BUSMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE
* UK - Made of wood, with no engine and few seats, the first look at a Boris bus
Belfast,North Ireland,UK -This is London/The Evening Standard, by Ross Lydall -16 Sept 2010: -- A prototype of the new Routemaster bus commissioned by Boris Johnson was unveiled today... It is made mainly of wood and plastic and has neither engine, driver, conductor nor even many seats... But it brought to life for the first time the Mayor's £7.8million vision that may soon be dubbed the "Boris bus"... The Evening Standard was given a sneak preview of the life-size replica being built by Northern Ireland firm Wrightbus in advance of the completed model arriving in London next month... The first bus will take at least another year to be delivered and will undergo testing - possibly picking up passengers in the capital - in about a year... Six will then enter service in January 2012, concentrating on central routes that call at the busiest rail stations... 
The bus is designed to be more accessible than a conventional double-decker, with two staircases and three sets of doors at the front, middle and back. This restores the rear open platform beloved by many passengers as it allows them to hop on and off if it gets stuck in traffic... (Photos - Above: Just the ticket: Kulveer Ranger on the wood prototype - Below: Now and then: the popular old Routemaster bus)* USA - BAE Systems to Power New Flyer Hybrid Transit Buses in Everett/Washington, and Atlanta/Georgia
Johnson City,N.Y.,USA -BUSINESS WIRE/MarketWatch -Sept. 14, 2010: -- BAE Systems is expanding its support of cleaner, greener transit with new buses powered by the company's HybriDrive(R) system in Everett, Washington, and Atlanta, Georgia. 15 New Flyer Xcelsior 40-foot hybrid electric buses for Community Transit, serving residents of Everett, Washington... In Atlanta, HybriDrive technology will power two 35-foot Xcelsior buses for Atlantic Station... The buses will be equipped with BAE Systems' lithium-ion energy storage system, which offers longer life than other battery technologies and reduces vehicle weight for improved fuel economy and lower emissions... BAE Systems' HybriDrive technology currently powers more than 2,700 buses in cities across North America and in the United Kingdom, have accumulated more than 150 million miles of passenger travel and have saved more than 10 million gallons of diesel fuel, while also preventing the release of more than 100,000 tons of carbon emissions... The HybriDrive system it consists of a generator, an electric motor, and an energy storage system managed by computerized controls. A diesel engine turns the generator and operates independent of the electric drive motor, allowing it to run at nearly consistent speed for optimum efficiency. The system also uses no mechanical transmission, a major maintenance item on conventional diesel buses... (Photo: BAE Systems: BAE Systems' HybriDrive-powered New Flyer Xcelsior buses soon will be transporting passengers in Atlanta, Georgia, and Everett, Washington)* India - Force Motors localises production of Intercity Coach
Jaipur,Rajastán,India -BusWorld -19 Sept 2010: -- MAN Force Motors, which currently makes heavy commercial trucks, will roll out the first of it’s planned inter-city coaches in due course. The inter-city coach has been fully localised and the body is being built by Azad of Jaipur. The bus, like the trucks, will carry the MAN brand... Force Motors is a low profile, vertically integrated mainly commercial vehicle maker, making its own engines, chassis, gear boxes, axles, etc for its entire product range. As a component maker, Force Motors is the sole supplier of engines to Mercedes Benz India for its passenger cars, apart from making the cab and nine-speed gear boxes for its joint venture, MAN Force Trucks... (Photo from wikimedia.org/wikipedia: MAN's CNG bus Thailand)* Poland -Scania increases bus production capacity in Poland
Slupsk,Poland -BusWorld -18 Sept 2010: -- After extensive renovation, Scania’s facility in Słupsk has been transformed into one of Europe’s most modern, efficient factory for bus manufacturing. Workstations and production logistics have been designed for efficient, high-quality production according to the method-based way of working that characterises the Scania Production System (SPS)... The facility in Słupsk, with 700 employees, is the hub of Scania’s European production of fully built (bodied) buses for public transport. The Scania OmniCity and OmniLink models are bodyworked here... Buses in the Scania Omni range have mainly been delivered to such markets as the Nordic countries, Poland, Great Britain, France and Italy. Scania has initiated an effort to increase sales to other major markets, for example Germany − Europe’s largest bus and coach market... (Photo: Re-opening Slupsk Scania)* USA - Foton America Bus Company delivers CNG Bus for Altoona testing
Brookfield, Connecticut,USA -BusWorld -17 Sept 2010: -- Foton America, based in Brookfield, Connecticut, has delivered it’s 40’ CNG-powered low-floor transit bus to the Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center at Pennsylvania State University. The testing facility is responsible for the operation of the Federal Transit Administration’s new model bus testing program... The bus is powered by an inline 6 cyl, VG turbo ISL-G Cummins engine which develops 250 – 325 hp. CNG cylinders are 8-31L Type IV supplied by Lincoln Composites. The 32-37 seat transit bus achieves an average of 950 miles/1530km per fill-up in congested traffic... As it enters the new model bus testing program, it will undergo rigorous performance evaluations in the areas of maintainability, reliability, safety, performance, structural integrity and durability, fuel economy, noise, emissions testing and brake testing... Foton America’s is convinced that their bus will emerge with a qualitative and comparative test report that can be provided to potential purchasers during the procurement process... (Photo: A Foton CNG bus USA)* UK - Optare to add CNG
Leeds,UK -BusWorld -16 Sept 2010: -- British bus and coach manufacturer Optare says it may well add Compressed Natural Gas engines to its EcoDrive range of low carbon power options. The firm says this is a direct result of its new strategic partnership with Ashok Leyland. "This option could be attractive in European markets where there is a good supply of CNG" ... Ashok Leyland has already delivered some 6,000 CNG powered buses to Indian operators as part of its development work on alternative fuels. The firm's 5.7 litre turbochargecooled 180 hp natural gas engine has similar emissions to the best Euro 5 EEV diesel units, but with 26% less carbon... (Photo: Ashok Leyland MPFI CNG engine)* Holland - VDL Bus & Coach shifts to integral construction for the future
Valkenswaard,The Netherlands -WorldBus -15 Sept 2010: -- VDL Bus & Coach is repositioning itself in order to be ready for the future. The new strategy is based on two elements: a newly developed VDL logo that symbolizes the current market strategy of the company, and a new integral strategy for vehicle construction... For bus and coach manufacturer VDL Bus & Coach, 2009 was a turbulent year. Despite the declining demand, the company invested in new products and processes... VDL Bus & Coach endeavours to become one of the best three bus and coach manufacturers in all of Europe... Also renewed is the look of the current line of buses – apart from the completely renewed Futura the Citea line buses become a new frontal treatment... (Photo: VDL Citea 2010 Low Floor public transport bus, ‘Bus of the Year 2011’ award)* The Netherlands - World Premiere for the "Futura", the new coach from VDL
Valkenswaard,The Netherlands -BusWorld -13 Sept 2010: -- With the New VDL Futura, Dutch manufacturer VDL Bus & Coach introduces a classic high deck coach for the European market. A 2-axle coach with a length of 12.9 metres and a 3-axle coach that stretches to 13.9 metres are the first models of a modular product family that meets all the requirements of the international touring coach market... The chassis, with a modern front axle and electronically-regulated air suspension, offers the comfort of a luxury limousine. An unusual aspect of the interior is the flat floor. The New VDL Futura is delivered with a newly designed generation of seats, with which the interior can be fully adapted to the individual wishes of the customer. A top-notch climate control system provides a comfortable temperature and healthy, fresh air under all weather conditions... (Photo VDL's Futura bus 2010)Labels: busmakers news worldwide
posted by Unknown @ 7:20 AM
1 Comments:
Great blog! I've read a few posts here today, and wanted to leave at least one comment. I'll be back!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home