Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
PUBLIC TRANSPORT WORLDWIDE * United Arab Emirates: * Dubai, bus service history - * Abu Dhabi. Illegal buses / * Thailand: Black boxes requesteds
* The life and times of the Dubai bus since 1968
(Photo: People travelling in a Dubai bus in 2004)
-- It’s comfortable, it’s big, and in many cases, buses drop you at your doorstep. What began as a rickety 17-seater mini bus plying from Al Ittihad Road to Al Sabkha in 1968, the Dubai bus service has now evolved into a sophisticated mode of transportation, travelling across emirates, ferrying thousands of passengers everyday... After 30 years, the minibuses made way for bigger and buses. Public transport slowly progressed and air-conditioned Nissan buses were introduced in 1990... As per latest figures, the Public Transport Agency (PTA) of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) operates a fleet of 1,299 vehicles, with 1,050 vehicles on the road during peak hours. It generated around 135 million passenger trips in 2014 through 107 routes... The public bus occupancy in Dubai in the first four months of 2014 went up to 42.6 per cent, while in the same period in 2013 it was 39.3 per cent. Dubai ranks third in the world in the public bus occupancy rate after Germany and France...
(Photo: Residents boarding a bus in 2005)
... To facilitate easier access and to encourage people to use the buses more often, the RTA has provided its passengers with air conditioned bus stops, journey planner mobile applications like the Wojahati app, easy connectivity with the Dubai Metro and door-to-door connectivity... Articulated buses (which have two rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint) were introduced on Dubai roads in 2007 and double-decker buses in 2008. In the current fleet operated by the RTA, 66 per cent are standard buses, 21 per cent articulated, nine per cent double-decker buses and the rest coaches... On an average, passengers make 365,000 trips every day on the RTA’s buses. Interestingly, Thursday is the busiest day, with 390,000 passenger trips, while Saturday sees the least passenger trips at 320,000. Fridays see an average of 330,000 passengers...
Dubai - The Khaleej Times, by Dhanusha Gokulan - 5 April 2015
* Abu Dhabi - Illegal private drivers seek passengers at bus station
-- Undeterred by the risk of steep fines or jail terms, drivers of private vehicles are illegally ferrying passengers in Abu Dhabi and to other emirates... Owners of these cars can be seen near the pedestrian bridge on Muroor Road across from the Abu Dhabi main bus terminal... They either approach passers-by near the bridge and at the bus stop or shout “Dubai, Dubai” or “Mussaffah, Mussaffah”, offering passengers a cheap alternative to licensed taxis... A driver, who identified himself as Ahmad, 40, from Islamabad, said a one-way trip to Dubai costs Dh150, compared to the Dh250 metered fare in a silver taxi... The illegal services are popular because they are cheap. Fares can be as little as Dh10, compared with at least Dh50 for a one-way trip from Abu Dhabi to Mussaffah and Dh120 to Baniyas in a registered vehicle... Department of Transport buses cost only Dh4 to Mussaffah or Khalifa City A, but the journey can take up to two hours... Last year, TransAD warned the public not to use unauthorised taxis because the vehicles were not properly equipped for passenger safety and may not be insured...
(Photo by Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National - Private cars illegally ferry passengers between locations in Abu Dhabi every day. Fares are less than licensed taxis) -- Abu Dhabi - The National, by Ramona Ruiz - April 6, 2015
* Thailand - 'Black boxes' urged for interprovincial buses
-- The Land Transport Department will ask operators of interprovincial buses to install devices similar to ‘’black boxes’’ found in airplanes to monitor driver behaviour and reduce road accidents... Earlier, the department launched a pilot project to test the technology on interprovincial buses. It proved successful in reducing road accidents and saving fuel by 3.6%... Sixty buses of the state-run agency were fitted with the devices under the pilot programme...
(Bangkok Post photo - The Land Transport Department looks set to ask operators of interprovincial buses to install the so-called "black boxes" in their vehicles in a bid to reduce road accidents) Bangkok, Thailand - The Bangkok Post - 3 Apr 2015Labels: public transport worldwide
PUBLIC TRANSPORT * WORLDWIDE: Australia - Singapore
* ACT / Australia - Ticket inspectors to board Canberra's buses and be at bus stops
(Photo: Inspectors will be more regularly checking MyWay cards on ACTION buses and at bus stops)
Canberra,ACT,Australia -The Age, by Tom McIlroy -16 June 2014: -- Passengers who don't pay the correct fare on Canberra's ACTION Bus network face the prospect of fines from new ticket inspections... From June 23, inspectors will check ticket receipts and MyWay cards on board buses and at stops as the ACT Government moves to drive down fare evasion and protect network revenue... They will also check that passengers purchasing concession tickets have evidence of their entitlement to the reduced fare... A Territory and Municipal Services spokeswoman said while inspectors had patrolled Canberra buses in the past, their presence would be more regular as part of the anti-fare evasion program...
* Singapore - Bus reliability study: Early signs ‘encouraging’, says LTA
(Photo: SMRT Buses in Singapore)
Singapore -Channel News Asia, by Saifulbahri Ismail -16 Jun 2014: -- Another seven bus services will join the two-year trial, bringing the total number of participating bus services to 22... A two-year scheme to improve bus reliability has seen “encouraging” results in the first three months since its launch, with fewer instances of prolonged waiting times and "bus bunching" - having multiple buses arriving at the same time - the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Monday (June 16)... The Bus Service Reliability Framework, launched in February, assesses the regularity of a bus service using the concept of Excess Wait Time (EWT) – the difference between actual and scheduled wait times... The trial was started with seven SMRT buses, with four trunk bus services seeing improvements in their EWT compared to the 2013 baseline score, LTA said. The performance of the three feeder bus services in the trial were mixed...Labels: public transport worldwide
PUBLIC TRANSPORT WORLDWIDE * Qatar
* Qatar / UAE - AC buses a ‘dream’ for construction workers
(Picture used for illustrative purpose only)
Doha,Quatar/UAE -The Gulf Times, by Ramesh Mathew -9 June 2014: -- Yet another summer has arrived, but there is little respite in sight for a majority of construction workers who continue to sweat it out in buses without air conditioners... Around three years ago, it was announced that airconditioned buses would be introduced to transport construction workers between their accommodation and worksite. However, there has been no sign of such “labour-friendly” buses hitting the roads in large numbers until now... Only a fraction of construction companies uses air-conditioned buses to ferry their workers during the summer, it is learnt... A senior contracts manager of a major construction firm said the labour department - as part of the new reforms it is initiating - could consider making it mandatory for contractors to use only airconditioned buses for their labourers. “If such a law comes into effect, employers will deploy AC buses for their workers in no time” ...Labels: public transport worldwide
PUBLIC TRANSPORT * Pakistan - India
* Punjab - Demand for more Metro buses
Lahore,Punjab,Pakistan -The Nation, by JANISAR AHMED -June 08, 2014: -- Shortage of metro buses is causing huge discomfort to the commuters, who are forced to queue up in long lines and travel in tightly packed vehicles to the detriment of their health, The Nation explains... Officials in the Metro Bus Service told this newspaper that the average commuter traffic per day is 18,0000 while the number of buses plying on the 27 KM Gajjumata to Shadara route is 64. At every stop, an average of 6000 commuters commute each day... “The existing fleet of buses is not enough for the travellers, which often rises to 2,00000 per day,” the official said... He said that while there are three platforms at each station which are meant for three buses to be used simultaneously, only one of them is in use. Given the number of commuters, these vacant platforms would have to be used which would require at least 40 more buses, he added... Officials told that while a single bus has a capacity for 160 passengers including 39 seats and standing space for 120 persons, an average bus is overloaded by 50 extra passengers. Overcrowding also impacts negatively on the engine of the vehicles, chokes up the ticket offices resulting in long lines of travellers...
* Punjab - Overcrowded buses pose threat to passengers' lives
(Photo: Overcrowded Bus-Ride in Hyderabad, India)
Ludhiana,Punjab,India -The Hindustan Times, by Sumeer Singh -7 June 2014: -- Giving two hoots to the guidelines of the apex court, overcrowded buses continue to ply on the city roads- posing serious threat to the lives of thousands of passengers... The site of travellers hanging outside the doors on footboards and sitting on top of the buses has become a common affair in the city and surprisingly, traffic cops deployed on duty at various light points usually turn a blind eye and act as mute spectators... On visiting one of the busiest roads in the city, Ferozepur road, one can see buses laden with passengers on all sides, thus causing traffic chaos and danger to their lives. Some people say private bus operators, in order to fetch more money, board passengers more than the capacity of the vehicles... District transport officer, Anil Garg, said, "Though we regularly keep a check on over loaded buses and violators are challaned for the offense, we will ensure that more effective measures are taken to stop this practice" ... Labels: public transport India, public transport worldwide
