Buses World News

SATISFACTION ON BUSES * UK: 90% (survey) passengers agreed

* Lincolnshire - Bus service in Grimsby and Cleethorpes rated among country's best

-- Bus passengers in Grimsby and Cleethorpes have rated local public transport provisions as some of the best in the country according to a new survey... Results of a bus passenger survey by the national body representing bus and rail passengers, Transport Focus, shows that overall satisfaction for passengers in North East Lincolnshire stands at a staggering 90 per cent... The findings mean the bus users in the region are among some of the happiest in the country... The independent survey found that local passengers ranked the punctuality of the region's buses as the best in the country and the second best for value for money...
(Picture: Rick Byrne - LIKE CLOCKWORK: Stagecoach buses in Grimsby town centre, which have been given a 90 per cent satisfaction rating by users. -PN: Look at the floor, it looks like the living room of a mansion house !!!) -- Grimsby, Lincolnshire, UK - The Grimsby Telegraph - April 05, 2016

Labels: passengers' satisfaction

PASSENGERS' SATISFACTION * UK - Fuel increase drives car owners onto the buses

Newcastle,Tyne,UK -Report Linker -Feb 19, 2011: -- Transport group Go-Ahead has lifted its profits forecast as the rising cost of petrol encouraged record numbers of people onto its buses and trains... The Newcastle-based company, which employs about 22,000 people and runs buses across the UK and operates the Southern, Southeastern and London Midland rail franchises, has carried more than a billion passengers in the last year... The growth in passenger numbers helped to boost operating profits by 9% to pounds 59m in the final half of 2010. And profits from its bus networks across the UK, including Metrobus in Sussex, Plymouth Citybus and Oxford Bus Company, hit a record pounds 36.9m as more people left their cars at home in the icy weather... Chief executive Keith Ludeman said: "Our bus operating profit is at record levels and is a strong indication of people leaving their cars at home and taking the bus"... He said that the company was in a strong position to grow both organically and by acquisition in the UK and US, where it is partners in a school bus initiative... (Images from icnetwork.co.uk: A Go Ahead bus)

Labels: passengers' satisfaction

The Romantic Marshalls * Philippines - 200 bus marshals surprise female passengers with red roses

Female passengers get some loving from Manila cops

Manila,Phippines -GMA News -14 Feb 2011: -- While keeping watch against terrorists and criminals, some 200 bus marshals from the Manila Police District (MPD) surprised female passengers by giving them red roses on Valentine's Day... After the Monday flag ceremony most of the passengers who received the roses were on buses passing through Taft Avenue in Manila... The others who received the roses included female commuters taking the Light Rail Transit, the report said... The police remained on alert Monday to thwart muggings and robberies, as well as possible terrorist attacks... In other areas in Metro Manila, the police also kept watch over commercial establishments such as malls, parks, and even motels... An earlier dzBB report said police in Metro Manila remained on alert against a possible repeat of the 2005 Valentine's Day bombing where at least four people were killed after a bomb that exploded in a bus in Makati City...

Labels: passengers' satisfaction

PASSENGERS' SERVICE * Dubai - Metro, bus ridership climbs, taxis’ slides

Doha,Dubai -The Gulf Today, by Matovu A. Twaha -November 6, 2010: -- The average number of passengers carried by the Dubai Taxi Corporation fleet is lower this year as compared to last year. This phenomenon is reflected in the praise heaped by a significant section of residents who are hailing the “convenience and affordability” of public transport in the Emirate... For example, during the first six months of 2010, 23,751,000 passengers were lifted by taxis of the Dubai Taxi Corporation, a figure translating to 3,958,500 passengers per month. This figure is far lower than last year’s average of 5,158,326 passengers per month carried by the DTC with the same fleet strength. 3,504 taxis carried 51,583,266 passengers in the period between January-October, 2009... The general picture shows a good number of people turning to buses and the Metro, but the authorities in the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) carefully insist the entire network is complementary...

Labels: passengers' satisfaction

RESEARCH * UK - Bus passengers identify punctuality as their number one priority for improvement

Video from YouTube, by voxley19 — 30 Nov 2007 — Views of the wonderful London bus route 79- both inside and outside. The first shots of the buses outside were taken at Edgware bus station- the final shot of the outside of a 79 was taken at the other end of the route at Alperton (Sainsburys)...

London,UK -Passenger focus, by Dervish Mertcan -23 March 2010: -- The independent passenger watchdog, Passenger Focus, has today published the results of research which found out what over 3,800 passengers want from their bus services. The number one priority for passengers was more buses turning up on time. This was followed by more frequent buses and all passengers being able to get a seat... The research found that passengers’ expectations are being met or exceeded for seven out of the nine bus stop attributes they were asked to rate, the exceptions being the provision of real-time information and information on fares provided at the stop. Expectations are also being met for the majority of bus journey attributes, although expectations are not currently being met for two key attributes: punctuality and value for money... There is a wide disparity between the views of paying passengers and those travelling on free bus passes, although both groups placed high importance on improving punctuality and getting a seat...

Labels: passengers' satisfaction

RIDERS SATISFACTION * USA - ACE buses a big deal

Express line to downtown aims to draw new passengers

Las Vegas,NV,USA -Las Vegas Review Journal, by ADRIENNE PACKER -Mar. 30, 2010: -- When transportation experts drew up plans for the new ACE transit system, they had residents such as Chris Jacobs in mind... Jacobs is a manager at Trump International Hotel, and he lives about 20 miles northwest of the Strip in the Centennial Hills development... "This is the first time I've taken public transportation," Jacobs said. "Ever" ... Exactly the mind-altering effect transportation representatives hoped the sleek new transit system would generate... The crowds taking a spin on the new vehicles looked more like the type of passengers one would see on a commuter train ... "It's amazing how far we've come in such a short amount of time," Larry Brown, Clark County Commissioner and chairman of the transportation board said. "The ACExpress is going to be phenomenal" ... (Photo by Duane Prokop/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL - The new ACE vehicle, right, is parked next to the latest bus model before Monday's grand opening of the Centennial Hills Transit Center. The ACE vehicle is designed to look like a light-rail train and offer a quieter, smoother ride than traditional buses)

Labels: passengers' satisfaction

Passengers Win * UK - Fight for bus service

Wolverhampton,England,UK -Express and Star -5 April 2008: -- Passengers have won a battle to get back a bus service which was rerouted away from their homes. Elderly and disabled bus passengers had been forced to take taxis... The bus route through Willenhall and Walsall was diverted and nearly 400 people signed a petition and launched a six-month campaign after being left “abandoned”... The 333 bus service redirected, missing out some Bentley residential streets... But transport chiefs are now set to return the route back to its original format, to the delight of passengers...

Labels: passengers' satisfaction

TRAVELLERS' STORY * Argentina - The Cushy Buses of

Comparing this to some bus experiences I have had in Ethiopia, India, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Eastern Europe, I almost weep...

New Zealand -Conde Nast Traveler/The Perrin Post, by Gene Pembroke -February 12, 2008: -- ... We then pick up our things and head to the Retiro bus station for our 6:50 p.m. coach to the town of Posadas in the province of Misiones. We witness a strange good-bye between two dogs, one headed out of town, the other staying in BA... I have to talk about our double-decker bus, which might be the greatest bus of all time. I was on a similar bus in Peru once, but the service with this company, Via Bariloche, cannot be equaled. We have fully reclining seats, and I appreciate the aquamarine color scheme since it reminds me of a pop-up camper my family had back in the 1970s. We are brought what we think is dinner after we watch the film The Fountain, starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. A few minutes later, we are offered trays of stuffed eggplant and potatoes. There is nonstop wine and soft drinks. During the second movie (Fracture, with Anthony Hopkins) the attendant goes up and down the aisle whispering "Champagne? Whiskey?" Yes and yes. This goes on until 1 a.m. We flatten our large seats and conk out as the driver smoothly negotiates the highway to the north of Argentina... (So long, old friend: Wagging good-bye at the Retiro bus station in Buenos Aires)

Labels: passengers' satisfaction