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Buses World News: August 2010
Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
29.8.10
Brewing bus battle * USA / Minnesota: Fancy vs. frill-free
More officials are asking: Are two tiers of bus service really fair, and are affluent suburbs getting more than their share of the bucks?
Minneapolis,MINN,USA -The Star Tribune, by DAVID PETERSON & KATIE HUMPHREY -August 25, 2010:-- It's not that she hates city buses. She takes them all the time.But when she steps from the floral-scented atmosphere of the Eden Prairie station into one of the gleaming black coaches of SouthWest Transit, Lori York enters a different world than the one she encounters on Metro Transit buses...Here, unlike the city bus, she feels like a first-class airline passenger, from the style of the announcements over the loudspeaker to the reclining coach seats, the footrests and the cup holder... But that two-tier Twin Cities bus system, with fancy coaches serving some suburbs while bare-bones buses cruise city streets, has long rankled those who get the frill-free treatment... And key city legislators are now openly suggesting it's unacceptable -- especially in light of data suggesting the suburban services cost significantly more per passenger. The legislative auditor is in the midst of a major study, the kind that can lead to landmark legislation... The rumbles of change have civic leaders in the "golden crescent" of upscale western and southern suburbs worried that they could lose the ability to provide the high-quality service that draws longer-range commuters out of their cars... (Photo by Brendan Sullivan/The Star Tribune: On Saturday afternoon, Metro Transit bus users wait to arrive at their destination while riding the No. 4 route city bus throughout downtown Minneapolis. The city buses are recently being compared to the suburban buses which are considered more of a luxury)
* Illinois -Metro adds an additional 8 compressed natural gas buses
(Video from YouTube by yamwacky 26 June 2008: Promotional ad from the lat 80's to encourage people in the Quad Cities to use the bus more often)
Davenport & Bettendorf.IO/Rock Island & Moline,ILL,USA -Quad Cities On Line, by MetroLINK (PR)-Aug. 24, 2010: -- In keeping with their commitment to sustainability and green technologies, Metro introduced eight additional Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to their fleet, bringing the total number of Metro CNG's to thirty-three. Funded with ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) dollars, the 40-foot, low-floor, 40-passenger New Flyer CNG buses hit the streets last week, complete with state-of-the-art LED destination Silver signs for easy visibility, night and day for passengers. Metro is one of the first in the nation to incorporate this type of signage onto their fleet... The engines are powered by a CNG Cummins, 280- horsepower engines and feature an Alisson, 6 speed automatic transmission, and are fully ADA accessible.The buses have replaced the 1991 series, diesel powered buses...
* Iowa -Metro Area Transit is now the ‘Metro’
Council Bluffs,Iowa,USA -The Daily Non Pareil, by Timothy Rohwer-August 24, 2010: -- From now on, bus riders inthe Council Bluffs/Omaha area will be taking theMetro... This includes the purchase – with federal money – of 24 new buses with features to make riding more convenient... The cost for the new buses totaled $7,816,427 and comes entirely from the federal economic stimulus bill, meaning no local match was required, according to Metro spokesperson Linda Barritt. The new buses will offer lower floors and no-step access to make boarding and disembarking the buses easier for passengers, especially those using wheelchairs, she said...The 24 new buses will replace 24 buses that average 14.5 years of service...The buses will be powered by the newest clean-burn ultra diesel fuel engines with an annual 18 percent increase in fuel efficiency... (Photo by David Heitz/The Quad-City chicago2.vip.townnews: Teamsters union OKs school bus driver strike)
DRIVER'S SAFETY * USA - Metro bus drivers don't want Plexiglas barriers
Partitions installed after driver was beaten unconscious
Seattle,WASH,USA -SEATTLEPI, by SCOTT GUTIERREZ -August 24, 2010: --King County Metro Transit's experiment with enclosing drivers behind Plexiglas shields as a safety measure is coming to end, a union official said... After a bus driver was beaten and knocked unconscious behind the wheel earlier this year, Metro installed security partitions in seven buses as a pilot project. Many drivers weren't comfortable with them, primarily because they interfere with the ability to interact with passengers,said Neal Safrin, executive board officer on Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 587, during a recent meeting with reporters...Metro spokeswomanRochelle Ogershoksaid,the agency still is reviewing feedback from drivers, taken through surveys and outreach, but is close to a final decision...One concern is that barriers send a message that buses are unsafe. And some think they interfere with the drivers' role to engage customers, answer questions and assist with transfer slips...Other complaints are that partitions cause glare and hinder visibility, and aren't strong enough to stop a bullet or a determined assailant. The shields don't entirely enclose the driver's seat... Metro spent between $750 and $1,000 to fit the buses with shields, said Ogershok, Metro's spokeswoman... Several transit agencies inthe U.S. and Canada have experimented with partitions. Buses in New York City, and similar devices have been tried out in Washington, D.C. and Toronto...(Photo: King County Metro plans to test Plexiglas shields as a way to protect bus drivers. This photo was provided by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which tried a pilot project in 2008)
Winnipeg,Manitoba,Canada -The Winnipeg Free Press -24 Aug 2010: -- New Flyer Industries Inc.is hopeful a US$216-million contract to build buses for New York City'stransit system could lead to hundreds more bus orders... The contract will seeNew Flyer of America Inc., build 135 compressed natural gas heavy-duty transit buses forthe New York Metropolitan Transit Authority, with options for up to 340 more... New Flyer's chief financial officer, Glenn Asham, said the company doesn't expect its weekly production rate to increase as a result of the initial order... New Flyerplans to deliver two pilot buses toNew York in the second quarter of 2011, with the balance of the initial order to be delivered in late 2011 and early 2012...The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority is the largest transit agency in North America. Since 1996, New Flyer has delivered 823 buses to the agency...(Photo by JANEK LOWE/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES: New Flyer will build buses for New York)
* Iran - Buses Will Go to Sudan
Teheran,Iran -Zawya -24 August 2010: -- Sudan's state of Khartoum secured a deal with an Iranian company to buy 250 buses... The air conditioned buses are reportedly licensed by Mercedes Benz and can fit in 59 passengers.The accord with Iran Khodro busesalso included 50 ambulances. It was not immediately clear what the value of the deal is... Iran has been seeking to bolster ties with the African countries, especially since President Ahmadinejadascended to power in 2005.. (Photo from acesanat: ICKODIZEL)
Baltimore needs an effective transit system.Red Line's light rail service may be expensive, but that's doesn't make a touted rapid bus alternative more cost effective
(Video fromYouTube, by Mechaunt -31 Jan 2007: Riding through Baltimore on a Greyhound bus)
Baltimore,MAR,USA -The Baltimore Sun -23 Aug 2010: ... The debate over whether light rail or a kind of express bus service known as "bus rapid transit," or BRT, is a better fit for projects in Baltimore and Montgomery County... BRT: It's cheaper, and the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund doesn't have money to build a new bus system, either, but even so, to suggest BRT is cheaper is a little misleading.It's less expensive in that you pay less upfront, but it can be surprisingly costly in the long run... That's exactly the problem in Baltimore.Planners looked at BRT as an option for the Red Line but found it's still expensive — more than $1.1 billion if tunnels under Cooks Lane and downtown are built — but much slower and offering less capacity than a $1.6 billion light rail.Worse, computer models and rider surveys showed it would attract far fewer passengers... One could build such a system for as little as $500 million without tunnels, but then travel would be very slow. Even if buses could preempt signals (something the city would probably never allow downtown), commuters would likely get bogged down in traffic because of the disruption it would cause. Buses also have higher operating costs — $2.7 million more annually than light rail, according to a Maryland Transit Administration study...Buses, whether BRT, express or regular commuter, have their place — but they are no panacea.And while it's all very well to pledge to restore past trust fund withdrawals, as Mr. Ehrlich did on Friday, it's another thing to come up with a way to finance such promises whether they involve buses, rail lines or highways...
Bus Tracker * USA - To assist Blacksburg Transit riders
(Video from YouTube, by Stang70Fastback88 -13 Aug 2010: It are big bus...)
New River Valley,Blacksburg,VA,USA -Collegiate Times, by Claire Sanderson -August 23, 2010: -- Today's launch ofVT Bus Tracker, a tracking application forBlacksburg Transit buses, aims to reduce the formerly erratic art of catching a bus to a precise science...The app delivers the up-to-the-second location, speed and number of passengers of each bus to users' mobile phones, letting bus riders know how long a wait will be... Users can access the app in many ways... According to theVT Bus Trackerwebsite, there is a web-based version that can be accessed on a smart phone or through any computer... There is also a native app available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, as well as a text message system for non-smart phones...
TRANSPORT POLICIES * New Zealand - Taking the public out of transport
National-ACT’s determination to corporatise Auckland’s transport operation has been one of the most controversial aspects of its super city plan
(Video from YouTube, by greentui -31 Dec 2008: A bus ride through Auckland streets from the hospital to the university shows the diverse style of architecture, old and new. Includes a view of the Sky Tower)
Auckland,NZ -Blog Labour, by Phil Twyford -August 22, 2010:... They rammed it through against the advice of three government departments who argued a council-owned company would be less accountable to ratepayers than if it was run in house.The transport agency, governed by a hand-picked corporate board, will spend 54% of the super city budget and have 1000 staff...There is no doubt getting progress on transport is top of Aucklanders’ must-do list for the super city. If it fails on this it will be judged harshly. And more specifically, it will be judged on its success or failure in ramping up public transport...The announcement of the newly appointedinterm chief executive of the transport agency, David Warburton, gives further cause for concern. Mr Warburton does not appear to have any significant experience in urban transport... He may well be a good manager, but don’t we need leadership on urban transformation? It has been reported urban transport high fliers from Perth and London pulled out of the recruitment. Perth is the public transport success story of Australasia...
School bus drivers average three times fewer number of training hours than do their counterparts behind the wheel of municipal transit buses
Omaha,NE,USA -School Transportation News, by Ryan Gray -12 August 2010: ... The construction of the yellow school bus, which is subject to some three dozen Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, is more stringent than any other vehicle on the road. Those are reasons enough why school buses are also the safest mode of highway transportation there is and the absolute safest way for kids to get to and from school... Despite the very low numbers of student fatalities each year inside the school bus, school bus drivers average three times fewer number of training hours than do their counterparts behind the wheel of municipal transit buses. Thats 35 hours of training a year for school bus drivers versus the federal requirement of 114 hours for transit agency employees. But that comparison pales next to what Greyhound requires of their drivers, 200 hours, or next to interstate trucking requirements, 250 hours... The reason school buses remain so safe, again, is due to the fact they are built like tanks, as most everyone in the industry knows. School buses also travel at much lower speeds than other vehicles, they are equipped with high-back, padded seats and the industry strictly self-regulates itself when it comes to driver background checks... School bus drivers are obviously human and prone to error. But, in the same breath, the industry can't simply rest on its laurels and say that tragic events like the Missouri crash are an unfortunate fact of life...(Image from merengala: The Yellow "guaguas")
FUTURE BUSES * Germany - AutoTram combines a bus and a tram to get the best of both worlds
The AutoTram research platform for testing new components and systems for use in the electromobile vehicles of tomorrow
Sankt Augustin,Germany -Gizmag, by Darren Quick -August 13, 2010:-- As part of its research into the public transport of tomorrow, researchers at Fraunhofer have developed the AutoTram – a vehicle as long as a streetcar and as agile as a bus... Combining the best of both vehicles it has no need for rails or overhead contact lines, instead the “bustrolley” rolls on rubber tires and follows a simple white line on the road surface. It was constructed to serve as a research platform in the institute’s “Fraunhofer System Research on Electric-Powered Mobility” project – a large-scale research cooperative involving 33 Fraunhofer institutesthat focuses on developing mobility solutions for the future... The project is broken down into four areas of focus: Vehicle concepts; energy generation, distribution and conversion; energy storage technology; and technical system integration and social issues. The AutoTram was first mooted several years ago and was built to provide a platform for the researchers to test new developments in these areas, not only in simulations but in the real world. New modules for energy storage, double-layer capacitors and coupling coming directly from the Fraunhofer research laboratories are installed in the vehicle to allow them to prove their capabilities in the field. They have now presented their first results...Unlike cars, which remain parked for an average of 23 hours a day, buses and trams are in motion all day long.Which doesn’t leave much time to recharge the batteries.One solution approach the AutoTram takes involves fast-charge docking stations positioned at the stops along the route. Current can then be drawn at every third or fourth stop. The requisite amount of energy must be recharged in just 30 to 60 seconds at more than 1000 amperes and 700 volts...Accomplishing this in such a short period of time requires super-capacitors.Researchers are working to develop the modules required: for instance on energy storage units based on double-layer capacitors, on high-performance converters and on contact systems for the transmission of current. Unlike batteries, double-layer capacitors – also known as ‘supercaps’ – have a high power density. Those capacitors ensure that the charge can be quickly stored... (Image: Fraunhofer IVI)
Crooks Steal * USA - Catalytic Converters From Buses
Brodheadsville,Pennsylvania,USA -WNEP TV, by Jennifer Borrasso -August 12, 2010: --State police in the Poconosare looking for the people who stoele a half dozen catalytic converters from school buses in a lot behind Pleasant Valley High School... Investigators said the thieves got away with thousands of dollars worth of valuable platinum inside those converters, which are used to control vehicle pollution... State police in Monroe County said the school buses were easy targets. Investigators said they have good leads and anticipate arrests soon...According to police, the thieves stole $9,000 worth of catalytic converters from six Pleasant Valley school buses. The converters were taken from the bus lot behind the high school, along Route 209 near Brodheadsville...
Budapest,Hungary -ELTIS/Urban Transport Magazine-9 Aug 2010:-- After 20 years the ‘legendary’ bus of former socialist countries is back on the streets of Budapest.The new Ikarus and the Credo Citadell were recently introduced and tested by the Budapest Transport Company, and received very positive passenger feedback... Historically, the urban bus fleets of most socialist countries comprised mainly of Hungarian produced IKARUS models.Although many thousands of them still operate today, production was stopped due to the collapse of market demand, failed privatization and intense international competition... Now, almost twenty years later, two new bus models were recently tested by the Budapest Public Transport Company.TheIkarus V 134 and the Credo Citadell 19 buses were both developed and produced in Hungary... The new prototypes were tested in June 2010, on two bus lines. Passengers could board the buses for free and they were asked to provide feedback on the buses to the developers...(Photo from wikimedia/wikipedia: Bucharest Ikarus bus)
Green Buses * USA - Shelby School Buses Being Retrofitted to Help Air
Memphis,TENN,USA -AP/The Daily News –12 Aug 2010: -- Two-hundred fiftyShelby County school busesare being retrofitted with clean air technology designed to reduce pollution... It is a joint project among the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, Shelby County Schools and Cargill Corn Milling Inc.of Memphis... According to a news release from the health department, the retrofit will reduce the level of exhaust fumes entering the passenger cabin... Shelby County Schools carries 24,000 children each day for a combined distance of more than 3.7 million miles every year...(Photo by Matthew Craig - Memphis City Schools and Shelby County School students, like these at Cordova Middle School, got to go home early today because of threats of an ice storm)
Police on Buses * UK - Officers are being encouraged to use public transport
Glenfield,Leicestershire,EN,UK -BBC -12 August 2010: -- Leicestershire Police officers are being encouraged use public transport or cycles while on the beat as part of a savings drive... The force needs to save a total of £15m by March 2011. It has now reduced its fleet of vehicles from 483 to 443... A police spokeswoman said selling the vehicles had already saved £52,000 and would save £155,000 in revenue costs... She said officers were being encouraged to use cheaper transport only in non-emergency situations...Supt Chris Hawardsaid the force had used GPS mapping equipment to work out how often all of its vehicles were being used before deciding which ones to cut... The force said officers using buses would act as a reassuring presence for passengers and those on bicycles would have more time to chat to residents and get to know the community better...(Photo from this is Leicestershire: Insp Rich Toone catches a bus in Leicester)
Getting off the buses * USA - Transit union is both bidding for and suing over new van lines
Replace buses with dollar vans on the city's least trafficked, most inefficient routes
New York,NY,USA -The NY Daily News -August 12, 2010:... The Transport Workers Union is making the Metropolitan Transportation Authority an offer the agency cannot refuse... With or without the TWU's blessing, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission is on the verge of awarding franchises to dollar-van fleets that will operate along the routes of five bus lines that recently fell victim to MTA budget cuts...On the one hand, the union sued to block the program. On the other, the union bid to run the service on all five lines with its own van fleet... The union is promising a fare of only $1, half the TLC's $2 maximum. Schwartz says drivers will earn about $25 an hour, roughly what the MTA paid, plus benefits...That would be a good deal for passengers. The single-ride cash fare on traditional buses is $2.25, and the average per-ride charge for the most cost-effective MetroCard, the unlimited 30-day card, is 99 cents if the card is used 90 times... It would also be a great deal for taxpayers, who would not subsidize the trips, as they now do for all bus and subway service... Yes, the numbers sound too good to be true.But dollar vans are enormously popular, andthe TWU may be banking on capturing far more riders along the routes than the buses did...(Photo from hawthornestreet: the illegal dollar vans)
BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECT * USA - School Board votes to buy 12 new school buses
Ouachita Parish,LA,USA -The News Star, by Stephen Largen -August 11, 2010:-- With the start of school a week away, the Ouachita Parish School Boardon Tuesday night voted to purchase 12 new school buses and lease another eight for the fall semester... The School Boardhad planned to purchase a smaller number of buses to replace aging ones, but School Board members said they had little choice but to buy more than the district planned and lease the others after a July fire destroyed seven buses at the school district's garage... The school district will seek bids for the new buses, which will likely cost between $70,000 to $90,000 each depending on capacity... But the new buses won't be available until early November at the earliest, necessitating the leases... Leasing the buses through mid January will cost the district around $50,000...
* Oregon - TriMet to ask Portland-area voters for $125 million to replace aging buses
Salem,ORE,USA -The Oregonian, by Joseph Rose-11 Aug 2010: -- The TriMet board voted unanimously Wednesday to put the property-tax measure on the ballot.If approved, it would cost the owner of a median-priced $240,000 home in the Metro area $19 and change each year... TriMet wants voters to approve a $125 million bond measure in November.TriMet wants to replace 150 aging, hard-to-access buses so that it can better serve the approaching wave of retiring baby boomers... As America's largest generation rolls past 65, TriMet finds itself operating one of the nation's oldest bus fleets...Many vehicles are approaching 20 years old. And 250 of the older buses are high-floor models that are often taken out of service to fix malfunctioning mechanical lifts, TriMet officials said... (Photo by Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian: TriMet plans to appeal to voters to finance a bond measure so the transit agency can replace some of its aging buses)
NEW BUSES FLEET * USA - JCPS adds buses and routes to shorten student travel times
Louisville,KY,USA -Courier Journal, by Antoinette Konz -August 10, 2010:-- Vowing to reduce long ride times for its students,Jefferson County Public Schoolshas added 76 buses and 25 routes for the new school year — and reduced the number of students who have to switch buses before they get to school... They've also implemented a new tagging system for elementary students to help get them on the right bus quicker and with less confusion... This year, the district will spend approximately $45 million, including $6 million for the extra buses, to transport 63,500 students to and from school each day... (Photo by Matt Stone/The Courier-Journal: Phoebe Girton makes some last-minute checks to her school bus before leaving for a practice drive of her route Tuesday afternoon)
* Missippi - Hinds County Students Ride To School In New Buses
Hinds County,Jackson,MS,USA -ABC16/WAPT -August 12, 2010: -- Hinds County Schools students are riding to school in style this year -- in new buses... The school district entered into a new contract this year with Durham School Services. The price tag for the deal is $3 million over 4 years. The buses are high-tech with multi-view cameras and GPS...Ninety-five new school buses hit the streets when school began Wednesday... (Photo from wapt)
* Indiana - IndyGo Buying New Green Buses
Indianapolis,IND,USA -Building Indiana Blog, by dave -August 12, 2010: -- In January, IndyGo, the Indianapolis public transportation porporation, plans to welcome 22 new 40-foot, low-floor buses into its fleet. Of those 22 buses, 11 will incorporate the latest electric hybrid technology, resulting in fuel savings, reduced emissions and smoother, quieter rides... Each IndyGo hybrid bus combines a diesel-fueled combustion engine, made by Columbus, Ind.-basedCummins, with a battery-powered electric motor, allowing it to deliver better fuel economy as well as generate 99.84 percent fewer emissions than a conventional bus...Priced at $381,399 each, IndyGo managed to procure these 22 replacement buses from GILLIG using grant dollars, local funds and stimulus money designated through the Federal Transit Administration formula grant program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The decision to convert 11 of the buses to hybrid, which costs $189,757 for each upgrade, came after IndyGo received an Electric Hybrid Grant initiated by Senator Richard Lugar...(Photo from indianapolis-indiana.funcityfinder: IndyGo Clean Bus)
Public Transportation * Kurdistan - Demand for, decreasing, “little use to the public”
Erbil,Kurdistan -TCKR International, by Michael Simko -August 10, 2010: -- Low-quality services and availability of private cars undermines the public transportation sector in Kurdistan...It is 3:15 p.m., the burning sun is almost boiling a bottle of water in the hand of Hazhar Faraj, 26, as he waits for a bus under the shade of a tree on the Kirkuk Road in Erbil... “I always try to go by bus and avoid taxis because taxis are so expensive. But the bus never arrives on time, and after two to three minutes of waiting in the sun, I am forced to hire a taxi and pay my 3,000 dinars [around US$2.5].” Soon after, Faraj hired a taxi and left. With his taxi still in sight, the bus arrived at his stop with only a few passengers who seemed almost unconscious... The issue is much bigger when it comes to outside city transportation. In that case, the same passenger has to choose between waiting approximately five to 10 minutes for three more passengers and arriving at his destination in time in an air-conditioned taxi, or waiting for around 30 minutes to one hour for some 20 more passengers and arriving in almost double the time of the taxi in an old bus without air-conditioning for a few less dollars... The public transportation sector in Kurdistan gets worse every day and is of little use to the public.Reasons could be the quality of the vehicles, undependability in terms of time, and lack of a comprehensive network that can cover the whole city... (Photo from img200.exs.cx: Kurdistan, all the buses have been covered with posters of the political parties. The buses are private)
Solar-powered "TU colibri" Bus Stop * Peru - To improve public transport
Lima,Peru -Colourlessdesign, by Beatriz Cockburn-Aug 11, 2010: -- Designed to improve local public transport in Peru,the “TU colibri” by designer Beatriz Cockburn is a small yet significant bus stop concept to keep the passengers updated about the route and time of the buses. Commissioned by Peruvian national transport company TU colibri, the modular bus stop features an intuitive color identification system to recognize buses without any complication. For the color codes, in the form of changeable translucent color rings, not only facilitates easy detection of buses to the illiterate but foreigners as well...Displaying route and time statistics on the touch sensitive information block sustained by a slide-support, the bus stop uses LED lights to indicate the changed route information.Last but not least, the TU colibri also integrates solar panels on its roof to run the bus stop on renewable energy, allowing the Peruvian residents to lead a sustainable lifestyle...
PASSENGERS TRANSPORT INDUSTRY * Europe - DB must sell off Arriva's German business
Commission clears Deutsche Bahn to buy UK's Arriva
Brussels,Belgium -European Voice, by Simon Taylor -11 Aug 2010:-- The European Commission has today approvedDeutsche Bahn, Germany'srail operator, to acquire Arriva plc, aUKrail and bus service operator...The Commissionapproved the acquisition on condition that Deutsche Bahnsells offArriva Deutschland, the company's subsidiary in Germany...Deutsche Bahnprovides rail and bus passenger transport services, freight services, logistics services and operates railway infrastructure and stations in Germany and a number of other European countries. Arriva has activities in in the UK, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden...
(Photos by Steve Bloom/The Olympian - Intercity Transit coach technician William Snyder runs an electronic diagnostic scan Monday on one of six hybrid buses as the full-sized buses are prepared for fleet service over the next week, with one already on the road)
Olympia,Washington,USA -The News Tribune, by JOHN DODGE-10 Aug 2010: -- Six hybrid buses fueled by biodiesel and electricity are joining the Intercity Transit bus fleet this month... The first of the more fuel-efficient buses hit the streets Friday, and the remaining five could be in service within a week...The total cost of the six hybrid buses, including tax, is $3.7 million. The public transportation agency serving Thurston County paid for the buses with $2.3 million in federal stimulus money, nearly $751,000 in other federal funds and about $575,000 in transit authority capital funds... (Photo from The Olympian - Intercity Transit is rolling out hybrid buses that agency officials have been hoping to buy since testing them in 2004) The hybrid buses, which cost about $180,000 more per vehicle than a diesel-fueled bus, are also expected to provide a quieter, smoother ride with fewer diesel odors...
Private Bus Owners * Sri Lanka - Withdraw from Road Passenger Transport Authority
(Video from YouTube, by MA1R1CO -31 July 2008: -- Paiyagala is located some kilometers south of Kalutara. Paiyagala - Maggona - Beruwela - Moragalle - Aluthgama - Bus Station)
Colombo,Sri Lanka -Truth First -August 10, 2010:-- All Island Private Bus Owners’ Association will withdraw completely from the management ofthe Western Province Passengers Transport Authority, saysthe President of the All Island Private Bus Owners’ Association, Gamunu Wijerathne...He added that the management of the Western Province Passengers Transport Authority has failed to comply with the court orders regarding passenger transport. He said that they have not done anything to improve the quality of the bus services for passengers... Since the All Island Private Bus Owner’s Association cannot provide a quality service under such management, they have decided to inform the courts and discuss the situation with the central government and take action to provide a quality service for passengers, stated Gamunu Wijerathne...
CNG * South Korea - Bus explosion unnerves citizens
The compressed natural gas-powered vehicle exploded at northeastern Seoul
Seoul, S. Korea -The Korea Times, by Bae Ji-sook-10 Aug 2010:-- Investigators examine the exploded parts of a bus Tuesday, a day after the compressed natural gas-powered vehicle exploded at a crossroad of Haengdang-dong subway station, northeastern Seoul... The explosion of the compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered public transit bus on a street in Seoul, Monday, is seeing mounting anxiety among commuters as they express concerns over safety... The city government vowed to conduct safety checkups on all 7,234 CNG buses in operation by the end of the month and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy advised CNG bus drivers to lower the gas pressure by 10 percent when recharging... Police said Monday’s explosion, which injured 17 passengers including one female who had her feet severed, may have been caused by a problem with the gas tank. They are still looking into the case to determine the exact cause of the incident...
Minneapolis,MINN,USA -The Star Tribune, by DAVID PETERSON & KATIE HUMPHREY -August 25, 2010: -- It's not that she hates city buses. She takes them all the time. But when she steps from the floral-scented atmosphere of the Eden Prairie station into one of the gleaming black coaches of SouthWest Transit, Lori York enters a different world than the one she encounters on Metro Transit buses... Here, unlike the city bus, she feels like a first-class airline passenger, from the style of the announcements over the loudspeaker to the reclining coach seats, the footrests and the cup holder... But that two-tier Twin Cities bus system, with fancy coaches serving some suburbs while bare-bones buses cruise city streets, has long rankled those who get the frill-free treatment... And key city legislators are now openly suggesting it's unacceptable -- especially in light of data suggesting the suburban services cost significantly more per passenger. The legislative auditor is in the midst of a major study, the kind that can lead to landmark legislation... The rumbles of change have civic leaders in the "golden crescent" of upscale western and southern suburbs worried that they could lose the ability to provide the high-quality service that draws longer-range commuters out of their cars... (Photo by Brendan Sullivan/The Star Tribune: On Saturday afternoon, Metro Transit bus users wait to arrive at their destination while riding the No. 4 route city bus throughout downtown Minneapolis. The city buses are recently being compared to the suburban buses which are considered more of a luxury)
