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Buses World News

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

22.3.08

Info Security & Personal Privacy * UK - Human Rights on the Buses

Public transport doesn’t often provide pointers for the humanitarian community

USA -Humanitarian Info -March 21, 2008: -- ... The recent cracking of the London OysterCard (following hot on the heels of the earlier crack of the Dutch transit card system) came as no surprise to digital security experts, but it should teach us fundamental lessons about information security and personal privacy issues... Security researchers say they’ve found a way to crack the encryption used to protect a widely-used smartcard in a matter of minutes, making it possible for them to quickly and cheaply clone the cards that are used to secure office buildings and automate the collection of mass transportation fares... No electronic identification scheme is secure. It doesn’t matter how good your technology is, any system which is built by humans can be cracked, and the only defense is to make the cost of cracking it as prohibitive as possible. (The kicker is that you never know if you’ve successfully achieved that - until somebody cracks it and it becomes embarrassingly obvious that you haven’t.) On top of that, the more complex and expensive a system is, the more difficult it is to fix it when something like this happens...

Labels: security

11.3.08

Cops on buses * UK - Police are to ride on buses in Wandsworth

London,UK -This is Local London -11 March 2008: -- New police teams will travel on buses in Wandsworth to increase passenger safety and tackle crime... The teams, known as Safer Transport Teams (STTs), already operate in 21 outer London boroughs and are based on safer neighbourhood team model employed around the country... Transport for London (TfL), which announced the scheme last week, said STTs will be introduced in the other 10 inner London boroughs and would be a mix of police and police community support officers...

Labels: security

21.1.08

New SOS * UK - Text service on buses to alert police to trouble

An emergency text service to let passengers alert police to trouble on buses without putting themselves in danger could go live in London

London,England,UK -This is London/Evening Standard, by Katharine Barney -21 Jan 2008: -- ... The pioneering scheme would allow travellers to raise the alarm discreetly and without being spotted by troublemakers and criminals who might otherwise turn on them... The scheme would work by giving individual buses their own code letters, which would be advertised on posters around the bus... If trouble flares all a passenger would have to do would be to type the letter in and send it to a dedicated text number. This would alert the police, who would be also able to identify which bus the distress signal was made from and where the bus was... (Knife killer: CCTV footage of Anthony Joseph, who killed bus passenger Richard Whelan in 2005)

Labels: security

9.7.07

* Australia - Security cams to cost $34m

The NSW Government has spent $34 million on hi-tech surveillance cameras to be installed on Sydney's buses

NSW,Australia -NEWS.com, by James Madden -July 09, 2007: -- More than 300 high-definition CCTV cameras have been placed across the city's transport network in areas considered potential terrorist targets... The new cameras bring to 6400 the total number of cameras being used to watch people using buses, trains and ferries... Acting NSW Premier John Watkins said the upgrade complemented a surveillance system and counter-terrorism measures already in place... He said that the $34 million system would enhance security on the city's transport system well beyond the APEC summit... (Picture: Acting NSW Premier John Watkins: "(It's) not just for APEC, it's for the world we're in at the moment")

Labels: security

19.6.07

‘Fare-Paid Zone’ * USA - Buses will be that as of June 25

Anyone who pays cash to get on a bus or community shuttle will have to ensure they get a transfer from the driver, even if they’re only riding a short distance

B.C., Canada -The Coquitlam Tri City News, by Jeff Nagel -Jun 17 2007: -- That’s because TransLink is declaring the entire bus system a fare-paid zone, where, as on SkyTrain, passengers will have to be able to prove they paid or potentially face a $173 fine... The change takes effect June 25 and primarily aims to reduce assaults against drivers that often arise from disputes over fare payment... Drivers will continue to check passes and take payment but they’re to call security rather than try to challenge fare evaders...

Labels: security

16.6.07

Security * UK - 'Bus bobbies' making buses safer

Bobbies on buses are helping slash attacks by yobs in an area of Newport

Newport,Wales,UK -South Wales Argus, by Darren Evans -15 June 2007: -- ... Buses in the Maindee area were being targeted by stone-throwing youths, with up to three serious incidents a week... In one incident 68-year-old driver Alan Smith needed hospital treatment after chemicals were fired into his face through a bus window in Maindee... But since Gwent police introduced regular uniformed officers on buses last month, the number of attacks has significantly decreased... (Picture: ON THE BUSES: Helping to crack down on bus vandalism are Pcso's Dale Morris, left, and Matthew Mallet)

* UK - Bus feedback - Croydonians can suggest ways to improve security measures on London's buses
Croydon,England,UK -The Croydon Guardian -15 June 2007: -- Passengers are being urged to get involved in an investigation by the London Assembly to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour on public transport... The inquiry will look into whether measures taken by Transport for London, such as CCTV cameras on buses, make passengers feel safe. It will also examine what other measures could be introduced...

Labels: security

Security * Australia - Buses to run with police escort

Bus services are to be restored to the western Sydney suburb of Willmot for a fortnight, with a police escort, after attacks caused their suspension last week

Perth,W. Australia,Australia -The West Australian -15 June 2007: -- ... An overwhelming majority of Westbus drivers voted on Friday to reintroduce full bus services from Monday - for a two-week trial... During the trial period, police cars will escort buses in and out of problem areas and security guards will be posted at strategic locations throughout the suburb... Willmot bus services have been limited to taking children to and from school since June 8, after a string of rock-throwing attacks...

Labels: security

6.6.07

Terror * Canada - Proofing our buses

City asked to pay $40,000 for 'Threat assessmenT'

Sarnia,ON,Canada -Sarnia Observer, by SHAWN JEFFORDS -June 02, 2007: -- Sarnia is being asked to sign off on a $160,000 plan to protect the city's buses from terrorists. The proposal, which comes before council Monday, would require $40,000 from local taxpayers, with the federal government covering the remaining $120,000. The money would hire a consultant to perform a "threat and risk assessment" and develop a security plan, part of an initiative to improve anti-terrorism measures in large Canadian cities and border communities... Sarnia's mayor, for one, is not impressed. "Spending $160,000 of taxpayers money to develop a transit plan for the City of Sarnia, to prevent terrorism, to me, is ludicrous," Mike Bradley said Friday...

Labels: security

4.5.07

* Australia - ACTION Buses rules out extra security

ACTION Buses says the number of assaults against its staff isn't enough to warrant the employment of security guards to patrol bus interchanges

Australia -ABC Online -April 24, 2007: -- An ACTION supervisor was attacked while working on Saturday night - the third assault since February... The ACT Opposition and Transport Workers Union have since called for an upgrade of security at bus interchanges... ACTION's Acting General Manager, Tom Elliot, says the company will look at security at the interchanges but he doubts guards will be employed...

Labels: security

16.4.07

* Canada - Buses to get fare-paid zone test

Surrey,British Columbia,Canada -The Leader, by Jeff Nagel -Apr 15 2007: -- Articulated buses that run on Broadway’s 99 B-Line route will become fare-paid zones like SkyTrain for an eight-week test this summer... The pilot project, to start June 25, is expected to make the run more efficient and reduce assaults on drivers, who would no longer have a role in checking fare payment... Instead there will be random inspections by TransLink’s Transit Police Service and other security to ensure passengers pay up... TransLink officials say it could be the leading edge of a move to extend the concept to more of the bus system...

Labels: security

7.4.07

Security Cameras * USA - T puts new ones on buses

Routes in high-crime areas are targeted first

Boston,MA,USA -The Boston Globe, by Mac Daniel -April 6, 2007: -- Security cameras have been put on buses that run through high-crime areas of Boston, including the route where a Hyde Park teenager was fatally shot last week, officials announced yesterday... The cameras -- five on each bus recording everything that happens -- will also allow T police to follow buses in patrol cars and see inside them through a "live look-in" link with a laptop computer if they stay within 300 feet...

Labels: security

13.3.07

Security * Australia - Sydney bus attack lifts police patrols

Sydney,NSW,Australia -The Village Voice.com.au (Rozelle,New South Wales)/AAP -3 Mar, 2007: -- Extra police will protect bus services in Sydney's inner south-east, after two people were hurt in an night attack on a State Transit bus... Additional police will patrol the area to ensure the safety or bus drivers and commuters... The Seven Network says bus drivers are threatening industrial action, unless there is an end to attacks on buses...

Labels: security

28.2.07

* Malaysia - Ops Sikap cops on buses reduce fatal accidents

Kuala Lampur,Malaysia -The Malaysia Star (Petaling Jaya,Malaysia), by KULDEEP S. JESSY -Feb 27, 2007: -- The presence of policemen on express buses has proven to be a successful deterrent to reckless driving... Police are so encouraged that they will continue the practice during future festive seasons... Federal traffic chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Datuk Nooryah Md Anvar said no fatal accidents involving express buses were reported during the 15-day Ops Sikap XII which ended on Sunday...

Labels: security

24.2.07

* UK - Bobbies on the buses in bid to stop vandals

Glasgow,Scotland,UK -The Glasgow Evening Times, by Ross McKinnon -23 Feb 2007: -- Police officers could be drafted in to patrol buses in Glasgow in a bid to stop vandals wreaking havoc... Talks have started between Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, the police and the city's biggest bus operator First to get bobbies on the buses... (Picture: Vandals trashed five bus shelters along Edinburgh Road last week, leaving behind a trail of destruction)

Labels: security

17.2.07

Security * USA - Council rejects putting deputies on buses

Funding is available but some members want a signed agreement with Wayne County sheriff

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Andy Henion -16 Feb 2007: -- A six-month effort to put police officers back on Detroit Department of Transportation buses failed again Thursday, frustrating drivers and passengers who say the inaction jeopardizes their safety... Detroit City Council refused to vote on a plan to allow the Wayne County Sheriff's Office to police the buses for three years, saying it first needed an intergovernmental agreement...

Labels: security

3.2.07

SECURITY * USA - Guards riding shotgun on late-night buses

Macomb,IL,USA -The Macomb Daily Journal, by Matt DiMare -Feb 03, 2007: -- In an effort to halt unruly behavior and destruction during late-night bus routes, Go West added qualified student security guards to its bus routes on Friday and Saturday nights... Now two weeks after being first implemented, Go West director Jude Kiah said the efforts have been a success so far... The use of such security on the late-night bus routes is stemming directly from an increase in property damage and drunken, unruly behavior on the buses over the last several years... Such behavior is potentially dangerous for passengers and the drivers on the bus. Kiah hopes that adding security guards to the bus routes will help ensure the security of everyone riding Go West routes...

Labels: security