Buses World News

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

14.8.08

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECT * India - BMTC in top gear

Already the operator of the country’s biggest public bus fleet, BMTC, now plans to roll out 1,000 more buses next year. "More buses = fewer cars"

Bangalore,India -The Times Of India /The Bangalore Blog, by R Krishnakumar -13 Aug 2008: -- The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is pitching the equation with great enthusiasm as a solution to the congestion on Bangalore’s roads. The corporation is planning to increase the number of buses, as part of an ongoing fleet expansion, by another 1,000 next year. Already the operator of the biggest public bus fleet in the country, the BMTC is rolling out more buses when issues like absence of dedicated bus lanes remain. The idea, though, is to combine accessibility, frequency and efficiency... Dastagir Sharieff, chief traffic manager (operations), BMTC, told The Times Of India that the expansion is part of a drive to increase the modal split of public transport in Bangalore.

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10.5.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Public transit expanding reach

Norwich,CT,USA -The Norwich Bulletin, by JULIE A. VARUGHESE -10 May 2007: -- As a disabled person who lives on a fixed income, Richard Levesque of Norwich depends on the bus to shop and run other errands... Starting in July, the Levesques and thousands of others riders will have more opportunities to use public transportation because Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced last month $7.5 million will pay for new buses to expand bus services throughout the state... The Route 12 service -- the No. 9 bus -- which operates between Jewett City and Norwich, is one of two SEAT bus lines that will be expanded. The other serves Mystic and Pawcatuck... (Photo by John Shishmanian/Norwich Bulletin - Dora Green of Norwich and her granddaughter, Xylia Velez, get on a SEAT bus Tuesday at Lisbon Landing. At left, driver Michael McCarthy of Norwich watches the girl play peek-a-boo)

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30.3.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Ireland - 'Three hundred new buses needed to meet demand'
Dublin,Ireland -Ireland Online - 28/ Mar 2007: -- SIPTU is seeking an urgent meeting with Minister for Transport Martin Cullen to discuss investment in public transport services across the country... The union says it accepts that the Government has been spending money in this area, but 300 more buses are still needed to meet commuter demand in cities across the country...

* USA - House looking to replace aging public transit buses
Montpelier,Vt,USA -The Boston Globe (Boston,MA), by Ross Sneyd/Associated Press -March 28, 2007: -- New public transit routes have been added around Vermont in recent years, getting more and more commuters out of cars and into buses.
The problem is that the buses are now wearing out, and there's not enough money to buy replacements... So lawmakers, who see mass transit as an eco-friendly initiative, are looking into wrapping the public transit budget into pending climate change legislation... And they believe they'd be helping the environment even more if they raised money to buy new buses and vans by tacking an extra charge onto the registration fees of gas-guzzling passenger vehicles...

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23.3.07

BUSES' PURCHASE

* USA - Crestwood board approves purchase of two new buses
Paris,IL,USA -Paris Beacon News (subscription), by Jenny Barkley -19 Mar 2007: -- The Crestwood bus fleet will have two new vehicles next year, following action of the Board of Education Wednesday evening during the monthly board meeting... Superintendent Lorraine Bailey informed the board regarding her search for nearly-new buses to be added to the fleet as relacements for two buses to be retired... Availble as used leased buses, she said, were 65-passenger and 71-passenger models...

* USA - $87-Million Purchase Of New Buses
Ft. Lauderdale,FL.USA -CBS4, by Eliott Rodriguez -20 Mar 2007: -- Broward commuters will soon have some brand new buses to ride on after the county commissioners agreed Tuesday to spend $87 million on new ones... The first fleet of 48 new buses is expected to arrive in six months, with 150 more in the next five years, which will expand the current 290-bus fleet... Broward County Transit will still get the money they need to pay for new buses. It will also avoid BCT from raising the price of fares to pay for the buses...

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17.3.07

BUSES' PURCHASE

* Uganda - Scandinavia to import more buses
Kampala,Uganda -New Vision, by Kiganda Ssonko -15 March, 2007: -- The Scandinavia Express Services, a regional passenger and cargo transport company, is to add 20 more buses to its fleet of 120 in East Africa and Zambia, the company’s country manager disclosed recently... The Tanzania-based bus company operates an intercity passenger bus transport and cargo handling business and offers scheduled services to 18 destinations in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia...

* Malaysia - Nadicorp signs US$77m finance deal for CNG buses
Shah Alam,Malaysia -The Malaysia Star (Petaling Jaya,Malaysia), by Sabry Tahir -March 16, 2007: -- Bus service operator Nadicorp Holdings Sdn Bhd has signed a seven-year US$77mil financial agreement with Samsung Corp to purchase 465 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered buses, pioneering the use of the liquid for commercial bus operations...

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15.3.07

* Australia - Deckers must return to Sydney?

"People are moving to the suburbs but still working in the city," ...

Sydney,Australia -Australasian Bus & Coach -14 March 2007: -- Sydney Operator Comfort Del Gro/Cabcharge (CDC) is finding demand for seats on its City services is so high that it may have to seek even larger buses for these express runs... In the past three weeks CDC has added 16 buses to its runs... But demand is so great that even articulated buses are not big enough for CDC, though they seat over 60 passengers. The chief executive officer of CDC, Owen Eckford, says he was looking for a bus with about 100 seats, similar to buses in Hong Kong and Singapore. These buses are three axle double deckers...

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BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* USA - Legislation would breathe new life into S.C.'s aging school bus fleet
Charleston,SC,USA -The Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington,NC) /The Associated Press -12 Mar 2007: -- For the second time in two years, a bill introduced in the Legislature would require the state Department of Education to create a system to replace South Carolina's aging school bus fleet.The buses that transport the state's public school children are among the oldest - and least safe - in the country, according to a study by The (Charleston) Post and Courier... To that end, Walker, R-Landrum, has introduced legislation that would required the Department of Education to replace one-twelfth of the bus fleet each year, yielding a completely replaced fleet every 12 years... On average, South Carolina's public school students are riding in 14-year-old buses, many with more than 400,000 miles. Nationwide, the average school bus is about nine years old, or five years newer than the average South Carolina bus...

* Dubai - Double-deck buses to ease traffic congestion
Dubai,UAE -Australasian Bus & Coach (Australia) -12 March 2007: -- Public transport in Dubai is being upgraded to entice people to use buses to help ease traffic congestion... the Public Transport Department at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will purchase 620 new buses. The new buses include 300 articulated and 170 double-deck buses... The new buses will join the t fleet this year and 2008 in phases and increase the total number of buses to around 1,200...

* Thailand - Theera axes plan to buy new buses - Government simply cannot afford them
Klong Toey,Bangkok,Thailand -The Bangkok Post, by AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK -13 Mar 2007: -- Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen has axed the city bus agency's plan to buy 2,000 new natural gas-fuelled buses, saying the government cannot afford them... During a visit yesterday to the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) head office, Adm Theera said the agency needs to maintain its old buses and modify them to run on gas instead of diesel to cut costs...

* USA - New set of wheels?... Bill would mandate 400 new school buses yearly
Bradenton,FL,USA -The Bradenton Herald -Mar. 13, 2007: -- This week members of the House of Representatives will sketch out their budget and will signal whether the General Assembly is ready to make another major school bus purchase... Rep. Bob Walker, R-Spartanburg, has introduced legislation that would require the Department of Education to replace one-twelfth of the 5,000-bus fleet each year, yielding a completely replaced fleet every 12 years... The state bought 600 buses last year. The $36 million purchase was the first in more than a decade. If the state were to replace one-twelfth of its fleet, it would have to buy about 400 new buses annually... (Photo by GERRY MELENDEZ/THE STATE - Willie Crawford completes a full service checkup on the school bus at the state Department of Education Richland School Bus Maintenance Shop on Monday)

* Canada - 20 new buses coming at cost of $9 million
Sherwood Park,Alberta,Canada -The Sherwood Park News, by Conal MacMillan -March 14, 2007: - Strathcona County will see new low-floor buses on its streets as early as this fall, county administration said after a joint federal-provincial funding announcement last week... The federal and provincial government’s announced that the county will receive $6 million over the next three years to be put toward replacing 20 of the county’s aging buses with the new environmentally friendly, easily accessible buses.... The funding comes from the Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, which was set up last year to help pay for local projects that are good for the environment...

* Canada - WCV superintendent outlines plan to replace school district's buses
NEWPORT,Canada-The Herkimer Evening Telegram (Herkimer,NY), by KIM DUNNE -March 14, 2007: -- The West Canada Valley School District started a few years ago to replace three or four school buses each year... There are 24 school buses in West Canada Valley's fleet and, according to school Superintendent Ken Slentz, the school is replacing buses 12, 13 and 14 this year...

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23.2.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Canada - Province pitches in for 15 new buses
Durham,Ontario,Canada -The Durham Region News (Toronto,Ont), by Erin Hatfield -Feb 22, 2007: -- Fifteen new, 12-metre, low-floor, urban diesel transit bus are on their way to Durham... On Feb. 22 Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield announced the Province of Ontario has partnered with six municipalities on the purchase of new transit buses, which will save municipalities an estimated $15,000 per bu

* Uganda - Schools to Get Buses At Lower Rates
Kampala,Uganda -New Vision -Feb 22, 2007: -- Stanbic Bank and Africa Motors and Machinery have launched a scheme for schools to acquire buses at subsidised rates... "No collateral is required. We look at the ability of the school to pay back based on its organisation," Joseph Kiiza, Stanbic's manager for new business, vehicle and asset finance, said... Kiiza said the lending rate would be 18%-20% per annum... Africa Motors' sales engineer, Douglas Kawalya, said they would supply the buses at a discount of 6%-7%...

* India - Jammu & Kashmir Governments to operate 40 special buses in hilly districts
J & K,India -The Hindu (Chennai,India) -Feb 23, 2007: -- The Jammu and Kashmir Governments will purchase 40 special buses and operate them in the hilly districts and accident-prone areas of the State, the Minister for Transport, Hakim Yaseen has said... The Government will buy the buses at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore, Yaseen said while speaking at a high level officers meeting here on Wednesday...

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17.2.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* USA - School Board OKs Purchase Of Three New School Buses
Holbrook,AZ,USA -The AzJournal.com, by JoLynn Fox -16 Feb 2007: -- The Holbrook School District Governing Board approved the purchase of three new 84-passenger buses for the 2007-08 school year Tuesday evening... The Bluebird buses will be obtained through the district’s agreement with Mohave Contracting Services. Each bus carries a sticker price of $115,161, for a total of $345,483...

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16.2.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* USA - Round Valley gets money for new buses
Willits,CA,USA -The Willits News -14 Feb 2007: -- The California Energy Commission has approved $130,845 for the Round Valley Unified School District in Covelo to purchase new, clean-burning school buses to replace pre-1977 vehicles... The commission also approved $130,845 for the Southern Humboldt Unified School District (Garberville), and $131,455 for the Ukiah Unified School District for bus replacement...

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6.2.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECT

* Canada - Eleven new buses for Peace Wapiti for 2008-09
Rycroft,Alberta,Canada -The Central Peace Signal -Feb 06, 2007: -- With one of the biggest school jurisdictions in the province, Peace Wapiti School Division must keep up with providing safe and efficient transportation for students... As a result, as part of the division’s continuous bus replacement plan, eleven new buses will be purchased for the 2008-2009 school year...

* Pakistan - Mustafa promises 8,000 CNG buses for city
Karachi,Pakistan -The News International -6 Feb 2007: -- City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal on returning from The World Economic Forum in Davos once again promised to the citizens that Karachi chosen out of twelve international cities will soon get 8,000 CNG buses... In the developed cities of the world citizens and tourists are provided comfortable and cheap transport, but transport for the citizens of Karachi is an uphill task. In the absence of Karachi Circular Railway, and unplanned public transport, every morning citizens feel their life is in danger, as every day buses and minibuses create huge traffic inconveniences... The Nazim made these promises since he took office in 2005, but Karachiites still pass their life miserably in the worst metropolitan infrastructure...

* USA - BART has fascination with European buses
Pleasanton,CA,USA -Tri-Valley Herald, by Erik N. Nelson -2 Feb 2007: -- ... the AC Transit Board of Directors like a good transportation writer should. It's hard enough to get worked up over BART's august body of decision-makers, and they represent three of the Bay Area's most crowded counties... But I got an e-mail saying that perhaps 100 people were going to show up Wednesday to head off what ended up to be a unanimous decision toauthorize a plan to purchase a fleet of new Van Hool buses... Yes, Van Hool... They're built in Belgium, and AC Transit staff members make regular trips to the land of euthanasia and war crimes laws to see how their bus orders are moving through the assembly line...

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3.2.07

PURCHASE PROSPECT * Australia - Can't buy buses? Let's build

Brisbane,Australia -The Courier Mail, by Emma Chalmers -Jan 31, 2007: -- After a national search lasting almost five months, the Brisbane City Council has solved the problem of where to find the extra buses its needs: build them at Toowong... Council has decided to order its already overstretched Toowong factory to build an additional 19 buses this financial year after attempts to quickly bolster the fleet with second-hand buses were dashed... The delay means hundreds of passengers will continue to be stranded at city stops as the buses are gradually built over the next five months... Labor public transport chairwoman Victoria Newton told council last September that the Toowong bus building factory was at capacity and so the council planned to spend $12 million buying buses from other sources...

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31.1.07

PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - HRT approves nearly $15 million for buses, vans

maiNorfolk,VA,USA -The Virginian-Pilot, by TOM HOLDEN -Jan 26, 2007: -- Hampton Roads Transit agreed Thursday to spend almost $15 million on new buses and vans to replace older vehicles and help the agency expand service along some routes... The board that governs the regional group agreed to spent $14.4 million on up to 40 heavy duty buses - 26 of which will be used to replace existing equipment and 14 to expand service...

* USA - Mason approves purchase of new buses
Cincinnati,OH,USA -The Cincinnati Enquirer -28 Jan 2007: -- Hundreds of Mason students will be riding to school this spring in new buses after the school board this week approved spending $721,360 to buy 10 buses... All of the buses will be able carry 65 students, and will be delivered in March. Nine of them cost $70,495 each, while one bus designed to transport physically challenged students cost nearly $78,000...

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