Buses World News: January 2011

Urban Congestion * USA - D.C. area co-leads nation in traffic congestion

Search nation's largest urban areas to see commuters' yearly delays, excess fuel and congestion costs

Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Ashley Halsey III -January 20, 2011: ... The number of drivers in the Washington region who say they frequently feel uncontrollable anger toward another driver has doubled in the past five years, according to a Washington Post poll taken last year. Almost a third of drivers said they're overcome with that wild rage from time to time... One reason for that boiling frustration is contained in a report released Thursday, which found that Washington ranks first in the nation when it comes to hours wasted stuck in traffic... The most sophisticated number crunching done on traffic congestion says the average Washington area driver loses 70 hours a year - almost three full days - crawling along in traffic, tying the region with Chicago for worst in the country. Los Angeles, the perennial king of congestion, comes in third, with 63 blown hours... The news came in the annual national traffic survey done by the Texas Transportation Institute, a highly regarded research group based at Texas A&M University... (See Poll) (Photo from blog.thesietch.org: traffic congestion Washington,DC)

Labels: traffic congestions

Report * USA - Buses Are 'Fastest Growing Transportation Mode’

Long-distance bus services are thriving in the United States

(Photo: Boltbus)

Chicago,ILL,USA -The Infrastructurist, by Eric Jaffe -January 20, 2011: ... America’s intercity buses seem to do best along corridors also serviced by fast trains — namely, the East Coast. If new research is correct, however, the success of intercity buses may be approaching a national phenomenon... According to a new report by transit researchers Joseph Schwieterman and Lauren Fischer of DePaul University, buses showed the most growth of any intercity transportation mode in America in 2010 — the third year in a row they achieved this distinction...

The number of weekday bus departures rose to 2,125 last year, a 6 percent increase from 2009. By comparison, airline departures rose just 3 percent, while Amtrak mileage rose just half a percent over a similar period, according to the report: ... Intercity buses seem to be outpacing other modes when it comes to ridership growth as well. While Amtrak and airline ridership last year grew 5.6 percent and roughly 5 percent, respectively, the new report estimates that bus ridership grew about 33 percent... The key to the industry’s rise, it seems, is the popularity of “curbside” operators like Megabus and BoltBus — as opposed to those housed in traditional stations, like Greyhound — which accounted for more than one-fifth of all daily bus departures in 2010. Part of this recent appeal is that most curbside companies have upgraded their coaches to include amenities like WiFi...

Labels: expanding buses' service, report

BUS MAKER NEWS * USA - Truck maker export green drive systems to China

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Stephen Ceasar -January 25, 2011: -- A Los Angeles County heavy-duty truck, tractor and electrical systems maker announced a deal Tuesday to export $15.9 million worth of electric vehicle drive systems to China to power buses... Balqon Corp., based in Harbor City near Long Beach, said it expected to hire 150 workers over the next 18 months to build 300 electric vehicle drive systems to power buses that can carry 15 to 40 passengers each... The drive systems are being purchased by Winston Global Energy, a Shenzhen, China, company owned by Chinese entrepreneur Winston Chung, who is also a major shareholder in Balqon, founded in 2005...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

ELECTRIC BUSES * South Korea - Begins first commercial electric bus service

Seoul,S.Korea -Gizmag Team (USA) -December 27, 2010: -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has claimed a world first by deploying electric buses on a commercial route. Previous electric bus operations have all been trials, or in the case of Expo 2010 in Shanghai, free public services. The buses went into service on December 21 after an 18 month development project with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hankuk Fiber... The electric coaches are 11.05 meters long and run up to 83km with a single charge. The lithium-ion battery pack can be fully charged in less than 30 minutes and the bus has a maximum speed of 100 km/h. There's also a regenerative system that reuses energy from brakes when running downhill... The body is made of a carbon composite material, not of iron plates, which considerably reduces the vehicle's weight while reinforcing durability. The electric buses are also equipped with automatic slant boards for wheelchair users...

Labels: electric buses