Buses World News

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

29.9.12

ELECTRIC BUSES * China

* Yunnan: Investment Group and BYD Launch Manufacturing Plans in Southwest China

Yunnan,China -The RightSite -14 Sept 2012: -- Yunnan Investment Holdings Group and BYD announced this week intentions to open new energy vehicle manufacturing plants in Yunnan Province, expanding BYD's EV and new-energy businesses into southwest China and neighboring Asian countries...

Labels: electric buses makers

28.9.12

BUSES SALES * WORLDWIDE

* China - To promote hybrid buses in all cities

(Photo: Guangzhou's BRT)
Beijing,China -Xinhua -Sept. 17, 2012: -- The government will promote the use of hybrid public buses in all the country's cities, extending their promotion beyond the current 25 cities, the Ministry of Finance announced Monday... The central government hopes to bring 3,000 to 5,000 buses to the cities by subsidizing purchases of the vehicles, a statement on the ministry's website said... Subsidies will range from 50,000 to 420,000 yuan (7,911 to 66,454 U.S. dollars) depending on the efficiency of the buses and the type of battery they use, the statement said...

* UK - TfL Board approves production order for 600 new hybrid buses for London

(Photo)
London,EN,UK -Green Car Congress (USA) -25 September 2012: -- The Board of Transport for London (TfL) approved a production order for up to 600 of New Bus for London vehicles over the next four years. This will create the largest fleet of hybrid buses in Europe, according to TfL... When the final batch of new bus for London vehicles is delivered in 2016, more than 1,000 hybrid buses will be in service on the streets of London... The first batch of 30 buses, enough to convert a full route, will enter passenger service in April next year... Hybrid buses typically deliver around a 30% fuel efficiency saving and around 20% reductions in NOx emissions. However, in testing the new bus emitted less than half the CO2 and NOx of a current diesel bus. The buses also deliver better than twice the fuel economy of a standard diesel bus...

* France - Department of Calvados opts for Mercedes-Benz Intouro buses

(Photo)
Calvados,France -Daimler (PR) -Sep 27, 2012: ... The French department of Calvados has ordered 24 Mercedes-Benz Intouro buses, of which the final 13 vehicles will be delivered in October this year. These city buses are being used on what are known as the green bus lines, or “Réseau Bus verts”, in Calvados, connecting the cities of Caen, Bayeux and Ouistreham. In 2011, more than 1.5 million passengers and more than 2.5 million school pupils travelled on these bus lines. The Calvados department’s decision to purchase the Intouro bus was based on the vehicle’s technical properties, eco-friendliness and profitability...

Labels: buses sales

ALTERNATIVE FUELS * USA

* USA - NG truck, bus sales forecast to double by 2019. Propane Autogas Vehicles

Boulder,CO,USA -Pike Research -September 13, 2012: -- A new report from the clean energy analyst Pike Research, forecasts steady growth in the market for natural gas (CNG and LNG) trucks and buses... Autogas is the term most commonly used in the market for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used as an automotive transport fuel, and it represents approximately 9% of the global consumption of LPG. While LPG is relatively clean-burning, easy to store and transport, has high energy content, and is widely available in many countries, supplies of natural gas have become much more abundant over the last few years as new extraction process have been developed, and natural gas now challenges autogas as an alternative vehicle fuel to gasoline and diesel... Some OEMs offer factory installation of autogas and dual-fuel systems, but only in countries where the market is mature and volumes have been steady for some years. Most conversions are done in the aftermarket. Pike Research anticipates that by 2020 there will be more than 23 million autogas vehicles operating on roads worldwide...

* DC / USA - Hydraulic hybrid transit bus yields fuel economy of 6.9 mpg, 110% better than conventional diesel, 30% better than electric hybrids

(Photo: The series hydraulic transit bus)
Washington,DC,USA -Green Car Congress -16 September 2012: -- The BUSolutions demonstrator LCO-140H (Low Cost of Ownership–1st 40-foot Hybrid) series hydraulic hybrid transit bus yields fuel economy of 6.9 mpg (34 l/100km) on the industry-standard ADB duty cycle—110% better than conventional diesel buses on the road today and 30% better than the best-in-class electric hybrid buses available today, according to the final report on the project published by the US Federal Transit Administration (FTA). More importantly, according to the report written by a team from Altair ProductDesign, which led the project, such a bus will cost more than 20% less than a conventional diesel bus to own and operate over its life and more than 30% less than an electric hybrid...

(Photo: Elements of the hydraulic hybrid powertrain)
The project originated when Automation Alley, Altair ProductDesign, and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in a public-private partnership, teamed up to advance a new transit bus initiative that would improve local and regional transit systems while requiring no infrastructure upgrades to operate. The goal was to develop a significantly lighter-weight, heavy-duty bus design that yields superior fuel efficiency to conventional buses at a lower lifecycle cost. The four main areas of focus for reducing the lifecycle cost of the new bus were purchase price; fuel economy; scheduled maintenance; and unscheduled maintenance...

Labels: alternative fuels, techno buses

14.9.12

PUBLIC TRANSPORTS * USA

* Michigan - Where’s my bus?: TextMyBus rolls out in Detroit

(Screenshot of the Text My Bus service at work)
Detroit,MICH,USA -The Hub, by Marge Sorge -September 4, 2012: -- How many times have we heard that on the streets of Detroit? It has been especially hard on kids who rely on the bus system to get to school and those riding the bus to work. No more. The city has launched a text message service called “Text My Bus” that will provide real-time arrival information for City of Detroit buses. Just text your nearest street address or intersection to “50464” and you’ll get a message back indicating nearby bus routes, the closest bus stop and the arrival time for the next bus. Good news … no app required... The service launched on the first day of school (Sept. 4) and was working great for kids on their way to school today... Not only will this app help students get to school on time, it will also keep them safer...

* California - Metrolink previews $200-million crash prevention system

(Photo by Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times / September 10, 2012: Neil Brown, a mechanical systems manager with Metrolink, explains the workings of positive train control technology installed aboard a commuter train in Los Angeles)
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Dan Weikel -September 11, 2012: -- Four years after the Chatsworth disaster, Metrolink shows off its progress on a pioneering crash prevention project like the kind some in the railroad industry want to delay implementing... Metrolink on Monday previewed a pioneering, $200-million crash prevention project for a top federal safety official, who expressed concern about railroad industry efforts to postpone deadlines for installing the sophisticated train safety system in other parts of the country... Deborah A.P. Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, viewed a locomotive and a rail car equipped with positive train control technology and testing gear at a downtown Metrolink rail yard... The system combines global positioning devices, digital radio communications and computers to track trains and take control of them if necessary to prevent collisions, derailments and other accidents... Metrolink officials plan to install positive train control on their 500-mile Southern California commuter rail network by December 2013, two years ahead of a federal requirement for the system to be deployed nationwide. Field testing of the equipment is taking place on nights and weekends...

Labels: public transport solutions

10.9.12

BUSMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - Major orders for Daimler

Stuttgart, Germany/São Paulo, Brazil -Daimler (PR) -August 29, 2012: -- Daimler receives major orders for 520 city buses for use in public transport in major Brazilian cities... Buses to be operated in the urban areas of Fortaleza (located in the Northeast of Brazil) and Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo province)... Through updates of their fleets and infrastructural measures, major Brazilian cities are already preparing themselves for the increased traffic volume expected during the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016...

* Germany - Winner of the Bus Euro Test

(Photo: Citaro Euro VI is "Bus of the Year 2013")
Nabern,Baden-Württemberg,Germany -Daimler (PR) -August 31, 2012: -- After intensive testing an international jury consisting of 17 bus and coach specialist journalists voted the Mercedes-Benz Citaro Euro VI, the winner of the “Bus of the Year 2013”... According to the jury the new Citaro impresses with its interaction of highly useful innovations. These are directed at reducing maintenance costs and improving environmental compatibility as well as enhancing the safety of driver, passengers and other road users. Apart from this, the jury highlighted the modern design as well as the future compatibility of the vehicle. Among the features the jury appreciated, some examples are the ESP Electronic Stability Programme and the fact that future regulations such as the roll-over regulation and the Euro VI exhaust gas regulation were already taken into consideration. At the same time, the new Citaro Euro VI weighs less and consumes less fuel...

* Germany - AutoTram Extra Grand carries 256 people

Dresden,Germany -Gizmag, by David Szondy -September 9, 2012: -- The AutoTram Extra Grand raises the bar with a bendy bus that’s more like a bendy train. With three sections, measuring over 30 meters (100 ft) long and a passenger capacity of 256, it’s the world’s longest bus... The AutoTram Extra Grand, a joint venture of Fraunhofer IVI, the Technical University Dresden and Wittur Electric Drive GmbH, the Autotram isn’t just a standard bendy bus with an extra section tacked on. It uses train technology, adds it to buses and makes them suitable for urban areas where trains are not a practical solution to transportation problems... With four guided axles, three controlled by an electrohydraulic actuator system, the AutoTram can be steered forward and backwards like a standard-size bus while computer controls handle the steering of the individual sections so that they follow along like railway cars on a track. This system works so well that drivers don’t even need a special license to operate the Autotram...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

7.9.12

BUSMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Peru - Pegaso Bus acquires 50% Omnitek Peru

(Photo: King Long gas bus for Peru)
Lima,Peru -Busworld (Belgium) -6 Sept 2012: -- Pegaso Bus Company of Peru, a Lima-based provider of bus services, importer of Kinglong buses and a seller of compressed natural gas (CNG) powered buses, has acquired a 50% ownership position of Omnitek Peru S.A.C., a joint venture that parent company Omnitek Engineering Corporation (CAL/USA), set up with local partners in August 2009 to offer conversion services for diesel engines to operate on natural gas, as well as provide services to re-power diesel trucks and buses utilizing Omnitek’s natural gas engines... Pegaso Bus is said to be one of the fastest growing companies in Peru. It is a the exclusive dealer of Kinglong of China buses, the second largest bus manufacturer in China...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

BUSMAKERS NEWS * Germany

* Dual cabin COBUS buses, bring tourists to Mont Saint-Michel

(Photo: The COBUS 3000, with a capacity of 112 PAX -14 seated)
Dietersburg,Peterskirchen,Germany -Busworld (Belgium) -2 Set 2012: -- Veolia Transport has started operated six dual cabin buses produced by Contrac GmbH for shuttling visitors to Mont-Saint-Michel... The vehicles has two driver cabins while a special gear module reverses the direction of transmission output so the buses can change direction without turning. With about 3 million visitors per year, the Mont-Saint-Michel monastery is one of the greatest tourist attractions in France...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

BUSMAKERS' NEWS * Sweden

* Sweden - Volvo sells 120 bi-articulated chassis for Bogota BRT system

(Photo: Volvo's bi-articulated chassis to the Transmilenio operators, the BRT -Bus Rapid Transit- system of Bogota)
Stockholm,Sweden -Busworld (Belgium) -1 Sept 2012: -- Volvo Buses has sold more than 120 bi-articulated chassis to one of the Transmilenio operators, the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system of Bogota, the capital of Colombia... With this deal, Volvo reaches 75% share in Transmilenio... The chassis are model B340M with capacity for over 250 passengers and will circulate on the trunk axes of Transmilenio’s third expansion phase... Bogotá’s Transmilenio is the most modern and advanced BRT system in the world. The system has over 100 bus stations and transports every day 1.6 million passengers in 266 districts... The new buses already have SCR technology and are compliant with the Euro V emission standards, which means less emissions and cleaner air for the citizens of Bogota...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

ALTERNATIVE FUELS * WORLDWIDE

* Perú - City of Lima recognised for its natural gas fuelled metropolitan transportation systems

(Photo: "Metropolitano" buses in Lima,Perú)
Lima,Perú -Busworld (Belgium) -26 Aug 2012: -- Peru’s capital city, Lima, has been recognized by the international community for its environmental approach to Metropolitan transportation, thanks to the use of natural gas fuel used by the total fleet of buses circulating its recently completed High Capacity Segregated Corridor (Spanish acronym “COSAC I”), which transects the city from north to south. The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (MML) includes in its principles of operation ecologically sustainability for urban transportation... The “Metropolitano” COSAC I, delivers lower emissions per capita and is quieter; it also reduces traffic volume and is therefore more efficient with passenger transportation. Reduced emissions will have a positive impact on community health, decreasing incidences of allergic and respiratory disease... Additionally, this will allow Protransporte as the operating entity of the Metropolitano, to issue carbon credits on the international market, delivering a return on a maximum potential of 688 000 308 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent...

* Massachusetts / USA - Bioengineered bacteria could produce fuel from CO2

(Photo: Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Cambridge,MASS,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -30 Aug 2012: -- Genetically-altered Ralstonia eutropha bacteria could be used to convert carbon dioxide gas into fuel. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have succeeded in genetically altering Ralstonia eutropha soil bacteria in such a way, that they are able to convert carbon into isobutanol, an alcohol that can be blended with or even substituted for fossile fuels... When their regular carbon food sources become scarce, Ralstonia eutropha normally respond by synthesizing a type of polymer, in which they store whatever carbon they’re able to find. The team of MIT biologists were able to get the bacteria to produce isobutanol instead of that polymer...

Labels: alternative fuels

BUSMAKERS NEWS * Japan

* Japan - Isuzu launches Erga hybrid route bus

Shinagawa-ku,Tokyo,Japan -Busworld (Belgium) -24 Aug 2012: -- Japanese bus manufacturer Isuzu Motors Ltd. recently launched a hybrid version of its Erga citybus, fitted with a BAe Hybridrive electric driveline. The bus features both a diesel engine and an electric motor in its driveline, which is of the parallel-hybrid drive... According to Isuzu officials the new bus is some nine percent more fuel-efficient than existing diesel-only models... The Erga Hybrid Bus features a 7.8 liter Isuzu diesel engine with a robotized gearbox behind it, and the BAe HybriDribve pach containing a motor/generator and a high-capacity, high-output lithium ion battery. The electric motor is used for driving away from a stop without emission and noise, while it also is used to charge the batteries through regenerative braking...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide

TECHNO BUSES * WORLDWIDE

* Michigan / USA - ANTI-CRASH TECHNOLOGY pilot launches in

(Photo: Road test of connected vehicle crash avoidance technology)
Ann Arbor,MICH,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -22 Aug 2012: -- Nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses equipped with “connected” Wi-Fi technology to enable vehicles and infrastructure to “talk” to each other in real time to help avoid crashes and improve traffic flow will begin traversing Ann Arbor, Mich. streets as part of a year-long safety pilot project by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT)... U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, recently joined elected officials and industry and community leaders on the University of Michigan campus to launch the second phase of the Safety Pilot, the largest road test to date of connected vehicle crash avoidance technology... According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), V2V safety technology could help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of four out of five unimpaired vehicle crashes. To accomplish this, the model deployment vehicles will send electronic data messages, receive messages from other equipped vehicles and translate the data into a warning to the driver during specific hazardous traffic scenarios. Such hazards include an impending collision at a blind intersection, a vehicle changing lanes in another vehicle’s blind spot or a rear collision with a vehicle stopped ahead, among others... The information collected from both phases of the Safety Pilot and other key research projects will be used by NHTSA to determine by 2013 whether to proceed with additional activities involving connected vehicle technology, including possible rulemaking...

* Massachussets - Semiautonomous driving system takes over when drivers make mistakes

Cambridge,MASS,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -29 Aug 2012: -- MIT researchers have developed a semiautonomous safety system which allows a human driver full control of a vehicle until it detects that the vehicle is heading toward a hazard or obstacle, at which point it takes control and steers to safety. When such a hazard is detected, the system will bring it back within a calculated safe zone, and then hand control back over to the driver. The so-called intelligent co-pilot system is the work of Sterling Anderson (PhD student at MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering) and Karl Iagnemma (principal research scientist at the Institute's Robotic Mobility Group). Instead of using a path-based control, such as self-parking systems where a driver allows the vehicle to take over control of the vehicle to safely park, the system uses selective enforcement of constraints. Anderson and Iagnemma have put the system through more than 1,200 trials in Michigan since September 2011... In its current configuration and on a challenging obstacle course, the system reduces the occurrence of accidents by over 75 percent, while allowing the driver to decrease his/her course completion time by 30 percent. The researchers believe they can reduce the collision rate to zero with the integration of a tactical-grade IMU...

* USA - Report: Hybrids capture 40% of transit bus market

(Photo: Metro Transit’s hybrid-electric buses in the Twin Cities, USA)
Boulder,COL,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -27 Aug 2012: -- In North America, hybrid buses have captured as much as 40% of new transit bus purchases in recent years. Electric drivetrains — whether for hybrid systems, battery-electric, or fuel cell — hold appeal for the bus market for many of the same reasons they do for light-duty vehicles: the promise of moving away from oil, efficiency gains, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and, in many cases, lower operating costs... According to the Pike Research report, “Electric Drive Buses,” the global market for electric-drive buses is expected to grow steadily over the next six years, with a compound annual growth rate of 26% from 2012 to 2018. By 2018, more than 75,000 electric drivetrain buses will be in service around the world, the report concludes... While growth in the e-bus market will accelerate strongly in certain regions, including Eastern Europe and Latin America, by far the largest sales volumes will come in Asia Pacific, the study finds. More than 15,000 electric buses will be sold in Asia Pacific in 2018 — 75% of the world total. North American sales are expected to reach just fewer than 2,500 in the same year...

* South Korea - Scientists develop lithioum-ion battery that charges 120 times faster than normal

Ulsan,SK-Busworld (Belgium) -23 Aug 2012: -- A group of Korean scientists, working at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), have developed a fast-charge lithium-ion battery that can be recharged 30 to 120 times faster than conventional li-ion batteries. The team believes it can build a battery pack for electric vehicles that can be fully charged in less than a minute. The Korean method takes the cathode material — standard lithium manganese oxide (LMO) in this case — and soaks it in a solution containing graphite. Then, by carbonizing the graphite-soaked LMO, the graphite turns into a dense network of conductive traces that run throughout the cathode. This new cathode is then packaged normally, with an electrolyte and graphite anode, to create the fast-charging li-ion battery. Other factors, such as the battery’s energy density and cycle life seem to remain unchanged. These networks of carbonized graphite effectively act like blood vessels, allowing every part of the battery to recharge at the same time — thus speeding up recharge by 30 to 120 times. The network of conductive traces does increase the overall size of the battery, so it’s probably better suited for use in electric vehicles (EVs). Obviously, an EV that can be recharged in under a minute is pretty fast. However, li-ion battery packs are quite expensive — and the Korean carbonized LMO process certainly will not be lowering their price...

* Michigan / USA - EATON upgrading and downsizing hybrid power system

(Image: Eaton Corp. is developing a power control system for hybrid-electric vehicles)
Southfield,MICH,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -4 Sept 2012: -- Eaton is working on upgrading its hybrid electric vehicle power control system by reducing the size of the battery 50 percent and improving the total performance of the system and its charge rate while maintaining battery life, fuel economy and overall vehicle performance. The RD project will be funded jointly between Eaton and a grant from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)... It’s intended to optimize operations of hybrids, from passenger cars to commercials vehicles...

Labels: techno buses, technonews

PUBLIC TRANSPORT PLANS * WORLDWIDE

* Finland - Finnish transport sector sets 40% renewable methane target

Helsinki,Finland -Busworld (Belgium) -18 Aug 2012: -- In January 2012, Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications set up a “Future motive powers in transport” task force with a purpose to work out targets and plan paths for achieving them, for different motive powers in road, rail, water and air transport in 2020 and 2050... One of the motive powers considered by the task force is renewable methane for which a sectoral report was prepared by the Finnish Biogas Association and North Karelian Traffic Biogas Network Development Programme. The latter is an EU European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) co-funded project with a purpose to enable establishment of traffic biogas production and refueling network in the province of North Karelia in Eastern Finland... A goal of 40 % share for renewable methane of transport energy consumption in 2050 is proposed in the report and roadmaps for different forms of transport. Renewable methane means biomethane, wind methane, solar methane and other methane fuels produced by renewable energy sources... To be able to get development into desired tracks, targets for 2020 have also been proposed and a toolbox of recommended instruments has been designed for State level interventions for meeting the targets. In road transport the target is 2 % of vehicles in 2020, i.e. 60,000 vehicles, that will run ion biomethane. Meeting the target means that methane vehicles should reach 4.4 % share of registrations between 2012 and 2020. This includes buses and coaches. In 2020 natural gas (NG) is expected to cover 60 % of transport methane use of 2.5 TWh. Biogas (BG) and synthetic biogas (SBG) would contribute by 1 TWh (40 %). After 2020 the share of renewable methane will continuously increase and by 2050 the use of natural gas and all other fossil fuels will end...

* Canada - Ontario Government launch the Niagara Falls, WEGO system, into service

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Busworld (Belgium) -28 Aug 2012: -- The government of Ontario, Canada marked the launch into service of the Niagara Falls Visitor Transportation System – called WEGO... It is a system that is fully accessible, so that all visitors have easier access to Niagara's wonderful attractions... When the system is completed in 2014, 27 fully accessible buses with intelligent transportation and fare collection systems will be in service... The WEGO buses are fitted with the latest in intelligent transportation technology, featuring on-board screens, next stop display and announcements, transit signal priority and real-time information on the Web... The buses are built by New Flyer, total cost of the completed WEGO Visitor Transportation System will be $50 million...

Labels: alternative fuels, public transport system, transport planing

4.9.12

BUSMAKERS NEWS * Germany

* Westphalia - Hybrid bus fleet for Münster's public transport service

(Image: A Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid bus Mannheim,Münster,Westphalia,Germany -Daimler (PR) -Aug 28, 2012: -- Two Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid vehicles handed over in Münster... Electric travel with a hybrid drive system. Electrically powered, zero-emissions and virtually silent on inner-city routes up to 10 km... Greater safety thanks to gearless four-wheel drive... Münster is the largest city in Germany without a railbound municipal transport system.

Since the closure of its tram system in 1954 and of trolley bus operations in 1968, the city's public transport system has operated exclusively using environmentally friendly buses...

Labels: busmakers news worldwide