User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Buses World News

Buses World News

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

13.7.16

BUSES PURCHASING PROSPECTS * India

* Delhi - Govt aims to connect 125,000 villages with 80,000 mini-buses

--- The central government, in partnership with state governments, will purchase 80,000 mini-buses to connect 125,000 villages, two people aware of the matter said... The move, which could mean a windfall for mini-bus makers such as Tata Motors Ltd, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Ashok Leyland Ltd, will also integrate the villages with the country’s economic mainstream, providing access to markets as well as better employment and education opportunities...
(Photo: An ordinary public transport bus, India) -- New Delhi, India - LiveMint, by Amrit Raj/Jyotika Sood - Jul 13 2016

Labels: buses purchase prospects

13.5.15

BUSES PURCHASE * USA: Palm Beach: 131 new - Kaneland: 10 new - Elkhart 15 new ones

* Florida - Palm Beach County schools to get 131 new school buses

-- Palm Beach County’s public schools are getting 120 new school buses next year in an effort to reduce the number of breakdowns caused by the school system’s aging bus fleet... The School Board voted Tuesday to spend more than $14 million over the next five years for 120 buses, along with $1.4 million this year for 11 smaller buses to transport students with learning disabilities... Board members called the purchase a short-term fix to a long-term problem, one they blame on their dwindling budget for construction and maintenance... As The Post reported last year, the number of buses that had to be towed because of breakdowns each year is growing. Records show tow-aways more than doubled from 245 in 2009 to 572 in 2013... The school system maintains a fleet of roughly 800 school buses...
(Photo: The school system maintains a fleet of roughly 800 school buses) Palm Beach, FL, USA - The Palm Beach Post, by Andrew Marra - May 12, 2015

* Illinois - Kaneland to buy 10 new school buses

-- Kaneland to spend $829,000 on 10 new school buses... The district owns 58 buses, two of which have 190,000 miles on them, and a significant number of others have 184,000 to 160,000 miles on the odometer. The oldest one on the road is a 2001 model, school district officials said... The district's citizen-appointed Finance Advisory Committee had recommended the School Board consider two separate two-year leases for 30 buses for next school year and 28 buses for the 2016-2017 school year... The majority of School Board members, however, thought more discussion was needed on the use of reserves in the district's fund balance to deal with the district's bus situation... The new buses are equipped with the latest technology such as improved heater systems and safety devices. The district transports 4,000 students on 155 routes every day...
(Photo) -- Maple Park, ILL, USA - Aurora Beacon-News, by Linda Girardi - 12 May 2015

* Indiana - Elkhart Community Schools moves forward with purchase of 15 buses

-- Elkhart Community Schools will move forward with the process to purchase about 15 buses for about $1.2 million... The buses will replace some older vehicles and also grow the fleet slightly, said Doug Hasler, executive director of support services... The new buses, which will vary in capacity, will be paid for with money from the Bus Replacement Fund and the operating referendum that was approved by taxpayers in May 2014... Hasler will return to the board with pricing before moving forward with any purchases...
(Photo: Riverview Elementary School in Elkhart) -- Elkhart, IND, USA - The Elkhart Truth, by Michelle Sokol - May 13, 2015

Labels: buses purchase prospects

12.5.15

ELECTRIC BUSES * Australia: Sydney Airport investigates ones

* New South Wales - Electric buses for the airport

-- Sydney Airport has announced it is investigating the addition of electric buses to the airport’s parking and ground transport operations... The airport has invited Expressions of Interest from manufacturers in Australia and overseas to take part in an open tender for the supply of electric buses, to be used on the shuttle route between the T2/T3 precinct and the Blu Emu Car Park, according to Sydney Airport... Sydney Airport is advertising its electric bus tender in a number of publications in Australia, the USA, the UK, Europe and Asia, with interested parties required to register Expressions of Interest by 12 June... In 2014, more than 1.6 million passengers and airport workers were transported on the Blu Emu Car Park’s buses... Electric shuttle buses operate in Manchester and Nottingham in the UK and at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, while electric bus trials have taken place in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Bangalore and Kuala Lumpur...
(Photo: Sydney Airport) -- Sydney, NSW, Australia - The FINANCIAL -11 May 2015

Labels: buses purchase prospects, electric buses

30.3.15

BUSES PURCHASE * USA: City of Wichita

* Kansas - To purchase nine buses as many as 60 new buses in the next five years

-- The city of Wichita plans to purchase nine, 35-foot diesel buses for Wichita transit, according to city documents... The diesel buses are part of a transit replacement plan approved last year by the City Council with Hayward, Calif.-based Gillig Corp. for at least 10 and as many as 60 new buses in the next five years... Wichita Transit operates a fleet of 56 buses and trolleys. According to transit director Steve Spade, about 60 percent of those are more than 12 years old, the useful life expectancy established by the Federal Transit Administration...
(Photo: The College Hill city bus heads down Douglas) Wichita, KS, USa -- The WICHITA EAGLE, by KELSEY RYANTHE - 25 March 2015

Labels: buses purchase prospects

11.3.15

BUSES PURCHASE * Thailand: Prajin eyes electric vehicle alternative

* Bangkok - NGV bus fleet plan faces new delays

-- Bangkok might be better off buying electric buses and scrapping its long-awaited NGV-fuelled bus purchase plan, says Transport Minister, Prajin Juntong... He called on Monday for a study on alternative fuels amid rising gas prices. The plan threatens to delay the city's plan to buy 2,694 city buses, which was set to kick into gear next month... However, the ministry will still go ahead with the bidding process for the first batch of 489 NGV-run buses... The plan to procure electric buses was still at the idea stage but might be worth a look as gas prices keep rising, ACM Prajin said... Transport officials, especially the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, which runs city buses, must review the plan to buy natural gas-fuelled (NGV) buses, as it faces several hurdles...
(Photo: NGV buses on Bangkok's streets) - Bangkok,Thailand - The Bangkok Post - 3 Mar 2015

Labels: buses purchase prospects

30.6.14

BUSES' PURCHASE * UK

* England - £90m drive to get more on buses

Yorkshire,EN,UK -Yorkshire Post -28 June 2014: -- Stagecoach is to spend a record £90m on new buses as part of a drive to get more people travelling by public transport... The transport group, which runs buses and trams across Yorkshire, said revenues rose five per cent to £2.9bn in the year to April 30, with pre-tax profits two per cent higher at £180.7m... The improvement was driven by the group’s regional bus division, which carried more passengers and increased revenues compared with a year ear- lier... The investment will introduce over 500 new greener buses in its regional operations...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

2.3.13

PURCHASE of 10,000 BUSES * India

* India - Budget 2013: Hike in JNNURM allocation likely to boost bus sales

(Photo: Mint - State transport undertakings bought 14,000 buses in 2009-2012 as part of the JNNURM programme)
Mumbai,India -The WSJ, LiveMiny, by Shally Seth Mohile -Feb 28 2013: -- Bus makers such as Tata Motors Ltd, Ashok Leyland Ltd and Volvo Buses India Pvt. Ltd may get a boost, thanks to an increase proposed in the allocation for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), money from which is used to expand and modernize public transport systems in the country’s towns and cities... Finance minister, P. Chidambaram, said in his budget speech on Thursday that the allocation would rise to Rs.14,873 crore in 2013-14 from Rs.7,383 crore in the current year... A significant portion of the fund will be used to support the purchase of up to 10,000 buses, specially by the hill states, he said. State transport undertakings bought 14,000 buses in 2009-2012 as part of the JNNURM programme...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

13.4.11

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Hattiesburg School District to buy new buses

Hattiesburg,Miss,USA -AP/Daily Reporter -April 07, 2011: -- The Hattiesburg School District will spend $803,000 for eight new school buses and nine vehicles, including a new car for the superintendent... Director of Transportation, Audrae Barnes, tells the Hattiesburg American that two of the buses will be used for activities. She says the other six will replace older buses... Of the nine vehicles, Barnes says two will be used for driver's education, two will be used by school resource officers, two will be used by the maintenance department, one will be used by the transportation department and one will be used by the technology department...

* UK - Government cash for green bus initatives

Poundbury,Dorchester,UK -This is Sommerset -7 April 2011: -- Seven new green buses will be picking up passengers in the West next year thanks to a Government grant of almost £650,000... Transport Minister, Norman Baker, said he had provided £475,000 for five single-decker buses to operate in Taunton... He has given Dorset County Council £166,000 for two single-decker electric buses for Poundbury, the village on the edge of Dorchester on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall... Mr Baker said the cash was part of £46 million from the Green Bus Fund for 542 new low-carbon buses to be on roads across the country by March 2012... The money is part of the Government's drive to invest in projects that encourage use of sustainable local transport, and promote green growth... The fund has previously supported almost 150 buses around the country... (Photo from inhabitat: Tindo bus green public transit)

Labels: buses purchase prospects

26.3.11

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECT * Canada - St. John's spending $15 M on new buses

Metrobus will be replacing some of its old buses

St. John,Manitoba,Canada -CBC News -Mar 22, 2011: -- St. John's city council has approved a plan to borrow $15 million for new public buses... Half the city's fleet is at least 25 years old and councillors said the buses should be replaced for safety reasons... Metrobus will get 30 new vehicles under the seven-year plan... City officials looked into buying new hybrid-electric buses but decided not to purchase the more-expensive, environmentally friendly vehicles... The hybrids each cost $300,000 more than standard buses...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

28.2.11

BUSES PURCHASE * USA - Texas Putting Bucks Behind Buses

* Texas - Rapid Doesn’t Always Mean Rail

Dallas,TX,USA -The Bond Buyer, by Richard Williamson -February 22, 2011: -- As Texas urban transit authorities continue to expand light-rail lines to ease congestion, they are also investing heavily in their workhorse buses, combining local and federal funds to develop cleaner, more efficient systems... Dallas Area Rapid Transit is planning to spend $250 million to buy or lease an entire fleet of 452 buses powered by compressed natural gas. The plan could require bond issuance, but DART board has not decided on the financing details... In San Antonio, the VIA Metropolitan Transit system is converting an historic train station into the Westside Multimodal Transit Center, which would serve a bus rapid transit, or BRT, corridor and possibly support light rail in the future... In El Paso, the Mesa Corridor BRT project is in line to receive $13.54 million of federal funding under the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program. Under a plan the El Paso City Council approved last year, the $136 million bus rapid-transit system would receive $55 million from the city and the rest in federal and state money... In Austin, one of the state’s most congested cities, the Capital Metro Transit Authority is building a $47.6 million BRT system and plans to get $38.1 million of federal funding under President Obama’s recommended budget... The Texas projects are among 10 start-ups across the country recommended for a combined $569.3 million of federal grants. Others include rail and BRT projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Utah and Washington state... An additional 11 projects that were recommended for funding in previous years, but have not received federal commitments, are being recommended for $1.4 billion in this year’s budget... (Photo by David Kroomba/Ride for Climate: A shot of Bogota's (Colombia) BRT nuses system)

* Pensilvania - Lancaster's Red Rose Transit Authority wants to add hybrid buses to its fleet.

Lancaster,PA,USA -Lancaster On Line, by BERNARD HARRIS -21 Feb 2011: -- The public transit agency hopes to purchase two buses, at a cost of $544,816 each... The buses are expected to save the RRTA between 20 and 30 percent of the fuel used by a comparable diesel bus. That translates into $7,000 to $10,000 per year, depending on the cost of fuel, said David Kilmer, RRTA executive director... The RRTA board on Wednesday approved a purchase contract with Gillig Corp. of Hayward, Calif., on behalf of RRTA and 21 other, mostly small, transit agencies statewide... The cooperative purchase agreement will run for five years and entail as many as 200 buses, for a total value of nearly $109 million...

* New York - County Legislature To Consider Federal Grant For CARTS Buses

Mayville,Jamestown,NY,USA -The Post Journal, by Nicholas L. Dean -February 23, 2011: -- Are nine new CARTS buses necessary and essential? ... John Runkle doesn't think so. At least, not this year... The Stockton Republican and former majority leader voted against the proposal in last week's Audit and Control Committee meeting. Having passed both that committee and another though, the proposal will go before the full legislature for vote tonight... As explained by George Spanos, Department of Public Facilities director, the county is eligible every year to apply for federal grant funding for CARTS purchases. In addition to nine new buses, Spanos said the department is also asking for software which would improve the operations of CARTS... The county did get 13 new buses last year, Spanos answered, but the fleet is 30 in total - with all buses racking up miles from their travels around the county. The department replaces buses every year, but does not replace any buses that have less than 150,000 miles, Spanos explained. On average, the buses get about 30,000 miles each year...

Labels: bus rapid transit - BRT, buses purchase prospects

15.11.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Metro gets $4M grant to buy 12 buses

St. Louis,MO,USA -The St. Louis Business Journal -November 5, 2010: -- St. Louis transit agency Metro said Friday it will use a $4 million federal grant to buy 12 buses... The Federal Transit Administration notified Metro that its grant application had been approved through the FTA Clean Fuels Bus Grant program to buy buses that meet current federal emissions requirements... Metro said it needs more buses to restore services that were cut in March 2009 amid budget constraints. St. Louis County voters approved a half-cent sales-tax increase in April 2010 to provide $80 million a year to restore service and rebuild the bus fleet. Metro began implementing service restoration in June and said Friday it has been working to speed up bus acquisition...

Labels: buses purchase prospects, stimulus funds

21.10.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECT * USA - Grant to allow purchase of new Port Authority buses

Pittsburgh,PA,USA -The Globe, by Kalea Hall -October 12, 2010: -- Jim Ritchie, Director of Public Relations for Pittsburgh Port Authority, said the transit company will "benefit greatly" from the grant they received on Oct. 4... As a result, Port Authority will be able to purchase new buses so the older ones can be removed from its fleet, lessening the chance that Point Park University students will experience delays... The Port Authority is allowed to spend the grant money on capital expenses... With the grant money being directed toward the purchase of new buses, the Port Authority will benefit financially since the average age of its apporximately 830 buses is six to seven years... Port Authority will be buying 53 buses this fiscal year, which began June 30 and ends July 1 of next year. Of those, roughly 25 are 40-foot-long buses and about 20 are 60-foot articulated buses, according to Ritchie... The 40-foot buses that were purchased this year will arrive next summer, and the articulated buses will arrive in December 2011. Port Authority also wants to purchase at least 70 more buses next year with the grant money, but that plan has yet to be approved...(Image from onestoptransit.com: Pittsburgh city transit bus)

* Oregon - Voters support new buses, depending on what they’re for. Poll indicates electorate’s attitude toward new buses is tied to elderly

Portland,ORE,USA -The Forest Grove News-Times, by Christian Gaston -Oct 13, 2010: -- Portland-area voters will cough up money for new TriMet buses, it just depends on how you ask... In November, voters will decide the fate of a $125 million bond measure to replace old buses with newer models that are easier for the elderly and disabled to board... While a recession may seem like a terrible time to ask voters for more money, a poll conducted by TriMet in June indicates that voters are willing to pay up, depending on what the money will be used for... When TriMet asked 600 residents whether they’d approve of a generic replacement levy, support was high, with 56 percent saying yes to a bond, and another 3 percent leaning toward supporting it... The bond measure approved by the TriMet board of directors in August, does a bit of both. By buying new buses, TriMet argues it can better serve the elderly and disabled... The bond would pay for up to 150 new buses at $440,000 a vehicle... (Image from t0.gstatic: Port Authority of Alleghany County maintains three bus routes)

Labels: buses purchase prospects

12.10.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECT * USA - Austin granted $2M for new buses

Part of $776 million given to urban and rural transit providers in 45 states

Austin,TX,USA -The Austin Business Journal -October 7, 2010: -- The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is receiving a $2 million federal grant, which will be used to replace five buses, an Austin transit spokesman said... The funding is part of $776 million being given to urban and rural transit providers in 45 states. The federal government reviewed nearly 400 project applications representing $4.2 billion in funding requests from transit providers across the country. Capital Metro requested about $22 million... Capital Metro spokesman Adam Shavitz said the buses will be purchased and received in fiscal 2011 or 2012... The Texas Department of Transportation also received its own $5 million for bus replacement statewide... (Photo from upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia: Capitol Metro UTBus)

* Portland - Blumenauer Announces $9 Million to Replace Aging Commuter Buses

Portland,ORE,USA -PoliticalNews - Oct 07,2010: -- Funding Will Ensure Portland Area Public Transportation Remains a Model for Nation... Congressman Earl Blumenauer announced that the Department of Transportation has awarded a total of $9 million to Oregon agencies to replace and upgrade their fleets of commuter buses. $6 million will go to Tri-Met for Portland area buses and $3 million will go to the Oregon Department of Transportation Transit Division for rural bus routes... Tri-Met and the Oregon DOT were selected for funding on a competitive basis through a new U.S. Department of Transportation transit initiative announced in May 2010 called the State of Good Repair Program... (Photo by John M. Vincent/ blog.oregonlive: A TriMet bus moves through downtown Portland)

* Washington - Grant could pay for 4 buses. $2M from Transportation: Quieter, less stinky hybrids might replace older models

Thurston County,WASH,USA -The Olympian, by MATT BATCHELDOR -October 11, 2010: -- Intercity Transit will get a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that could be used to buy up to four new hybrid buses... Intercity Transit will replace four of the oldest buses in its fleet, standard diesel buses that date to the late 1990s, spokeswoman Meg Kester said. She said such buses are recommended to be replaced every 12 years... Intercity Transit has more than 100 vehicles in its fleet, she said. Of those, 68 are full-size bus coaches. The rest are smaller, van-like vehicles. In addition, the agency has nearly 200 vanpool vehicles... (Photo from farm4.static.flickr: Intercity Transit Bus)

Labels: buses purchase prospects

13.8.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECT * USA - School Board votes to buy 12 new school buses

Ouachita Parish,LA,USA -The News Star, by Stephen Largen -August 11, 2010: -- With the start of school a week away, the Ouachita Parish School Board on Tuesday night voted to purchase 12 new school buses and lease another eight for the fall semester... The School Board had planned to purchase a smaller number of buses to replace aging ones, but School Board members said they had little choice but to buy more than the district planned and lease the others after a July fire destroyed seven buses at the school district's garage... The school district will seek bids for the new buses, which will likely cost between $70,000 to $90,000 each depending on capacity... But the new buses won't be available until early November at the earliest, necessitating the leases... Leasing the buses through mid January will cost the district around $50,000...

* Oregon - TriMet to ask Portland-area voters for $125 million to replace aging buses

Salem,ORE,USA -The Oregonian, by Joseph Rose -11 Aug 2010: -- The TriMet board voted unanimously Wednesday to put the property-tax measure on the ballot. If approved, it would cost the owner of a median-priced $240,000 home in the Metro area $19 and change each year... TriMet wants voters to approve a $125 million bond measure in November. TriMet wants to replace 150 aging, hard-to-access buses so that it can better serve the approaching wave of retiring baby boomers... As America's largest generation rolls past 65, TriMet finds itself operating one of the nation's oldest bus fleets... Many vehicles are approaching 20 years old. And 250 of the older buses are high-floor models that are often taken out of service to fix malfunctioning mechanical lifts, TriMet officials said... (Photo by Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian: TriMet plans to appeal to voters to finance a bond measure so the transit agency can replace some of its aging buses)

Labels: buses purchase prospects

26.7.10

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECT * USA

* New York - Madison County receives $1 million for buses

Wampsville,NY,USA -The Oneide Daily Dispatch, by CAITLIN TRAYNOR -July 23, 2010: -- A $1.01 million Recovery Act grant awarded to Madison County will aid in the implementation of its coordinated transit plan... Five new buses - costing about $280,000 - have been purchased with the money so far... The county can take up to two years to spend the money and will purchase additional buses and other equipment... Department of Transportation guidelines dictate when buses should be replaced and is largely based on mileage. Ingmire said three buses purchased in 2007 have more than 150,000 miles on them and also eligible to be replaced... County Planning Director Scott Ingmire said, the county would not have received the $1 million grant from the Recovery Act if the coordinated plan was not complete...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

22.7.10

Natural Gas Buses * Viet Nam - Receiving greenlight

Ho Chi Minh City,Viet Nam -The Viet Nam Business News -Jul 20, 2010: -- Two public transport buses that have been on a trial run on compressed natural gas in HCM City since May will continue to operate after the gas supplier reversed a decision to stop supplying fuel due to losses. PetroVietnam Southern Gas JSC (PV Gas South), the CNG supplier, had planned to stop supply from the middle of this month if at least 20 gas-fuelled buses are not operated... The Alliance of Bus Co-operatives, one of the two operators of the CNG buses, has sought a loan subsidy from the city People’s Committee to invest in more CNG buses that cost VND2 billion (US$106,000) each, almost double that of a diesel bus. The People’s Committee had approved a subsidy to the Sai Gon Passenger Transport Company – the other operator – for buying 21 CNG buses but the Government has yet to make a final decision... PV Gas South built a gas station in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with an annual capacity of 50 million cubic metres and a sub-station in HCM City’s Tan Binh District that can supply 50 buses a day, according to Doan Van Nhuom, the company’s general director...

Labels: buses purchase prospects, natural gas fueled

15.5.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Indian Hill to replace buses

Indian Hills,OH,USA -The Cincinnati Community Press, by Forrest Sellers -May 13, 2010: -- The Indian Hill Exempted Village School District is reviewing bids for buses... The district plans to replace two of its buses, according to Treasurer, Julia Toth... Toth said the buses are expected to cost about $87,000 each... According to the district website, the district has a total of 34 buses with an estimated total of 1,796 students who ride them... (Photo from pics4.city-data: The Village of Indian Hill, OH. Random road leading into Indian Hill)

* New York - About the Canandaigua and Victor school budget votes

Canandaigua,NY,USA -ROCnow -May 14, 2010: -- The budget proposal of $62 million calls for a 7 percent increase in the tax levy. Also on the ballot is a proposition to spend $8.4 million on a capital project to make improvements to all district buildings; and a proposition to spend $680,000 to buy six 74-passenger buses and one five-passenger vehicle... (Photo Credit: Shane - Taken at Baker Park, Canandaigua, NY following the soccer game)

Labels: buses purchase prospects

6.4.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECT * USA - School system negotiates purchase price of buses

Brighton,MICH,USA -The Detroit News -March 29. 2010: -- Brighton Area Schools is negotiating bus purchases as the transportation department merges under management of the intermediate school district, the Livingston Educational Service Agency... Brighton is required to buy 15 new buses over the three-year contract with LESA... Mike Hubert, finance director for LESA, contacted Brighton Superintendent, Greg Gray, after finding 1-year-old, 71-passenger buses for $15,000 to $20,000 off the sticker price...

* Maui/USA - Transit hub to get benches. Buses sheltered from cuts, riders from rain

(This sketch shows how a major transit node of the Maui Bus, at Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center, will look)

Wailuku,Maui Kula,HI,USA-The Maui News, by CHRIS HAMILTON -March 30, 2010: -- While Maui County might be facing its largest budget hole ever, the buses still need to run, and Mayor, Charmaine Tavares, said she is sticking with her pledge to start building a bevy of benches and shelters this year to protect riders from the sun, rain and wind.

(The Maui News / AMANDA COWAN photo - Ron Fogel, of Kula, waits patiently on a bench for the bus outside of Kihei Bay Surf alongside Lucia Cabalo, of Kihei, and her niece’s daughter, Shayna Wakayama, on Monday morning)

Maui Bus wants to build over the next five years the first nine of potentially 143 bus stops or shelters across the Valley Isle, said Transportation Department Director Don Medeiros on Monday.

(The Maui News / AMANDA COWAN photo: The Maui Bus rolls along South Kihei Road on Monday)
For instance, in addition to the $800,000 for those nine bus shelters, the federal government will provide almost $2 million, over a 10-month period through June to add five 37-passenger buses...

Labels: buses purchase prospects

1.4.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * WORLDWIDE

* Hungary - State bank loan may help Hungarian bus makers "plunge" back into local market

Budapest, Hungary -RealDeal.hu -March 22, 2010: ... The state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MBF) is planning to launch a Ft 50 billion (€188 million) loan program to help local communal transportation companies to renew their fleets of vehicles. This could be enough to buy about a thousand buses, most of which would be brand new - and at least some of which would be Hungarian-made... While the tender does not allow for "positive discrimination" in favor of domestic bus manufacturers, such companies are said to be believe their products are competitive on quality and prices. The program is thus seen as a boost to local firms who have in recent years had to focus on foreign markets, due to small and heavily bureaucratic local tenders...

* Tanzania - Investors in Dar transport to enjoy tax exemptions

Dar es Salam,Tanzania -The Citizen, by By Victor Karega -22 March 2010: -- The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has joined the drive to address public transport woes in Dar es Salaam and efforts being by made by the authorities to end the nagging problem of traffic congestion in the city... The agency said it is now ready to offer fiscal incentives to enable local investors to import modern buses to create public transport fleets, which are a sure way of safe commuting in cities. The TIC incentives include tax exemptions to transporters who will import new big buses for providing commuter services in the city... Its director of Investment Promotion, Raymond Mbilinyi, told BusinessWeek recently that the incentives aim at encouraging local investors to invest in modernizing public transport to overhaul the current wanting system and help to reduce traffic jams on Dar es Salaam roads... He said investors interested to invest in commuter bus companies can approach the agency for assistance... (Photo: Commuter buses at the Ubungo main bus stop)

Labels: buses purchase prospects

25.2.10

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Transit directors OK purchase of smaller buses

San Diego,CAL,USA -The North County Times, by CHRIS NICHOLS -February 18, 2010: -- In a move to save money and fuel and better fit its ridership, North County Transit District directors on Thursday approved the purchase of 24 new and smaller buses, the public agency's spokeswoman said... The 28-foot StarTrans buses could be on local roadways as early as August, officials have said... They will seat just over 20 passengers compared with the 70 who can sit or stand on the district's largest buses. Much of the existing fleet, which ranges from 32 feet to 40 feet, ferry a small number of passengers, especially on the less-used rural routes... The public agency provides bus and commuter train service across more than 1,000 square miles... Its contract will pay Chino-based Creative Bus Sales $3.5 million for the gasoline-powered vehicles.The district included an option to buy 24 more of the same buses in future years... NCTD's vehicle-replacement funds will pay for the buses... (Photo from interstatetransportation)

Labels: buses purchase prospects