Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
Future Buses * China - Managing a transport plan for a colossal number of people
“Straddling” bus–a cheaper, greener and faster alternative to commute
Beijing,China -China Hush, by Annie Lee -July 31, 2010: -- China is home to more people than any other country on Earth, and they're moving into megacities at a rate that's simply unprecedented. In fact, just about everything about today's China is unprecedented – this is a country facing some absolutely staggering challenges in the next 30 years. It's a peek into the future for Western nations – a glimpse at what is becoming the world's first megacolony. Managing a transport plan for such a colossal number of people – many of whom now own, or aspire to own, cars – presents a traffic congestion and pollution quandary the likes of which we've simply never seen before. Take a look at this amazing public transport solution – it's a bus network that drives over the top of the cars on a slightly modified road, able to stop without interrupting the traffic flow and to glide over the top of congestion. This go-go-gadget bus is far quicker and 90 percent cheaper to build than a new subway route, it's solar/grid electric powered and it's not a pipe dream, the pilot program goes into construction by the end of this year in the Mentougou district of Beijing, where 186km of tracks will be laid. If it works, you can expect to see it rolled out across China's large cities – and FAST... The next 20 years are going to see some thrilling technological advances as China plays catchup to its rampant population growth and booming economy... (SEE VIDEO)Labels: Bus of Future
FUTURE BUSES * UK - New Routemaster bus design unveiled
London,UK -Channel 4 News -17 May 2010: -- The London mayor unveils the design for a replacement for the iconic Routemaster double decker bus which is due to begin carrying its first passengers in 2012... The new, and inevitably red, bus will have two doors, as well as the iconic open platform allowing passengers to jump on and off where they want. The bus has been designed to be 40 per cent more fuel efficient than existing diesel double-deckers... It will have two staircases, and be manufactured from lightweight materials and glass to produce a "light and airy feel inside"...
Critics said the buses were fuel inefficient and inaccessible for disabled people...Opponents have questioned the cost of introducing the new Routemaster, at a time when Transport for London's finances are under huge strain... Figures revealed it would cost £7.8 million to bring in just five new buses...Labels: Bus of Future
Batmobile Buses * The Netherlands - All-Electric Superbus is Dark Knight-Approved
Amsterdam,The Netherlands -Trend Hunter Magazine (USA), by Luisa Amanda Gomes -19 March 2010: -- The all-electric Superbus is the attempt of students at UT Delft of the Netherlands, to make bus riding uber-cool once again (if riding the bus was ever cool, I didn’t hear about it). To make this vehicle attractive to potential riders, the students decked out the bus with a carbon-fiber shell, a low chasis, and 16 gull-wing doors... However, the coolest feature of the all-electric Superbus is that it closely resembles the Batmobile that lost a wheel. Who would like the ride the bus now? ...
The bus has some impressive stats to match its sleek looks: a block of lithium-polymer batteries power electric motors that run at up to 800 HP, and the whole thing can travel 130 miles before recharging — plenty of time for a trip across town...
Labels: Bus of Future, electric buses
Bus of Future * USA - Rolled out for first test drive
Berkeley,CAL,USA -The Mercury News/Contra Costa Times, by Denis Cuff -5 Sept 2008: -- California's dream of using self-steering buses to fight traffic congestion made headway in San Leandro on Friday when UC Berkeley researchers conducted their first test on a public street of a bus guided by magnets... A driver removed his hands from the wheel of the moving bus on East 14th Street to signal that a computer had taken over, steering in response to cues from the tiny magnets, which were embedded in the pavement... With the driver controlling speed but not direction, the 60-foot-long bus cruised in a straight line until pulling over to a bus stop with uncanny accuracy — leaving a gap of only a half-inch between the bus and the curb... (Photo by Laura A. Oda/The Oakland Tribune - Researchers at California Partners for Advanced Transit(PATH) at UC Berkeley demonstrated a 60-foot AC Transit bus steered, not by a driver, but by a magnetic guidance system on E. 14th St. in San Leandro between 138th Ave. and 150th Ave. on Friday morning Sept. 5th, 2008. Reaearch Engineer, Han-Shue Tan, Ph.D. shows where the magnets are embedded in the road by rolling another magnet above the road in front of the bus) Labels: Bus of Future
Beijing,China -China Hush, by Annie Lee -July 31, 2010: -- China is home to more people than any other country on Earth, and they're moving into megacities at a rate that's simply unprecedented. In fact, just about everything about today's China is unprecedented – this is a country facing some absolutely staggering challenges in the next 30 years. It's a peek into the future for Western nations – a glimpse at what is becoming the world's first megacolony. Managing a transport plan for such a colossal number of people – many of whom now own, or aspire to own, cars – presents a traffic congestion and pollution quandary the likes of which we've simply never seen before. Take a look at this amazing public transport solution – it's a bus network that drives over the top of the cars on a slightly modified road, able to stop without interrupting the traffic flow and to glide over the top of congestion. This go-go-gadget bus is far quicker and 90 percent cheaper to build than a new subway route, it's solar/grid electric powered and it's not a pipe dream, the pilot program goes into construction by the end of this year in the Mentougou district of Beijing, where 186km of tracks will be laid. If it works, you can expect to see it rolled out across China's large cities – and FAST... The next 20 years are going to see some thrilling technological advances as China plays catchup to its rampant population growth and booming economy... (SEE VIDEO)
