User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Buses World News
Google
 

Buses World News

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

31.3.16

BUSES CARRYING BULKY ITEMS * Australia

* Canberra - Bus passengers allowed to carry bulky goods on ACTION under new rules

-- From Monday, new rules spell out the rights of bus passengers to carry bulky items on to buses, but also set in stone the right of the driver to make the final decision... ACT Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris said the new policies would allow passengers to take fold-up bikes and other bulky items on board. They would also mean more certainty for passengers and make buses a more convenient and attractive option... Asked for examples of bulky items, her spokeswoman cited furniture, luggage and musical instruments. But the policies don't list allowed items, and make it clear that it is up to the driver to decide... The new rules spell out that drivers must not help passengers loading or unloading goods... Dangerous goods are banned, including knives, vehicle batteries, gas bottles, fuel and goods that are likely to spill...
(Photo: ACT Bus - A bike rack on an ACTION bus, but what are you allowed to carry on the inside?) -- Canberra, ACT, Australia - The Canberra Times, by Kirsten Lawson - March 28 2016

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 3:49 PM  0 Comments

27.3.16

BUS CODE IMPLEMENTATION * India - Challenged by body builders

* Punjab - Bus body builders to move against code

-- Bus body builders from across the country have decided to challenge the implementation of the bus code in the Supreme Court. The code will prevent them from engineering bus bodies... The bus code will be implemented across the country from April 1... There are around 3,000 bus body builders in the country. Therefore, implementation of the bus code will render lakhs of skilled workers jobless, including 7,000 from Jalandhar... Speaking to the Jalandhar Tribune, Gurjeet Singh, chairman, Collaborative Advance Research for Transport (CART) said, the minister concerned had taken the decision under pressure of the big manufacturers in the country as after the implementation of the bus code, they would be able make bus bodies... Gurjeet said a similar code was also envisaged during the UPA government in 2010, which was not implemented keeping in mind the employment issue... 
(Photo: Srie Vedass Industries Indian factory: Buses body buiders)  --  Jalandhar, Punjab, India - The Tribune News, by Gagandeep Singh - March 27, 2016

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 11:29 AM  0 Comments

1.3.16

Government Budget * India: A boost to bus makers in

* Delhi - The Motor Vehicles Act will allow private sector participation in the passenger vehicle segment of road transport


-- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said that the Motor Vehicles Act will be amended to allow the participation of private sector in the passenger vehicle segment of road transport... For this the government aims to provide an ecosystem which provide states to adopt a revised legal framework. This is done to boost road transport by empowering entrepreneurs to operate buses on various routes... This might lead to overhauling or scraping of permit system which is required presently to own and operate buses under a particular heading. Every year, bus operators obtain different permits, including single district permit, two districts and all-India permit for operating their buses... Such a move will give a boost to bus sales benefiting bus manufacturers like Tata Motos, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Volvo, Scania to name a few... 
(Picture from Reuters - Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at the parliament to present the budget for the 2016/17 fiscal year, in New Delhi)   --  Mumbai, Delhi, India - Business Standard - February 29, 2016

Labels: , ,

posted by Unknown @ 5:54 AM  0 Comments

17000 BUSES MUST BE CONVERTED TO Euro VI Compliant * India

* Delhi - Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari: "Transport Corporations must do it"

-- The Centre today asked the state transport undertakings to convert their 17 lakh buses to Euro VI compliant or bio-fuel friendly vehicles as part of implementing stricter emission norms from April 1, 2020, a move aimed at curbing high vehicular pollution... Pollution is a major concern and once these buses are converted into higher-grade fuel compliant or bio-fuel, electric compliant, India could cut on huge crude import bills to the tune of Rs. eight lakh crore per annum, the Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister said while addressing the joint meeting of National Road Safety Council and Transport Development Council... The statement assume significance in the wake of India deciding to leapfrog directly from Euro IV emission norms for petrol and diesel to Euro VI standards, and the oil PSUs will invest Rs. 28,750 crore for the transition... An inter-ministerial group headed by Mr Gadkari on January 6 had taken the decision to advance the date by four years to April 1, 2020 for implementation of Bharat Stage VI (equivalent to Euro VI norms followed globally) for supply of cleaner auto fuel, by altogether skipping the Euro V grade norms... Mr Gadkari also suggested State Transport Corporations to slash the ticket prices by 50 per cent to swing into profit saying this could easily be done after change in fuel which is economical... 
(Photo: Mr. Gadkari said the government plans to take the total length of NHs to two lakh km in three months)   --  New Delhi, India - NDTV - February 22, 2016

Labels: , ,

posted by Unknown @ 5:43 AM  0 Comments

29.1.16

Tour Bus REGULATION in San Francisco * USA

* California - Tour bus bill would allow cities to conduct extra safety inspections

  (Video "San Francisco Tour Bus Lost Control/Crash", by Raw Leak)
 -- Responding to several recent tour bus collisions and crashes in San Francisco, San Francisco Assemblyman, today announced legislation that would allow the city to conduct its own safety inspections... The bill, would give cities with large tourism industries the option to develop their own inspection programs as a supplement to state inspections conducted by the California Highway Patrol and overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission... Currently, only around 30 percent of tour buses are inspected... In addition to the Union Square crash, tour buses have also been involved in the deaths of two pedestrians in recent years. Pieter Roell, 82, was struck and killed Saturday on Divisadero at Post Street, and city employee Priscila "Precy" Moreto was struck and killed at Polk and McAllister streets in October of 2014... 
 San Francisco, CAL, USA - KTVU -JAN 20 2016

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 11:47 AM  0 Comments

BUS OPERATORS * Japan Government: REVIEWING REGULATIONS

* Tokyo - Review starts on bus regulations following deadly ski bus crash

-- In response to the deadly Jan. 15 crash of a ski tour bus in Nagano Prefecture, the national government has started a review of regulations for bus operators... The transport ministry has set up a panel to consider tightening the screening process for entering the business, toughening penalties for violations of relevant laws, and stepping up checks on drivers’ skills... The tour bus industry is booming amid an increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan... The number of chartered bus operators doubled from the fiscal 1998 level to 4,512 in fiscal 2013, after the road transportation law was revised in 2000 to lower the hurdle for new entries... Bus manufacturers are enjoying a flood of orders. According to Hino Motors Ltd., sales of large tour buses jumped from 447 units in fiscal 2011 to 877 in fiscal 2014... The wait time for delivery is now over one year... The Tokyo-based bus operator ESP, whose vehicle was involved in the Jan. 15 accident in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, that left 15 people dead, is a newcomer, obtaining permission for chartered bus operations in 2014... A transport ministry special inspection following the accident found that the firm had violated a number of rules, such as failing to ensure that its drivers had the required health checkups... 
(Photo: Japan ski tour bus in Nagano crash kills 14, injures 27 - A bus lies after it veered off to the opposite lane on a mountain road in Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture, central Japan Friday, Jan. 15, 2016) -- Tokyo, Japan - The Japan Times - JAN 25, 2016

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 5:35 AM  0 Comments

13.5.15

BUSES RULES & REGULATIONS * Philippines

* Manila - DOTC creates new public utility vehicle classification: the airport bus

-- Passengers going to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport will soon have another means of transport with the creation of Airport Buses under a new public utility vehicle (PUV) classification created by the Department of Transportation and Communications. The agency is expanding transportation options for airline passengers other than taxis and personal vehicles to help ease traffic congestion around the airport... Under this new classification, Airport Buses will be required to comply with improved service levels, such as being equipped with on-board closed-circuit television cameras, global positioning system (GPS) devices, automated bus arrival electronic displays, cashless or automated fare collection systems, and free Wi-Fi. Airport buses should also be eco-friendly...
 (Photo: The Ninoy Aquino International Airport)  --  Manila, Philippines - GMA News, by STEVE DAILISAN - May 12, 2015

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 12:17 PM  0 Comments

24.4.15

BUSMAKER NEWS * USA & Canada: DOT rule could ‘cripple’ buses factories

* New York - The costs of multiple plants would boost the price of new buses and rolling stock

  --  The U.S. Department of Transportation’s local hiring pilot program and rule could inadvertently cripple two northern New York manufacturers that employ hundreds of workers... U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer said the measure would permit transit agencies receiving federal funds to require that workers for a supplier must be located in that city for the company to be able to bid on a contract... The measure, Schumer warned, is so broad it would cover manufacturers of railcars, locomotives, buses, trolley cars and trams, and force manufacturers to move from city to city to compete on bids. Canadian manufacturers Bombardier and Nova Bus have U.S.A. plants at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base, where Bombardier is currently producing subway cars for the Chicago Transit Authority and other transit agencies. Nova Bus currently is building natural gas-powered buses for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, as well as transit buses for other cities...
(Photo: Nova Bus, which is part of the Volvo Group, signed an $11 million contract with Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority for 20 new NGVs)  --  New York, NY, USA - The Times Union, by Eric Anderson - April 23, 2015

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 6:44 AM  0 Comments

21.7.14

BUSES' REGULATIONS * USA

* Tennessee - Differences between school bus regulations and Church buses

(Photo: Several of those involved in last night's fatal bus accident are back in Brazil,IND, this evening) Knoxville,TENN,USA -2WTWO -18 July 2014: -- The accident, involving a church bus of the Berea Christian Church in Brazil, happened Thursday evening in Knoxville, Tennessee... The bus hit two cars and killed a Knoxville woman... The vehicle was driven by the church's associate minister... He told police brake failure may have caused the accident... Unlike school buses, church buses are not required for inspection by the Indiana State Police... Instead, church buses receive an inspection from a qualified inspector once a year...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 7:14 AM  0 Comments

12.2.13

RULES & REGULATIONS * India

* India - New norms issued for bus body building accreditation

(Ashkok Leyland bus factory, India) 
New Delhi,India -Busworld (Belgium) -2 Feb 2013: -- In exercise of the powers conferred under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 a revised order has been issued to specify norms in respect of accreditation of bus body builders. The new Order has come into force on December 31, 2012... Accreditation implies evaluating, assessing and approving the capacities of a bus body builder to consistently ensure the specified quality of bus bodies. The Order applies to all companies and individuals engaged in bus manufacturing or bus body building of M2 and M3 type of vehicles having seating capacity of 13 or more passengers and all bus types covered under the Bus Code... Testing agencies are responsible to plan, conduct and control the audit based on the request submitted by the bus body builder, generate the audit report and to release the accreditation certificate. Overall supervision and control of the accreditation system is also their responsibility...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 5:46 PM  0 Comments

21.1.13

RULES and REGULATIONS * China

* China - Shoves Beidou intro tractors, trucks and buses. Latest decree from on high turns up heat on GPS 

 Beijing,China -The Register/Networks, by Phil Muncaster -16 January 2013: -- The Chinese government has mandated the use of its new satellite navigation system Beidou (BDS) in several classes of vehicle across nine provinces, as the sat nav war between it and the United States' GPS heats up... The Ministry of Transport made the decree on Tuesday – covering Jiangsu, Anhui, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Hunan and Guizhou provinces, along with Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Tianjin Municipality... The order comes after last year's 100,000+ vehicle trial of Beidu across the nine regions. Now, all passenger buses and vehicles used for transporting “dangerous articles” must install BDS when it’s time to renew their on-board sat nav, while heavy-duty trucks and trailers need to be retrofitted with the same... The Ministry wants to have 80 per cent of such vehicles fitted with Beidou before March 2013 and all new vehicles in these categories to leave the factory with on-board Beidou terminals...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 5:20 PM  0 Comments

18.1.13

RULES & REGULATIONS * USA

* DC - Feds finalizing new rules that include bus seat belts 
Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by DAVID SHEPARDSON -14 June 2012:: -- Requirement would take effect in 3 years, according to NHTSA. National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland says the auto safety agency hopes to finalize several key regulations by the end of 2013, including a long-delayed proposal to require safety belts on commercial buses... In an interview at the North American International Auto Show, Strickland said the agency expects to issue the rule "very soon" ... NHTSA, which has been debating requiring seat belts on motor coaches since 1977, has said the requirement would take effect three years after a final version is published... The agency won't require the nation's current fleet of 29,000 commercial buses to be retrofitted with seat belts because that may not be "economically feasible" for many small carriers. But NHTSA isn't ruling out taking the action at a later date... NHTSA said its seat belt proposal will cost $25 million annually — or about $13,000 per bus — and will save as many as eight lives a year, depending on the rate of seat belt usage...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 12:54 PM  0 Comments

14.8.12

DIGITAL TACHOGRAPHS * Europe

* Switzerland - New technology does not prevent fraud

(Photo from Siemens/Strada: Digital tachographs - new technology does not prevent fraud)
Geneve,Swiss -Jornal Strada -August 2012: -- The European Union intends to review the use of digital tachographs and adopt improvements in safety and efficacy in terms of profitability, which favors a reduction of operational and administrative charges for road transport... The IRU is intended to ensure greater security, at a reasonable cost to prevent fraud in tachographs as well as better enforcement of sanctions , harder for violators of tachographs, stressing that combating fraud tachograph is essential to the sustainability of road transport services...
The IRU is strongly opposed to the compulsory installation of all devices with positioning satellite once they cease to make tamper-proof digital tachograph...  "A more complex and expensive technology will not stop the offenders, but there will be increasingly tougher sanctions",  argued the Chairman of the Committee on Social Affairs of the IRU, Georges Causse...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 11:33 AM  0 Comments

12.1.12

Cell Phone Use * USA

* Alabama - Restricting drivers’, a tough pill to swallow?

Tuscaloosa,ALA,USA -CCJ Digital, by Aaron Huff -December 29, 2011: -- From January 3, 2012, commercial truck or bus drivers will face civil penalties of up to $2,750, per violation, for using handheld cell phones while operating a vehicle. The new rule, announced in November by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, will include a maximum penalty of $11,000 for companies that permit this behavior...  The real danger of using cell phones is not the risk of being caught. The accident risk is equal to driving while legally intoxicated, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine...  To help mitigate this risk, fleets can use applications that automatically lock down mobile devices when they detect motion. The real challenge, however, may be restricting drivers from using personal phones while operating company vehicles...

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 4:18 PM  0 Comments

6.1.12

REGULATIONS * Europe

* A Coach is not a truck

(Photo: Scania coach)
Brussels,Belgium -Busworld -Dec 2011: -- The world of coach travel has been shaken up by the new Driving and Resting Time Regulations, issued as Regulation EG 561/2006 on 15 March 2006 by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers... This regulation abolished the exceptions that were common for coaches, placing the coach travel industry on a parwith the road haulage industry in terms of permitted driving hours. Whilst there are essential differences that distinguish the transport of people and the transport of goods. The new regulations have made it almost impossible to indulge in relaxed and smooth-paced sightseeing tourism in which passengers alight at frequent intervals, have lunch in a restaurant around midday and enjoy their hotel in the evening...  During the latest Busworld Show 2011 in Kortrijk this campaign has been relaunched.
We want to realize a so-called “black book” with testimonials of ( bad) experiences drivers/coachoperators had due to this regulation.

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 1:21 PM  0 Comments

23.2.11

REGULATIONS * Philippines - Only clean fuel buses may get past DOTC ban

Manila,Philippines- The Philippine Daily Inquirer -15 Feb 2011: -- The Department of Transportation and Communications announced that it would only exempt buses that run on cleaner alternative fuels from the moratorium on the registration of new public utility vehicles... The government imposed the moratorium to curb the rise in the number of buses plying Metro Manila roads, exacerbating traffic jams and pollution in the process... But in an effort to address pollution, DOTC Secretary, Jose de Jesus, exempted buses powered by CNG (compressed natural gas) from the franchise moratorium... Studies have shown that Metro Manila’s roads have not been able to cope with the capital’s rising population. The Japan International Cooperation Agency earlier said in a study that Edsa [Epifanio de los Santos Avenue] could only handle a maximum of 1,600 buses a day. Some 3,500 buses ply the route daily... (Photo from farm4.static.flickr: Buses in EDSA, Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 6:21 PM  0 Comments

22.2.11

Passengers' Rights * Europe - Parliament backs new rights for bus, coach passengers

(Video from Youtube, by eppgrouptv -3 June 2010: -- MEPs on the European Parliament's transport committee voted this week to strengthen the rights of passengers travelling on inter-city and inter-regional buses and coaches. This legislation mirrors consumer protection initiatives already in place for air and train passengers)

Brussels,Belgium -EurActiv -18 February 2011: -- Bus and coach passengers in Europe will enjoy more rights, including compensation for delays or damaged luggage, after the European Parliament gave new EU-wide rules the green light today (15 February)... Representatives of the European Parliament and EU member states hammered out an agreement at the end of November to give bus and coach passengers in Europe more rights, including compensation for delays or damaged luggage, paving the way for today's vote in plenary...   The two regulations will ensure that passengers are protected when travelling by air, on water and on land, both by rail and by road...   From spring 2013 all bus and coach passengers will enjoy the right to non-discrimination based on nationality, disabilities or reduced mobility, as well as financial compensation for loss or damage to mobility equipment in case of accident, regardless of the means of transport or length of journey...  Passengers will have the right to receive compensation up to a total of €220,000 per passenger and €1,200 per item of luggage...  Additionally, long-distance passengers on journeys longer than 250km will be protected in case of death, injury, loss or damage caused by road accidents...  Road accident victims will be provided with up to two nights' hotel accommodation to the value of €80 per night. Carriers must also offer two nights' hotel accommodation to stranded long-distance passengers...  Long-distance passengers will also be reimbursed or rerouted if services are cancelled, overbooked or delayed for more than 120 minutes after the estimated time of departure...  In the event of such lengthy delays, passengers can demand a full refund of their tickets or alternative transport to their destination, and are entitled to additional compensation worth 50% of the cost of the ticket...  When long-distance services are cancelled or delayed for more than 90 minutes on journeys of more than three hours, passengers will receive "meals, snacks and refreshments"...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 7:04 PM  0 Comments

11.2.11

RULES * Azerbaijan - Proposes fines for bus drivers overcharging passengers

This bill will be discussed at a meeting of parliament on Friday

Baku,Azerbaijan -Trend, by M. Aliyev -Feb. 11, 2011: -- Azerbaijan proposed fining bus drivers demanding fare in excess of the established tariffs. Such a punishment is envisaged in the draft amendments to the Administrative Violations Code... The amount of the fine will be from 40 to 50 manat... The same amount of fine is proposed to be applied with respect to drivers violating the traffic schedule on intercity and international routes... Drivers of buses unmarked Taxi and lacking the taximeter and other equipment, violating the certain rules of transportation of passengers and baggage, and carrying prohibited items, and using of audio devices that have no direct relation to the transport process, will also be fined in the amount of 40-50 manat... (Photo photo by F.MacLachlan, from azerb.com: Azerbaijan - Lankaran / Lenkoran: bus leaving Lankoran - near the Bazaar - public transportation)

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 12:47 PM  0 Comments

9.2.11

RULES & REGULATIONS * USA - NYC Might Regulate Chinatown Buses

The cheap intercity curbside pick-up buses–also known as Chinatown buses–may get regulated in New York City

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

New York,NY,USA -WNYC/Transportation Nation, by Alva French and Alex Goldmark -4 Feb 2011:  ... That’s if one politician gets his way...  State Senator, Daniel Squadron, is introducing a bill that would allow New York City to issue permits and designate official pick-up and drop-off points. Currently the buses use just about any open curb space. There is also a law allowing any bus to pick up or discharge passengers at any bus stop...  Representatives from the bus companies say ticket prices may go up in New York if Squadron’s bill passes...  Right now, some bus lines charge as little as $1 for discounted tickets to Washington D.C., but most seats are in the range of $15-$30 for a one-way trip between New York and and D.C. or New York and Boston...   Nobody knows how many Chinatown buses are in operation in New York. The city does work with bus operators on a case by case basis, even though it doesn’t have the right to regulate them. In fact, the city will even put up a sign marking a bus stop at no cost to the company if the bus line requests it...

Labels:

posted by Unknown @ 11:04 AM  0 Comments

16.7.10

The EEV Emission Standard * Europe - A stepping stone to Euro 6?

The creation of the EEV standard enabled the R&D man-hours and costs previously demanded in satisfying minor sectors of the market to be channelled more productively

Cardiff,UK -Automotive World, by Alan Bunting -July 15, 2010: -- It was back in 1999 that the EU authorities set both Euro 4 and 5 truck and bus emission limits and the dates for their implementation, even though Euro 5 standards were not scheduled to become law for all newly registered vehicles until October 2008. So, manufacturers had some nine years to progress their powertrain - including aftertreatment - technologies to meet the stringent Euro 5 requirements... Earlier rounds of commercial vehicle emissions legislation in Europe had been widely criticized by manufacturers, not so much for the NOx (oxides of nitrogen) and PM (particulate matter) limits themselves, but for the legislators' procrastination in setting the deadlines for compliance... As a result, the producers of diesel engines and their all-important fuel-injection systems and turbochargers were effectively asked to perform technological and manufacturing miracles in uncomfortably hurried development and production programmes... What is perhaps even more remarkable about the foresight shown in the EU legislators' 1999 emission law announcement was the inclusion of a further non-mandatory emission standard, which could have been called "Euro 5 plus". But in fact it was given the rather clumsy label of "EEV", which stands for "enhanced environmentally friendly vehicle"... (Photo from motordehidrogeno.ne: Renaul truck cell)

Labels: ,

posted by Unknown @ 11:33 AM  0 Comments