Buses World News

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

2.10.07

Quit complaining about traffic ? * USA - Don't complain, hop on the bus

The bus? Ew! Who takes the bus? That's so not cool!

Chico,CA,USA -The Orion. Opinion by Josselin Basaldu -26 Oct 2007: -- Well, actually, it can be very dopealicious. By dopealicious, I mean you don't have to worry about traffic and parking, and the bus is more socially acceptable than it was in your younger years. It's also free for students... In big cities such as San Francisco, public transportation such as buses and underground subways works well to reduce traffic and congestion... If you haven't noticed, the B-Line buses had a schnazzy makeover and are revamped with fresh white paint and clean, comfortable interior decorating. You gotta love the '80s style, neon swirly upholstery... Don't complain, hop on the bus. It's easy, free and you'll be displaying your social responsibility. If I've done it and enjoyed it, you can, too... (Photo from wikipedia: The B-Line buses have a special paint scheme)

Labels: passengers

21.8.07

Commuter Land * New Zealand - She's one in a million

Margie Rice was a first-day commuter when Auckland's Northern Express bus service began in 2005, and yesterday she was feted as its millionth passenger

Auckland,New Zealand -The New Zealand Herald, by Mathew Dearnaley -August 21, 2007: -- ... The Mairangi Bay language teacher was festooned with gifts from North Shore Mayor George Wood and Auckland Regional Transport Authority chief executive Fergus Gammie on a mid-afternoon bus from Britomart to Constellation Drive, which was almost full despite beating the travel peak across the Harbour Bridge... All 50 passengers received a red rose, chocolates and a free ticket as they boarded the bus, but it was not until a brief stop en route that Mrs Rice was singled out as the millionth passenger since the service began in November, 2005... She received more free tickets and a bottle of French champagne to mark her out from the crowd... (Photo, by Kenny Rodger - Margie Rice has been a loyal passenger to the Northern Express service from its first day)

Labels: passengers

28.5.07

Passengers' Experiences

* Turkey - Knight in a white van - “What? You provide free transportation to and from work?”

Istanbul,Turkey -Today's Zaman -26 May 2007: -- ... After moving to İstanbul I knew it was impossible for me to drive in this massive city, the cheap and convenient public transport offering a better alternative... İstanbul traffic is unimaginable. Car and gas prices also make buying and driving a car uneconomical for me. Also, I quickly discovered that Turkish people, generally so nice, kind, and helpful, turn into aggressive lunatics when behind the wheel... Thankfully my new boss told me that the school provided a free service bus that picked up school personnel from Erenköy, alleviating my fears. Service buses are normal and indeed an expected commodity provided by almost every workplace in İstanbul... White vans with the school or company logo on the side, they can be seen everywhere during rush hour in the morning and at night. For companies it’s one of the best ways to make sure employees arrive and leave on time. For the city, it helps cut pollution and reduce traffic congestion. For those on the service buses, it takes away the stress of dealing with traffic and parking...

* Chile - Transantiago: A cautionary tale of public transportarion in
Santiago,Chile -pauliescan.spaces.live, by Paul Francois/Fellow Traveller -26 May 2007: -- The story of Transantiago began with the urgent need to do everything to reduce the smog in Santiago, which is surrounded by mountains and suffers the problem of thermal inversion in winter which can effectively prevent the pollution from escaping... One third of the population of Chile, and an even higher proportion of its industry, is located in Santiago, the majority of its freight movement is by diesel - powered trucks spewing black fumes into the air. In addition 60% of the working population of Santiago go to work by private car, in spite of a continuously expanding subway system. Transantiago hopes to get people out of their cars and into the public transport system by combining the use of the subway and the buses by permitting transfers granting a ride of up to 90 minutes for a single fare... In 1990 when the military regime ended there were 14000 buses on the streets of Santiago. In 10 years the number had been reduced to 8000 by creating monopolies on main routes and putting them up for bids. Transantiago aims for a further reduction to 5600 which, apart from reducing the number of deaths from traffic accidents from 1 every 3 days, should significantly reduce air and noise pollution and diesel consumption... The government did not choose to nationalize the system, so it gave concessions to 5 large companies to provide main routes with articulated buses carrying up to 180 passengers and feeder routes with smaller buses... Transantiago was born on February 10, 2007. "Public" transportation has always been a problem in Santiago because, with the exception of the subway, it is privately owned with hundreds of owners. Buses race against each other to fight for passengers as the drivers are paid a percentage of fares instead of fixed salaries. The result is too many badly maintained vehicles, accidents, smog, noise and violent assaults on the drivers as the passengers pay cash... In the meantime the pressure is on to fine-tune the operations for the first week of March 2007... The Government is fining the bus operators for not putting the stipulated number of buses on the road and not providing minimal facilities for drivers at the terminals... Transantiago continues to limp along in spite of new routes being added and a frantic program of construction of sheltered bus stops. The system is running at a considerable loss covered by Government subsidies. Meanwhile the news media are having a field day blaming everything on Transantiago from lower productivity to increased stress in the workplace...

Labels: passengers

19.5.07

* USA - City bus ridership swells

More people are riding the bus to get to where they want to go, a Saginaw transit official says

Saginaw,Mich,USA -The Saginaw News, by BARRIE BARBER -May 19, 2007: -- ... And when they climb aboard, riders can grab a book along one route... Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services figures show 441,498 passengers took the bus from October through March, compared with 396,723 for the same time the previous fiscal year -- a more than 10 percent jump... Ridership steadily has risen about 1 percent to 2 percent a month since last year, said Sylvester Payne, STARS general manager...

Labels: passengers