User-agent: Mediapartners-Google*
Disallow:
Buses World News
Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
19.3.15
PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE WORLDWIDE - * UK: Stagecoach's passenger satisfaction - * Malaysia: New BRT System busess
* UK / Scotland -Stagecoach scores highest for passenger satisfaction as survey shows Scots happier with bus service
-- Around nine in ten bus passengers in Scotland are satisfied with their service, according to the latest survey by the industry watchdog... Perth-based Stagecoach scored highest for overall satisfaction, journey time and punctuality in the latest bus passenger satisfaction survey... Stagecoach's operation in the Tayside and Central region scored highest for overall satisfaction and journey time with, respectively, 95 per cent and 93 per cent of passengers happy with the service... However, the overall picture for Scotland showed that bus passengers north of the Border were generally happier with their service than those in England... The survey of more than 47,000 passengers found that 88 per cent of bus users in England were happy with their service compared to 92 per cent of Scots...
Perth, Scotland, UK - The Herald Scotland, by Helen McArdle - 12 March 2015
* Malaysia - Electric bus service for Subang and Sunway folk
(Photo: The BRT will use 15 electric buses. These can run for 12 hours a day, about 250km or 23 trips) -- Coming in June, Sunway will see a new public transport service called the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which will help reduce congestion, improve time management and provide seamless connectivity for commuters... This project, the first of its kind in Malaysia, is expected to be completed by May, enabling commuters to use the 5.4km route within Subang and Bandar Sunway... An eco-friendly transportation system, the BRT will use 15 electric buses on dedicated lanes to minimise congestion... It is estimated that 2,400 passengers will be transported per hour in 2015 and the numbers are expected to reach 5,200 in 2035...
(Photo: Dedicated lanes for BRT’s electric buses) During the visit, Prasarana group managing directorAzmi Abdul Aziz said the project was aiming for gold class certification, the highest recognition for BRT services around the world from the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy. It is an independent organisation working with local councils and governments based in New York... He also briefed the media on the facilities available on the buses and in the depot... Boasting comfortable seats, the buses are scheduled to operate with a headway of five minutes at 30kmh to 40kmh although they are capable of a maximum speed of 80kmh... A total of 15 charging bays are set up in the depot, which also houses the bus maintenance centre as well as the operations and security control centre... Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - The Star Online, by PRIYA MENON- March 19, 2015
* Viet Nam - Downgraded buses continue to ply in city streets
(Photo from SGGP - Buses with ragged seats (L) and broken parts (R) still ply in the streets) Ho Chi Minh City,Viet nam -Saigon, by Quoc Hung and Thuy Doan -Aug 18, 2013:... The buses plyingthe Ho Chi Minh Citystreets are in poor and downgraded condition... When building a bus network, the City aimed to make it a foundation for sustainable public transport, to encourage people to use buses to reduce traffic congestion, protect the environment, and create an organized and civic urban lifestyle. However, the current bus network has not been able to meet these expectations... Therefore, lack of maintenance of buses has seen their present downgraded condition...In 2002, whenHo Chi Minh City had just started the bus service there were 587 buses, with most vehicles now past their expiry date.In later years, the number of buses increased to 2,434. These too need upgrading or replacing... During the period 2011-2015, the City Department of Transportationplans to buy 1,680 new buses at a total cost of nearly VND2 trillion...
* Israel - Haifa’s new long buses make a less than stellar start
(Photo by Rami Shlush: Metronit in Haifa. Some locals complain of slow speeds and long waiting times, but at least getting on is nice and easy) Haifa,Israel -Haaretz, by Roy (Chicky) Arad -Aug. 18, 2013: --Haifa launched its new rapid-transit system,the Metronit, over weekend, but let’s say it’s making slow but steady progress. The long so-called bi-articulated buses have their own dedicated lanes, and because we’re talking aboutHaifa, they run on Shabbat...It took a while before one Metronit arrived.Roman Grimsky, a brawny fellow wearing a Likud T-shirt, had just come back from the beach.“They saidthe Metronit would come every few minutes,” he said. “I’ve been waiting 20 minutes, and earlier I waited half an hour. It stops at every station, even when nobody’s waiting.” ... According to Grimsky, the new system needs twice as much time to get him where he’s going. “I’m for the [regular] buses,” he said...
* Malaysia - School buses exceeding 30 years not allowed on the road after Jan 1'
(Photo: A Schoolbus in Kuala Lumpur) Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia -Bernama/New Strait Times -19 August 2013:-- Effective January 2015, school buses which are more than 30 years old will not be allowed on the road and stern action will be taken against the operators concerned, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairmanTan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said today...Those who failed to comply with the regulation would be charged in court and they faced losing their licence, he told reporters when met after witnessing the signing of an agreement of understanding for the 1Malaysia School Bus Project between DMS Dynamic Sdn Bhd and Chery Automobile (M)Sdn Bhd.Syed Hamid said they were currently 17,000 school buses registered with SPAD nationwide and 2,000 of them were more than 30 years old... The government, he said, provided a financing scheme of up to RM250,000 for a nine-year-period to help the operators to replace their old school buses with new ones...
* India - No tollback for BRT in Delhi, Court says
Delhi,India -Busworld (Belgium) -26 Oct 2012:-- An India court declined to roll the back bus rapid transit corridor projects saying the “bitter medicine” of public transport was necessary for India... It was the response to a lawsuit filed earlier this year by an 84-year-old activist filed a lawsuit in the public interest asking an Indian court to scrap a road project in South Delhi that carved out separate space for buses, pedestrians and cyclists.One of his arguments was that car users are special, therefore deserve to travel faster, and were being hindered by the BRT, as it is known, which includes a dedicated bus lane.Bus commuters, not being as important, could afford to lose a few minutes here or there, was the argument in the petition of B.B. Sharan wrote... The court ended its discussions with an interesting statement: “These ‘wealth creators,’ we are sure would like to live in a developed country,” said the bench. “A developed country is not one where the poor own cars. It is one where the rich use public transport” ...
* Europe - EBSF:The future of puyblic local transport comes a step closer
(Video from YouTube, by UITPvideos -4/07/2012: Scientific Chronicles #19 - Public transit: Information systems of the future Smartbus, the EBSF IT Architecture) Brussels,Belgium -Busworld -25 Oct 2012: -- Four years of project work, 48 partners, 7 demonstration projects and a total budget of around 26 million – these are just some of the statistics generated by the European Bus System of the Future, or EBSF for short, which is the biggest road-related transportation project to be funded by the European Commissionto date. The UITPpresented the results of the individual EBSF projects, or so-called "Use Cases"...As a comprehensive, widely networked research project for the design and development of an innovative, high-quality European bus system of the future, four years agothe EBSF project took on the goal of demonstrating the capabilities of a new generation of urban bus networks and creating the basis for an integrated systems approach (vehicle, infrastructure, technology, operation) with takes future passenger requirements into account...Nine months of regular service operation have provided a very clear picture of the practical application of such systems. While follow-up work still has to be carried out on some ideas, others have proved suitable for immediate implementation... The design of space using leaning areas and folding seats was in fact so well received that the Bremerhaven Transport Authority has already applied the idea by retrofitting the design to many of its vehicles. Newly acquired vehicles will basically help to continue to implement the idea... Another success was achieved in the area of passenger information systems. Two-thirds of the fleet have already been fitted with 20-inch monitors. The mixture of infotainment, news reports and transport connection information proved so popular among passengers that the transport operator sees this as a significant measure for increasing the appeal of the bus service... Although passengers did not consider a lot of the additional equipment such as WLAN, 240 V sockets and the seat identification system to be absolutely essential, such measures were nevertheless viewed positively within the context of modernity...
* Chile - New global database on BRT Systems
Santiago,Chile -Busworld (Belgium) -27 Oct 2012:-- Three global organizations have teamed up to launch the most comprehensive, public database of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems around the world... The new site, http://BRTdata.org, was created by EMBARQ,the World Resources Institute’s center for sustainable transport, and the Across Latitudes and Cultures – Bus Rapid Transit Centre of Excellence (ALC-BRT CoE), in collaboration with the International Energy Agency (IEA)... BRT is one of the fastest growing public transport systems. Approximately 134 cities worldwide, from Bogotato Beijing, have implemented BRT systems or priority bus corridors, serving more than 22 million passenger trips daily.
BRTis a mode of public transport that flexibly combines stations, vehicles, services, running ways and intelligent transportation system elements into an integrated system... Worldwide, 129 new corridors have been implemented since 2000, and 37 since 2010.Latin American systemsmove more than 50 per cent of globalBRT daily passenger trips. As many as 25 Brazilian cities have 87 bus corridors, totalling more than 560 km, more than any other country. OfAsia’s 24 BRT systems, 18 began operations since 2006. Systems in 13 US cities together carry nearly 600,000 passenger trips each day...
PUBLIC TRANSPORT WORLDWIDE * Australia - Commuters defend against the attack of the space invaders
"Take one socially and physically sterile environment, pack in more people than there are available seats, ensure most of the people are strangers, and you have public transport..."
Melbourne,VIC,Australia -The Age, by DEBORAH GOUGH -July 25, 2010: -- Being squashed up against strangers on public transport is one of the most uncomfortable everyday activities we have to endure, beaten only by sitting in a dentist's waiting room and standing in a crowded lift... A study has found that the invasion of personal space on public transport is annoying to passengers, along with more commonly known complaints such as costly tickets and unreliable services... The study fromthe Victoria University of Wellington by Jared Thomas,, now a transport consultant with infrastructure services company Opus, observed 1703 passengers and surveyed passengers (536) and car users (305) on their feelings about public transport... It found that about a quarter of passengers defended their space by sitting on an aisle, placing a bag or coat on the next seat or spreading out to take up more space, and another quarter withdrew into an activity such as reading or listening to music. Their measures worked, with 78 per cent of other commuters choosing not to sit next to ''defensive'' passengers. The study also found regular commuters thought defensive behaviour was rude... But Mr Thomassaidthe overall level of discomfort could be minimised if more socialising occurred on trains, trams and buses...(Picture by Rebecca Hallas -A crowded tram on Bourke Street, Melbourne)
PUBLIC TRANSPORT WORLDWIDE * Turkey - Turkish buses vs. Greyhound (USA)
Istanbul,Turkey -Gadling (USA), by Mike Barish -Jul 14th 2010:-- Planes are fast and popular. Trains are often cheaper and romanticized. Buses, however, get a bad rap. In the States, that's probably deserved. With the exception of some modern, swanky buses servicing the Northeast Corridor andthe Midwest, the bus options throughout the United States are pretty shoddy. Yet, bus travel doesn't have to be all about steerage class, sweat boxy hellholes. Sadly, you just have to leavethe United States to find the Shangri-La of bus service. One place to do so is in Turkey... Yes,Turkeyhas amazing long-haul bus service. How is it better than the typical Greyhound service that you find in the States? Let's break it down... Sure, this is far from scientific. And Greyhound is introducing some new, modern buses to their fleet. But only in certain pockets of North America.The vast majority of Americans have limited bus options, most of which make overpaying for regional flights and dealing with the hassles of airports actually seem like good ideas... Turkey has wi-fi enabled, tea-serving buses with personal televisions zipping all over the country!Why can't we have buses that would encourage people to view ground transportation as a viable (and comfortable) option for travel?...
PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEMS * Australia - Bus routes to service city's outer suburbs
Eight new routes will be added to Sydney's Metrobusnetwork by mid-next year to service suburbs in the west, north, north-west, south and south-west of the city
(Video from YouTube, by clcsampaio -28 Jan 2007: Guelph Victoria Road and surroundings)
Sydney,NSW,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by SEAN NICHOLLS -July 21, 2010: ... While the start date for all but one of the routes is yet to be revealed, the Transport Minister, John Robertson, announced that a service to westernSydney would begin within weeks... The first of the new routes, from Parramatta to the city via Victoria Road, would begin on August 8 and provide 40,000 ''passenger spaces'' a week... Plans for the high-capacity, highly visible network of red Metrobuses, designed to run every 10 minutes in peak periods, were unveiled in late 2008... Four routes are already running, a fifth route, between Drummoyne and Randwick via the city, would not start until October... A spokesman for MrRobertson said the 130 new buses - a combination of fixed and articulated or ''bendy'' buses - would cost $94 million... The expansion would be paid for out of the $1.1 billion allocated to bus services in the NSW budget for 2010-11...
* FREE BUSES * Alfred Street, buses
Sydney,Australia -Sydney City and Suburbs-17 July 2010: -- This green CBD shuttle is a free bus service that circles the Central Business District between Circular Quay and Central Railway Station. Route 555 operates every ten minutes and runs mainly along George Street and Elizabeth Street, in both directions. This service is popular with locals and tourists and connects well with rail, buses, ferries, light rail and the monorail. This bus stop is located on Alfred Street, close to Circular Quay. One of the regular blue Sydney Buses can be seen behind it...(Photo from 2.bp.blogspot:CBD Shuttle)
TRANSPORT SERVICES * Argentine - Buses and Buenos Aires
Going back on a bus !
(Video from Youtube, by argenvia2 -20 June 2009: Mi first video about buses -say "colectivos"- of Buenos Aires. Zone Almagro, and 11 Square, Buenos Aires, ARG) Buenos Aires,CABA,Argentine -This is David Cummings alias The English Gaucho -16 May 2010: -- I am a bus man! Well I don’t drive them as the great Reg Butler did but I use them regularly when I am here in BA and I like them.It means I don’t have to drive, it is cheap and it gets me there and my ecological footprint is less than if I drove a car around the capital – every little bit helps as they say... I got on, I paid my fare, the bus driver drove, he observed all the rules i.e. he didn’t jump traffic lights or try to kill pedestrians neither did he try to test how much stamina the old have before they pleaded for mercy – no the driver and bus trundled on their way and when I got off I didn’t feel dizzy or exhausted from hanging on for dear life as it's momentous highlights flashed before me . No sir, that experience was waiting for me here in Buenos Aires!... Now, for sure, there is no doubt about it, bus fares here must be the cheapest in the world – it costs just AR$1.25 pesos (about 12 pence) to go anywhere in the capital – that is not just a bargain it is a steal...It is a wonderful public transport system here, however, with some flaws. Most tourists that come here miss out on a unique experience by not using it – or do they? ... There is no doubt it’s a great system and in spite of my little digging I still use it because it’s so cheap and so efficient - just a tiny bit dangerous! Come here and you should at least give it a go – just have a valium on the big day ...
Public Transport * Singapore - Bus service standards up
Singapore -Straits Times, by Maria Almenoar -Apr 5, 2010: -- Bus operators SBS Transit and SMRT have turned in their best service performance since financial penalties were introduced in 2007... Between the two operators, only one service by SMRT failed to leave the terminal on time...SBS Transit, which runs about 75 per cent of the services in Singapore, met all service standards in the latest review...The PTC review noted that both operators had also met all the standards of bus passenger loading, minimal bus breakdowns and bus frequency among other parameters on the checklist... Operators were required to have at least 80 per cent of their bus services operating at a headway of 10 minutes during weekday peak periods, down from 15 minutes... Also, at least 90 per cent of all feeder bus services must run at headways of not more than 10 minutes during weekday peak periods... (ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW - This was up from 85 per cent. The PTC review noted that both operators had also met all the standards of bus passenger loading, minimal bus breakdowns and bus frequency among other parameters on the checklist)
Public Transport * Guatemala - Buses Are Colorful And Full of Chickens
¡Bienvenido a Guatemala! Pasaport stamped & walking up the street of fluttering blue & white flags
Guatemala -National Geographic Traveller, by Janelle Nanoson -January 6, 2010:-- Andrew Evans has made his way through Mexico and is now in Guatemala, riding this bus as we speak. Here's a summary of some of his best tweets since entering the country... Guatemala: where good schoolbuses go after they die... The chicken in a bag on the floor of the bus doesn't seem to appreciate the driver's hard breaking... Mayan woman washing clothes in a mountain stream; lays all the colors out on the rocks to dry. Like a crazy rainbow quilt...
Padang,Indonesia -Jalopnik (USA), by Peter Orosz. Image and Video Credit: Zsolt Molnár, with a hat tip to Kari-Aug 19 2009: -- Remember those over-custo. ized neon-colored opelets from Padang? We now have video of them honking their horns in musical ways as they move through the Indonesian streets... (Video from You Tube, by marhara1 - 2 Aug 2009: "what happens when a die-hard falls in love with an "unmodifiable" automobile")
Wonder what they’re like on the inside? Not too spacious, decked out with a tile floor and stuffed animals: (Video from YouTube, by marhara1 - 2 Aug 2009: "what happens when a die-hard falls in love with an "unmodifiable" automobile")... Human passengers are welcomed by loud pop music and kretek smoke...
New York,NY,USA -Gadling, by Mike Barish -Aug 10, 2009: -- When you think of modern travel, you probably don't spend much time considering buses. However, Greyhound, the largest bus service in the United States, is trying to change that with new buses that may just make ground transportation enjoyable (and modern)... This past April, Greyhound introduced 102 new buses to east coast routes servicing cities such as New York, Montreal, Washington, Boston and Toronto. Equipped with free wi-fi, two AC power outlets at every seat and three-point seatbelts, the new buses are poised to change Greyhound's image and move bus travel closer to the forefront of people's minds.In addition to those new features, the buses have fewer seats to allow for more legroom...
* Dubai/UAE - DubaiBus
Dubai,UAE -Dubai.com -11 Aug 2009: --Dubai transportation system is maintained by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)...Transportation Service: Includes traveling in buses whether in city or inter-emirates. Bus services are large and expansive as it’s the most cheapest and easiest way to reach any destination.Currently RTA runs 504 buses on peak schedules on 62 bus routes. On weekends, Fridays and public holidays schedules are re-arranged to accommodate increasing passenger traffic...RTA also organizes night bus services which operate between 23.30 till 6.00 pm in the morning.This bus service is linked with regular bus service maintaining the fluidity in the timetable of buses...RTA also connects itself with other Emirates in UAE with Inter-Emirates bus service via 11 routes, 12 take off points and 17 drop off points... Bus timetables can be found on RTA’s official website.
* Philippines - Mode of land transportation:Cebu Bus Transit
Car-car City,Cebu,Philippines -Shadows of me, by mariancalago -12 Aug 2009: --I took this minibus photo in Car-car City, Cebu.This minibus took over the crowd to pick up passengers heading off to Cebu city.Bus - is another mode of land transportation particularly in the Philippines...Cebu City has two terminals for north and south destination... So, if you are now planning to explore bound to north and south Cebu, you won't get lost.Just be carefull and follow the basic guidelines so that you will enjoy your trip...
PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM * Panama - 2 words you will hear, but may not find in your dictionary
City of Panama,Panama -The Examiner (Norfolk,USA), by Julie Ray-June 21, 2009: --Here are some words, referred to public transport, that you are sure to hear during your visit toPanama, but may not find in your dictionary.
(Photo by Melissa Miller - Typical chiva in Panama) Chiva: (che-va) Most often used as the name for the small van-like buses and, in rural areas, for pick-up trucks with the bed covered and equipped with benches for passengers.Chivas travel locally between towns throughout Panama. They will stop to pick up passengers between the two designations, but usually do not travel more than two hours each direction...
(Photo by Melissa Miller - Diablo Rojo in Panama City) Diablo Rojo: (dee-ah-blo row-ho)Old US school buses that provide transportation around Panama City (and in some other cities). The buses are characteristically decorated with dramatic pictures and streamers. The route traveled by each bus is painted on the windshield and often shouted out by the driver or helper.The cost is $0.25 to ride in Panama City, paid when you get off the bus. Diablo Rojos do travel past Tocumen International Airport during daytime hours (leaving from Albrook Bus Terminal; about $1.00 each way).Be ready to exit the bus quickly at your stop as the driver will not wait long...
Paris,France -Travel pod-May 16, 2009: ... Paris!offcourse the beautifull city of light...or the city of love to be more poetic in words is truly a mesmerising place... Famous for architectural and historical relics like Eiffel Tower, Chateau de Versailles, Arc de Trompe to name a few,is very rapidly also becoming famous for a rather annoying urban menace : Congestion, pollution and overwhelming traffic...Paris is well-served by its public transportation system, which is operated by the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens), and includes the Metro, bus system, and RER... The city is well-served by an inexpensive and reliable bus system... Buses have the same fares as Metro tickets (and you can use tickets and passes on either system). To determine your route, examine the maps inside any bus stop. The bus will not automatically stop at each location, you must press red arret demande buttons to alert the driver before your stop... (Photo: ktransit: Transit Paris)
* Canada - Bus Service in Vancouver
Vancouver,BC,Canada -Public Transport in Singapore, by Tan Kin Lian -May 16, 2009: --I took the bus service in Vancouver yesterday. Here are some interesting observations: ... There are only 2 bus services on the main road near my hotel. It takes me to downtown and allows me to transfer to the Skytrain service or other buses along the way. The waiting time is short. My bus arrives within 5 minutes...Another passenger complainted that he waited 10 minutes and saw four buses arriving in the opposite direction... The bus driver was polite and helpful. When I told him of the place that I visited, he told me the stop to get down. He also said that he would announced it on arriving at that stop. He did... It was quite clear that the bus driver was well educated and probably well paid. In my view, it is better to pay an adequate salary to attract the right type of people to do this job and do it well... (Picture from wikipedia: West Vancouver Blue Bus)
* Dubai - Creek commuters prefer abras to new water bus
Dubai -Gulf News, by Ashfaq Ahmed -May 17, 2009: -- Despite hectic efforts of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to promote its water bus, most passengers still prefer to use traditional Abras to commute in the Dubai Creek...A spot survey revealed that people crossing the creek demand an affordable mode of transport... Gulf News spoke to passengers on the creek and found out that the luxury water bus service introduced last year has so far been a washout as the boats operate with very few passengers unlike abras which operate at full capacity most of the time...(Picture by Arshad Ali/Gulf News - The new water bus service on Dubai Creek is felt as being too expensive for most passengers, which results in a rather low rate of 4.4 passengers per trip)
* India - Public Transport System in Mumbai
Mumbai,India -Travel on the Dollar -May 20 2009: -- Public Transport in Mumbai involves the transport of millions of its citizens by train, road and water...Public Bus Service (BEST)...The BEST bus are a very convenient way to travel around Mumbai ... During Peak hours it is best to get buses from the starting stops so that you do not have to stand the entire journey. Now a days the destination is written on the front and side of the bus along with the route number. Generally the front is in Hindi and on the side is in English; so it is easy for both the locals as well as the tourists... There are three types of buses: The Ordinary Bus takes longer time to reach destination as it stops at most locations... The Limited Bus stops at only important locations... The only disadvantage of traveling in a bus is you’d get tired soon because of the pollution and crowd during peak hours. A solution for this is the AC bus... This system is run by a government organization Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, the “B” formerly standing for “Bombay”. It has a fleet of red single and double-decker buses.There are air conditioned and low floor buses as well... (Picture: Mumbai Traffic Intersection - below: BEST Bus in Mumbai)
Transport Realities * South Africa - Slow, but maybe a start
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Capetown,South Africa -MOBILITY, by Gail Jennings -April 17, 2009: --... BRT vehicles run along dedicated lanes, and offer commuters a safe, convenient and reliable service with a regular, all day and evening time table... Construction of BRT stations are well underway in both Cape Town and Johannesburg, and although the systems are about far more than 2010, their first phases need to be operational by then... There will be place for current bus operators in the system, although mini-bus taxis will be excluded from the trunk routes...Currently, the minibus-taxi industry moves about two-thirds of public transport passengers in South Africa, says Herrie Schalekamp, Centre for Transport Studies, UCT... Cape Town and Johanesburghave been in continuous negotiations with the taxi industry, and various memoranda of agreements have been signed…
* Brasil - Curitiba’s BRT:Inspired Bus Rapid Transit Around the World
Curitiba,SC,Brazil -Street Films (New York,NY,USA), by Elizabeth Press -March 31, 2009: -- Curitiba, Brazil first adopted its Master Plan in 1968. Since then, it has become a city well known for inventive urban planning and affordable (to the user and the city) public transportation... Curitiba's Bus Rapid Transit systemis the source of inspiration for many other cities including theTransMilenio in Bogotá,Colombia;Metroviain Guayaquil, Ecuador; as well asthe Orange Line of Los Angeles(USA)... This video illustrates how Curitiba's public transportation system operates and the urban planning and land use principles on which it is based, including an interview with the former Mayor and architect Jaime Lerner. Current city employees also discuss the improvements that are being made to the system to keep it up to date and functioning at the capacity of a typical subway system.Curitibais currently experimenting with adding bypassing lanes on the dedicatedBRT routes and smart traffic lights to prioritize buses. They are even constructing a new line which will have a linear park and 18km of bike lane that parallels the bus transit route...
* USA -Metro'sfirst rapid bus line starts rolling this month
Nashville,TENN,USA -THE TENNESSEAN, by Michael Cass-April 4, 2009: -- Bus rapid transit, one ofMayor Karl Dean'scampaign promises, will start in a scaled-down way along Gallatin Road this month, the Metro Transit Authority's chief executive saidFriday...The rapid transit line will get more sophisticated — and more rapid — this summer with the installation of signal extenders that allow bus drivers to alter the timing of green lights so they won't have to stop... Starting in mid-April, MTA will use 60-foot hybrid-electric buses on the Gallatin Road route, which is the city's most popular with up to 100,000 passengers a month.Later this year, it will use federal economic stimulus money to upgrade passenger shelters with real-time digital readouts telling riders when the next bus will arrive...Dean said the impact could go beyond getting East Nashville and Madison residents to and from work more quickly...(Photo FILE / THE TENNESSEAN - Buses that travel Gallatin Road will be featured in the city's first rapid transit line. Gallatin Road is MTA's most popular route)
* UK - Public transport 'meets targets'
Belfast,North Ireland,UK -BBC News -7 April 2009: -- Buses and trains in NI are meeting punctuality targets, an independent survey of Translink services has found...Ninety-eight percent of Metro buses in Belfast and trains across NI and 97% of Ulsterbus journeys were on time... The Consumer Council welcomed the survey but added that "more needs to be done to improve passenger experience"... Consumer Council transport spokesmanAodhan O'Donnell saidother important factors were "station facilities, comfort, cleanliness, provision of information and staff"... (Picture: Enterprise train)
* Australia - Calls for Federal intervention in passenger transport Canberra,Australia -ABC -8 April 2009: --The Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) Chairman, Scott Grenda,has called forthe Commonwealth to get more involved in public transport to deliver better outcomes for the Australian economy, environment and community... In an address to the Confederation’s annual dinner in Canberra on March 18, the head of theGrenda Groupappealed for leadership from the highest levels, and a change in mindset, to recognise public transport is part of the solution, and not the problem, and not a cost, but a saving...Grendasays the Brisbane City Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is an example of "world-class public transport", and what can be achieved by governments... Under the final recommendation,Grenda sayspublic transport patronage would be monitored by the states, which would apply for compensation from the Federal Government based on the need to increase service levels, to match increased demand. The compensation would be paid on a per extra passenger basis to assist states in increasing and improving services...
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}
