Briefing Weekly News
* UK - Go-Ahead pursuing flywheel hybrid
London,EN,UK -Bus and Coach -21 March 2012: -- In a novel move Go-Ahead and Williams Hybrid Power have agreed to develop and produce six prototype buses with a retrofitted hybrid flywheel system. Until now most hybrid developments have been led by manufacturers rather than in a partnership involving an operator. The system – similar to one being explored by Optare - uses electro-mechanical energy to drive the bus and while improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions. Williams Hybrid Power has been at the forefront of hybrid flywheel systems in motor racing...
* USA - Proterra scales down
Greenville,SC.,USA -Bus and Coach -12 March 2012: -- Ambitious plans by a new builder of electric buses, Proterra, appear to have been scaled down. The company had said it would create 1,300 new jobs over seven years, but has now revised that figure to 400. Proterra is based in Greenville, South Carolina, and says it is in talks with 30 fleets in the USA on potential sales of its BE35 urban bus. It currently has orders for eight...
* India - MCV Merc for city operation
Pune,India -Bus and Coach -12 March 2012: -- Mercedes-Benz has launched a low-entry city bus in India. The bus is being built in conjunction with Egyptian bodybuilder MCV which has set up a factory in Pune with the capacity to build 900 buses a year. The O500U is currently sold in South America, South Africa and Australia...
* USA - Blue Bird eyes China
Fort Valley,GA,USA-Bus and Coach -12 March 2012: -- US school bus builder Blue Bird is exploring opportunities in China after exhibiting at the country’s first school bus exhibition, held in Beijing. The Chinese government has been talking of tougher rules for school transport following a number of accidents involving school buses...
* China - Battery boost for Shenzhen
Shenzhen,China -Bus and Coach -12 March 2012: -- Shenzhen city is to add 1,000 BYD K9 battery-electric buses and 500 e6 taxis to its public transport fleet. The Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission says the move is a response to rising oil prices and growing environmental pressures... The city also proposes a levy on petrol-engined cars, and will provide buyers of electric cars with charging points close to their homes and workplaces. BYD says its 12m-long K9 bus can cover 155 miles on a single charge...
* UK - Strong growth for McKenna
London,EN,UK -Bus and Coach -12 March 2012: -- McKenna Brothers says that 2011 was an “outstanding year considering the current economic climate and 2012 shows no sign of slowing down. It reports sales up by 27 per cent and says that all parts of the business showed growth including electronic destinations, onboard systems, print,ed blinds and vehicle vinyls... In London the Smartblind product continues to grow with all new vehicles fitted with electronic roller blind systems. TfL specified Smartblinds with more traditional white-on-black characters on the blind fitted to the new Wrightbus-built New Bus for London... McKenna supports many thousands of units in London and has 12 field engineers working in and around the capital. Outside London McKenna has signed long term contracts with some of the UK’s largest operators and says it is close to securing other large deals...
* UK - £100million boost for England’s buses
London,EN,UK -Bus and Coach -23 March 2012: -- Awards to support 439 low-carbon buses and details of the Better Bus Areas fund winners combine to see the government spending just over £100million to support buses, £31million more than originally announced. Most of the low-carbon buses will be hybrids, but MAN will be supplying 34 CNG-powered single-deckers to three operators, and there is one grant to support eight battery-electric buses. According to the Department for Transport confirmed orders have been placed with Volvo, ADL, MAN, Optare and Wrightbus for 339 vehicles, leaving 100 orders still to be settled... The money being spent on BBAs - £70million – will be shared between 24 local authorities and will support new bus priorities, integrated ticketing and the expansion of real-time information...
* UK - Glasgow Citybus Enviro200 upgrade
Glasgow,SCT,UK -Bus and Coach -13 March 2012: -- Glasgow Citybus is modernising its fleet with 15 ADL Enviro200s. Seven entered service last month, with eight more to follow in May. The company, a subsidiary of West Coast Motors, operates a network of bus services in north-west Glasgow...
* UK - Reading goes for “style and verve”
Reading,Berkshire,UK -Bus and Coach -13 March 2012: -- Reading Buses is the latest customer for the Wrightbus StreetLite, with six 34-seat WF models now in service. Reading Buses chief executive officer James Freeman says that the buses add “a dash of style and verve” to the fleet. Their arrival means that the fleet is now 100 per cent low-floor with an average age of four years... The StreetLites cost around £120,000...
* UK - First B9R Panther for Tees Valley
Eaglescliffe,Stockton-on-Tees,NE.UK -Bus and Coach -13 March 2012: -- The latest addition to the fleet of Tees Valley Coach Travel of Eaglescliffe is a new Plaxton Panther, based on a Volvo B9R. It joins a predominantly Plaxton coach fleet, which includes Panthers and a top-specification tri-axle Elite used primarily as the Middlesbrough Football Club team coach... The 12.8m-long Panther is an air-conditioned 49/53-seater with centre sunken toilet. The B9R is powered by Volvo’s 340bhp D9B engine, coupled to the I-Shift 12-speed...
* UK - Hybrid Solos for St Albans service
Hatfield,Hertfordshire,UK -Bus and Coach -13 March 2012: -- Uno of Hatfield this week put its first hybrids into service. The buses are two Optare Solos and they are for operation in St Albans. They were purchased with the support of Hertfordshire county council and the government’s Green Bus Fund...
* UK - Anitas takes another Futura
London,EN,UK -Bus and Coach -13 March 2012: -- New for Anitas Coaches, based at Stansted Airport, is this VDL Bova Futura FHD127.365PR. It is a repeat order for the company which has been a regular Bova customer over the last few years. This Futura is 13m long and is configured as a 53/55-seater with a centre demountable toilet. It is air-conditioned and has a Blaupunkt Professional Line multimedia system for passenger entertainment. It was supplied by Moseley Coach Sales... Anitas has been in business since 1972 and its fleet ranges from 16-seaters upwards. The Bova Futura is a remarkably long-lived design, having been around since 1983, and although there have been changes over the years the latest model is recognisably the same basic design as the original...
* UK - Short B7R for Logans Travel
County Antrim,N.Irelandd,UK -Bus and Coach -12 March 2012: -- County Antrim based operator Logans Travel has taken delivery of its first Volvo B7R with Sunsundegui Sideral 10 bodywork. The 10.3m-long coach joins a predominantly Volvo/Plaxton fleet... The new coach is a 40-seater with a 7.1-litre 230bhp Volvo D7E engine. Logans Travel was founded 40 years ago and runs 22 Volvo coaches on private hire and tour work throughout the UK and Europe...
* USA / Europe - WABCO's OptiDrive, a Breakthrough in Modular Automated Manual Transmission Technology, Boosts Fuel Economy up to 5% for Commercial Vehicles
(Photo: Wabco Opti-Drive)
Brussels,Belgium/Louisville,KY,USA -MarketWatch(USA) -Mar 23, 2012: -- WABCO Holdings Inc., a global technology leader and tier-one supplier to the commercial vehicle industry, today announced that its OptiDrive system, a breakthrough in automated manual transmission technology, continues to gain global acceptance among major manufacturers of transmissions, trucks and buses... Superbly engineered as a modular system, OptiDrive reduces by 50 percent the development time required for transmission and original equipment manufacturers to apply it to their respective product platforms... WABCO's OptiDrive improves vehicle control and reduces fuel consumption by as much as five percent through optimized gear shifting...Labels: buses sales, busmakers news worldwide
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