Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
Motorists Heroes * USA - They come to the rescue after bus catches fire
Seattle,Wash,USA -The Seattle Times -Dec 21, 2006: -- One person was injured when a fully-loaded Greyhound bus caught on fire early this morning... According to the State Patrol, the fire began about 2 a.m. when one of the bus tires caught on fire eight miles west of Snoqualmie Pass... The bus, carrying 53 passengers, was evacuated. One passenger was treated for minor injuries he received as he was climbing off the bus, Merrill said... Passing motorists offered their cars to keep the passengers warm, and some waited in the cabs of semi trucks...
DANGEROUS TRIPS * India - At Least 13 Killed, 50 Injured In Bus Accident In India
Imphal,Manipur,India -Playfuls.com (Targu Mures,Romania) / PTI news agency -Dec 21, 2006: -- At least 13 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a bus accident in India's north-eastern Manipur state Thursday... The accident occurred when the bus overturned and rolled down a hill about 60 kilometres south of Manipur capital Imphal... Accidents are frequent in India's hill states and are largely due to bad roads, poor condition of vehicles and dangerous driving...
Volunteers * UK - Step in to keep the buses on the road
Huddersfield,England,UK -The Huddersfield Daily Examiner -Dec 21 2006: -- BIG-HEARTED volunteers are stepping in to plug the gap when normal buses are off the road at Christmas and New Year... People without their own transport will be able to get about on five different services in Huddersfield.
All the buses will be free to use... Huddersfield Green Party will operate a service between Berry Brow and Mount, linking with the town centre and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary...
* China - Peking opera masks adorn Olympic buses
Peking,China -China Daily / The First's -21 Dec 2006: -- Two types of buses for the 2008 Olympic Games were unveiled this Tuesday in Beijing, adorned with Peking opera masks on their bodies... The designer said that Peking opera is one of China's seminal cultural elements and that to choose the opera mask is to combine the traditional Chinese culture with the humanistic Olympics. The red color stands for devotion and loyalty, and the black represents honesty and righteousness. This type of bus will mainly operate in the Olympic activity fields and media village in 2008...
"GREEN" NEWS * Canada - ETS unveils enviro-friendly buses
Edmonton Transit is going green.
Edmonton,Alberta,Canada -The Edmonton Sun -Dec 20, 2006: -- The city is running two diesel-electric hybrid buses for the next year... "The buses are part of an extensive test of hybrid technology that Edmonton Transit and the University of Alberta will be conducting," states a release... City officials will decide at a later date whether to purchase diesel-electric hybrid buses...
BUSES' SALES * Sweden - Volvo gets Canadian order for 322 buses
Stockholm,Sweden -Int'l Herald Tribune (France)/AP -Dec 20, 2006: -- Swedish bus and truck maker Volvo AB's unit in Canada, Nova Bus, said Wednesday it received an order for 322 buses from transit authorities in the province of Quebec... Volvo said the Nova LFS buses will be delivered between 2009 and 2012. The deal also includes a two-year option for the delivery of an additional 100 buses between 2013 and 2014...
PRODUCTION * Ukraine - Automakers start building new plant
Ukraine - just-auto.com (Bromsgrove,Worcs,UK) -20 Dec 2006: -- Two Ukrainian automakers, Bogdan Corporation and
Zaporozhsky Auto Plant (ZAZ),
have started constructing a vehicle production plant in the town of Bor in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the region's Governor Valery Shantsev told reporters Wednesday... The joint venture, United Transport Technologies, will have an initial ... Bogdan Corporation, the auto division of Ukraine’s Ukrprominvestgroup, comprises 20 companies, including Cherkassky Autobus, the LutskAutomobile Plant, group that incorporates 20 bus and car brands, including the Hyundai Motors Ukraine, among others...
* New Zealand - Land Transport Revokes Bus Company Licence
Havelock Nth,Hawkes Bay,New Zealand -newswire.co.nz - 20 Dec 2006: -- A Northland bus company whose school buses were ordered off the road last week by police has now lost the right to operate... Land Transport New Zealand has revoked the licence of the Kaikohe-based Otene Bus Company after an investigation... It says the company was in serious breach of the regulations that apply to passenger service providers...
Record * UK - 108 million trips on the buses in Lothian this year
Edinburgh,Scotland,UK -The Scotsman, by ALAN RODEN -19 Dec 2006: -- Bus passengers are set to make a record 108 million trips on Lothian Buses this year... New park-and-ride services and extra buses on some of the city's busiest routes are said to have helped attract more people on to public transport... It is the eighth year in a row that the council-owned company has seen passenger numbers rise... The latest increase means an average of 300,000 people a day are now using Lothian Buses - five million up on last year and one-third higher than eight years ago...
* Dubai - Labour bus drivers use roads 'as race tracks'
Dubai -Gulf News, by Sunita Menon -19 Dec 2006: -- Highways are doubling up as race tracks for bus drivers who bet on the time it takes to drive labourers to work and home again... In a bid to imitate Formula One races and prove themselves the better drivers, bus drivers are racing each other, sometimes betting, to see who is the fastest... Spurred on by the labourers to get to their destination quickly, the drivers admit that they are endangering their lives and those of others, but the thrill is just too much, revealed investigations conducted by Gulf News after the bus accident on Shaikh Zayed Road which killed nine and injured 56... (Photo by Tracy Brand/Gulf News - Bus drivers transporting labourers challenge each other and race on Dubai's roads, including the busiest Shaikh Zayed Road)
Surprises * Uk - Don't leave your head on the buses
400 umbrellas, 200 mobile phones, 500 sets of keys and 150 pairs of glasses & False teeth...Dorset,England,UK -Dorset Echo, by Eric Randolph -18 Dec 2006: -- False teeth and raw meat are among the items that have shown up in Yellow Buses's lost property office over the past year... Jenni Wilkinson, Communications and Marketing Manager, said: "We've had pink fur handcuffs, ladies' underwear, raw meat and false teeth turn up, but our staff are very discreet and well-practised in handling sensitive matters.".. More than 400 umbrellas, 200 mobile phones, 500 sets of keys and 150 pairs of glasses are recovered in the course of a typical year... (Picture: SURPRISE: Jenny Edmunds and David Randall with some of the lost property)
New Friends * Canada - Landing in my lap
Jammed busesToronto,ONT,Canada -The Toronto Sun, by BRIAN GRAY -Dec 18, 2006: -- Crowded buses mean there are new ways to make friends -- they land in your lap... West of Sewells Rd., the bus rounds a curve and makes a hard stop. It's so crowded I can't see the reason for the sudden braking but a young woman standing in front of me pitches forward into my lap but manages to hang onto her purse and several shopping bags she has in her other hand. After a few apologies, Chandra explains she makes this trip every day...
Now: Bus and Rail Vehicle * Japan
Japanese train company to debut dual-use Fuji,Shizuoka,Japan -engadget (Santa Monica,CA,USA), by Cyrus Farivar -Dec 17, 2006: -- JR Hokkaido, a Japanese rail firm, is poised to fully launch its dual-mode bus and rail vehicle. The bus-train has both rubber and steel tires, allowing it to switch between regular roads and railroad tracks with ease... This crazy dual-use machine is meant to be a way to replace train cars that run on local lines where ridership is down to under 500 people per day (that's 30 percent of JR's lines). While you probably won't be able to get your hands on one unless you're a running a Japanese rail company, these new hybrids will cost ¥20 million ($170,735) apiece, which apparently is about one-seventh the cost of a traditional diesel-powered train car...
DRIVERS' SHORTAGE * India - BEST faces staff crunch, 250 buses unused
Mumbai,India -Mumbai Newsline (Mumbai,India), by Swapnil Rawal -Dec 17, 2006: -- The
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking is facing a shortage of drivers and conductors to run its entire fleet of 3,400 buses. It is apparently losing out over Rs 14 lakh per day as 250 buses remain unused due to the crunch...
According to the data available with Newsline, 3,131 buses were in service in August, while in September the number of buses on the road was 3,148. In August, there was a shortage of 290 conductors out of a total of 11,938 on book conductors and 168 drivers out of 10,670 on book drivers. In September, the figures increased to 395 conductors and 360 drivers...
"GREEN" NEWS
* Australia - Eden to fuel Indian busesNorthbridge,Western Australia,Australia -WA Business News -18 Dec 2006: -- The hydrogen-enriched natural gas blend made by Perth-based alternative energy supplier Eden Energy Ltd will be used by Indian bus manufacturer, Chennai-based Ashok Leyland, under an agreement announced today... Under the agreement Eden, through its 100 per cent owned subsidiary Brehon Energy PLC, will recalibrate the Indian engines at its test facilities in Colorado, to enable the use of its Hythane fuel... Ashok, the Indian arm of London's Hinduja Group, manufactures more than 80,000 vehicles per year, and provides the majority of all metropolitan state transport buses in India carrying over 60 million passengers per day... * USA - North American cities take to the hybrid bus
Toronto,ONT,CAN -MSNBC (USA), by Bernard Simon -Dec. 17, 2006: -- The recent popularity of hybrid cars has obscured an even more impressive surge in North American demand for diesel-electric city buses... DaimlerChrysler, whose Orion brand has close to a 60 per cent market share, estimates that, based on existing orders, the number of hybrid buses on US and Canadian streets will grow by three-quarters over the next year from 1,200 to 2,100... Hybrids' political appeal has helped offset their price. A hybrid bus costs about $530,000 – 60 per cent more than a diesel model. In the US, the federal government foots 80 per cent of the bill for new municipal buses... The price premium is a barrier in some markets, including Europe. According to Mr Pat Scully, chief commercial officer in DaimlerChrysler's North American bus division, "the hybrid phenomenon is, for the time being anyway, a US-Canada event"...* USA - State to reduce emission on school buses by 90 percentBoston,Mass,USA -The Boston Herald/AP -Dec 18, 2006: -- Traveling to school should become a healthier experience for Massachusetts children after state officials make good on their pledge to reduce school bus exhaust emissions by 90 percent over the next three years... Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Ed Coletta said Monday that the state would spend $22.5 million over the next three years to install exhaust filters on all school buses and regional transit authority buses throughout Massachusetts. Roughly 8,000 school buses and about 600 regional transit buses will be retrofitted...*- USA - TANK investing in hybrid buses to clean up the air
Cincinnati,OH,USA -The Cincinnati Post, by James Proffitt -19 Dec 2006: -- The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky will place what it says are the area's first full-sized diesel-electric hybrid buses into service in late 2007, thanks to funding the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet... Monday, the cabinet announced that more than $1.2 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds have been designated for Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. The largest grant, $881,600, is for TANK to put toward four new electric-hybrid buses... The new buses are costly - about $590,000 each compared to $337,000 for a standard diesel model. But the benefits are realized long-term, according to Andrew Aiello, assistant director of development at TANK...
Taj Mahal * India - Is all set for a revamped bus service
Agra to get new bus serviceAgra,India -Telugu Portal (Hyderabad,Andhra Pradesh) -Dec 16, 2006: -- The Taj Mahal city is all set for a revamped bus service after a gap of 14 years, with a new fleet of 20 buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG)... The Uttar Pradesh roadways recently purchased 50 new CNG buses in Lucknow, of which 20 were earmarked for Agra... Till now, tourists coming here had to spend a lot of money on autorickshaws or taxis to go sightseeing. The yellow-coloured buses are spacious and have double-doors...
DEBATE * USA - Seat belts on school buses
Toledo,OH,USA -The Toledo Blade -Dec 16, 2006: -- Why only a handful of states and school districts require some degree of safety belt protection in school buses is increasingly difficult to understand with the release of new national statistics on school bus-related accidents... Surely even minimal protective measures for the 23.5 million children who ride school buses nationwide cannot be so exceedingly cost-prohibitive as to dismiss the notion outright... Still, school-bus accidents send about 17,000 kids to emergency rooms each year, a number that has more than doubled from previous estimates. While crashes account for 42 percent of school bus injuries, nearly a quarter of them happen simply when students are boarding or leaving school buses... According to Ohio researchers at the Columbus Children's Hospital's Center for Injury Research and Policy, the injuries range from cuts and sprains to broken bones. Most are not life-threatening and, even though statistics are higher than previously reported, they represent a fraction of the overall school bus-riding population... Five states - California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, and New York - now require safety belts for school buses... If lawmakers can see the need to require expensive child seats and booster seats to securely harness young children in cars, why are buses that primarily transport millions of children nationwide largely exempt from such safeguards? The new statistics on avoidable school bus injuries should make this matter a public priority...* New York - A cheap, effective way to curb injuries on school busesWestchester,NY,USA -The Journal News.com -Dec 17, 2006: -- Stand with parents long enough at any school bus stop and the subject inevitably comes up: Why don't schools make children wear seat belts on the bus?... In New York state, the law requires school buses to have lap seat belts, but leaves it up to the individual school district to decide whether to mandate their use. Most districts throughout the state, including those in the Lower Hudson Valley, have opted not to require their students to wear seat belts. Their argument has always been that school buses, with padded high-backed seats that can cushion children in the even of a collision, are the safest vehicles around, far safer than the family car... State law mandates all front-seat passengers to wear seat belts, and it requires children under the age of 16 to wear them even in the back seat. Children under the age of 4 must ride in child safety seats and, since March 2005, those up to the age of 7 must ride in booster seats. The penalty for a seat-belt or car-seat violation is a fine of up $50... This is one safety measure that wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. Lap seat belts already exist on any bus manufactured since 1987. All the state has to do is require students to buckle them...
DANGEROUS DRIVERS
* USA - More than a dozen hurt in bus crashBenton City,WA,USA -Mid Columbia Tri City Herald (Mid-Columbia,WA), by Elena Olmstead & Nathan Isaacs -16 Dec 2006: -- A chartered Greyhound bus carrying 40 young people rear-ended a Coca-Cola semi-truck on Interstate 82 on Friday afternoon, sending more than a dozen people to area hospitals... Capt. Berry said the bus rear-ended the Coca-Cola truck and slid across the highway median, crossing the opposing traffic lanes before stopping in the exit lane for Yakitat Road... Berry said witnesses saw the bus passing other cars along the interstate. He said investigators were not sure Friday evening just how fast the bus was going, but witnesses said it was above the speed limit...* Austria - 45 injured in bus accident inVienna,Austria -Xinhua/chinaview.cn -Dec. 17, 2006: -- A total of 45 people were injured in a bus accident at midnight on Saturday in Salzburg in central Austria, local media reported on Sunday... "When driving nearly out of the tunnel, I was not sure whether to go, right or left," the 44-year-old Bosnian bus driver told the police after the accident... As result, the double-decker travel bus flipped over the middle concrete guard rail, slithered about 40 meters, overturned and ended up on the right side of the roadway...* USA - 57 Sent To Hospitals After Accident Involving School Buses
Memphis,Tenn,USA -WHBQ -18 Dec 2006: -- Multiple ambulances were dispatched to Germantown Road and Stout Road after four school buses and a car collided this afternoon... Officials said that 57 people were transported to area hospitals... (See photo right)
DANGEROUS BUSES
* South Africa - Bus accident leaves eight deadCape Town,South Africa -Independent Online -Dec 16 2006: -- Eight people were killed and 30 were injured, 18 seriously, when a bus overturned on between Indwe and Dordrecht in the Eastern Cape on Saturday, according to Arrive Alive... The bus was transporting 72 passengers from Cape Town to Qumbu, Tsolo and Mt Frere other areas... Spokesman Tshepo Machaea said the accident happened after a tyre burst on the vehicle...
Bus services * UK - Doing well or faring badly?
Portsmouth,England,UK -Portsmouth News -16 Dec 2006: -- First Bus Hampshire was this week fined £35,000 after government inspectors found nearly a quarter of its services were late or didn't turn up... The news has sparked a debate across the area about the state of bus services... The government traffic commissioner found that more than 23 per cent of services run by First Bus Hampshire failed to stick to the published timetable... The traffic commissioner decided to impose a fine of £80 for each of the 438 buses in First Bus's fleet... First blamed roadworks in Portsmouth as being one of the factors... (Photo: Are they reliable?)
* Japan - Mitsubishi Fuso recalls 3,500 buses
Faulty oil filter cap that could cause firesTokyo,Japan -Associated Press -Dec 15, 2006: -- Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. has recalled 3,500 buses for a faulty oil filter cap that has caused two fires, Japan's transportation ministry announced Friday... The recall affects 3,594 Fuso Aero Queen and Aero King buses made between June 2000 and September 2005, the ministry said in a release. The buses have an oil filter cap that can shrink when heated and pop off under pressure... The exposed oil can then catch fire, and has done so in two cases. But there have been no injuries reported...
DONATION * Nigeria - SPDC donates buses to host communities
Port Harcourt,Niger Delta,Nigeria -The Tide -Dec 14, 2006: -- As part of its contributions towards the economic empowerment of host communities, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has presented eight Toyota Hiace buses to seven communities in Oyigbo Local Government Area, Rivers State... While Okoloma, Oyigbo, Obeama, Komkom, Obunku, Izuoma got one bus each, Ayama received two buses...
DANGEROUS BUSES
* China - More than 6,000 Chinese school buses off the roadBeijing,China -People's Daily Online -14 Dec 2006: -- Chinese traffic police have ordered 6,223 school buses off the road, after they were found to be be unroadworthy, until they are repaired... The suspensions follow a nationwide inspection of school transport launched at the end of November... A serious school bus accident in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, blamed on speeding and overloading, left eight children dead and 39 injured on Nov. 21... The accident prompted the Ministry of Public Security to conduct a thorough survey of school transport and establish a mechanism to prevent further accidents...* New Zealand - School buses fail safety test for second time in months
Okaihau,New Zealand -The New Zealand Herald,by Elizabeth Binning -Dec 13, 2006: -- Five buses used to transport hundreds of Northland school children have been ordered off the road for the second time this year after inspectors found a raft of problems, including unsafe brakes... Police took the action on Monday after finding two of Otene Buses Ltd's fleet were unsafe. A further three failed to comply with regulations, including one with brake problems...
EFFICIENCY AWARD * USA - Perfect rating gives Haywood more money for school buses
Haywood County,NC,USA -The Asheville Citizen-Times (NC,USA) -December 14, 2006: -- Haywood County Schools was recently notified that its transportation department received a 100 percent efficiency rating for the operation of school buses. The average rating for the state is 93.54 percent. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Transportation Services Division uses a comprehensive computation formula to determine each school district’s effectiveness and efficiency in operating school buses... These include budget expenditures, the number of students using bus transportation, the number of students riding each bus, the population distribution and fuel cost adjustments. The 100 percent rating for Haywood County Schools means that the school district will receive $1,655,488 dollars to support school bus operations... Last year the rating was 93.91 percent and the school district received $1,414,169...
DANGEROUS DRIVERS
* India - Bus falls into gorge; six dieAhmedabad,India -The Times of India -15 Dec 2006: -- Six persons were killed and 26 injured when the state transport bus they were travelling in plunged into a gorge at Trishuliya ghat near Danta in Banaskantha district on Wednesday evening... According to police officials, the bus driver lost control while negotiating a turn. ..* China - More than 3,000 Chinese drivers banned from driving school busesprintBeijing,China -People's Daily Online -14 Dec 2006: -- Chinese traffic police have revoked the licenses of 3,337 former school bus drivers who failed to meet rigorous standards for continuing to drive school buses... The suspensions follow a nationwide inspection of school transport launched at the end of November...
DANGEROUS MOTORISTS
* USA - Bus overturns; 13 elementary schoolers injuredLafayette,LA,USA -The Daily Advertiser, by Kyle Jackson -14 Dec 2006: -- A Lafayette Parish public school bus overturned around 3:24 p.m. today on the intersection of Voorhees and Washington Street near the 500 block of Lafayette Street, police said... According to police, 13 students from Myrtle Place Elementary School and the driver of the bus were traveling eastbound on Voorhees Street when a vehicle traveling south on Washington collided with the bus... It is unknown which vehicle was at fault in the accident at this time... “No violations have been determined or issued yet,” said Cpl. Paul Mouton, public information officer for the Lafayette police...
Mothers Against Drunk Driving * USA
Tri-Valley buses to carry the 'Avoid the 21' messageSan Jose,CA,USA -The San Jose Mercury News, by Roman Gokhman -Dec. 13, 2006: -- Local law enforcement agencies and Mothers Against Drunk Driving want Alameda County residents to know they care about saving lives by keeping impaired motorists off roads and freeways... This week, for the first time, the agencies are working together on an advertising campaign to remind residents of the dangers, as part of an annual step-up in DUI enforcement... During the 2005 campaign, 788 drunken drivers were arrested in Alameda County during the same time period...
Revamp * Uk - To get back on the buses
London,UK -Mirror.co.uk -13 Dec 2006: -- The "free-for-all" on the buses will end under the biggest shake-up for 20 years. Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander yesterday laid out plans to get more people on board by giving local authorities more say on timetables, fares and frequency. Commissioners would be able to hold operators and authorities to account. Mr Alexander said that passenger numbers had fallen in places since buses were deregulated in 1986 because "some areas have seen a free-for-all, with the needs of passengers being neglected". But where operators worked with authorities the numbers had risen...
Unroadworthy buses impounded * South Africa
Cape Town,South Africa -Independent Online -Dec 13 2006: -- Forty-four unroadworthy buses were impounded during a "stop and check" campaign throughout the country, the transport department said on Wednesday... Organised by the department through its Arrive Alive Rolling Enforcement Plan, the campaign began on December 1, said spokesperson Collen Msibi... About 120 buses were stopped and checked and 44 of them were found to be unfit to be driven on the open roads...
"GREEN" NEWS
* Canada’s Parliament Hill gets hydrogen-fuel powered buses/fuel stationottawa,Canada -Welding Design and Fabrication (Cleveland,OH,USA)-13 Dec 2006: -- Air Liquide Canada has opened hydrogen fuel and refueling facilities to support three hydrogen-powered shuttle buses that are operating on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill as part of a shuttle fleet for the Canadian Government’s Senate... A 12-seat, hydrogen-powered bus, produced by Ford Motor Co.,
made its first trip with a group of senators, aides, public servants and Ford Motor Co. executives on Thursday, December 7... Hydrogen is approximately 10 percent more efficient than gas and does not threaten the environment...
BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS
* USA - Tracy Unified to replace Holt’s aging buses Tracy,CA,USA -The Tracy Press,by Bob Brownne -13 Dec 2006: -- Now that
Tracy Unified School District is confident it will absorb Holt Union School District, one thing is certain: Those students will need rides to school... Two 20-year-old Holt Union School District buses gather moss behind the rural elementary school. Tracy Unified School District will replace them with three new buses, a move approved by the Board of Trustees on Tuesday. The new buses will cost the TUSD $250,000, which the district expects to be reimbursed for from Holt's budget reserves...
Final * USA - Last Classic School Bus Rolls Off Assembly Line
High Point,NC,USA -MyFox WGHP -13 Dec 2006: -- Thomas Built Buses celebrated its 90th anniversary Wednesday with several major announcements about the manufacturer's past, present and future... The company said it is putting the brakes on the classic school bus look to make way for the next generation of buses. In addition, Thomas Built said it will spend over $10 million to increase the number of buses it produces... (Photo Courtesy AP: Students board school bus, on texture, partial graphic)
DRIVERS' SHORTAGE * Australia - Bus company having difficulty recruiting drivers
Australia -ABC Online -14 Dec 2006: -- Torrens Transit in Adelaide has admitted that people are sometimes left stranded at bus stops because of busy services but says it prides itself on rarely cancelling a bus...
The company says it uses taxis or mini buses about two or three times a week to replace buses that are taken out of service because of break downs or driver illness... Torrens Transit's managing director Neil Smith says they need 20 more drivers but are having difficulty recruiting people because of low unemployment...
Killer buses? * India - This year, cars were more dangerous, shows police data
1,802 fatal mishaps in Delhi this year - While those involving Blueline buses are down compared to last year’s figures, private cars accounted for nearly as many accidents as trucks
New Delhi,India -Expressindia.com, by Anubhuti Vishnoi -Dec 12, 2006: -- Private cars, not Blueline buses, have been the real killers on Delhi roads. They have caused 212 fatal accidents up to November 30 this year, compared to 162 such mishaps last year... Private cars have in fact been involved in almost as many fatal accidents as trucks - which have caused 225 such mishaps this year compared to 205 last year...
Control Buses * Australia - Booze ones take up drugs to reduce road risks
Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -The Age, by Andrea Petrie -Dec 13, 2006: -- Victoria Police has boosted its capacity to get dangerous drivers off the road with the first of several dual drug and alcohol-testing buses. Their launch coincides with the release of the latest drug-driving figures and a new TAC advertising campaign... Drug-driver statistics released yesterday show one in 50 Victorian motorists tested positive to illicit drugs since testing began two years ago. One in 250 motorists tested positive to drink-driving... (Photo by Jason South - Expanded role: police buses will start testing drivers for drugs as well as alcohol)
Re-regulating * UK - Govt unveils proposals for bus industry
Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in 1986 controversially deregulated bus services outside London: Critics say the resulting free-for-all in the regions has left rural communities with virtually no public transport and has caused chaos in major cities, as competing operators pack routes with buses in a bid to fight off rivalsLondon,UK -Forbes (USA)/AFX -12 Dec 2006: -- The UK government on Tuesday unveiled plans to give local councils more control over local bus services... The Department for Transport said it intends to strengthen the powers of authorities and urban passenger transport executives to set minimum service frequencies, timings and maximum fares across services run by various different operators... The DfT also plans to make it easier for authorities to replace unsatisfactory deregulated services with services run under contract, to introduce a new performance regime for operators and to consider changes to bus funding...
"GREEN"NEWS
* India - Hybrid buses set to make inroads hereKOLKATA,India -Economic Times -12 Dec 2006: -- Ahmedabad-based Electrotherm India (EIL),
an electric arc furnace manufacturer, who recently diversified into production of electric two-wheelers, has decided to launch battery-operated hybrid 100-passenger electric buses and three-wheeler rickshaws... It is also slated to launch high speed battery operated scooters for city applications. Such hybrid buses and three-wheeler rickshaws run on batteries and CNG... Indus Elec-Trans, the automotive division of EIL, has also launched a low-speed version of battery operated scooties under the brand name ‘Yobykes’...* USA - New buses in Visalia will reduce air pollutionVisalia,Cal,USA -KESQ (Palm Desert,CAL) -12 Dec 2006: -- A new batch of buses that will run on compressed natural gas is Visalia's latest effort to reduce air pollution in one of the country's most polluted air basins... Seven new transit buses were added to Visalia's fleet Friday...
BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS
* Australia - State to buy 160 new busesSydney,Australia -The Australian/AAP/news.com.au -Dec 12, 2006: -- The South Australian Government will buy 160 new buses over the next five years at a cost of $120 million... They will replace some of the oldest vehicles in the state's fleet of 808 buses, with the first of the new models to be delivered in 2008...
* The Netherlands - Large order for small buses with Volkswagen drivelineThe Netherlands -Automotive World (UK), by Bill Godwin -11 Dec 2006: -- Changing patterns in the provision of public transport services in some areas of the Netherlands are responsible for the replacement of full-size vehicles by a new generation of small buses possessing most of the features now demanded by operators and... (See picture right)* Qatar - To replace old school buses with new onesDoha,Qatar -MENAFN/The Peninsula -11 Dec 2006: -- Qatari Ministry of Education has instructed concerned officials to replace the existing old school buses with new ones from January 2007... The department of Transportation, under the ministry, has already informed the owners of the school buses that their contracts would be terminated from early January... The old vehicles are all likely to be replaced by the new-look buses owned by The Public Transportation Company (Mowasalat), currently being operated for Asian Games. After the Asian Games, most of these buses are expected to be operated for Independent Schools...
DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Thailand - 12 killed, 20 injured in bus crash in
Bangkok,Thailand -AP/The Hindu (Chennai,India) -Dec. 10.2006: -- Twelve passengers on a bus were killed and 20 injured as their vehicle climbed a winding mountain road in western Thailand and was hit head on by a tractor-trailer, police said Sunday... The tractor-trailer was descending a mountain road late Saturday in the Mae Sot district of Tak province on the border with Myanmar. Its trailer, which was loaded with corn, dislodged from the front of the truck and crashed into the oncoming bus, Sompob said... Police were still searching for the truck's driver who fled the scene...
SEAT BELT DEBATE * USA - It's safety first on buses
Norwich,CT,USA -The Norwich Bulletin, by LIZ MUGAVERO -10 Dec 2006: -- ... They are the only vehicles on the roads without seat belts or airbags, yet school and transportation officials say school buses are safe just the way they are -- and most parents and students agree, despite the continuing seat belt debate... In fact, experts say children face more danger outside the bus than on it... Jody Rubino, coordinator of the Norwich Safe Community Coalition said buses account for only 0.02 percent of fatal crashes, and are typically very safe. But a key component of that safety is teaching children to obey rules inside the bus. And with some bus loads carrying up to 70 children, the need for drivers to be hypersensitive to what's going on behind them as well as on the road is imperative... And the great seat belt debate? ... "No way," said Atkinson, whose opinion coincided with transportation and school officials. "Not every kid knows how to position them correctly and could end up rupturing their spleen. I think it would be less safe."... Rubino said lap belts provide no upper body support for children anyway, and could contribute to head or abdominal injuries... But Cassidy Atkinson, 8, disagreed with her mother... "I think we should have seat belts," she said, recalling an incident when she fell into the aisle after the bus turned a sharp corner. "I was kind of scared."... Her brother, Connor, 11, agreed... "With seat belts, we can't fall out of our seats."... Jacobson said she didn't find them necessary... "We've gone all these years without them. Why start now?"...
PRODUCTION * Iran - Khodro Diesel to establish truck production line in Senegal
Tehran,Iran -IRNA -10 Dec 2006: -- One of the future plans of Iran Khodro Diesel Company (IKDC) is to establish truck production line in Senegal, said deputy chief of the company in charge of export and international affairs on Sunday... He noted that his company has signed a contract for export of 200 buses to Ivory Coast of which 96 buses would be delivered in the current Iranian calendar year... Ebrahimi said that IKDC is to export 60 city buses to Sudan of which 10 buses have already been delivered... The official said that IKDC in an effort to enter European markets is to establish bus production lines in Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey... Ebrahimi added that IKDC has exported autos to Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Syria, and Saudi Arabia... He said that IKDC earned dlrs 30 million last year from export of cars and spare parts...
BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * Taiwan - Bus operators must post details on Web
Taipei,Taiwan -China Post -9 Dec 2006: -- The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is taking measures for more effective administration of tour buses in response to public calls for better traffic safety... Officials said the ministry has decided not to immediately weed out aging tour and passenger buses due to the threats to the livelihoods of people in the industry and their families... The government lacks enough funds to purchase all the aging buses outright as requested by bus companies if it were to insist on eliminating buses that have been in use for certain years... The alternative is to leave the issue to the free market which is expected to elbow out older buses...
* Nepal - Kailali Locals Capture 12 Buses, Obstruct Mahendra Highway
Dhangadhi,Nepal -Himalayan Times (Kathmandu,Nepal) -Dec 9, 2006: -- The irate locals captured a dozen buses and disrupted traffic at Lamki-Chisapani road section on Mahendra Highway since Friday after a boy was killed in road mishap on Wednesday... Kaile Rawal of Baliya, was critically injured after being hit by a pick up van belonging to Dinesh Metals bound for Dhangadhi from Nepalgunj on Wednesday. She had died while undergoing treatment in Kohalpur Medical College the same day... The passenger buses, which locals took in control with help from Maoists on Thursday belong to Dinesh Travels. “The locals stopped the buses at Chisapani and forced the passengers to get off and captured 12 buses”...
Traffic Imbroglios * Pakistan -Citizens condemned to put up with
Karachi,Pakistan -The News, International -9 Dec 2006: -- Traffic mess has become a routine for the city and the traffic management board headed by city nazim is inactive these days, leaving hapless citizens at the mercy of quirks... A spokesman of the city government on being told that the traffic management board headed by the City Nazim was only able to hold just two meetings after which nothing had been done, he said a meeting would be held soon in this regard... At present obsolete and worn out buses emitting thick black smoke are plying and the city government as well as city nazim since last one year are making announcements that very soon CNG buses would be imported, but citizens have never seen these buses... A plan to discard auto rickshaw was also being mooted but no one is aware why it has been shelved as rattling noise of these three wheelers is a real strain on the citizens’ nerves...
* China - Beijing to cancel monthly bus pass
Beijing,China -Xinhua/China Daily News -9 Dec 2006: -- The monthly bus pass, which Beijing commuters have used for 56 years to ride around the city for pennies will no longer be available after January 1, said sources from the municipal communication committee... A monthly bus pass costs only 45 yuan (5.8 US dollars) for adults and 20 yuan (2.6 US dollars) for students and can be used 146 times per month... Statistics show passengers on average used their bus passes 86 times a month costing them only 0.52 yuan (six US cents) a ride... The move aims to improve the city's bus service and divert more passengers to the buses with air conditioners, which are less crowded but don't accept monthly passes... (Photo: Bus terminals at Beijing)
Video security * India - For Haryana bus crew
Gurgaon,Haryana,India -The HindustanTimes, by Sanjeev K Ahuja -Dec 9, 2006: -- Delhi Police personnel flagging down Haryana Roadways buses bound for Delhi at border checkpoints will be caught on video in an attempt to step up vigil on them after crews of such buses complained of arbitrary booking by Delhi’s traffic police... Footage of the videos would be handed over to officials of Haryana Roadways for analysis...
DANGEROUS MOTORISTS
Ham Lake,Min,USA -The Guardian (London,UK)/AP, by ARCHIE INGERSOLL -Dec 8, 2006: -- A school bus crashed into a sport utility vehicle Friday after its brakes apparently failed, injuring more than 20 people, four of them critically, authorities said... The bus driver was trying to stop at a red light but could not slow down. "He pushed on the pedal and it was rock-hard," sheriff's Capt. Dave Jenkins said... The drivers of the SUV and a station wagon were critically hurt, along with two students...
Discrimination * Australia - Bus turns away mum with two prams
Brisbane,Australia -The Australian (Sydney,Aust) -Dec 08, 2006: -- A Brisbane City Council bus driver has been disciplined after refusing to let a mother and her three children on a bus because she was pushing two prams... Single mother Susan Brown from the southside suburb of Runcorn was returning with her children from a trip to the city in 32C heat... She got off the train at Fruitgrove station, went to the nearby bus stop and folded up her two prams in preparation for the final leg of her journey... "I got bluntly refused on the bus because I had two prams," Ms Brown said...
FREE BUSES * Australia - Free Park and Ride buses will start in Albury on Monday.
Albury,New South Wales,Australia -The Border Mail, by HOWARD JONES -8 Dec 2006: -- The city council’s central business district bus shuttle service will be officially launched by Mayor Amanda Duncan-Strelec and chamber of commerce member Rob Simmons... The two bright blue buses will operate from a new car park in Young St that is being built to compensate for the closure in the New Year of the Wilson St car park... The Wilson St site will be closed to make way for a new multi-level car park, which will provide additional parking spaces in the CBD...* UK - Calls to abolish free bus travel - Tories called the scheme an "unaffordable luxuryUK -BBC News -8 Dec 2006: -- Calls to scrap free bus travel for under-18s will be "fought all the way" said the mayor of London... "Countless commuters have told me their experiences of anti-social behaviour have been more frequent," Roger Evans, deputy chairman of London Assembly's transport committee, said...
BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS
* Canada - Small buses are worth a tryMontreal,Quebec,Canada -The Montreal Gazette (subscription) -8 Dec 2006: -- ... The 90 bus rumbling down St. Jacques St. at midnight on a Monday is generally quite a bit emptier than it is at rush hour... Given all that, it's probably good news that the Montreal Transit Corp. is seriously considering buying mini-buses to service some of the quieter suburban routes and even some of the downtown routes at off hours. Smaller vehicles, with a capacity of 20 to 25 passengers, would certainly be adequate for many of the transit corporation's needs...
NEW BUSES
* Jamaica - New JUTC buses in JanuaryKingston,Jamaica -The Jamaica Gleaner, by Joseph Cunningham -Dec 8, 2006: -- The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) has obtained 50 new buses, sche duled to 'hit the road' in January... With several purchases since its inception in 1998, the state-owned bus company once boasted a fleet of 700 buses, Mrs. Davidson stated... However, she said, that figure has been reduced by almost 200 buses... (Picture: Jamaica Urban Transit Company buses at the Rockfort depot, in east Kingston) * India - Navi Mumbai gets luxury busesNavi Mumbai,India -Vashi2Panvel.Com, by Kartiki Shastry -Dec 8, 2006: -- The unpleasant incident of desecration of Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s statue in Kanpur had its effect in Navi Mumbai too as Babasaheb’s supporters destroyed over 70 NMMT buses in this area... To make it convenient for the commuters, NMMT has started almost 10 Semi Luxury buses from yesterday... Earlier, these kinds of buses were used to run only on the JNPT road, informed NMMT officials. Though the passengers want an increase in number of buses, they are happy with the arrangement for the time being...
"GREEN" NEWS * Canada - Hydrogen powers V-10 buses on Parliament Hill
Ottawa,Ont,Can -The Ottawa Citizen, by Bert Hill -Dec 07, 2006: -- Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn was smiling Thursday as he took the wheel of the world’s first bus to operate with hydrogen — not gasoline or diesel fuel — powering its internal combustion engine... A flotilla of senators, aides, public servants and Ford Motor Co. executives took turns yesterday boarding the first 12-seater bus to join a Senate shuttle fleet previously exclusively powered by gasoline... Hydrogen offers huge opportunities to improve the environment because it is plentiful and about 10 per cent more efficent than gas, and produces no known threats to the environment...
DEBATE * USA - Bus belt
From Michael J. Martin Executive Director National Association for Pupil Transportation Albany, NY,USA -AP/CBS News -Dec 7, 2006: -- Dear Ms. Couric: ... I therefore encourage you to step back from the emotion of this issue and consider why an industry that is predicated on and devoted to making sure that all children – including their own children, step-children and grandchildren - get to and from school safely would be opposed to the popular – some would say logical – thinking that kids in school buses would be safer if they were wearing seat belts? The answer is not because it would cost too much... It’s because there is no clear and convincing evidence that everyone would be safer wearing a safety belt while riding a school bus. In fact, there is significant evidence - not from the industry but from the leading national transportation safety experts - that while some kids might be safer wearing seat belts in a school bus, some kids might be in greater danger. Safety experts at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have examined the question of seat belts in school buses and concluded that lap belts have virtually no benefits (and children might actually be harmed by them)... School buses since 1977 have been required to have closely spaced, high-back seats with thick foam padding designed to provide protection to children automatically. Your family vehicle is not designed this way and does not have this kind of protection. That’s why it has seat belts and air bags... In my view, it's a shame that you chose to paint the school bus industry with a stereotypical brush, especially since the industry not only doesn’t oppose vehicle enhancements that will improve safety for all children, it typically leads the charge for them... Your viewers would have been much better served had you encouraged everyone to do something that truly improves the safety of children and not what may be the most expedient emotionally... Sincerely...
DANGEROUS TRIPS * Bangladesh - Buses collide, killing 8 and injuring more than 40 in
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh -Associated Press/The Herald Tribune -Dec 7, 2006: -- Two packed buses collided head-on in southern Bangladesh, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 40 others, police said... Rescuers recovered eight bodies from the wreckage of the buses after the accident in Cox's Bazar district, 295 kilometers (185 miles) south of the capital, Dhaka, local police official Mainuddin Khan said... Fatal road accidents, often blamed on faulty vehicles, unskilled driving and lax enforcement of rules, claim more than 4,000 lives each year in the South Asian nation, the government says...
Illicit drug hawkers - Nigeria - Turn Abuja’s mass transit buses to mobile shops
Ibadan,Nigeria -The Nigerian Tribune, by Foluso Akinwumi -8 Dec 2006: -- Even with the introduction of mass transit buses, commuters in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, are yet to heave a sigh of total relief as they daily encounter rude drivers and conductors as well as uncertified drug hawkers... What these unscrupulous employees do is to allow commuters into the vehicles through the exit door instead of the back door marked “entry”... The import of this act is that only commuters who enter through the proper door are recorded and accounted for at the end of the day. The rest goes to the pockets of the workers, who include some Supervisors whose main duty is to check fraud in the day-to-day running of the transport system... (Photo: The mass transit motor park)
PRIVATIZATION * UK - All change on the buses in new plan
Doncaster,England,UK -The Doncaster Today -8 Dec 2006: -- Doncaster could become the first town in England to get a London-style bus network as part of ambitious proposals to shake-up the public transport system... Transport chiefs will be meeting later today to discuss introducing a franchised system of bus operation, known in the industry as Quality Contracts, which means private companies have to compete for the right to run services for a specific period of time... He said the current de-regulated system - where bus companies are free to operate the services they want, on the routes they want, and can charge what they want - had not delivered for passengers... He said that under the new arrangements, the public sector could set out the quality standards required of the bus operator within the contract, and the operator would be held accountable if they failed to meet such standards...
BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS
* USA - T says bus route improvements will mean faster tripsBoston,Mas,USA -The Boston Globe, by Mac Daniel -Dec 7, 2006: -- The MBTA announced this morning that it will add buses and make other changes on 13 of its busiest routes, promising riders less crowded buses and faster trips... The T is also adding a route between Dudley Station and Franklin Park that should reduce crowding on other routes serving the area... More buses will be put on the 13 routes to provide more frequent service. Also, inspectors and standby buses will be stationed in the middle of the routes so that they can be dispatched if there are backups... Daniel A. Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said the T also plans to buy 155 buses to replace some of the oldest in the fleet...* Pakistan - Duty abolished on CNG buses, LPG import
Islamabad,PAK -Pakistan Dawn (Karachi,Pak), by Mubarak Zeb Khan -Dec 6, 2006: -- The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet on Wednesday abolished five per cent customs duty on import of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and zero rated sales tax on import of public transport, including CNG buses... He was of the opinion that the duty exemption would improve LPG supply and bring stability in prices...* UAE - More buses for Dubai RTAUnited Arab Emirates -AME Info /Gulf News -Dec 07 - 2006: -- A new bus service is to be launched from Al Mulla Plaza in Dubai to various destinations in Sharjah, reported... The Roads and Transport Authority is introducing the new routes in order to discourage the use of illegal taxis and to ease road congestion... Meanwhile, the RTA is to buy 125 buses to be used on an international service which will start in 2008...* Taiwan - May Ban Retreads on Tourist Buses
Taipei,Taiwan -Tyres & Accessories (Essex,UK) -8 Dec 2006: -- Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has announced plans to review regulations governing tourist buses in the wake of a bus crash that claimed 21 lives in southern Taiwan... New measures could include banning the use of retreads on such vehicles, ministry is “working to impose stricter restrictions on the maximum age of passenger buses and is considering banning the use of retread tyres on tourist buses”...
DANGEROUS TRUCKS * Bulgaria - Faulty Brakes Caused Tragic Bus Crash in
Sofia,Bulgaria -Sofia News Agency -7 Dec 2006: -- The truck that hit the bus in Bulgaria's northern Byala causing a harsh crash, in which 19 people have been killed and other 14 injured, was with defective brakes... The long vehicle was overloaded with 30 tons of wheat and the truck itself weighed 20 tons. The 24-year-old truck's driver is well and he has been arrested... The truck was behind the bus when it hit the public transport bus which was full of passengers with such a force that it fell on its rooftop from about 15 metres on the Yantra riverbank, not in the water...
DANGEROUS TRIPS
* Peru - 45 die as bus falls 1300ft into ravinePuno,Peru -Glasgow Evening Times (Glasgow,Scotland,UK) -6 Dec 206: -- Forty-five people died when a bus speeding through fog on a twisting mountain road plunged 1320ft into a ravine. Only the bus driver and a five-year-old boy survived the accident in Puno, on the border with Bolivia, 530 miles south-east of Lima. They suffered minor injuries... Rescuers were delayed because villagers had blocked the road with rocks to demand an irrigation project for their crops... A police spokesman said the bus was a makeshift, unstable vehicle - one of hundreds of buses in Peru illegally grafted onto the chassis of flat-bed... * India - 7 killed, 32 injured as bus rolls down the hillNew Delhi,India -IRNA/Islamic Republic News Agency (Tehran,Iran) -Dec 6, 2006: -- Seven persons were killed and 32 others were injured when a bus rolled down a hill on Kiratpur-Manali national highway, 60-km from Palampur, today, police said... The deceased included four women, driver and conductor of the bus, they said, adding about 45 persons were travelling in the vehicle, PTI reported here quoting police sources... The bus was on its way from Dharamsala to Manali when the accident ccurred, they said...
JOBS * USA - HI we are looking for promoters.
Specifically engaged in the sale of advertising for the trucking industryIf you're ads profesional, producer, or you've relation with sectorial agencies, or you've real contacts with transport companies, we invited you to join us ...THIS CAN BE your life's opportunityYOU may HAVE the WORLD to build your futureContact us through “comment” of this entrance and soon you will have news…
Historical Landmark - Brazil - DaimlerChrysler celebrates 50 years of production in Brazil
São Paulo,Brazil & Stuttgart,Germany -The Auto Channel (USA) -24 Nov 2006: -- For DaimlerChrysler do Brasil, 2006 represents a historical landmark. Today, the company is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of its plant in the city of São Bernardo do Campo... The ceremony was attended by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management and Head of Mercedes Car Group and Andreas Renschler, member of the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management and responsible for Truck Group & Buses... Five of ten trucks on the road in Brazil today wear the Mercedes star, as do seven of ten buses...
BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECT
* Malaysia - Penang plans to buy 150 busesKuala Lumpur,Malaysia -Bernama -Dec 6, 2006: -- Penang is purchasing 150 buses for the public bus transportation system on Penang island. Tenders will be called at the end of the month... The state-owned company Bus Negeri Pulau Pinang (
BNPP)
would place advertisements in the local newspapers soon to invite tenders... State Local Government, Traffic Management, Information and Community Relations Committee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said this yesterday when speaking to reporters after the state assembly passed a Bill approving the state’s RM200mil loan from the Federal Government for the revamp of the public bus transportation system in Penang...
DANGEROUS ROADS & DRIVERS
* Peru - Bus Crash in, 45 People DeadLIMA, Peru -The Associated Press/The Wasington Post -Dec 5, 2006: -- A bus speeding through the fog on a twisting mountain road in the Andes fell 1,320 feet into a ravine, killing 45 people, police said Tuesday... Only the bus driver and a 5-year-old boy survived the accident late Monday in a remote area near the Bolivian border, 530 miles southeast of Lima, Capt. Edgar Saavedra, a police spokesman, said by telephone. Both survivors were hospitalized with minor injuries in Puno city... "We have reports that the accident occurred because of bad weather and speeding," Saavedra said.
PRODUCTION * Ireland - Volvo bus chassis going to N. Ireland
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -UPI -Dec 5, 2006: -- Volvo and Wrightbus of Northern Ireland are jointly making 110 school buses, the Swedish company said Tuesday... Volvo will make the chassis at its Boras, Sweden, factory and Wrightbus will produce the vehicle`s body and complete the assembly of each vehicle... Wrightbus has designed a new body that is based on a body that is used on Volvo`s B7RLE low-entry chassis... (Picture: Wrightbus will manufacture the buses along with Volvo)
SALES * Russia - GAZ ready to complete buses shipment mid-December
Moscow,Russia -Analytical Information Agency -4 Dec 2006: -- 13 Dec. GAZ is going to complete the shipment of the country school buses with the realization of the Education national project, the company informed... Oct. end the science/education ministry settled a contract with Russian Buses Central Trade houst included into GAZ Group.... In line with the contract terms the Group is obliged to deliver 1.327th buses to the country schools in the volume of 1bn rub... GAZ Group is a leading maker of commercial cars in Russia...
TECHNO NEWS * USA - New video technology to go into Chicago buses
Chicago,Ill,USA -WQAD (Moline,IL) -3 Dec 2006: -- The Chicago Transit Authority plans to install streaming video technology on buses and at rail stations in a pilot project funded by the Department of Homeland Security... The wireless transmitters will be linked to laptop computers and monitors in C-T-A security vehicles and the C-T-A command center... C-T-A President Frank Kruesi says cameras already installed in buses will be used to transmit activity over the new wireless network. The images will be viewed in a moving vehicle within 600 feet of the bus...
