Buses World News

CANCEL NIGHT TRIPS * Bangladesh: By arson attacks

* Transport owners agree to cancel long-haul night trips

-- Long-haul transport owners yesterday agreed to a government directive not to operate any bus on highways after 9pm during the ongoing blockade until further notice... The directive was issued at a meeting yesterday evening in view of the recent spate of arson attacks that damaged hundreds of vehicles in different parts of the country... But the directive would not be applicable to freight transports, including trucks and covered vans... The government earlier identified 993 risky points on highways and decided to deploy 12,000 Ansar members there. BGB has already been deployed to ensure security on roads... Arson attacks on buses and trucks across the country have killed over 60 people since January 5 when BNP chief Khaleda Zia imposed the indefinite blockade...Transport owners agreed to follow the government order, they told reporters that security measures were not adequate at vulnerable points. We were earlier told that security would be beefed up but that actually did not happen, they said... (Photo: Loaded trucks at Bangladesh) - Dhaka,Bangladesh -Dhaka Tribune, by Shohel Mamun -7 Feb 2015

Labels: dangerous bus services

DANGEROUS TRANSPORT SYSTEM * Pakistan

Transport violations continue despite promises

(Photo: View Karachi's buses' terminal at peak hours)
Karachi,Pakistan -The Nation, by Talha Makhdoom -January 12, 2015: -- Transporters continue to violate transport-laws despite Commissioner Karachi’s promise to address commuter security issues which are the prime reason behind road mishaps... In October 2014, Commissioner Karachi's told that the issue of commuter security is alarming. He said that it remained ignored as authorities’ were reluctant to address ‘minor issues’ like emergency exit gate in public transport, absence of fire extinguishers and over loading in buses. According the report, around thirty-five thousand Air-Conditioned and non-AC intercity buses are plying on National routes across the country... Thousands of commuters travel in vulnerable intercity buses due to negligence by transporters as basic public transportation laws are openly being violated... All these violations go unchecked due to a lack of coordination among the provincial administrations and other concern institutions... On the other side, as the transporters blamed the road condition for fatal accidents on inter-provincial routes, authorities appeared indecisive on to who would check fitness violations of transporters...

Labels: dangerous bus services

Violence * Mexico - Keeping bus passengers away

Nogales,AZ,USA -KOLD News 13, by Mark Stine -Apr 05, 2010: -- Crucero buses are still rolling into the station in Nogales, Arizona, but they aren't carrying as many passengers as they once did... "We have been hurt, business has been hurt," Arnold Contreras told KOLD News 13... Contreras says business has been hurt because of the ongoing violence across the border in Mexico... "I can't go to see my friends, I used to go to church once a week, I do that no more," Contreras explained... Contreras tells us they've lost a significant percentage of people traveling south, but business is about the same with travelers headed north...

Labels: dangerous bus services