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Buses World News

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

15.10.10

Bus Free Fares * UK - Firm paid £24m in free travel scheme

Lothian Buses was paid more than £24 million for its part in Scotland's concessionary travel scheme

Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -The Edinburgh Evening News /News Scotsman -11 October 2010: ... The scheme, which allows pensioners to travel by bus free of charge, sees the Scottish Government reimburse bus firms for the cost of tickets... Figures released under Freedom of Information laws shows the council-owned bus company was reimbursed £24.1m for carrying concessionary passengers during 2009-10... The figures come after Audit Scotland said the cost of free travel for over-60s and the disabled could rise to £537m by 2025... The spending watchdog urged ministers to consider whether the cash was "the best use of resources at a time of budget restraints" ... Audit Scotland called on the government and Transport Scotland to "clarify the objectives" of the scheme... Since it was introduced in April 2006, 1.1 million bus passes have been issued. All over-60s and most disabled people can get them and injured war veterans will qualify from next year... (Picture from ukbusawards.org.uk: A Lothian's bus)

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posted by Unknown @ 7:41 AM  0 Comments

18.8.09

FREE BUSES * USA - Bloomberg Calls for Free Crosstown Buses

New York,NY,USA -The New York Times, by Sewell Chan & Michael Barbaro -August 3, 2009: -- Manhattan’s notoriously slow crosstown buses — like the M34, M42 and M50 — move at such a snail’s pace that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should stop collecting fares on them so that the buses can load riders and take off more quickly, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed on Monday afternoon as part of what his re-election campaign called a bold plan for reforming mass transit... In a 33-point proposal spanning subways, buses, roads, ferries and the operations of the authority, the mayor appeared to be trying to assert a greater role for the city in mass transit as he seeks a third term in the November election... Other elements of the Bloomberg campaign’s plan include:
* Using smaller, more fuel-efficient buses to provide service on existing bus routes during less popular periods, like nights.
* Using technology deployed for military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan to track bus movements, with help from the city’s Department of Transportation.
* Creating a high-occupancy-vehicle express lane on the westbound Gowanus Expressway, whch would reduce commute times for motorists coming from Staten Island or southern Brooklyn.
* Giving the Police Department, which already controls policing in the subways, supervision over M.T.A. communications and surveillance — a proposal likely to raise hackles within the authority.
* Creating a TransitStAT program — similar to the CompStat program deployed since the early 1990s to monitor police responses to crime patterns — to regularly provide online updates to the public about transit performance... (Photo by Paul Burnett/The New York Times - Crosstown bus routes, like the M23, have traditionally been among the slowest in the city)


* One of MTA's 'slowest' buses still beats Daily News reporter on foot

(Photo by Antonelli/NYDNews - Daily News reporter Joe Jackson was left in the dust in a race against the M50 bus)

New York,NY,USA
NY Daily News, by Joe Jackson & Chloe Rosenberg -August 5 2009: -- ... It's lucky there were no spectators because this race was over almost as soon as it began... The Daily News pitted a reporter against one of the city's slowest crosstown buses Tuesday - and the scribe placed a distant second...

(Photo by Antonelli/NYDNews - Meanwhile, News reporter Chloe Rosenberg didn't break a sweat as she rode to victory aboard the notoriously slow M50)

... The M50 - the seventh slowest route in the city, according to the Straphangers Campaign - left our walker in a cloud of exhaust fumes as it clinched victory by eight minutes... The not-so-epic battle began at 2:47 p.m at 12th Ave. and 50th St. under the blazing afternoon sun... One News reporter, clearly sensing a close call, waited poised with her MetroCard in hand ready to shave vital seconds off the final time with a quick start as she boarded the bus... Meanwhile, a former marathon-running reporter, set off briskly from the bus stop as soon as the M50 pulled away... The 1.7 mile race was neck and neck for a block, as the competitors crossed 11th Ave. with just the sidewalk curb between them... But that was the last time our walker saw the bus, whose route is among those Mayor Bloomberg wants to offer for free to speed the journey... The Straphangers Campaign estimates the M50 crawls along 50th St. at an average of 4.9 mph... On this occasion it merely managed 4.8 mph, but that still proved too much for the fearless foot foe... Despite hitting congestion around Madison Ave., the sparse summer traffic and some favorable lights saw the MTA machine make Second Ave. in 21 minutes... Meanwhile our reporter on foot took 29 minutes to navigate the crowded sidewalk...

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posted by Unknown @ 2:12 PM  2 Comments

11.3.08

Free Tickets * UK - Over-60s prepare for, to ride the buses anywhere in England

London,UK -Herts 24 -10 March 2008: -- Bus passes allowing those aged over 60 and the disabled free travel anywhere in England will be available from April 1 - But St Albans District Council has no information about them on its website.The new passes will allow the over-60s or those who get a disabled bus pass, free travel anywhere in the country on a bus at off-peak times... The district council is responsible for providing the new passes to local residents who qualify but so far their website only advertises the current bus pass which provides countywide bus travel...

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14.12.07

Free Public Transport * Australia - Holiday revellers get it

Australia -The Herald Sun, by Ellen Whinnett -10 Dec 2007: -- Christmas and New Year's Eve revellers are to get a free ride. The Government is providing free travel on metropolitan buses, trains and trams on December 25 and from 6pm on December 31... It is part of a government push to cut the road toll by encouraging revellers to leave their cars at home... Trains, trams and buses will run all night on New Year's Eve to get partygoers safely and quickly in and out of the city... Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said it was the third consecutive year the Government had made the free transport available at Christmas and New Year...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:03 PM  0 Comments

13.11.07

Cashless road * Australia - For freeway buses

Melbourne's Eastern Freeway express bus services will go cashless in a trial aimed at improving travel times and reducing passenger delays

Melbourne,Australia - The Age, by Stephen Moynihan -November 12, 2007: -- ... Doncaster, Templestowe and Donvale do not have train or tram services and the area has one of the lowest rates of public transport use in Melbourne... The Eastern Freeway routes have recorded a 14 per cent jump in patronage over the past 12 months. Some services are overcrowded and others leave passengers stranded at stops... The managing director of Ventura/National Bus Company, Andrew Cornwall, said the cashless trial would determine if delays could be reduced by encouraging commuters to buy tickets before boarding... Sydney, which has a larger bus network, began trialling cashless services in 2004. It found a marked reduction in passenger boarding times from 50 to 36 seconds... (Picture from content.answers.com: "Buses in Adelaide, ready for peak hour on Grenfell Street")

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posted by Unknown @ 12:12 PM  0 Comments