Buses World News

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

24.3.16

NEW HIGH-TECH BUSES * USA

* New York - What to expect from NYC's new high-tech buses

-- New York’s fleet of buses are about to get some big upgrades. The MTA announced last week a $1.3 billion plan to add over 2,000 new buses to their fleet that include things like free wifi, charging ports and digital information screens... The new buses are scheduled to be added over the next five years, and will eventually replace about 40 percent of the city’s existing, decaying fleet. The first buses hit the streets of Queens in April, and eventually will be rolled out to the other boroughs... Each new bus will feature between 35 and 55 USB ports, allowing riders to charge their devices as they ride. The busses will also feature 'high-speed' wifi hotspots — though details about actual wifi speeds were not disclosed. Eventually, all of the city’s express buses will also be retrofitted to offer this same technology... About 200 of the new buses will also include digital information screens, allowing passengers to access information about things like upcoming stops, transfer options and weather. Those screens will also, of course, include advertising... With something like 8.7 million people relying on New York's mass transit everyday, any upgrade is welcome. Regardless, it's nice to live in a city busy upgrading their system...
NY, USA - Built in NYC, by Anthony Sodd - Mar 21st, 2016

Labels: techno-bus services

1.3.16

BUS-TECH SHUTTLES CONTROVERSY * USA

* California - Tech buses to keep rolling another year in SF under deal

-- The corporate shuttle buses that transport thousands of workers to and from Silicon Valley every day will continue operating for another year, under a backroom deal finalized this week that limits the scope of the program... The negotiations included three members of the Board of Supervisors, David Campos, Norman Yee and London Breed, representatives of the major tech companies that use the shuttles, and Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which threatened to challenge the program through an environmental impact review unless the program was modified... On Monday, with the agreement finalized, SEIU withdrew its request for an environmental appeal... The deal caps the number of locations at which the buses can stop at the current 125. If the number of buses that stop at each location increases significantly, a mandatory air quality assessment would be triggered. And it requires the Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority to study transitioning the program to a hub model, where riders would get on and off the buses at a set number of locations...
(Photo by Paul Chinn/The Chronicle - A shuttle bus driven by Tracy Kelley pulls into a stop at Van Ness Avenue and McAllister Street to pick up Yahoo employees in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015) -- San Francisco, CAL, USA - The San Francisco Chronicle, by Emily Green - February 23, 2016

Labels: shuttle buses, techno-bus services

26.2.16

APP TO TRACK SCHOOL BUSES * USA

* Illinois - Parents now able to track school buses via app

-- Lake Forest and Lake Bluff districts are offering a free tracking app for school buses... Parents in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff wondering when their kids' school bus is going to arrive can now turn to their smartphones... In late January, Lake Forest districts -- along with Lake Bluff District and Deerfield District – have begun using an app called SafeStop to track their buses, said Allen Albus, deputy superintendent of finance and operations for Districts 67 and 115... Parents can sign up online for free using their children's student ID numbers and then download the app on their smartphones, tablets or computers, officials said. Once they have the app, parents then will be able to track the bus route their child uses...
(Image: Forest Lake Area Schools Transportation) -- Lake Forest, ILL, USA - Pioneer Press/The Chicago Tribune, by Mark Lawton - 16 Feb 2016

Labels: techno-bus services