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Buses World News

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

18.5.15

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS * USA: Contrafow lane for buses on SF Gate

* California - Wrong-way bus lane: Right fix for Bay Bridge jams?

 -- Sometimes to get where you’re going, you have to head in the opposite direction... Such is the idea behind an unusual proposal to relieve crowding for transbay transit riders by turning an eastbound lane on the Bay Bridge into a bus lane heading west into San Francisco during the morning commute... With BART trains packed during the morning commute and the economy booming, transportation officials are pondering the creation of what’s known as a contraflow lane. The lane would allow transit agencies, including AC Transit, to run more buses into San Francisco... A morning contraflow lane is just one idea in a regional study looking at how to improve travel across the bay by increasing the capacity of transit. BART carries more than 430,000 riders a day, and trains through the Transbay Tube have become increasingly crowded. The new study aims to come up with quick, mid-range and long-term solutions. A long-range fix — a second Transbay Tube — has been the biggest attention-grabber so far... While far less sexy, converting a lane of traffic to a wrong-way bus lane across the bridge would provide relatively quick and inexpensive relief to transit commuters. The cost is projected at $51 million to $177 million... The concept for the contraflow lanes would place buses, and carpools if allowed, in the No. 1 — the northernmost — of the five eastbound lanes of the Bay Bridge. Existing lanes would be narrowed by 4 to 7 inches, depending on the lane, to make way for a 12-foot-wide bus and carpool lane with 2 feet for a movable barrier like the one on the Golden Gate Bridge. The lane would operate only during the morning commute... Buses would access the lane in the East Bay via an existing carpool-bus lane on Interstate 80, a new carpool lane on Interstate 580 or a new ramp from Interstate 880. They would travel across the bridge in the dedicated lane, then exit on a Transbay Transit Center bus ramp between the First Street and Fremont Street ramps... There is less need for such a solution during the evening commute, because it is not as concentrated as the morning commute, explained AC Transit spokesman Clarence Johnson... 

... AC Transit, which runs 30 transbay bus lines carrying about 14,000 passengers a day, is interested in the possibility of the bus lane. Its buses now use carpool lanes and special ramps to skirt the backup at the Bay Bridge toll plaza but must sit in the often-sluggish traffic across the span. That traffic is only going to get worse and would likely make bus trips not competitive within 20 years, the 2011 study found... Whether the contraflow bus lane rolls toward reality remains to be seen. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission expects to complete the current capacity study within two years, and it’s likely to make a recommendation on whether the lane should be considered. Transportation officials will also have to persuade Caltrans to approve the project and find the money...
(Photo: by Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle - Aerial view of the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge suspension tower visible from the Oakland, Calif., side on Wednesday, January 14, 2015)  --  San Francisco, CAL, USA - San Francisco Gate, by Michael Cabanatuan - May 17, 2015

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16.3.15

INFRASTRUCTURES' PROJECT * USA: Tolled express lanes only part of story on new U.S. 36

* Colorado - "U.S. 36 tolls need more local input" ..
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-- As the Colorado Department of Transportation's U.S. 36 Express Lanes project nears completion, The Denver Post editorial's singular focus on the proposed toll rates only during rush hours leaves out the rest of the story. Yes, paying a toll is one choice for drivers, but the express lane added in each direction of the highway will offer more choices than ever before in this highly congested corridor... U.S. 36 travelers can choose free or a fee... The express lanes are free for carpoolers, and riders on RTD's bus rapid transit service will save time in the less-congested express lane. Toll rates for solo drivers are lower during all off-peak hours and especially if they get a pass. Lastly, drivers always have the option of driving toll-free in the existing general purpose lanes, which will flow more smoothly as express lanes are expected to move 60,000 riders on a weekday. If you choose the toll-free lanes, you have the added benefit of new active traffic management, the large signs you see across the highway that will help improve traffic flow... In a revenue-constrained environment, using express lanes and pricing to manage for growth in the future while also providing multi-modal choice (as opposed to other parts of the country where entire roadways are tolled) was critical. Additionally, the public-private partnership model we are using helps us to deliver U.S. 36 years ahead of where traditional funding would allow... We are confident that once U.S. 36 opens later this year, Coloradans will feel they not only get a better choice in how they travel, but also the best choice we could make as stewards of scarce taxpayer dollars... 
(Photo by Karl Gehring/The Denver Post - Traffic moves on U.S. 36 in Broomfield) -- Denver, COL, USA -The Denver Post, by Shailen Bhatt (Executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation) & Michael Cheroutes (Director of the High Performance Transportation Enterprise) -14 Mar 2015

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12.1.15

INRASTRUCTURES * India

* Tamil Nadu - Separate lanes for MTC buses at toll plazas on Rajiv Gandhi Salai
(Photo by M. Karunakaran - Decongestion measure: A separate lane will prevent vehicles from losing time at the toll gates. A view of the Perungudi Toll Plaza)
Tamil Nadu,India -The Hindu, by LIFFY THOMAS -19 Jan 2015: -- This system is being re-introduced by TNRDC. It was first tried out around six years ago... After six years, the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) has opened a separate lane for MTC buses at toll plazas on Rajiv Gandhi Salai... In 2008, when tolling operations began on the stretch, the TNRDC, which maintains the roads, had earmarked a separate lane for MTC... A transaction at the toll takes six to 10 seconds. The waiting time gets longer during rush hour with many vehicles trying to jump the lanes. As there are no separate lanes for vehicle-pass owners or heavy vehicles, many lose time at the toll gates...

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27.11.14

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA: Tired of waiting for a late bus? ... NOW NEW: Traffic signal optimization !

* D.C. - Buses will get priority with technology that holds lights at green
(Photo: DC buses. The D.C. Department of Transportation is in search, to install transit signal priority equipment at 103 signalized intersections) 
Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Business Journal, by Michael Neibauer -Nov 25, 2014: --The District is planning a major initiative to improve timeliness — one that could prove so effective, buses end up running early... The D.C. Department of Transportation is in search of a contractor to install transit signal priority (TSP) equipment at 103 signalized intersections... TSP systems, according to reams of federal research, can significantly improve bus travel times... As a bus approaches a TSP intersection, it sends a cellular signal to the traffic controller box, which automatically (without any human intervention) reviews the current traffic conditions and tweaks the signal timing. It can extend a green light by five to 10 seconds, said Wasim Raja, a DDOT traffic signal engineer, or sometimes bring the green up early...  The Washington region was awarded a $58.8 million TIGER grant in 2010, from which the TSP system will be financed... That same grant is partly responsible for Alexandria's new dedicated Route 1 bus lane, D.C. traffic signal optimization, the Takoma-Langley Transit Center, replacement PRTC buses, and TSP systems on University Boulevard and Route 1 in Maryland, Van Dorn Street and Leesburg Pike...

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25.11.14

INFRASTRUCTURES for BUSES * USA

* Iowa - City leaders celebrate bus shelter renovation, talk upcoming bus app

(Photo by Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG TV9 - On Monday, city leaders celebrated the fully finished depot project, a $10.5-million endeavor) 
Cedar Rapids,IOW,USA -The Gazette, by Rick Smith -Nov 24, 2014: -- Last December city bus patrons returned to what had been the city’s flood-damaged, abandoned Ground Transportation Center bus depot, no longer having to endure the modular-home shelter that had served as a temporary depot since the 2008 flood... On Monday, city leaders celebrated the fully finished depot project, a $10.5-million endeavor that no longer requires buses to back out into traffic and no longer requires pedestrians on First Street SE and Fourth Avenue SE to dodge buses and to cross the street to get where they are going... The GTC reopened in December of 2013 while finish touches on the remodeling continued...

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29.8.14

ELECTRIC BUSES * UK

* England - London to get hybrid buses that could charge wirelessly

(Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images: A London bus) 
London,EN,UK -The Guardian Environment Network/Business Green, by James Murray -28 August 2014: -- TfL announced it will test four specially designed hybrid buses that would soak up power wirelessly at bus stops.  London’s fast-expanding green bus fleet is to receive a further boost, after Transport for London (TfL) announced on Wednesday the launch of a new trial to test four specially designed hybrid buses capable of wirelessly charging their batteries at bus stops. The Alexander Dennis Enviro400H E400 buses feature a diesel-electric hybrid engine and have been fitted with technology that will enable to batteries to receive a charging boost when stationary at specially equipped bus stops. Four buses will operate from next year on the Stagecoach-operated route 69 between Canning Town and Walthamstow bus stations, both of which will be fitted with inductive wireless charging technology...

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20.8.14

BAD INFRASTRUCTURES * India

* Chennai - Bad roads derail buses


(Photo by M. PRABHU - MTC officials said efforts to get roads repaired had been in vain) 
Mittnamalli,Chennai,India -The Hindu, by K. Lakshmi/Vivek Narayanan -August 20, 2014: -- Small bus services affected in Avadi; low chassis makes buses vulnerable, say officials... Small buses may have transformed the transport scene in interior areas but are facing a unique problem – damage due to bad roads... It was because of this that services on route no. S 47 — between Avadi and Mittnamalli — were stopped a week ago. The buses are now diverted through another locality and people living in and around Mittnamalli have to walk nearly two km to reach the nearest bus terminus or railway station... G. Anandan, resident of Uzhaipalar Nagar said rains have further damaged the pothole- ridden IAF Main Road. “We have no choice but to get fleeced by autorickshaw drivers. School students are the worst affected as they have to walk the distance,” he said...

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19.8.14

ELECTRIC BUSES INFRASTRUCTURE * Switzerland

* Lausanne - We could have electric buses that recharge in 15 seconds

(Video from Youtube, by epflnews -Jun 16, 2014: TOSA is the first full electric articulate bus that runs without overhead lines. With its so called "flash charging", it recharges at the bus stops along the route in a record time of 15 seconds. EPFL researchers have developed a mathematical model to optimized the costs of a prospective bus line using TOSA technology) 
Lausanne,Swiss -Autoblog Green, by Danny King -Aug 18th 2014: ... Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) is leading of a group of public and private entities that is developing something called the TOSA bus system. TOSA buses get recharged via a robotic arm that connects the roof-mounted bus batteries to an electric charging system mounted on the bus stop. The buses can hold up to 133 people and the "flash charging" provides enough juice in a 15-second charge to get the bus to the next electrified stop without delaying the route. The researchers say such buses could be put into regular service in Geneva by 2017... 

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18.8.14

INSFRASTRUCTURES * USA: Metro Transit buses to begin self-announcing stops

* Minnesota- The agency is implementing ADA requirements to announce stops to hearing and visually impaired riders
(Star Tribune: Metro Transit is searching for a vendor to provide the announcements, but expects to reach an agreement soon, a spokesman said)
Minneapolis,MINN,USA -The Star Tribune, by TIM HARLOW -August 12, 2014: -- Metro Transit will begin rolling out new automated audio and digital announcements featuring information about routes and destinations this month, helping hearing and visually impaired riders... Each time the driver opens the door, a recording will announce to passengers waiting on the curb the route number, direction of travel and its destination. It also will remind them to have their fares ready... Inside the bus, a female voice will inform riders when the bus is approaching a stop, one of 200 landmarks and key transfer points for riders who need to catch other buses. Digital messages with the same information will scroll across a screen at the front of the bus, said Jason Podany, automated bus announcement project manager...

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11.8.14

ELECTRIC BUSES INFRASTRUCTURE * UAE

* Abu Dhabi - Web tool helps devise value for money electric bus lines

(Photo: ABB Unveils Ultrafast, 15-Second “Flash Charging” Electric Bus)
Abu Dhabi,UAE -The National, by Prof Michel Bierlaire -August 9, 2014: ... Working in collaboration with Geneva-based ABB-Secheron and other local partners, researchers at EPFL in Lausanne have developed a decision-making tool that helps city transport authorities to evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing ABB’s new cable-free electric trolleybus lines in their bus network... ABB this year successfully completed a pilot trial for its electric bus. Instead of recharging massive batteries, it takes small “sips” of charge at regular stops along the way, in the time it takes passengers to get on and off. With small regular sips, a 133-passenger bus managed to run solely on electricity, using a battery just twice the size of those in standard electric cars... Geneva is planning to launch its first cable-free electric bus line by 2017...

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29.7.14

TERMINAL INFRASTRUCTURES * New York / USA

* New York - Nation’s busiest bus terminal is jammed mess 

(Photo by BEBETO MATTHEWS / AP: Passengers head for buses at the dilapidated Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is run down with holes and cracks in the ceiling) NY,USA -Associated Press/The Seattle Times, by Verena Dobnik -July 28, 2014: -- At the nation’s busiest bus station, winding lines of riders wait amid cracked floors, crumbling ceiling tiles and a wheezing air-conditioning system helped along by old-fashioned floor fans... Dark corridors of Manhattan’s aging Port Authority Bus Terminal are populated by homeless men and women, and the sweet smell of warm pretzels from rows of food stalls mixes with an occasional whiff of urine... After a recent test ride from the New Jersey suburbs, the Port Authority’s new chairman, John Degnan, offered a one-word review: “Unacceptable” ... Commissioners this past week approved an extra $90 million for an improvement plan that will include fixes to floors and ceilings, better cellphone service, cleaner restrooms and more street-level bus gates... At the same time, the Port Authority is dealing with multiple investigations, including one into allegations that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and authority commissioners diverted $1.8 billion in agency money to non-agency projects. Christie and the other officials deny the accusations... Those pressures could mean more of the same for the 220,000 daily bus riders — both commuters from New Jersey and travelers from elsewhere — who use the terminal filled with stores and food outlets that covers two midtown Manhattan blocks from 40th to 42nd streets near Times Square... Among riders’ biggest complaints are service delays caused by a shortage of gates. Each afternoon, overflow buses that don’t fit into the terminal idle on surrounding avenues as far as six blocks away...

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4.7.14

INFRASTRUCTURES * UK: 'Swings at bus stops'

* England - Think tank calls for 'swings at bus stops' for older people

(Photo: A bus providing accessibility for wheelchair users)
London,EN,UK -Home Care, by Nina Hathway -3 July 2014: -- Local and national policy-makers are failing to ensure that our communities meet the needs of all ages according to a new report that strongly recommends that local authorities should encourage a sense of fun for all ages - such as swings at bus stops – as well as spur older people on to take more exercise... The report ‘Community Matters. Making our Communities Ready for Ageing’, published by think tank International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK), with the support of leading charity Age UK incorporates a ten-point call to action for local authorities to become ready for ageing... Read the full report on the ILC website ...

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27.6.14

INFRASTRUCTURES * Canada: Fed up with crowded buses and gridlock in Toronto?

* Ontario - Metrolinx says relief is on the way — in about 10 years

(Photo by Darren Calabrese/National Post: Traffic moves past closed lanes at the corner of Eglinton Avenue and Oakwood Avenue as Metrolinx prepares to connect the Eglinton Crosstown LRT to the subway line in Toronto) 
Toronto,ONT,CAN -National Post, by Sammy Hudes -June 26, 2014: -- Metrolinx, the provincial agency tasked with improving public transit in greater Toronto, held a board meeting at its headquarters on Bay Street Thursday. Unfortunately for transit users frustrated with overcrowded streetcars and buses, relief appears to be a number of years away... The preliminary concept for Regional Express Rail would see electrification to each of Go Transit’s seven corridors in the GTHA, making trips 10-25% quicker and improving the frequency to as little as 15 minutes apart... The electrification process would take up to 10 years, and Metrolinx plans to present a more detailed service plan in September regarding the roll out...

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29.5.12

INFRASTRUCTURES * Brazil

* Brazil - Sao Paulo to lauch US$1.1 billion tender for bus infrastructure

(Photo: Sao Paulo public transport) 
 Sao Paulo,SP,Brazil -Busworld (Belgium) -28 March 2012: -- The city council of Sao Paulo in Brazil is to launch a US$1.1 billion tender process to improve its bus capacity. The project will include four new bus lanes, refurbishment works on two existing lanes and the construction of five small bus terminals and two inter-municipal terminals. The current government of Sao Paulo city is envisaging the creation of 66km of bus lanes and the construction of nine bus terminals... Meanwhile, the Governor of Sao Paulo has announced that the works for the extension of the Line 4- Yellow of Sao Paulo underground would be resumed soon and the project will be concluded by September 2013. The works comprise two outstanding stretches of the line, with both contracts awarded to the Spanish consortium Corsan-Corvian Construccion in a contract worth US$988.5 million...

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6.1.12

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA

* Report: Huge investment in intelligent transportation predicted

(Photo: Lane Departure Warning)
Boulder, Colorado,USA -Busworld -Dic 2011: -- Four key smart transportation sectors – traffic management systems; public transportation systems; smart charging for plug-in electric vehicles; and vehicle-to-vehicle systems – are set for a huge investment over the next five years...   According to a report by Pike Research, there will be a global investment across these four areas of $13.2billion with annual spending to increase from just under $770million in 2011 to almost $3billion in 2017...    Demand for these intelligent transportation systems is expected to increase in both developed and developing economies. Pike predicts that developed economies will see them as a way to maximise existing transportation infrastructure; while developing cities will incorporate these systems as they build their own transportation infrastructure...

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12.4.11

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Modern Design and Sustainability to Albany CDTA’s with New Bus Stations

Serving 3.5 million commuters annually, Duo-Gard’s bus stations provide added security and convenience to riders

Canton,MICH,USA -Enhanced Online News -April 4, 2011:  --  Duo-Gard Industries Inc. today announces it has teamed up with the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) of Albany, NY, to install its sustainable bus stations as part of the new BusPlus program. In this latest project, Duo-Gard once again demonstrates its ability to combine modern aesthetic design, high functionality and sustainability by installing these new stations at BusPlus stops between Schenectady and downtown Albany. The customized design for the CDTA sets new standards in the typically humdrum world of bus stations – providing added security and convenience to the Capital District's 3.5 million annual commuters on the busy Route 5 corridor...  (Image from alloveralbany: BusPlus station)

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9.7.10

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - ‘Smart’ transportation and the Smart Grid

Minneapolis debuts the nation's largest remote control and monitoring system for electrical infrastructure

Minneapolis,MINN,USA -Public Works Online -July 2010: -- Five years, based on using less energy and deploying maintenance resources more effectively. Selling carbon offsets cuts payback time an additional 50%... After years of delayed maintenance that left many streets in poor condition, Mayor, R.T. Rybak, launched “Access Minneapolis,” a 10-year plan that systematically reinvests in transportation to significantly reduce the city's carbon footprint... Most plan projects are being funded with a $133 million grant from the U.S. DOT's Urban Partnership Agreement program. One involved completely redesigning and rebuilding 2.5 miles of downtown streets to move buses more efficiently, reducing emissions and enhancing safety by adding two bus-only lanes... Once buses are equipped with automatic vehicle locators, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority riders can visit www.metrotransit.org to see how early or late their bus is running. Every 60 seconds the wireless tracking system sends the bus location to a central database, where it's compared to the route schedule and predicted travel time to determine actual arrival time... (Images: Strategic Telemetry Inc.)


* USA - Subway on the Street

The MTA has a simple, not very expensive ticket for improving how the city gets around: Revolutionize the bus. But can even the most sensible ideas get implemented these days?

New York,NY,USA -The New York, News & Features, by Robert Sullivan -Jul 4, 2010: -- You would never guess it from the dispiriting news coming out of the MTA, but if you want to see the future of New York, then head up to the Bronx and take a bus... This is the future as seen in a new bus line: the Bx12 Select Bus Service, or SBS, for short... The future highlighted by the Bx12 SBS takes as a very depressing starting point the fact that the New York City subway system, once the envy of the world, is stalled. Not literally but still, our subways are strained under a ridership that has grown 60 percent since 1990 and a permanent budgetary crisis that has, over the past two years, only gotten worse. Last month, faced with an $800 million budget gap, the MTA canceled two subway lines and 37 bus lines and dramatically reduced late-night and weekend service. No one is expecting Albany’s fiscal situation to improve anytime soon... (Illustration by Bob Scott)

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18.8.09

INFRASTRUCTURES * Ecuador - Two New Bus Stations Open in Quito

Quito,Ecuador -Global Voices on Line, by Milton Ramirez -August 4, 2009: -- In Ecuador, the capital city of Quito is a ground transportation hub, and one can reach virtually every place in the country by hopping on a bus. During the second week of July, the Municipal Division of Transportation and Public Works (EMMOP for its initials in Spanish) decided to close down one of the busiest bus station in the country, also known as Cumandá Bus Station. Transportation authorities decided to do so because the old terminal was unable to attend to the number of passengers moving around the country, even though the station was conveniently and centrally located in Old Town. In addition, officials stated that its system was inefficient and outdated for the needs of passengers. In its place, two new bus stations opened: one located in Southern Quito in Quitumbe, for all routes to the south and the other in Northern Quito in Carcelén, for bus routes to the north...

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posted by Unknown @ 3:15 PM  0 Comments

6.5.09

INFRASTRUCTURE * UK - £10m bus station revamp to begin

Work will start in the summer on a £10m central bus station in Swansea

London,UK -BBC News -1 May 2009: -- The existing building - dubbed one of the ugliest in the city - will close on 14 June to pave the way for the new development... Adjoining the Quadrant shopping centre, the city council is promising it will have 20 bus bays, three coach stands and modern passenger facilities... Services will operate from temporary stations in the city for the 15 months it is expected it will take to build...Six companies are currently bidding for the redevelopment contract and the council expects to appoint a contractor in May... (Left Picture: Work on the new central bus station is expected to take 15 months - Right Picture: "It will mean the removal of one of Swansea's least attractive buildings")

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28.2.09

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Durham opens new mega bus station

Durham,NC,USA -abc11tv/WTVD -22 Feb 2009: -- The City of Durham opened a brand new transportation center downtown on Monday... The brand new building will be home to regional and intercity bus service along with taxis... The center, which cost $17.5 million to build, stands on the footprint of the old Heart of Durham Hotel. It was paid for with a mix of city, state, and federal funding... (See video)

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