Buses World News

PASSENGERS' SAFETY * Turkey: Panic button on BUSES

* Istanbul - Public buses with 'panic buttons' hit Istanbul streets

(IHA Photo - For now, panic buttons will be available on the Metrobus-a transport network)

-- Public buses with new panic buttons hit Istanbul's on Thursday... The Istanbul Electric Tram and Tunnel Company (IETT), the city's public bus authority, introduced the buses at a news conference... Hasan Çelikdelen, head of IETT's IT department, said when a person hit the button, it would generate a signal that the company's control center would receive... The IETT center would alert the security forces and a company official would arrive on the scene...

(IHA Photo: For now, 'panic buttons' are only available on metrobuses)

-- For now, panic buttons will be available on the Metrobus-a transport network which operates in exclusive lanes for the majority of its route... Çelikdelen said following the government's step to make panic buttons obligatory, the company will add this feature to other public buses... Serving more than 14 million inhabitants, public transport in Istanbul makes up 30 percent of the city's total daily transportation...
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Daily Sabah - February 25, 2016

Labels: passenger's safety

SAFETY STREETS * Australia - Diversions in place for all bus services

* Canberra - Diversions in place for all bus services that use Constitution Avenue in the City from Monday 1 December

(Photo: ACT City Bus Station)
Canberra,ACT,Australia -Action/ACT/PR -26 Nov 2014: (P.N.: If you had've a fun night and do not want to take the risk of returning to your home "happy" or "drunky" ... here the solution that "aussies" found for) ... The Nightrider bus!!! ... ACTION will be running its Nightrider bus service again this year... If you're planning a night out in the City this festive season, there's no need to take the car or wait for a taxi, let the Nightrider take you home. This year, Nightrider is bigger and better with ten different service options across Canberra dropping you to the bus stop closest to your home. Where: Departs Platform 7, City Bus Station - When: 5/6, 12/13, 19/20 December and New Year's Eve 2014 - Cost: $5 (cash only)

Labels: passenger's safety

SAFETY on BUSES * China

* Guangzhou - Crowded buses are adding undercover cops to halt a string of arson attacks

Guangzhou,China -QZ, by Cathy Sizhao Yi -July 18, 2014: -- A string of deadly arson attacks on Chinese buses have killed eight people and injured more than a hundred since February, including an explosion on a bus in Guangzhou that killed two people earlier this week. Many of the incidents are caused by disgruntled individuals, and in some cases they’re reminiscent of mass shootings in the United States. The Guangzhou attack, for example, was carried out by a man who was irate over a string of gambling losses... The attacks expose a significant vulnerability for security officials: buses are the main form of transportation in most Chinese cities, where they are far more widely used than subways or cars. To stem the violence, the country’s ministry of public security has announced that all buses will carry at least one police officer, either plainclothes or in uniform, along with additional security personnel patrolling bus stations... Aside from the huge logistical challenge in providing a policeman for every single bus and station... The new bus security proposal also includes encouraging citizens to help the police identify suspicious items, installing fire blankets on board, and tightening controls on flammable and explosive materials...

Labels: passenger's safety

SAFETY * USA - Bill aims to protect drivers, passengers on buses

The House bills make it a felony to injure an employee, operator or passenger on a public transit vehicle, including people at bus stops or stations

Genesee County,Mich,USA -The Flint Journal, by Ron Fongerrfonger -March 8, 2008: -- A three-bill package passed Wednesday by the state House would make it a felony to injure an employee, operator or passenger on a public transit vehicle. It also would cover people at bus stops and stations... Penalties would range from 2 to 10 years in prison, plus fines up to $10,000, depending on the severity of the assault... (Video from YouTube, by 7; "Michigan Avenue Bus Ride". This is traveling Southbound on Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower to Wacker Drive to State Street on the #146 bus in Chicago in February. Check out the pink flamingos and the "Think Florida" signs)

Labels: passenger's safety

SAFETY * UK - Bobbies to patrol buses

Newport,South Wales,UK -The South Wales Argus, by Sam Rkaina -8 Feb 2008: -- Four Police Community Support Officers will patrol buses as part of a £180,000 safety scheme being launched next month... Newport Transport has agreed to sponsor the four PCSOs to police buses in the city from March 1... The £180,000 will fund the officers for three years with an option for both parties to extend the arrangement at the end of the term... This is the first time such a scheme has been operated in Gwent, and it is hoped it will encourage more people to use public transport in Newport by providing a reassuring presence to show they are safe...

Labels: passenger's safety

PASSENGERS' SAFETY * Australia - Bus officers to get increased powers

The Northern Territory Government is proposing new laws that will mean transport safety officers on Darwin public buses will be able to use reasonable force to remove problem passengers

Darwin,NT,Australia -ABC News -Feb 4, 2008: -- ... The safety officers will also be able to detain problem passengers and issue trespass notices to prevent repeat offenders from using the buses... The legislation will be introduced in April and the Government hopes the changes will be in operation by the middle of the year... The Transport Workers Union says the legislation should have been in place when the program started... The union's Ian Gallagher says two Darwin officers temporarily lost their jobs last year after stopping a few trouble makers boarding a bus...

Labels: passenger's safety