Buses World News

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

25.7.10

Passenger Focus * UK - They have their say on West Yorkshire’s buses

(Video from YouTube, by wakefieldpinball -29 June 2009: Footage and photos of the new Enviro 200's to enter the Arriva Yorkshire fleet)

West Yorkshire,EN,UK -Passenger Focus -14 July 2010: -- As part of its drive to improve bus services and make a difference for passengers, the independent watchdog Passenger Focus has found out what over 1800 passengers in West Yorkshire think about their bus services. Overall satisfaction was 91%, with Transdev’s services rated 96%, Arriva’s 93% and First’s 89%... Satisfaction with key attributes was: getting a seat (90%), length of time the journey took (83%), journey‘s smoothness and freedom from jolting (81%), punctuality (80%) and length of time spent waiting for the bus (79%)... This bus passenger satisfaction research which was published today is part of an ongoing nationwide programme of bus passenger satisfaction research in 14 areas – a mix of metropolitan, urban and rural areas to reflect the different type of journeys that passengers make... Over 18,500 passengers participated in this detailed investigation which looked at many aspects of passengers’ journeys. This report is the biggest single survey of bus passenger views ever to be published in England...

Labels: bus' passengers, passengers' survey, researchs

8.12.08

Obese Bus Passengers * Australia - Sydney passengers are too heavy for buses

Sydney bus passengers have put on so much weight fewer people may soon be allowed on each vehicle

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Daily Telegraph, by Rhys Haynes -December 05, 2008: -- ... The Federal Government is being asked to review the loading capacity of buses, which is currently set at 65kg per person... Health experts say the average weight would be more realistic at about 72kg, given most buses only contain adults... The Government said it was reviewing national bus standards but not specifically passenger weights... One driver told The Daily Telegraph the buses were harder to drive when full of adults... "They are squashing in like sardines, there's no way people weigh 65kg, almost everyone on a typical day would be more than that including the drivers," the driver said... (Picture: A big ask ... oversized passengers too heavy for buses)

Labels: bus' passengers

9.6.08

More Passengers * USA - Getting on board the bus

Commuters increasingly realize that taking an IndyGo ride is more cost-effective for them

Indianapolis,IND,USA -The Indianapolis Star, by John Tuohy -June 5, 2008: -- The Hummer might be near death, but the motorcoach is thriving in Indianapolis... Thanks to soaring gasoline prices, ridership on the Fishers Express bus to Downtown Indianapolis has more than tripled since its launch in October, mirroring a nationwide trend toward public transportation... David Spiech, 43, Noblesville, is part of a surge that pushed the express bus' ridership to 11,056 for the month of May and has helped account for a 25 percent increase in IndyGo riders in the past year... IndyGo spokeswoman Ronnetta Spalding said fuel costs are driving the rise... The spike in riders reflects a national trend. The American Public Transportation Association reported this week that Americans took 85 million more trips on public transportation in the first three months of this year than they did for the same period last year... The Fishers bus has been so popular that IndyGo started another express bus in Carmel in March -- and ridership there is already at 8,000 passengers a month... (Photo by Rob Varela/Ventura Star: Rising gas prices are spurring drivers to park their cars and making packed buses a common sight in Ventura County)

* California - Gas prices drive more to mass transit

Ventura,CAL,USA -The Ventura County Star, by Stephanie Hoops -June 4, 2008: -- Ventura County bus ridership figures have soared to new highs as the average price for regular unleaded gas has surged to more than $4 a gallon, according to area transportation officials...

From January through April, tallies show the following increases:
* 17 percent — VISTA, or Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority
* 23 percent — Gold Coast Transit (formerly South Coast Area Transit), with routes throughout western Ventura County.
* 23 percent — commuter buses from Ventura County to Los Angeles County

The tremendous shift in bus commuting may be an indicator of things to come, as climbing gas prices continue to empty wallets with no end in sight... Gold Coast carries the most riders of any bus service in the county, with about 3.5 million boardings a year... (Photos by Rob Varela/Star staff - 1 · Passengers board a northbound VISTA bus Tuesday morning in downtown Ventura for Santa Barbara County destinations. Officials say VISTA ridership is up about 17 percent this year - 2 · Commuters wait for a bus Tuesday morning in downtown Ventura. VISTA bus routes have been added to meet the increased demand)

* Bus use grows in Cheyenne

Cheyenne,WY,USA -Casper Star-Tribune Online (Casper,WY,USA), by JOAN BARRON -June 8, 2008: -- ... National published reports say the use of public transit is soaring because of high gasoline prices. In some metropolitan areas, the demand is swamping transit systems. In Washington, D.C., for example, it's standing-room-only on commuter buses from the city's suburbs... According to the American Public Transportation Association, 2.6 billion trips were taken on public transit systems in the U.S. In the first three months of the year, there was a 3 percent increase over the same period in 2007... The Cheyenne Transit system experienced a phenomenal increase in riders -- nearly 80 percent over the last five years. But there has not been a big surge in riders since gas prices climbed toward $4 a gallon, said Joe Dougherty, the director... He attributed the growth in business to the increase of "transportation disadvantaged" riders in the capital city...

Labels: bus' passengers

12.5.08

Bus Passengers Services * UK - At end of routes waiting longest

Figures also show Scotland delays worse

London,UK -Which? -9 May 2008: -- Bus passengers in Scotland and those waiting at stops towards the end of a long route are getting the poorest bus services, new government figures show... In 2007, a total of 75% of buses on non-frequent service routes in England were on time compared with a figure of 72% in 2005, the Department for Transport statistics revealed... But for Scotland the figure for last year was only 73%, although this was an improvement on the 2005 figure of just 66%... The statistics also showed that on long routes, 84% of buses were on time at the beginning of the route but only 62% were on time at stops more than one hour from the start of the route... (Video from YouTube, by DaveSpencer32 - April 24, 2007: "1483 EDINBURGH BUSES APRIL 2007")

Labels: bus' passengers

11.4.08

PASSENGERS * USA - As gas prices rise, buses seeing more traffic

The number of people riding buses is shooting up right along with gas prices

Wenatchee,WA.USA -The Wenatchee World Online World, by Jay Patrick -April 08, 2008: -- In the first three months of this year, 212,210 riders boarded Link Transit buses, nearly 18,000 more than January through March 2007. Ridership on routes connecting Wenatchee with outlying areas such as Leavenworth, Rock Island and Chelan have shown the most growth, said Eric West, Link's marketing manager... (Picture by Don Seabrook/World photo: Thomas Rutherford, 20, boards the Link Transit bus to his Plain home after attending classes at Wenatchee Valley College on Monday. He is riding the bus to save money on gas)

Labels: bus' passengers

6.3.08

TIPS * USA - On riding Metro buses

Increased ridership also means more passengers are riding the bus for the first time

Seattle,WA,USA -West Seattle Herald, by Tim St. Clair -March 3, 2008: -- With gas prices topping $3 per gallon, there are a lot more people riding buses these days, said a Metro bus driver, who wishes to remain anonymous... Metro recently released figures showing ridership was up 7 percent between 2006 and 2007. That translates into an average of 365,000 boardings per weekday. It's the biggest increase Metro recorded in the past decade... The increased ridership means buses are running a bit slower. More passengers mean more time spent picking up passengers and dropping them off. It especially takes time to maneuver a bus into and out of a bus stop, and passengers can speed things up if they signal their intentions to the driver as the bus approaches... (Photo by Ned Ahrens/King County Metro Transit: A new diesel hybrid-electric bus is tested in Seattle, Washington)

Labels: bus' passengers

8.11.07

SOCIAL STIGMA ... * USA - ... Going by bus ?

There seems to be social stigma embedded in the American psyche concerning the use of public transportation

Winter Park,FL,USA -The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando,FL), by MARCUS GRAHAM -November 3, 2007: -- I've lived in Central Florida for 12 years and previously lived and worked in the UK and Canada. I've been taking the bus to work the past six months. It is very convenient for me at least, with the route and schedule, to travel via bus to my office... The local government could increase taxes as much as they want, put more buses on the roads, etc., but in my opinion that would encourage only a slight increase in passenger use... In the UK and Canada, public transportation travelers for years have included everybody from road sweepers to CEOs of corporations... In Orlando, bus travelers (on my routes at least) are comprised generally of low income, handicapped, students, the aged, veterans, fast-food chain workers and non-drivers... I don't foresee Joe Schmoe in his Ford F150 or Mr. VP in his BMW giving up their wheels and psyches to stand in the bus line anytime soon. Plus, the planned fare increase is going to put off the present demographic of bus users from future use... (Photo from orlandomiami.com: Bus Orlando-Miami)

Labels: bus' passengers