged to accommodate increasing passenger traffic...RTA also organizes night bus services which operate between 23.30 till 6.00 pm in the morning.This bus service is linked with regular bus service maintaining the fluidity in the timetable of buses...RTA also connects itself with other Emirates in UAE with Inter-Emirates bus service via 11 routes, 12 take off points and 17 drop off points... Bus timetables can be found on RTA’s official website.
* Philippines - Mode of land transportation:Cebu Bus Transit
Car-car City,Cebu,Philippines -Shadows of me, by mariancalago -12 Aug 2009: --I took this minibus photo in Car-car City, Cebu.This minibus took over the crowd to pick up passengers heading off to Cebu city.Bus - is another mode of land transportation particularly in the Philippines...Cebu City has two terminals for north and south destination... So, if you are now planning to explore bound to north and south Cebu, you won't get lost.Just be carefull and follow the basic guidelines so that you will enjoy your trip...
Greensboro,NC,USA -The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area -August 7, 2009: --Daimler Buses North Americaannounced Friday that it had received an initial order for up to 500 diesel-electric hybrid buses... The order for Greensboro-based Daimler, which makes transit buses, motorcoaches and shuttle buses, was received from King County Metro in Seattle, Wash., and includes 93 hybrid units in the first year, to be delivered to Seattle starting in mid-2010... Daimler also announced additional orders:
• 80 hybrid buses for OC Transpo, an urban transit service in Ottawa, Canada; • 75 Orion VII clean-diesel buses for Veolia Transportation for the New Orleans Transit Authority; • 30 Setra S 417 motorcoaches and 15 Sprinter shuttle buses for Veolia Transportation in San Francisco, Calif.; • 55 Orion VII clean-diesel buses, and an additional 28 transit buses pending ARRA funding, forSuffolk County, New York. • 5 Orion VII clean-diesel buses forPiedmont Authorityfor Regional Transportation of North Carolina (PART) • 5 Orion VII Compressed Natural Gas buses for the University of Oklahoma’s CART (Cleveland Area Rapid Transit)
The company now has more than 2,900 units in revenue service or on order for transit authorities in the United States and Canada... (Photo from dcbusna: Orion bus)
* Brazil - Credit agency to finance purchase of Joburg BRT fleet
Sao Paulo, Brazil -Engineering News (South Africa), by Irma Venter -7 August 2009: --A partnership betweenScania Southern Africa and Marcopolo South Africa is supplying the 143 BRT buses, which are all being imported from Brazil...The City of Johannesburg has – through HSBC Bank – arranged what it terms a “competitive loan” with Brazil’s BNDES Export Credit Agency (ECA) to fund the purchase of the 143-strong Rea Vaya bus fleet required for phase 1A of the bus rapid-transit (BRT) system, set to start opera- tions on August 30... The BRT system’s main routes will see buses run in dedicated lanes, stopping at specially designed stations, located roughly every 750 m along the way...(Picture by: JHB Council - READY TO ROLL The BRT system kicks off on August 30)
* USA -Santa Clara VTA to buy 70 hybrid buses
Silicon Valley,CAL,USA -The San Jose Business Journal -7 Aug 2009: --Transportation Authoritywith more than $42 million in federal stimulus funds... The buses will be built byGillig LLC, which employs about 700 workers at its Hayward plant... The vehicles will replace older high-floor buses purchased more than a decade ago...Dennis Howard, president of Gillig LLC, saidthe contract with VTA will directly generate 35 jobs and support 1,272 suppliers, vendors, and other indirect support jobs... (Photo from afdc.energy.gov: Gillig hybrid bus)
* USA - Altair Nanotechnologies to ProvideProterrawith Battery Modules for Electric Buses
Reno,NV,USA -Nanowerk News -8 Aug 2009: --Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc., a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management, today announced it has been selected byProterra, a leading manufacturer of zero emission commercial transportation solutions, to deliver advanced battery modules for electric buses.The value of the contract is $898,400... Under terms of the agreement, Altairnano will supply Proterra with advanced battery modules. Each module features Altairnano's 1P10S module configuration. The modules will be used by Proterra for building several EV and hybrid EV buses for municipalities and transportation authorities.The buses are predominately all-electric, 35-foot Proterra FCBE 35 transit buses... (Photo from thefraserdomain: Phoenix Motor Cars has placed an additional $2.2 million order for 35 kWh NanoSafeTM battery packs with Altair Nanotechnologies)
* USA - Maxwell Tech CEOsees moreChina business
San Francisco,CAL,USA -Reuters, by Poornima Gupta -8 Aug 2009: -- Maxwell Technologies, which makes energy storage and power products, expects rapid growth fromChina's hybrid bus market and the European auto sector...Both sectors are snapping up Maxwell ultracapacitors, which store energy and are capable of delivering short but powerful bursts of electricity... Ultracapacitor sales increased 58 percent during the second quarter to $10.7 million as the company began shipping its products to three Chinese bus manufacturers...(Photo from jarrodhart.files.wordpress:800px maxwel mc and bc ultracapacitor cells and modules)
* China - EnovaDelivers Hybrid Drive Systems toFirst Auto Works for Hybrid Buses
Shanghai,China -Green Car Congress (USA) -10 August 2009: -- Enova Systems, Inc. has delivered the first 70 pre-transmission hybrid drive systems to First Auto Works for application in a hybrid bus. FAWhas ordered an additional 150 hybrid drive systems for delivery in 2009. Enova Systems andFAW have executed an agreement to supply a further 800 pre-transmission hybrid drive systems in 2010... First Auto Worksis one of China’slargest vehicle producers, manufacturing in excess of 1,000,000 vehicles annually. The Enova drive system will be integrated and branded under the name ofJiefang. The Jiefang12-meter hybrid bus can carry 103 passengers and travel at a maximum speed of 85 km/h (53 mph). The bus meets Euro III emission standards. It will consume 30 liters of fuel every 100 kilometers (7.8 mpg US) and discharge 20% less emissions... (Image: Enova-pretrans: Enova’s Pre-Transmission Parallel Hybrid System locates the electric motor between the engine and transmission)
Councils say they do not have enough funds to pay bus companies
London,UK -BBC News -6 Aug 2009: -- Providing free bus travel for all pensioners is an "inefficient" use of public funds, a report has concluded... The study by the consultancy Oxera for the Local Government Association says councils would be better off targeting those who were most in need... Free bus passes for over-60s in England were introduced by the government in 2008, but many councils say the funding arrangements leave them out of pocket... But the LGA said ending such a "popular policy" would be "problematic"...
INFRASTRUCTURES * Ecuador - Two New Bus Stations Open in Quito
Quito,Ecuador -Global Voices on Line, by Milton Ramirez -August 4, 2009: -- In Ecuador, the capitalcity of Quitois a ground transportation hub, and one can reach virtually every place in the country by hopping on a bus. During the second week of July, the Municipal Division of Transportation and Public Works (EMMOP for its initials in Spanish) decided to close down one of the busiest bus station in the country, also known as Cumandá Bus Station. Transportation authorities decided to do so because the old terminal was unable to attend to the number of passengers moving around the country, even though the station was conveniently and centrally located in Old Town.In addition, officials stated that its system was inefficient and outdated for the needs of passengers. In its place, two new bus stations opened: one located in Southern Quito in Quitumbe, for all routes to the south and the other in Northern Quito in Carcelén, for bus routes to the north...
Sustainable Energy * USA - Buses are present day technologies with better energy usage than autos.
At its best, shared public transport is far more energy-efficient than individual car-driving.A diesel-powered coach, carrying 49 passengers and doing 10 miles per gallon at 65 miles per hour, uses 6 kWh per 100 p-km -13 times better than the single-person car
El Granada,Cal,USA -Less CO2 Essay, by Lee M -4 Aug 2009: -- In 1979, when I asked a Los Angeles public transit planner what they used as facts for energy efficiency, the planner said a typical 52 passenger bus got 5 miles per gallon of diesel fuel... From,MacKay's appendix, a U.S. gallon of diesel fuel computes to 40.48 kWh... The unit of transportation energy usage to be computed is kWh per 100 passenger kilometers... 40.48 kWh/ (5 miles x 1.609 km/mile x 52 passengers) = 9.68 kWh per 100 passenger km... McKayrecognizes in his transportation analysis that buses and trains do not run fully loaded... In 2006–7, the total energy cost of all London’s underground trains, including lighting, lifts, depots, and workshops, was 15 kWh per 100 p-km – five times better than our baseline car.In 2006–7 the energy cost of all London buses was 32 kWh per 100 p-km. Energy cost is not the only thing that matters, of course. Passengers care about speed: and the underground trains delivered higher speeds (an average of 33 km/h) than buses (18 km/h). Managers care about financial costs: the staff costs, per passenger-km, of underground trains are less than those of buses... That is a really interesting value, his real world total energy cost of 32 kWh per 100 p-km is 5.3 times as much energy as the ideal fully loaded bus with no extraneous energy charges applied... Taking the reciprocal, the value of .19 crudely compares to a 19% "load factor". Now we are being really crude here.... but what it suggests is the Londonbus system probably has a working load factor of perhaps 30 or 40%...
PASSENGERS' TRANSPORT INDUSTRY * UK - Bus firm reports operating loss
Lothian Buses have blamed rising fuel prices and a reduction in passenger numbers for a huge drop in profits
London,UK -BBC News-4 Augt 2009: -- The bus company made an operating loss of £800,000 in 2008 after passenger numbers fell by a million from the previous year... This was a big drop from the £5.9m profit the company made in 2007... It admitted the results were "disappointing", but said it was confident it had already taken action to improve profits in 2009... (Picture: Lothian Buses saw passenger numbers drop by a million in 2008)
FREE BUSES * USA - Bloomberg Calls for Free Crosstown Buses
New York,NY,USA -The New York Times, by Sewell Chan & Michael Barbaro-August 3, 2009: -- Manhattan’s notoriously slow crosstown buses — like the M34, M42 and M50 — move at such a snail’s pace that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should stop collecting fares on them so that the buses can load riders and take off more quickly, Mayor Michael R. Bloombergproposed on Monday afternoon as part of what his re-election campaign called a bold plan for reforming mass transit...In a 33-point proposal spanning subways, buses, roads, ferries and the operations of the authority, the mayor appeared to be trying to assert a greater role for the city in mass transit as he seeks a third term in the November election... Other elements of the Bloomberg campaign’s plan include: * Using smaller, more fuel-efficient buses to provide service on existing bus routes during less popular periods, like nights. * Using technology deployed for military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan to track bus movements, with help from the city’s Department of Transportation. * Creating a high-occupancy-vehicle express lane on the westbound Gowanus Expressway, whch would reduce commute times for motorists coming from Staten Island or southern Brooklyn. * Givingthe Police Department, which already controls policing in the subways, supervision over M.T.A. communications and surveillance — a proposal likely to raise hackles within the authority. * Creating a TransitStAT program — similar to the CompStat program deployed since the early 1990s to monitor police responses to crime patterns — to regularly provide online updates to the public about transit performance... (Photo by Paul Burnett/The New York Times - Crosstown bus routes, like the M23, have traditionally been among the slowest in the city)
* One of MTA's 'slowest' buses still beats Daily News reporter on foot
(Photo by Antonelli/NYDNews - Daily News reporter Joe Jackson was left in the dust in a race against the M50 bus)
New York,NY,USA NY Daily News, by Joe Jackson & Chloe Rosenberg -August 5 2009: --... It's lucky there were no spectators because this race was over almost as soon as it began...The Daily News pitted a reporter against one of the city's slowest crosstown buses Tuesday - and the scribe placed a distant second... (Photo by Antonelli/NYDNews - Meanwhile, News reporter Chloe Rosenberg didn't break a sweat as she rode to victory aboard the notoriously slow M50)
... The M50 - the seventh slowest route in the city, according to the Straphangers Campaign - left our walker in a cloud of exhaust fumes as it clinched victory by eight minutes... The not-so-epic battle began at 2:47 p.m at 12th Ave. and 50th St. under the blazing afternoon sun... One News reporter, clearly sensing a close call, waited poised with her MetroCard in hand ready to shave vital seconds off the final time with a quick start as she boarded the bus... Meanwhile, a former marathon-running reporter, set off briskly from the bus stop as soon as the M50 pulled away...The 1.7 mile race was neck and neck for a block, as the competitors crossed 11th Ave. with just the sidewalk curb between them... But that was the last time our walker saw the bus, whose route is among thoseMayor Bloombergwants to offer for free to speed the journey... The Straphangers Campaign estimates the M50 crawls along 50th St. at an average of 4.9 mph... On this occasion it merely managed 4.8 mph, but that still proved too much for the fearless foot foe... Despite hitting congestion around Madison Ave., the sparse summer traffic and some favorable lights saw the MTA machine make Second Ave. in 21 minutes...Meanwhile our reporter on foot took 29 minutes to navigate the crowded sidewalk...
BUSMAKERS' NEWS * Canada & USA - Major bus order for New Flyer postponed
St. Cloud,Minn,USA -Minnesota Public Radio, by Ambar Espinoza -July 31, 2009: -- The Canadian companyNew Flyer, which makes heavy-duty transit buses, said a major bus order by a U.S. customer has been postponed indefinitely... The company planned to build 140 diesel electric hybrid buses this year from its St. Cloud plant. In a conference call for investors,the president and CEO, Paul Soubry, saidthat the customer intended to buy these buses with state money because federal stimulus available only covered capital projects... Soubry told investors this postponement will reduce the rest of this year's production...
* USA - Azure DynamicsAnnounces 10 Balance(TM) Hybrid Electric Sales to Kentucky Municipalities with Option for 40 Additional Buses
Oak Park,MI,USA -PRNewswire/FirstCall -Aug. 5, 2009: --Azure Dynamics Corporation, a leading developer of state-of-the-art green technologies that address environmental and cost issues for the commercial transportation industry, today announced their success on a recent bid for50 Balance Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses... Ten buses were ordered immediately by three separate Kentucky municipalities with an option for up to 40 additional buses...(Photo from farm4.static.flickr.com)
NEW BUSES FLEET * Nigeria - Mercedes Benz buses here for mass transit duties
Lagos,Nigeria -The Sun News, by Moses Akaigwe-July 31, 2009: --The firm which markets Mercedes-Benz brand in Nigeria, Weststar Associates, has ushered in city bus models based on the famous Mercedes-Benz OF1721 chassis... Designed for mass transportation purposes, the vehicles have the capacities to seat up to 50 passengers... In addition, Weststar has also introduced a new generation of 26-30 seater buses... Due to their short wheelbase, the buses are very easy to manoeuver, which is ideal for narrow streets and areas without sufficient infrastructure. The buses are also ideal for city transport, school and staff transport, intercity travel purposes and executive travel, equipped for bad roads and offering excellent quality - typical of the Mercedes-Benz brand... (Photo from sp1.fotolog: El Buss 340 - Mercedes Benz OF 1721)
NEW BUSES FLEET * USA - Omnitrans rolls out new buses, gets huge grant
San Bernardino,CAL,USA -The Inlands News Today -August 18, 2009: -- A new generation ofOmnitrans buses is taking to the streets ofthe San Bernardino Valley...Twenty-seven new buses operate on clean-burning compressed natural gas. CNG buses produce 87 percent less smog-forming emissions than conventional diesel buses... The Canadian-made 40-seat buses cost $525,500 each. The “low-floor” models offer level boarding, bike racks and accommodations for wheel chairs... Meantime, the U.S. Department of Transportation has granted nearly $21 million to help San Bernardino County buy equipment forthe Omnitrans bus system and build a transit center in Yucaipa... About 50,000 passengers ride Omnitrans buses daily...
UNSAFE BUSES * USA - GAO: Unsafe Bus Operators Still On Highways
Companies Ordered To Shut Down Using Different Names, Report Says
Washington,DC,USA -Associated Press, by HOPE YEN -July 30, 2009: -- Hundreds of tractor-trailer and bus companies ordered to shut down because of federal safety violations ranging from suspended licenses to possible drug use have stayed on the road by using different names, investigators say... The study by the Government Accountability Office, obtained by The Associated Press,comes a year after an unlicensed charter bus carrying a Vietnamese-American Catholic group blew a retreaded tire installed on a steering axle and skidded off a Texas highway, killing 17 people in one of the nation's deadliest bus crashes.The use of recapped tires on the steering wheels is a violation of federal regulations, the study stated... The GAO report found that at least 20 of the roughly 220 commercial bus companies that had been fined and ordered out of service in 2007 and 2008 by federal regulators evaded compliance by setting up shop under a new name, the same tactic used by the bus operator in the Texas crash... The investigation found offenders in at least nine states -- Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, New York and Washington. The violators owed tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent fines and had scores of violations, from operating without the proper license to failing to test drivers for illegal drugs and alcohol... (Photo from smh: buscrash Texas)
TRANSPORT PROJECT * Vietnam - Bus transportation project to begin in 2010
HCM City,Vietnam -Look at Vietnam-30 July 2009: -- The Ministry of Transportation is working on a comprehensive scheme on bus transportation, which will be submitted to the Prime Minister in late 2009 and implemented in early 2010... Under this scheme, specific policies encouraging the development of bus transportation in all 63 provinces and cities will be designed...The goal of this scheme is by 2020, the bus system will serve between 15 to 20 percent of the total demand for passenger transportation in Hanoi and 10-15 percent in HCM City... Forty-nine provinces and cities in Vietnam currently have bus systems. In Hanoi, buses account for around 7 percent of the total traffic volume and it is around 4 percent in HCM City...
NEW SCHOOL BUSES * USA - First Hybrid-Electric Type A School Bus
Hutchinson,KS,USA -PRWEB -July 29, 2009: -- Collins Bus Corporationannounced today it has completed its firstNEXBUS Hybrid-Electric school bus. The first bus, configured for 14 seats plus a wheelchair position will be delivered to the Napa Valley Unified School District in Napa, California. The bus is built on a Ford E-450 chassis with Azure Dynamic's parallel drive system... NEXBUS is Collins' trademarked name for the series of buses using advanced technologies such as hybrid electric drive systems and other green technologies. Collins is the largest builder of Type A school buses and the only manufacturer capable of producing a school bus certified hybrid...(Photo from wikipedia: School bus interior from rear)
DANGEROUS TRIPS * Guatemala - In the midst of deadly bus attacks
City of Guatemala,Guatemala -The Albuquerque News (Albuquerque,NM,USA) -28 July, 2009: -- Guatemala has recently seen numerous attacks on public transport over the matter of protection money...Bus drivers and passengers have all been targeted in the attacks, which have led to the deaths of 139 people over the past six months... Drivers have had their buses boarded by criminals, who have taken all measures to extract money, including the murder of passengers... In the latest attacks, two drivers and one conductor died in southern Guatemala when members of an extortion gang threw grenades onto a bus carrying security guards... The growing wave of attacks is being investigated by police, who have reported the gangs usually try to extract around $85 per week in protection money in order to permit drivers into the city... (AFP - Officials say that bus drivers are being targeted by gangs for their takings)
Devon,UK -BBC News -29 July 2009: -- A cat has become such a well-known user of a Devon busservice that its drivers know where to let him off...Casper has been queuing with other passengers to get the number three service from his home in Plymouth for months, bus company First said...It added that he often sat in the queue and then quietly padded on board and curled up on a seat for the ride...Casper's owner Susan Finden, 55, who picked him from a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit...(SEE VIDEO)
NEW BUSES * Pakistan - CNG buses pilot project inaugurated in Karachi
Karachi,Pakistan -Open Pakistan-29 July 2009: --A pilot project of CNG buses, with a fleet of 50 buses, was inaugurated here on Monday by Sindh Governor Dr.Ishratul Ibad Khan... Speaking on the occasion, he said he said this is the first time that dedicated CNG buses are introduced in Karachi. He said the credit goes to City Nazim Karachi Syed Mustafa Kamal and his team.He said he would continue to take effort for solving problems of Karachiites.City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal saiddue to corrupt provincial and federal bureaucracy, Karachi could not get the mass transit system... (Photo from blog.netkarachiCNG buses)
Panama City,Panama -The Panama Star -17 Aug 2009: -- President Ricardo Martinelli, gave public transport drivers and owners 30 days to install mechanisms to limit speed in all their vehicles. The measure will be applicable to all buses and tipper trucks... The presidential order also prohibits public transport vehicles from using mechanisms to increase a vehicle’s height above the limits established for its secure operation... According to a decree law approved in 1993, all vehicles destined for the transport of passengers and cargo should have their speed limited. They should have a small opening that will permit their easy inspection at certain times, dates and places determined by the Terrestrial Transport Authority... Martinelli saidthat vehicles that do not comply with the legislation would not be allowed on the streets...
NEW BUSES FLEET * Pakistan - DGK to bring 50 CNG buses on Karachi roads
Karachi,Pakistan -Right and Real-July 27, 2009: --City District Government Karachi (CDGK) is all set to launch 50 environment-friendly CNG buses by today (July 27) as all necessary steps have been taken in this regard. Hino of Japanhas already delivered 25 buses to CDGK which are now parked at the designated bus terminal at Surjani Town and Korean company Daewoohas started delivering the 25 buses out of which 15 have already been received and the remaining 10 will be delivered before the launching ceremony... The District Officer, Public Transport Management Operation and Regulation, Muhammad Athar, informed The News that depending on the availability of funds every year more buses may be inducted in the fleet.“In my opinion, a minimum of 100 CNG buses would be added every year if funds are available,”he said...He said that the city government has also appointed five CNG stations for these buses...
New York,NY,USA -The New York Times, by Peter Ranis -August 12, 2009: -- One of the more obvious reasons for slow-moving New York City buses is that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority allows passengers to disembark through the front doors. This always causes the interminable gridlock before the new passengers manage to enter... Many cities (I am familiar with Buenos Aires) allow passengers to disembark only from the rear doors. This creates a much more fluid circulation and greatly speeds up travel time... (Photo from njcommute: inside of the buses)
