Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

21.6.12

PASSENGERS TRANSPORT INDUSTRY * USA

* California - Sacramento buses flash their location via the Web

(Photo by ANDY ALFARO / Bee file, 2010: Regional Transit bus 50E pulls into a stop at 9th and L Streets in Sacramento on April 6, 2010)

Sacramento,CAL,USA -The Sacramento Bee, by Loretta Kalb -Jun. 17, 2012: -- You're waiting at your Sacramento bus stop for the daily commute home – and you're wondering if the heavy traffic will allow your bus to arrive on time... These days, that uncertainty is history for anyone with a connection to RT Tracker via the Internet... Sacramento Regional Transit has enhanced the capabilities of a GPS system for its 200-bus fleet, enabling riders to learn instantly where their buses are along the routes and when they will arrive at bus stops...

* Michigan - Detroit bus system uses tracking system for smoother operations

(Photo by Ricardo Thomas / The Detroit News: Ron Freeland, Detroit's CEO of the Department of Transportation, explains how he monitors the city's buses from his office)
Detroit,MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by Josh Katzenstein -June 17, 2012: -- The city's bus system has embraced the world of technology... Since April, 95 percent of the Detroit Department of Transportation buses have used a tracking system that allows control center operators to adjust routes to fill any gaps caused by unpredicted delays — trains, accidents, fights on buses or poor driving — that in the past have contributed to riders' mounting frustrations at the troubled public transportation system... While DDOT doesn't yet have statistics for how timely buses ran in May, control center employees say the tracking system has made operations run smoothly... And by September, DDOT hopes to unveil a cellphone application so riders can check to see exactly when their buses will be arriving...

Labels: passengers transports industry

BUSMAKERS NEWS * USA

* Michigan - Ford E-450 completes propane testing

(Photo: Altoona Testing of the propane autogas Ford E-450)
Livonia,MI,USA -Fleet Owner -Jun. 19, 2012: -- Roush CleanTech announced it has completed Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) New Model Bus Testing Program, also known as Altoona Testing, on a Ford E-450 vehicle fueled by propane autogas. The completion of the testing program opens the door for municipalities to deploy E-450 vehicles operating on propane autogas with the help of FTA funding to offset some of the conversion costs... Flint Mass Transit Authority (MTA), which operates two ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas buses and plans to add 60 more vehicles to its fleet by 2013... FTA’s Altoona Testing, named for the primary test facility location, rates new transit bus models on safety, structural integrity and durability, reliability, performance, maintainability, noise and fuel economy...

Labels: busmakers' news

14.6.12

BUSES SALES * WORLDWIDE

* India - Ashok Leyland delivers 100 buses to Ghana

(Photo: Ashok Leyland's ‘Falcon’ brand buses)
Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India -Business Standard -Jun 11, 2012: -- Ashok Leyland announced it had supplied 100 of its ‘Falcon’ brand buses to Ghana against an order worth $7.6 million (Rs 42 crore)... The buses were inducted into the fleet of Metro Mass Transit Ltd, a transport company, for both inter-city and intra-city applications on 360 routes through Ghana, said the Hinduja Group company. The government of Ghana has 45 per cent stake in Metra Mass Transit...

* Minnesota / USA - New Flyer delivers first 20 CNG Xcelsior transit buses

(Photo: HybriDrive Xcelsior bus)
St. Cloud,MN,USA -EVolution, by Mike Millikin -June 2012: -- New Flyer Industries Inc. has delivered the first dedicated Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) public transit buses using the new Xcelsior Platform to Culver City Bus in California. The Xcelsior buses are lighter-weight, more fuel-efficient and quieter than their predecessors. The order for twenty low-floor Xcelsior (XN40) buses was placed using options from another US transit agency for a total purchase price of approximately US$11 million...

Labels: buses sales

11.6.12

BUSMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - Custom Coach is ADL’s Australian Acquisition

(Photo: Colin Robertson in Sydney)
Sydney,NSW,Australia -Busworld (Belgium) -11 June 2012: -- Britain’s biggest bus and coach manufacturer, Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), stepped up its globalization programme today with the acquisition of Sydney-based Custom Coaches, one of Australia’s major bus manufacturers. The multi-million deal sees ADL take 100% control of the Australian business, which employs over 400 people at manufacturing sites in Sydney, New South Wales, and in Adelaide, South Australia... It currently has annual sales of around £55million (A$90m) and a 24% share of the Australian bus market... Custom’s is producing a raft of sophisticated specialist vehicles such as articulated, CNG powered and hybrid-electric buses, along with a unique range of low floor buses incorporating under-floor luggage space...

* Colombia - Marcopolo launches new Gran Viale BRT bus in

(Photo: Superpolo Granviale BRT) Bogota,Colombia -Busworld (Belgium) -8 June 2012: -- Superpolo, a joint venture between Marcopolo and Fanalca Group in Colombia, launched their latest modern urban bus in that country, the Gran Viale BRT. Developed in Brazil to be applied in advanced urban transportation systems in major cities, the model now is also produced in the Colombian plant to be provided to the Transmilenio BRT system... Superpolo is one of Latin America's most modern bus manufacturers, and has over 1,500 employees, and a site with a total area of 77 thousand square meters. In 2011, the operation traded approximately 2,100 units, especially urban models provided to operators in many countries in the Americas...

* Canada - Prototype electric New Flyer transit bus in operational testing

Manitoba,Canada -Green Car Congress -8 June 2012: -- An all-electric, battery-powered prototype demonstration bus under joint development by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), the government of Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, Red River College and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC has been completed and was recently unveiled in Manitoba, Canada... The bus will be demonstrated on the streets of Winnipeg over the next two years... The 40-foot “E-Bus” is based on New Flyer’s 40-foot Xcelsior heavy-duty transit bus and is powered by a 120 kWh lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack developed by MHI...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

8.6.12

BUSES' SALES * WORLDWIDE

* India - Ashok Leyland gets USD 6m order for buses from Bangladesh

Bangladesh,India -Money Control -Jun 6, 2012: -- India's second largest commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland has secured an order from Bangladesh Road Transport Corp (BRTC) to supply 50 vestibule buses... The order is worth USD 6 million and is the company's first order for such buses overseas, Ashok Leyland said on Wednesday. An agreement for the bus supply was signed between BRTC chairman and Antony Lobo, Ashok Leyland's special...

* The Netherlands - BYD Wins European Electric Bus Orders for Schiermonnikoog city

(Image: BYD Electric Bus)
Seatlle,WASH,USA -Hybrid Cars (USA), by Philippe Crowe -June 7, 2012: -- An island which is home to the Netherlands’ first national park is about to launch Europe’s cleanest bus fleet... The city of Schiermonnikoog in the province of Friesland, Netherlands is nestled on this 10-mile (16-km) long island and is virtually car-free. While home to about 1,000 residents, over 350,000 people visit the island every year and will now ride on six new, long-range, all-electric BYD buses set to launch on Schiermonnikoog in early 2013... In a European contract offer and open bid supported by four major bus manufacturers, BYD came out on top. BYD scored the highest in meeting program goals and won not only an order for the six electric buses, but also a 15-year maintenance contract...

* Turkey - 100 Kent buses from Otokar to Izmir

(Photo: An Otokar Kent)
Izmir,Turkey -Busworld -9 June 2012: -- Otokar's design award winner vehicle KENT is also preferred in Izmir. Otokar won the tender opened in March by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Transportation Services and Machine Industry Inc., for the procurement of hundred low floor solo buses... Fitted with an EEV emission level engine, design suitable for modern cities, high passenger capacity, and low operation costs, the Otokar Kent buses are used in public transportation not only in Turkey, but also in countries like Hungary and Poland, and in the leading cities of Turkey like Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Sakarya, Malatya, Karaman and Samsun...

Labels: buses sales

4.6.12

BUSMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Poland - Solaris Electric Bus is capable of 100 km. emission free travel

(Photo: A Solaris Urbino electric)
Bolechowo, Poland -Busworld (Belgium) -31 May 2012: -- The Solaris Urbino electric bus, with its drive system supplied by Solaris partner Vossloh Kiepe, is capable of 100 km emission-free travel without any need for recharging... The Solaris Urbino electric was first presented in a midibus version in autumn 2011 and already won the Gold Medal for Best Product at Transexpo exhibition. A pre-production vehicle, based on the Solaris Alpino 8.9 LE midibus, currently undergoes demanding trials. Experience gained in this test programme is used in the design of the next vehicles, which will start their operation over the next months. Combined with innovative rapid-charging solutions, Solaris electric buses are set to be fully capable, eco-friendly alternatives to diesel buses.

* Switzerland - The first fuel-cell buses with hybrid technology go into regular service in

(Photo: The Citaro Fuelcell 2012)
Brugg,Aargau,Swiss -Busworld -30 May 2012: -- PostAuto Schweiz AG has become the first company in Switzerland to deploy fuel-cell technology for public road transport. Since the end of 2011, five Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid models have been serving on routes in and around Brugg (in the canton of Aargau) as PostAuto vehicles. Over the next five years, PostAuto will test the fuel-cell drive, using clean hydrogen as fuel. The dense network of routes operated by PostAuto around Brugg is ideally suited to the test in terms of both topography and routing, with a mixture of city traffic, country roads and village streets...

* Swiss - Filling station for fuel cell postbuses in operation

Brugg,Aargau,Swiss -Swiss Post (PR) -22 May 2012: -- PostBus Switzerland Ltd has launched the first Swiss hydrogen filling station in Brugg (Aargau). It supplies fuel for the vehicles that PostBus has been using since December 2011 to test fuel cell technology for public transport. The gaseous hydrogen is produced directly at the filling station. All the electricity needed to generate the hydrogen comes from renewable energy sources...

* Canada - Government to test clean vehicle technologies

(Photo: Novabus hybride)
Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Busworld -29 May 2012: -- The Canadian Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, announced that the Government of Canada is continuing its commitment to advance clean vehicle technologies and work with the automotive industry to make safe, clean and innovative transportation options available to Canadians. Over the next several years, the automotive industry will introduce a range of innovations to improve vehicle safety and to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations...

* Belgium - Van Hool presents the Exqui.City design mettis

(Photo: Van Hool EquiCity Mettes)
Brussels,Belgium -Busworld -4 June 2012: -- Van Hool, the Belgian bus, coach and industrial vehicle manufacturer, has been previewing the Exqui.City Design Mettis at Transports Publics, the biennial European mobility exhibition in Paris. It is a 24 metre long, bi-articulated bus with a (diesel-electric) hybrid drive system that will be used for public transport in and round the city of Metz (France) from September 2013. Mettis, Metz’s public transport project, has ordered 27 Exqui.City bi-articulated, diesel-electric hybrid buses...

* Sweden - Martin Lundstedt appointed CEO of Scania

(Photo: Martin Lundstedt)

Södertälje,Sweden -Busworld -3 June 2012: -- The Board of Directors of Scania has appointed Martin Lundstedt new President and Chief Executive Officer of Scania AB. He takes up his new position on 1 September 2012 and succeeds Leif Östling, who has been appointed member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG. Changes will also be made in Scania’s Executive Board on the same date...

* Germany - First series production Citaro Euro VI for Wiesbaden

(Photo: Mercedes Citaro Euro 6 2012)
Wiesbaden,Germany -Busworld -1 June 2012: -- ESWE, the local public transport company of Wiesbaden, Germany has taken delivery of the first citybus meeting the future Euro VI emission standard in a handover ceremony attended by Dr. Helmut Müller, Lord Mayor of the provincial capital of Wiesbaden. A further two vehicles are due to be delivered. These are the first series production buses to go into operation featuring the clean Euro 6 technology...

* China - Youngman plans to invest in Viseon

(Photo: Viseon trolleybus)
Pilsting, Germany -Busworld -31 May 2012: -- Viseon Bus GmbH, Pilsting, Germany, and China Youngman Automobile Group Co., Ltd of Jinhua / China have signed an investment agreement, which stipulates that the Chinese automobile and truck company will become majority shareholder of the German bus manufacturer, which was founded in 2008. This was announced by the managements of the two companies on 31 May 2012...

* South Korea - Borgwarner two-stage Turbocharging System for Hyundai Diesel Engines

(Photo: Borg Warner turbocharger)

Seoul,SK -Busworld -28 May 2012: -- Boosted by BorgWarner’s regulated two-stage (R2S) turbocharging technology, the 5.9-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine from Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) is the first commercial vehicle engine in Asia equipped with a two-stage turbocharging system... BorgWarner’s award-winning R2S system provides outstanding performance, significantly boosts fuel economy and helps the engine comply with Euro 5 emissions standards. Since late 2010, the 260 HP (194 kW) diesel engine has powered medium-duty urban buses and trucks in South Korea including the Aero Town and Green City...

* USA - Luxfer showed AF Cylinders at Busworld Istanbul

(Photo: Optare Luxfer buses)

Riverside,CAL,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -24 May 2012: -- Luxfer Gas Cylinders, an international manufacturer of lightweight, fuel-efficient carbon composite cylinders and systems for containment of compressed natural gas (CNG), exhibited its innovative, space-saving alternative fuel systems at the recent Busworld International Trade Fair in Istanbul, Turkey... Luxfer’s commitment to alternative fuel and bulk gas transportation markets resulted in record sales in 2011 of lightweight, aluminium-lined carbon composite cylinders for containment of CNG, biomethane and other alternative fuels. Luxfer is providing efficient gas-transportation solutions to a growing number of bus and truck original equipment manufacturers, vehicle converters and gas companies in North America, South America, Europe and Asia...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

2.6.12

SHUTS DOWN BUSES Cos. * USA

* DC - FMCSA shuts down 26 bus companies in agency's largest safety sweep

(Photo by Mark Giles, Jr./AP Image: Deadly Bus Accident on I-95)

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line ,by Clarissa Kell-Holland -31 May 2012: -- A deadly bus crash killed four people and injured 54 passengers May 31, 2011, on Interstate 95 in Virginia. On the one-year anniversary of the Sky Express bus crash, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that it has shut down 26 bus companies in its single largest safety crackdown... Three of the primary companies that were shut down were Apex Bus, Inc. and I-95 Coach, Inc., both from New York, and New Century Travel Inc. of Pennsylvania. The FMCSA investigation found that these three companies “oversaw a broad network of other bus companies” that were shut down as well... U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, said the three primary companies “blatantly and repeatedly violated safety rules” ... The 26 bus operations that were shut down transport more than 1,800 passengers per day from New York to Florida along the I-95 corridor...

Labels: shuts down