Buses World News

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

19.8.14

PASSENGERS TRANSPORT INDUSTRY * USA: Connecticut

* Connecticut - Buses in massive bus-only corridor on display

(Photo)
Hartford,CONN,USA -AP/Associated Press/WTNH 8 -August 18, 2014: -- State officials are showing off the buses that will be the central feature of Connecticut’s $567 million bus-only corridor... Local officials will unveil the hybrid diesel-electric buses at a news conference at the Capitol on Monday... Officials also will tour the construction project known as CTfastrak... The state says the Hartford-to-New Britain bus route will cut pollution and traffic jams on Interstate 84 by removing thousands of cars from the highway. Officials are projecting more than 16,000 daily riders by 2030, double the number of bus passengers in the corridor now...

* Connecticut - First look at upcoming CTfastrak buses

(Photo: The CTfastrak branded bus will be making regular promotional appearances at central Connecticut community events)
Hartford,CT,USA -FX CT, by Samantha Schoenfeld -August 18, 2014: -- The Connecticut Department of Transportation unveiled its new CTfastrak buses today in anticipation of the upcoming launch of the bus service... The fleet was exclusively built for CTfastrak’s upcoming rapid transit system, which has a planned launch early next year. The buses are hybrid diesel-electric, and all of them will have GPS tracking so passengers can see where their bus is, LED lighting, and WiFi... There will be 30-foot buses for neighborhood service, 40-foot buses for connector routes, and, eventually, 60-foot buses for the main line service...

Labels: public transport solutions

3.1.13

PUBLIC TRANSPORT POLICIES * WORLDWIDE

* India - Bus-makers’ hopes ride on 12th plan

(Photo)
Mumbai,India -The Hindustan Times, by Manu P. Toms -January 1, 2013: -- Massive planned investment in public transport, incentives to civic bodies to purchase buses under JNNURM-II and public-private partnership model for city transport, as proposed in the draft 12th Five Year Plan document, are likely to bring cheer to bus makers who have been going through a lull for the past two years... The second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) envisages R200,000 crore investment to improve amenities in 65 cities. A significant portion of this will go into public transport... In the first phase of JNNURM, civic bodies had purchased 15,260 low floor and semi-low floor buses... This time the purchase order could be significantly higher. Sources say close to Rs. 50,000 crore may be used to create rapid bus transit systems in several cities...

* USA - FMCSA shuts down Georgia bus carrier over safety violations

Atlanta,GA,USA -Land Line, by Charlie Morasch -28 Dec 2012: -- A thorough safety review has led the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to shut down an interstate bus company over a long list of safety, substance testing and maintenance violations... Atlanta-based Aglemoarge Services was investigated by FMCSA on Dec. 17 after the carrier was above FMCSA BASIC thresholds for unsafe driving and hours-of-service categories. The company also had multiple drivers and vehicles placed out of service during a two-day FMCSA enforcement blitz, including a 50 percent driver out-of-service rate...

Labels: public transport solutions

14.9.12

PUBLIC TRANSPORTS * USA

* Michigan - Where’s my bus?: TextMyBus rolls out in Detroit

(Screenshot of the Text My Bus service at work)
Detroit,MICH,USA -The Hub, by Marge Sorge -September 4, 2012: -- How many times have we heard that on the streets of Detroit? It has been especially hard on kids who rely on the bus system to get to school and those riding the bus to work. No more. The city has launched a text message service called “Text My Bus” that will provide real-time arrival information for City of Detroit buses. Just text your nearest street address or intersection to “50464” and you’ll get a message back indicating nearby bus routes, the closest bus stop and the arrival time for the next bus. Good news … no app required... The service launched on the first day of school (Sept. 4) and was working great for kids on their way to school today... Not only will this app help students get to school on time, it will also keep them safer...

* California - Metrolink previews $200-million crash prevention system

(Photo by Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times / September 10, 2012: Neil Brown, a mechanical systems manager with Metrolink, explains the workings of positive train control technology installed aboard a commuter train in Los Angeles)
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Dan Weikel -September 11, 2012: -- Four years after the Chatsworth disaster, Metrolink shows off its progress on a pioneering crash prevention project like the kind some in the railroad industry want to delay implementing... Metrolink on Monday previewed a pioneering, $200-million crash prevention project for a top federal safety official, who expressed concern about railroad industry efforts to postpone deadlines for installing the sophisticated train safety system in other parts of the country... Deborah A.P. Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, viewed a locomotive and a rail car equipped with positive train control technology and testing gear at a downtown Metrolink rail yard... The system combines global positioning devices, digital radio communications and computers to track trains and take control of them if necessary to prevent collisions, derailments and other accidents... Metrolink officials plan to install positive train control on their 500-mile Southern California commuter rail network by December 2013, two years ahead of a federal requirement for the system to be deployed nationwide. Field testing of the equipment is taking place on nights and weekends...

Labels: public transport solutions

1.2.12

PORTAL FOR PASSENGERS * India

* A bus route portal for all your travel worries

Kannampalayam,Coimbatore,India -The Times of India, by Nandhu Sundaram -Jan 29, 2012: -- Ever found yourself stranded in a bus stop without knowing which vehicle to board to reach your destination? Now, there is a digital solution on your fingertips. J Saravanan, a fourth-year information technology student of Kalaignar Karunanidhi Institute of Technology in Kannampalayam, has developed a portal, which will help you find the right bus for almost every route in Coimbatore... The inspiration behind the portal www.way2cbe.com was the website of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation... "I spent a year developing the portal. Collecting the number of routes was the toughest job. With the help of my friends, I collected a database of bus routes. Then I created my bus route map of Coimbatore," says Saravanan...

Labels: public transport solutions

24.2.11

Public Transportation * USA - To curb congestion, buses to ride on shoulders

(Video from YouTube, by Nachtwolf1 -4 Feb 2010: Starting off with two Green Line "L" trains passing each other as they round the Loop's northeast corner at the Lake/Wabash curve, this video was taken over a period of about an hour and a half of rush-period bus and "L" service (but mostly buses in this video) in the Loop. Seen here are New Flyer 40-ft low floor and 60-ft articulated hybrid buses, as well as NovaBus 40-footers, on various routes, some frequent, local routes, some express routes, and some limited-stop, rush hour only routes. Locations are, in order, Lake/Wabash, State/Van Buren and the State St corridor in front of the Harold Washington Library, the La Salle St "Canyon" and the Financial District, Madison/Wells, the east entrance to Union Station, and lastly, Canal St outside of Union Station)

* Minneapolis - Test on I-55 modeled after program in

Chicago,ILL,USA -The Chicago Tribune, by Richard Wronski -February 17, 2011: -- To battle congestion and reduce travel times, transportation officials will begin a long-awaited test of an innovative "bus-on-shoulder" express service on the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate Highway 55) in November, officials said... The new service will be an expansion of existing Pace express bus service between Plainfield and downtown Chicago, with the goal of getting commuters out of their cars and into mass transit, said Leanne Redden, senior deputy executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority... When traffic is flowing, the buses will use the regular lanes of the expressway, but when there is congestion, inbound buses will be allowed to use the inside shoulder, while outbound buses will take the outside shoulder... If disabled cars or other obstructions are in the shoulder, buses would slow down, merge back into traffic, and then back over into the shoulder after passing the obstruction, officials said... While there will be minor lane-marking modifications, the most significant difference will be new signs along the shoulders, Tridgell said...

* Indiana - IndyGo Reports Ridership Up

IND,USA -The Indiana Business -17 Feb 2011: -- IndyGo has released its 2010 year in review, which highlights increased ridership. The transportation company says more than 8.5 million passengers rode its buses in 2010, a 3.6 percent increase over the previous year... Below are some of the bus company’s accomplishments and enhancements for the year.

Ridership:

▪ IndyGo ridership showed an upward trend when compared to 2009. The company delivered 8,507,644 passenger trips in 2010, a 3.6 percent increase over the previous year. IndyGo attributes its increased ridership to investments in passenger tools, technology, customer service, transit awareness communications and operational efficiencies.

Service and Ridership Breakdown

- Local Service (30 fixed routes): 8,358,227 trips

- IndyGo Commuter Express (Fishers): 64,492 trips

- IndyGo Commuter Express (Carmel): 52,219 trips

- Green Line Downtown/Airport Express: 32,706 trips

▪ IndyGo’s ADA-compliant Open Door paratransit service is a program that serves the needs of customers who, because of a disability, may require an alternative to IndyGo’s fixed route service. IndyGo delivered 250,107 paratransit trips throughout Marion County in 2010... (Photo: In 2010, The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce welcomed IndyGo to its Green Business Initiative)

* New Hampshire - C&J bus company to take passengers to NYC

(Photo, by Deborah Mcdermott/Rich Beuachesne : C&J exectuives announce transportation to New York City begining next week on a first class coach for $75.00 daily. From left are: Dave Mailhot, transportation fleet manager, Jim Jalbert, C&J president, Doug Bates, Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce president, and Jamie Lesniak C&J vice president)

Amportsmouth,N.H.,USA -SeaCoast On Line -February 23, 2011: -- Beginning Monday, Feb. 28, it will be easier than ever to go from the University of New Hampshire — or Portsmouth — to New York City. Just hop on the bus... C&J Lines will launch direct service from Durham and Portsmouth bus stations directly to the New York Port Authority, an effort that has been discussed for years... There are only 30 seats in the touring coaches that will be used, as opposed to 50 in a standard bus. That means more leg room for passengers. The busses have WiFi, an electric plug next to each seat, several overhead screens that will show first-run movies, and a self-serve galley offering coffee and snacks... The travel time from Portsmouth is five hours...

Labels: public transport solutions, traffic congestions

11.2.11

PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE * Canada & USA - Bus service reconfiguration to roll out soon

* Vancouver / BC - TransLink call for the protection of service to transit-dependent riders who don't own cars

Vancouver,BC,Canada -Local News, by Jeff Nagel -February 09, 2011: -- A shuffling of transit service that will make buses more frequent in some parts of Metro Vancouver and more scarce on other routes should start to become noticeable this spring... TransLink's so-called service optimization initiative aims to wring more revenue out of the transit system with the same budget and number of service hours... Boosting service on runs at times where full buses pass passengers waiting by the road and trimming back the schedule when buses run near empty should, TransLink projects, have the effect of improving performance overall, carrying more passengers and increasing fare revenue... It estimates an extra $10 to $15 million per year could be generated through the planned reshuffling of about 4.5 per cent of total service hours... It's expected to be a fine-tuning of the schedule, with changes in bus frequency rather than elimination of entire routes... TransLink has set out principles to guide the changes... They call for the protection of service to transit-dependent riders who don't own cars; maintaining runs that are strategic in connecting the network; and protecting growing markets that are experiencing substantial ridership increases... The strategy is part of TransLink's effort to work within its budget – which climbed by $130 million a year when tax and fare hikes were approved in 2009 – until it gets approval to collect more revenue for a more ambitious expansion of the system... (Picture: Transit service could generally gain South of the Fraser under TransLink's planned service optimization initiative)

* New Jersey / USA - Transit buses to get sensors that allow riders to pinpoint arrival times

Plainview,N.Y.,USA -The Star-Ledger, by Mike Frassinelli -February 10, 2011: -- For the more than half a million bus riders in America’s most congested state, life can be filled with uncertainty: Where’s my bus? Do I have time to go inside and stay warm before it arrives? Should I let my boss know I’ll be late? ... With new technology coming to NJ Transit’s entire fleet of 2,200 buses, passengers may soon have some answers... Buses will be equipped with sensors that allow riders, at the touch of their cellphones, to know exactly when the next bus will arrive at a specific stop, and where other NJ Transit buses are in the city... The company is to equip 1,040 buses in NJ Transit’s existing fleet with the technology within 18 months. Another 1,145 new buses the agency is receiving by 2013, as it replaces older vehicles, already have the technology... (Photo by Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger: An NJ Transit bus travels down Main Street in Paterson in this July 2010 file photo)

Labels: public transport solutions

9.5.09

Competition * USA - The best way to increase ridership on the Chicago public transportation system

'Crowd Sourcing' Taps the Masses for Ideas

Chicago,ILL,USA -The Discovery News, by Eric Bland -20 April 2009: -- InnoCentive, created by drug company Eli Lilly in 2001 and spun out in 2005, sets out major problems facing society today for an audience of 175,000 people worldwide to solve. Sixty percent of the solvers have a graduate degree... In March, InnoCentive sponsored a competition for the best way to increase ridership on the Chicago public transportation system. The winner was Aaron Renn of Indianapolis, Ind., whose three-part solution included a new bus route, improving the existing infrastructure, and increasing capacity... "The notion of a challenge really energizes people," says InnoCentive CEO Dwayne Spradlin. "The money is almost secondary. People really want to change the world."... (Picture: magazin usa: Chicago's shoredrive)

Labels: public transport solutions

13.10.08

SOLUTIONS * Pakistan - Citizens look to Bogota as solution to their transport woes

Majority of citizens in Karachi believe that they have perhaps among the worst public transport system in the world

Karachi,Pakistan -The International News, by Farooq Baloch -7 Oct 2008: -- There is no standard for drivers or conductors as none is trained for the job. There are no proper bus stops except a few, nor do the drivers and passengers follow the law by stopping at them. Local buses, mini buses and coaches etc. race with each other to pick the maximum number of passengers and in doing so, often throw a passenger from a moving bus rather than dropping him safely by stopping the vehicle... The traffic police have their own excuses for the existing situation and blame the transporters and the government for every wrong. Similarly, operators of public transport blame the traffic police for extorting money and the government for other problems. The government also hides its own faults and instead criticises transporters and the traffic police department... How this mess can be reformed is the question that needs to be answered now. I can recall the presentation of an expert on urban development, Enrique Penalosa, who compared the public transport system of Karachi with that of Bogota, his own city where he served as Mayor and changed the entire infrastructure of the city. He said that before he introduced the TransMillenio, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the public transport in Bogota (Colombia) was quite similar to that of Karachi... (Picture: The local buses are designed for passenger overflow to sit on the roof)

Labels: public transport solutions