Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
BUS DRIVERS STRIKE * India - & * Portugal
* Delhi / India - Bus strike in Delhi after driver is beaten to death
-- A day after a driver of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) was beaten to death allegedly by a biker in a case of road rage, drivers of the state-run bus service stayed off roads in protest, causing problems for thousands of commuters and schoolchildren... Ashok Kumar, 42, died on Sunday morning after Vijay, a young man whose bike he had grazed, climbed onto his bus and allegedly bludgeoned him with his helmet. Investigations suggest Vijay and his mother fell when the bus hit their motorcycle in Mundka in west Delhi... Vijay was arrested late last night. His mother was arrested today for allegedly inciting him throughout... Ashok Kumar, a resident of Haryana, was a father of two. The Delhi government has announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh for his family. It has also promised a job for one family member... Most DTC buses remained off the roads as drivers demanded too better safety measures...
(Photo: Thousands of commuters have been hit by a DTC bus strike after a driver was beaten to death on Sunday) -- New Delhi, India - NDTV - May 11, 2016
* Portugal - No buses in Porto
-- A strike by bus drivers in the northern city of Porto means not one of the 400 scheduled early morning services is running on Monday, not even the minimum services required by law... The bus drivers from STCP are on strike from 0.00 on Monday to 2:00 on Tuesday to protest against the privatisation of the company and to demand more drivers... A public tender to franchise out the STCP services was launched in August 2014, but the agreement has not yet been signed with Spanish consortium TMB – Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona/Moventis, the only bidder in the tender that should start operating the Metro do Porto in July...
Porto, Portugal - Peprobe - 11 May 2015Labels: bus driver dangerous job, bus drivers strikes
DRIVER, DANGEROUS JOB * Canada - Bus drivers demand protection
Toronto,ONT,CAN -The Toronto Star -3 Nov 2008: -- They may not drive the mean streets of Toronto, but bus drivers on the rambling routes of 905-area communities say they're increasingly subjected to the type of assault and abuse TTC drivers face... Now they're insisting on similar protections... Durham Region Transit is about to install discreet alarms in its 160 full-size buses so drivers in trouble can activate the route display to read: "Call police, 911."... In Mississauga, where the number of driver assaults rose to 40 last year, from four in 2003, the transit workers' union has negotiated a physical-abuse clause into a new contract that took effect last month. It guarantees drivers won't miss any pay while they wait for workers' compensation benefits to be processed after an assault... (Picture by RON BULL/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO - In March 2008, Mississauga bus driver Albert Estabrooks got a black eye trying to break up a fight among passengers)Labels: bus driver dangerous job
Violence * USA - T riders driven to
‘It’s hard to even express how on edge you are’Boston,Mass,USA -The Boston Herald, by Marie Szaniszlo -June 23, 2007: -- MBTA workers are being pummeled, spit on and even beaten unconscious at a soaring rate, making the basic job of working for public transit an increasingly risky one... The number of MBTA employees assaulted over the past three years has risen 48 percent, from 119 in 2004 to 176 last year, according to agency statistics... “It’s incredible that people trying to serve the public should be threatened with violence,” said state Sen. Mark C. Montigny (D-New Bedford), a member of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation. “It’s pretty sad when your life’s in jeopardy for trying to collect a fare”... Because T employees are prohibited from speaking to the media without permission, most of those interviewed declined to give their names. But some of their stories of violence are harrowing... (Photo: One driver says he has been kicked and spat on - Violence towards MBTA workers is increasing in Boston at an alarming rate)Labels: bus driver dangerous job
* Australia - New plan to fight spitting bus passengers
NSW,Australia -abc.net.au -June 4, 2007: -- The New South Wales Transport Minister, John Watkins, says he will consider issuing bus drivers with DNA kits so passengers who spit on them can be traced by police... New figures suggest Sydney's bus drivers are regularly spat on and assaulted... Mr Watkins says he wants the possibility of using DNA kits to be explored...
Labels: bus driver dangerous job
Violence * UK - Threats common on buses
State Transit bus drivers are regularly spat on, verbally assaulted and threatened, and have had to deal with hundreds of cases of offensive behaviour and rock-throwing this year
London,UK -The Brisbane Times, by Jordan Baker (Brisbane,Queensland,Australia) --June 4, 2007: -- Figures obtained by the Herald show 369 reported incidences of offensive behaviour, 345 of rocks being thrown at buses and 45 verbal assaults between November and May... Five bus drivers reported assaults in which members of the public were injured, 24 reported being spat upon and 20 said they were threatened. There were 39 cases of vandalism... There were also 172 reported cases of passenger injury, although the document did not reveal the type of injury... London is dealing with the problem of spitting by issuing bus drivers with DNA kits, so passengers who spit on them can be traced by police. Tube stations already have them...Labels: bus driver dangerous job
