Buses World News

SUBSIDIES FOR ELECTRIC BUSES * China: Is considering to cutting off

* China - Incentives for electric buses said to be cut as much as 49.5%

-- China is proposing to cut the amount of subsidies for electric buses because the policy was considered overly generous, while imposing a price ceiling on passenger vehicles that qualify for incentives... Incentives for electric buses will be cut by an average of 32 percent, with funding for the largest models reduced by as much as 49.5 percent, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private... Electric passenger vehicles costing more than 350,000 yuan ($53,800) won’t be eligible for government subsidies under the proposal. The plan is still being reviewed by various ministries and has to be approved by the State Council... The plan, if approved in its current form, may damp demand electric vehicle sales, which surged more than threefold last year to 331,000 units... The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment on the plan...
(Photo: Bus 100% electric model K9 from BYD/China) -- Beijing, China - Bloomberg News - March 29, 2016

Labels: electric busmakers news, stimulus funds

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Metro gets $4M grant to buy 12 buses

St. Louis,MO,USA -The St. Louis Business Journal -November 5, 2010: -- St. Louis transit agency Metro said Friday it will use a $4 million federal grant to buy 12 buses... The Federal Transit Administration notified Metro that its grant application had been approved through the FTA Clean Fuels Bus Grant program to buy buses that meet current federal emissions requirements... Metro said it needs more buses to restore services that were cut in March 2009 amid budget constraints. St. Louis County voters approved a half-cent sales-tax increase in April 2010 to provide $80 million a year to restore service and rebuild the bus fleet. Metro began implementing service restoration in June and said Friday it has been working to speed up bus acquisition...

Labels: buses purchase prospects, stimulus funds

Fed Stimulus * USA - Millions Enroute: Buses, Blight, Bridges

$50 million is destined for the Kansas City area for federal stimulus transportation work

Kansas City,MO,USA -KCUR/89,3 FM, by Dan Verbeck -17 Feb 2010: ... The announcement came as part of the Obama Administration's national promotional blitz on the first anniversary of the economic recovery act... The millions will be managed by Mid America Regional Council and be spread both sides of state line... U.S. Transportation secretary, Ray La Hood, made much of transportation needs in poor parts of Kansas City where about half the money will be spent. The aim is to create jobs, soften urban blight and make mobility easier... MARC head, David Warm, says the urban "Green Zone" is the hub and most of the money will go there... Nearly half the money will expand bus mass transit... (Photo from lightrailnow.org: KC bus BRT cross)

Labels: stimulus funds

Federal Funds * USA - Shift could aid D.C. area transit projects

Brighter outlook for transit projects

Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Ashley Halsey III -January 14, 2010: -- The Obama administration announced a major shift in transportation policy Wednesday that would steer more money to transit projects designed to spur economic development and help the environment... The change moves away from a Bush administration approach that gave funding priority to projects that would save the most passengers the most time for the money... Shifting transit funding priorities could help District officials' efforts to transform two lanes of K Street into a transitway to speed buses through the heart of the city and also aid Maryland in its efforts to secure federal money for the 16-mile Purple Line... The intent is to create smooth-flowing commuter bus traffic through the heart of the city, ultimately luring people from their cars onto faster, more efficient buses... Construction would be done in phases to minimize traffic interruptions... (Photo from elwan: 1600 K st. view 4 dvpmt)

Labels: stimulus funds

GOVERNMENTS' STIMULUS FUNDS * WORLDWIDE

* USA - Fairfield to receive funding for buses

Fairfield,CAL,USA -The Reporter -30 June 2009: -- Fairfield will receive millions of dollars from the federal government to pay for new city buses... The U.S. Department of Transportation set aside more than $70 million in additional Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds for 12 transit and aviation projects in California... Fairfield will receive $3.1 million to buy nine buses... California is expected to receive nearly $2.6 billion from the Recovery Act for highways and local streets and $1 billion for transit projects...

* India - 118 cities to get new buses with govt help

New Delhi,India -The Indian Express -Jun 30, 2009: -- With an aim to spruce up urban transport services and at the same time provide a stimulus to the economy, the government will provide assistance to 118 cities in acquiring a new fleet for their bus transport systems. At the same time, UPA’s flagship scheme Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) may be extended to 28 more cities having a population of 5 lakh and more, at an additional cost of Rs 25,000 crore to the centre. The 118 cities, having a population above two lakh, could acquire nearly 7,500 buses at a total cost estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore... The cost of these buses, depending on individual specifications, could vary from Rs 55 lakh to Rs 75 lakh...

Labels: stimulus funds

STIMULUS WATCH * USA - In jobs, what's stability worth?

Washington is paying hundreds of millions of dollars to build new, cleaner-burning buses, but don't scour the want ads looking for a burst of job openings soon at major manufacturers or suppliers

Kansas City.MO,USA -Associated Press/The KansasCity , by MATT APUZZO -7 June 2009: -- The bus money, like many other programs in the $787 billion stimulus plan, is having the less glamorous and harder-to-quantify effect of keeping workers employed, providing a slight buffer from the recession to some in the auto industry... At the White House, where saving jobs always was as much a priority as creating jobs, the bus industry is a success story... But it also shows how hard it is to account for that success, especially in an industry that keeps shedding jobs despite the stimulus... This experience plays out repeatedly nationwide. When the White House says it has saved jobs, it's talking about companies such as Daimler, New Flyer and Cummins. The overall economy, meanwhile, has lost 1.3 million jobs since the stimulus law was passed... "To the extent the stimulus is successful helping get the economy in the right direction, to the extent it helps the economy, helps our market, that's where we're going to benefit," Cummins spokesman Mark Land said. "If that allows us to bring a few people back, then it will be fair to say then the stimulus was part of the solution."... (Photo by Kevin Rivoli/AP: : Workers assemble new, cleaner-burning buses at the Daimler Buses North America facility in Oriskany, N.Y., Wednesday, June 3, 2009. Washington is paying hundreds of millions of dollars for the new buses, one of the $787 billion stimulus plan programs, that has the less glamorous, harder-to-quantify effect of keeping workers employed - a buffer from the recession to some in the auto industry)

Labels: stimulus funds

STIMULUS FUNDS * USA - Money to fund new buses

State to receive $15.1M from stimulus

Iowa City,IOW,USA -The Iowa City Press-Citizen, by Rob Daniel -May 21, 2009: -- More stimulus funding from the federal government has been awarded to the Johnson County area to buy new buses, according to the office of Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa... Loebsack announced Wednesday that about $15.1 million in funding from the U.S Department of Transportation was being awarded to Iowa to improve its transit system. The funds, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to buy 168 replacement vehicles and four additional vehicles for transit systems throughout the state, according to a news release... In the Second District, which includes the Iowa City area, an unspecified amount of the funding will help rehabilitate the maintenance vehicle storage yard for Muscatine Transit and expand the maintenance bay and storage lot for the River Bend Transit, which serves four counties including Cedar and Muscatine counties... (Photo from wusa9.com/news: Dale City bus pix)

* Norton school district to run cleaner buses

Akron,OH,USA -The Akron/West Side Leader, by Maria Lindsay -21 May 2009: -- Buses, breakfast and student fees were on the agenda for the Norton City Schools Board of Education meeting May 18... Paul Stoneking, district supervisor of transportation, reported Norton City Schools will receive a $35,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to retrofit 16 of the district’s 31 buses with special mufflers and filters to help them run cleaner by the start of the next school year... Six of the district’s newer buses are already equipped with the special mufflers and filters, 16 more will be retrofitted in the coming weeks, and the rest are too old to have the work done, he said. The life span on the equipment is about five years... (Photo from democratandchronicle: Environmental)

Labels: stimulus funds

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - City Gets Stimulus Money For Bus Help

Topeka,KS,USA -13 News/WIBW -Apr 30, 2009: -- Topeka is getting more help in its effort to replace its aging bus fleet. The Kansas Department of Transportation announced Thursday the city's Metropolitan Transit Authority will receive $2 million dollars in federal stimulus money... That's on top of $2.5 million it received earlier... The total will allow Topeka to buy 12 to 14 new buses. The money could only be used for vehicle replacement and not for operating support... In all, the state received $30 million in economic relief funds for transit and transportation. It's expected to create or save 840 jobs...

Labels: buses purchase prospects, stimulus funds

STIMULUS FUNDS * USA - Federal money will buy new buses

Kenosha,WI,USA -The Kenosha News, by MATTHEW OLSON -April 22, 2009: -- The city of Kenosha is en route to receive about $2.4 million in federal transit money, the majority of which will go toward five new buses... Gov. Jim Doyle announced the city’s recommended portion of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Tuesday... The majority of the city’s share will go toward to replacing older buses with new 35-foot long buses. The five new vehicles are expected to cost $1.8 million and operate on clean diesel fuel, which is about 40 percent more fuel-efficient than regular diesel fuel...

* Cities See Hybrid Buses Down the Road

Green Bay,WI,USA -WBAY, by Kristin Byrne -April 22, 2009: -- Some transit systems in our state are taking a big step toward going green. They plan to use federal stimulus money to buy hybrid buses... Several transit systems in Northeast Wisconsin requested significant amounts of stimulus money for different projects... Green Bay requested about $3 million for things like new buses and a new surveillance system... Oshkosh wants about $2 million. Appleton asked for about $1.5 million...

* Seeking grant money, Arlington wants to continue bus service to downtown Fort Worth

Arlington,VA,USA -The Star-Telegram, by SUSAN SCHROCK -21 April 2008: -- Less than a year after the initiative started, the city is applying for another grant that would allow it to continue offering limited weekday commuter bus service to downtown Fort Worth... Arlington’s contribution to the commuter bus pilot project, which started last September, was funded through a $75,000 grant from the Sue Pope Fund, a private grant organization. The city is applying for that grant once again to continue the bus service from two Arlington locations to the Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown Fort Worth through September 2010. The Fort Worth Transportation Authority also contributes to the service, which is on the T buses...

* W.F. to Use Stimulus Funds for Buses

Wichita Falls,TX,USA -Texomas/KFDX -Apr 21, 2009: -- Economic stimulus funds are headed to Wichita Falls -- and at today's council meeting, city leaders discussed the ways that money should be spent. About one point three million dollars in stimulus funds will be used to replace four handicap accessible buses. Transportation Director John Burrus says some people have asked why economic development money is being spent on things such as buses and trails... Stimulus dollars will fund 100 percent of the cost of the new buses ... And Burrus says this funding could free up money for other projects...

Labels: stimulus funds

Bus route en route * USA - Stimulus money to fund Punta Gorda-North Port trail

Murdock,Charlotte County,FL,USA -The Charlotte Sun -April 16, 2009: -- Charlotte County commissioners decided Tuesday to apply for more than $1.9 million in federal stimulus money that will bring five hybrid buses to Charlotte County... The new buses could link Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and North Port with public transit... The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant is coming directly to the county from the Federal Transportation Administration...

Labels: stimulus funds

NEW BUSES FLEET * USA - CTA Buys 58 Buses With Stimulus Funds

Chicago,ILL,USA -NBC Chincago -11 April 2009: -- The Chicago Transit Authority is moving ahead with its second stimulus fund project with the purchase of 58 articulated hybrid buses... The $49 million contract with New Flyer Industries ensures work for its Crookston and St. Cloud, Minn.-based employees, and will potentially save the CTA more than $2.6 annually... CTA President Richard Rodriguez on Friday said buses from the Winnipeg, Manitoba-based company will begin arriving this fall... (Photo from Chicago Transit Authority - In February, CTA sidelined 226 articulated buses manufactured by Alabama-based North American Bus Industries after a structural crack was found in one bus)

Labels: new buses fleet, stimulus funds

BUSES' PURCHASES PROSPECTS * USA . TACK to receive more than $1 million for Knox fleet

Elizabethtown,KY,USA -The News Enterprise, by JOHN FRIEDLEIN -11 April 2009; -- In a move that will both provide more Fort Knox employees with free rides to work and ease traffic on local roads, Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday announced that a local transit system will receive more than $1 million in federal economic stimulus money to improve its fleet of buses and vans... The Transit Authority of Central Kentucky, which will receive stimulus funds, last year started two transit services to the post: a park-and-ride program and a van pool service... American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds will pay for 17 vans with raised roofs and four 28-passenger buses, according to the governor’s office. Money also will go toward equipment such as security cameras, mobile computers and radios...

Labels: buses purchase prospects, stimulus funds

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Stimulus Plans

* County eyes 'green' buses at a cost of almost $500,000

Franklin County,ARK,USA -Public Opinion, by Jim Hook -10 April 2009: -- Franklin County Commissioners are preparing to spend nearly $500,000 to replace 10 buses that transport the elderly and disabled... Hybrids would cost twice as much as gasoline-powered vans and buses, according to Strine. The county would pay the extra... The commissioners asked the department to investigate federal grants and economic stimulus money that might be available to the county for switching to alternative-fuel buses... County Administrator, John Hart, suggested that the department consider hybrid and natural-gas powered vehicles. Maintenance costs more on alternative fuel vehicles, but they are more fuel efficient... Hart also suggested that the department consider the size of the replacement vehicles. Large vehicles sometimes make the run to Path Valley with only a person or two on board. A smaller replacement might be more efficient...

* Stimulus Money For School Bus Pollution Control Equipment

OH,USA -KyPost -9 April 2009: -- The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will award economic stimulus money to public school districts to buy pollution control equipment for school buses... The Obama administration has included more than one and a half million dollars in stimulus money for bus "retrofits" in Ohio... Districts can use this money to buy and install the equipment that will reduce students' exposure to harmful pollutants in diesel exhaust...

* Wyo gets recovery funds for cleaner school bus emissions

Casper,WY,USA -The Casper Star-Tribune Online, by DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER -April 9, 2009: -- Wyoming's school bus passengers will breathe a little easier thanks to a $1.73 million grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to clean up diesel emissions... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday awarded $1.73 million to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to support clean diesel projects... (Photo by Dan Cepeda/Star-Tribune - School buses line up to pick up students after school on Thursday afternoon at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper)

Labels: stimulus funds

Stimulus Funds * USA - HART Plans To Order New Buses With

Tampa,FL,USA -The Tampa Tribune, by RICH SHOPES -February 24, 2009: -- Bus riders will get a smoother ride next year thanks to millions in federal stimulus funds... Hillsborough Area Regional Transit is poised to get $15.1 million and says it will use some of the cash to buy 29 buses and refurbish 124 others... If approved Monday by its governing board, HART will order the buses right away to take delivery next year... (Tribune file photo by LAURA KINSLER: Hillsborough Area Regional Transit plans to use some of its federal stimulus money to purchase and refurbish buses)

* Kanawha County plans to add two new buses to system with stimulus help

Kanawha County,WV,USA -The Charleston Daily Mail, by Cara Bailey -February 27, 2009: -- Riders of the Kanawha Regional Transportation Authority will soon be able to take advantage of two new buses, as money from the economic recovery package rolls into Kanawha County... KRT Assistant General Manager Doug Hartley said preliminary numbers show $2.97 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act being available for the county urban transit properties...

Labels: stimulus funds