Buses World News

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

24.4.15

PURCHASING BUSES * USA: Articulating or Double-Decker ones ?

* Maryland - Ocean City leaning away from double-decker buses. Officials favor purchasing articulating buses

-- After hearing a list of issues that would come along with adding double decker buses to Ocean City’s fleet, the Transportation Commission voted this week to recommend the purchase of 60-foot articulating buses instead... A few months ago, the Transportation Commission began discussions regarding new bus purchases to meet the goal of increasing capacity and lessening drivers due to the issue of filling bus driver positions... The estimated cost for a 40-foot diesel bus is $425,000 that seats 35 with 18 standees. A 60-foot diesel artic bus is about $700,000 that seats 63 with 31 standees... Last month Transportation Superintedent George Thornes stated, FY 14 funds can be rolled over to FY 15 to purchase two 60-foot artic buses but Thornes explained a five-year proposal should be formed for the MTA to plan into the future. Also, since there are only two artic bus manufacturers left in the country the option to lease artic buses is not in the picture...
Ocean City, MAR, USA – The Dispatch, by Joanne Shriner - 23 April 2015

* California - Preview Muni's biodiesel-electric hybrid buses at Boeddeker Park

-- Adding to your Earth Day to-do list, SFMTA announced this morning that Muni's new electric trolley and biodiesel-electric hybrid buses will be on display at Boeddeker Park. It's a fitting viewing location, considering the neighborhood's significant air pollution problems... The new buses are part of SFMTA's five-year plan to replace its entire fleet of buses and increase reliability for nearly 700,000 weekday riders. The new buses are being purchased in waves between 2013 and 2019... SFMTA purchased 112 new biodiesel-electric hybrid buses in 2013, and debuted 62 of the buses in June of that year... Continuing the agency's mission to improve its fleet, Mayor Ed Lee announced in December of last year that SFMTA would purchase 61 hybrid diesel buses... Earlier this month, SFMTA also announced its "most significant service improvements in decades". The improvements include enhancing frequency for a number of lines impacted by rush hour and launching a "Rapid Network" to increase frequency for the system's heaviest-used bus routes...
San Francisco, CAL, USA - Hooline, by Brittany Hopkins - 22 April 2015

* Nebraska - New bus to transport middle school students

-- The North Platte Public School middle configuration is moving forward and school officials have a vehicle to prepare for its eventuality... District administrators purchased a new Cornhusker International bus to transport middle school students for the coming year. According to the bid, the vehicle cost slightly more than $82,000 and will be part of a fleet of vehicles that will shuttle students between Madison and Adams...
(Photo by Ralph Chapoco - A 72-passenger Bluebird bus North Platte Public School administrators and staff have is shown at the back of the bus barn and maintenance facility. The district purchased a similar vehicle for transportation use when students begin the coming school year for the middle school reconfiguration) -- North Platte, NBR, USA - The North Platte Telegraph, by Ralph CHapoco - April 21, 20

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

24.1.15

BUSES PURCHASE * USA

* North Caroline - Chapel Hill Transit plans to replace 45 buses

(Photo)
Chapel Hill,NC,USA -The Daily Tar Heel, by TRENT HOLLANDSWORTH -22 Jan 2015: -- A few new sets of wheels will soon be hitting the streets of Chapel Hill. The Chapel Hill Town Council has authorized Town Manager Roger Stancil to sign a contract for the purchase of up to 45 new buses for Chapel Hill Transit... The buses are part of a joint purchase between the town of Chapel Hill, the city of Durham and Triangle Transit. Placing all three orders together makes the price of the buses cheaper... Under this contract, the town can purchase up to 45 buses. These would replace the 42 buses in Chapel Hill that are out of date, including 13 out of 19 EZ Rider buses... The out-of-date buses were built between 1996 and the early 2000s. They lack security cameras and comfortable seating...

* Washington - Why aren't buses routinely replaced?

Everett,Snohomish,WASH,USA -The Herald of Everett -January 20, 2015: -- Where is the money? $264,358.95, $257,462.76 and $217,683.86 for a total of $739,504.57. This is the amount given to the Arlington School District in the past three years by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Student Transportation department. According to the law, these yearly funds are only to be used for replacement of the aging buses... This year's amount is the $217,683 — the reimbursement dollars decrease as the buses age. But, the amount will increase as the buses are replaced. Basic math tells us that every four years the district has received over $1 million for replacing buses. In the past six years, Arlington School District has received the wanted $1.5 million for the supposed 2016 need. So why does the district have a 28-year old bus? Furthermore, why would the district need the voters to approve a new levy when they get funds for yearly replacement already?...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

4.12.14

BUSES PURCHASING * India: NEKRTC

* Karnakata - 300 new buses to NEKRTC

(Photo: The Hindu KSRTC buses parked in the Kempegowda Bus Station)
Bangalore,Karnakata,India -The Hindu, by KUMAR BURADIKATTI -1 Dec 2014: -- Minister for Transport Mr. R. Ramalinga Reddy announced that his Department had decided to add 300 more buses to North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC)... He was addressing a public meeting here on Monday after inaugurating a new bus-stop built at the cost of Rs. 6.37 crore...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

17.10.14

ELECTRIC BUSES * India: BMTC proposals

* Bangalore - BMTC banks on Tata Motors to add hybrid buses to its fleet

(Photo: BMTC operated this electric bus, made by a Chinese company, ByD, on trial basis, but found its cost prohibitive)
Bangalore,India -The Bangalore Mirror, by Suchith Kidiyoor -Oct 17, 2014: -- You could seriously plan to leave your private vehicles in your garages and take to commuting around the city in an air-conditioned public transport vehicle - a hybrid one, and at no higher fare than the already running premium air-conditioned buses of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation... BMTC is planning to pick up hybrid vehicles and is looking at Tata Motors... BMTC plans to procure 30 hybrid buses for its fleet, and selected Tata Motors' proposals as they offered two different designs for BMTC - one in which the buses would run using a combination of diesel and electric propulsion, and the other using either diesel or electric motors to power the buses... The buses running on diesel-cum-electric motors are priced at Rs 2.3 crore each, while the ones powered by either diesel or electric motors cost Rs 1.5 crore each. The latter provides the driver an option to use one or the other, which means if the bus is running out on diesel while on the go, he can switch to the electric motor for power...

* What is a Hybrid bus?

Bangalore,India -Bangalore Mirror - Oct 17, 2014: -- A hybrid bus combines conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The internal combustion engines are the ones that use petrol or diesel to power the vehicle. The electric propulsion system powers electric cars like Reva, and are becoming increasingly popular due to its non-polluting nature.
* Diesel-electric hybrid: The propulsion uses diesel and electric motors together to power the vehicle. This ensures lesser consumption of diesel.
* Diesel/electric hybrid: This propulsion uses either diesel or electric at any given time of driving. It helps keeping the other as back-up. Many such buses have been introduced by manufacturers in the US, UK, New Zealand and Japan, some claiming a cut in carbon dioxide emissions up to 31% and fuel savings of 40%.

* Chennai - Ashok Leyland to start manufacturing electric, hybrid buses in India

(Photo: Ashkok Leyland's Optare electric bus)
Chennai,India -BS - October 15, 2014: -- Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland is planning to start manufacturing and marketing its electric and hybrid buses in India from next year. Vinod Dasari, managing director of Ashok Leyland, said that Optare, the company's arm in UK, has been leading the electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturers there and its intention is to bring the Optare products to India... The electric and hybrid bus cost a lot of money and they do not make economic sense by themselves unless the State comes forward to support, he said thanking UK government for its support. The company sells around 100 units in UK a year. The company will be launching the Solo bus from Optare, through Ashok Leyland, in India in the Bus Expo in New Delhi in January 22, next year... The company would have to make investments in electric battery handling capabilities, not manufacturing capabilities. The bus itself will not require substantial investments other than the tooling to make it...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects, electric buses

29.9.14

BUSES PURCHASING PROSPECTS * USA: Electric ones

* California - Long Beach Transit restarts RFP Process for electric bus procurement

(Photo: Long Beach Transit Gillig BRT Plus bus)
Long Beach,CAL,USA -Long Beach Post, by BRIAN ADDISON -September 23 2014: -- After a tumultuous attempt at procuring a mini-fleet of electric, zero-emission buses, zero-emission buses (ZEBs), which ultimately resulted in failure, Long Beach Transit (LBT) has restarted the Request for Proposal (RFP) process to build 10 ZEBs... The LBT board unanimously agreed yesterday that Kenneth McDonald, LBT’s President and CEO, will solicit the proposals beginning today. The bid will be paid for partially through the Department of Transportation's Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) grant, which was awarded to LBT nearly three years ago... According to McDonald, the FTA has not altered the grant that it awarded to LBT; questions were previously raised as to whether LBT would still receive the funds due to deadlines related to the grant... RFP responses will be due back at the beginning of the year...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

28.8.14

BUSES PURCHASING PROSPECT * Thailand - A Bid Underway * USA/Ohio: Seeking news buses

* For massive Bangkok bus

(BMTA NGV Bus image)
Bangkok,Thailand -NGV Global News -August 21, 2014: -- Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) has issued Terms of Reference (TOR) for the procurement of 3,183 new natural gas-fuelled buses. BMTA will acquire 1,524 air-conditioned and 1,659 ordinary buses, with the first batch of 489 natural gas buses planned for handover by the successful supplier in January 2015.

Specifications for the buses include:
I) Powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).-
II) Length 12 metres.-
III) GVW not less than 15,000 pounds.-
IV) Seating for 30, capacity for 80 passengers.-

Bids can be submitted for any one or all of the following 8 items:
* Regular bus Bus Zone 4 – 424 units
* Regular bus Bus Zone 6 – 374 units
* Regular bus Bus Zone 7 – 453 units
* Regular bus Bus Zone 8 – 408 units
* Bus Zone 1 – 408 units
* Bus Zone 2 – 489 units
* Bus Zone 3 – 175 units
* Bus Zone 5 – 452 units

The buses will replace hundreds of old, dilapidated and broken fleet vehicles... Organizations are scheduled to make the first shipment within 90 days of signing the contract, planned for October... According to an article published by Bangkok Post, the median bidding price for the air-conditioned NGV buses is set at 4.5 million baht each (USD 140,500) and the non-air conditioned buses is set at 3.8 million baht (USD 118,700) each...

* USA / Ohio - District seeking bids for new school buses

(Photo Adam Cairns/Dispatch: Scott A. Scherer changes the brakes on a Canal Winchester school bus that still needs to pass inspection)
Canal Winchester,OH,USA -This Week News, by JANET THIEDE -August 25, 2014: -- The Canal Winchester Board of Education voted unanimously Aug. 18 to seek bids for four new school buses -- three conventional vehicles that seat 78 students and one handicap-accessible bus with a wheelchair lift that can hold up to 36 passengers... The board's action occurred on the same day Canal Winchester schools opened for the 2014-15 school year with nearly one-third of its bus fleet sidelined by the Ohio State Highway Patrol because the vehicles failed inspection... Mike Bruning, the district's director of operations, told the board that all the buses that did not meet state standards were at least 14 years old...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects, transport intelligence

27.8.14

BUS MARKETS WORLDWIDE * India - Australia

* India - Bleeding Dry: The Bus Stops Here

New Delhi,India -The New India Express/The Sundat Srandard, by Sumit Kumar Singh -27 Aug 2014: ... The Delhi government shunted out killer Blueline buses and gradually started phasing out an old fleet of DTC buses to replace them with AC and ordinary low-floor buses... But shockingly, on an average, 175 of the total 1,275 red AC buses that carry a price tag of a whopping `67 lakh per bus break down every day... Inquiries reveal that the air-conditioning system of the buses is not able to match the load. In 100 such buses, the system has stopped functioning. So, the government instead of maintaining a good fleet of red buses is planning to give up on acquiring new ones... Such frequent incidents of breakdown cause traffic jams during peak hours... In the meantime, the Delhi government wanted to make the DTC buses disabled-friendly... The government decided to replace the fleet with low-floor buses... Also, there are only two manufacturers in the country which supply these buses and they have started dictating their terms...

* Australia - B.C. Transit looks to add more double-deckers to its fleet

(Photograph By LYLE STAFFORD - Of B.C. Transit's 69 double-decker buses, 62 are in Greater Victoria, with the remaining seven in Kelowna. The public-transit provider is considering adding more double-deckers, but it's not known yet in which regions they would be used)
Kelowna,BC,Australia -The Times Colonist, by Carla Wilson -August 19, 2014: -- More double-decker buses could be rolling along B.C. roads now that B.C. Transit is seeking interest from manufacturers... Transit is suggesting that the first potential delivery could start late in 2016... Double-deckers are already a familiar sight in the capital region. Of B.C. Transit’s 69 double-deckers, 62 are in Greater Victoria, with the remaining seven in Kelowna...

Labels: bus markets, buses purchasing prospects

1.7.14

BUSES PURCHASE * India: ATC's request

* Delhi - Transport Corporation issues tender to procure buses

New Delhi,India -The Hindu, by VISHAL KANT -July 1, 2014: -- After having failed to identify a company for procurement of buses on two previous occasions, the Delhi Transport Corporation once again issued a request of proposal on Monday inviting bus manufacturers to provide around 1,400 buses to replace the fleet of standard-floor buses... While the entire fleet of the standard-floor buses has outlived its utility, the DTC this time has issued a global tender to procure 1,380 semi-floor non-AC buses. The public transporter had issued a global tender earlier this year for 1,725 buses, including 1,380 semi-floor non-AC buses and 345 low-floor AC buses...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

3.11.10

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - Pasco School Board to buy more buses than previously planned

Pasco,WA,USA -Tri City Herald, by Jacques Von Lunen -Oct. 27, 2010: -- The Pasco School Board has decided to buy five more buses than it had planned to do at the school year's start... The additional buses will cost $530,000, bringing the district's total expenses for new buses this year to almost $1 million... The district's transportation group had to decide on its vehicle purchase plans in late summer... Back then, the district planned to buy three new buses this year. It also put money for one more bus in reserve, for a purchasing budget of $450,000, said Howard Roberts, district director of fiscal services... So the transportation group asked for five more buses to be added to those in the original budget... (Photo from cdn.winknews: A Pasco County man upset about a school bus traveling)

* California - Foothill Transit granted $10M for new energy-efficient buses

San Gabriel Valley,CAL,USA -The SGV Tribune, by Maritza Velazquez -29 Oct 2010: -- The area's bus cooperative was the big winner in a statewide grant aimed at reducing fuel emissions... Foothill Transit was granted $10.2 million of the $27 million in federal funds made available to California... The agency is planning to use the money to buy nine electric buses, which could hit the streets as soon as next year... The agency, which uses 314 buses to serve 327 square miles from Pomona to Pasadena, will use the electric buses to serve a route from Pomona to La Verne... The line - which will be served completely by the electric fleet - will act as a test case to see if Foothill could eventually increase electric bus service... The money is available through the federal Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) II Program, which works with public transit agencies to implement new strategies for reducing their energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions... (Photo by Jennifer Cappuccio Maher: Foothill Transit unveils its new Ecoliner, an electric bus at the Foothill Transit Operations Facility in Pomona)

Labels: buses purchasing prospects, electric buses

29.3.08

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA -

* ARB approves $200 million for Cleaner School Buses from Proposition 1B Funding

USA -The AirZone Blog -28 Mar 2008: -- Program will reduce exposure of children to pollution from high emitting buses... The Air Resources Board approved today the allocation of nearly $200 million to replace the remaining 74 oldest school buses still circulating in California, and to replace or retrofit an additional 4,500 high polluting buses serving public schools...

* Snohomish transit agency to buy 23 double decker buses

Snohomish County,Wash,USA -Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle,WAS))/Bizjournals.com (Charlotte,NC) -March 31, 2008: -- Community Transit of Snohomish County plans to buy 23 double decker buses for daily commuter runs to Seattle... Community Transit put its first double decker bus, dubbed The Double Tall, into regular service last August... The agency said the number of passengers using its bus, vanpool and paratransit service jumped by 1 million, from 9.9 million riders in 2006 to 10.9 million last year... (Community Transit is planning on ordering 23 Double Decker Buses like the one shown here)

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

19.3.08

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Canada - TTC will use $300M funding for hybrid buses

Toronto,ONT,CAN -toronto.ctv.ca -18 Mar 2008: -- The Toronto Transit Commission has received $300 million from the federal government that will be used to green its bus fleet with the purchase of nearly 700 new hybrid buses... Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon made the cash announcement at the Malvern bus garage in Scarborough on Tuesday. The funding was originally promised in 2004 by the former Liberal government...

* Macau - Government wants nine-seat buses

Macau -The Macau Daily Times, by Anni Lam & Sara Farr -18 March 2008: -- The government wants to introduce nine-seat buses in Macau to solve traffic congestion, according to a consultation on Macau's public transport advancement scheme, which is expected to be released towards the end of this week... In a report in the Chinese language daily Va Kio, with the nine-seat buses, not only will it ease traffic congestion but also help solve problems such as driver shortages in Macau... According to Macau's Road Traffic Law, a nine-seat bus, or mini-van is considered a light vehicle, and as such drivers are not required to take their driving licenses for heavy vehicles. This would mean that Macau could get more local drivers to ease shortage problems, which both bus companies are faced with at the moment...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

11.3.08

BUSES PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - City considers buying buses

El Paso,TX,USA -El Paso Times, by Michael D. Hernandez -10 March 2008: -- City Council could bolster its Sun Metro fleet by purchasing 40 compressed natural gas buses at a cost of about $3 million when it meets on Tuesday... The proposed agreement between the city's Mass Transit Department and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for the 40-foot-long low-floor buses also would require about $13.5 million in federal funding... Sun Metro has made bus acquisition a priority as it continues to improve a service that, as recently as 2006, was fraught with breakdowns and poor on-time performance...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

5.12.07

BUSES PURCHASE * USA - CDTA Awarded $1 Million for New Fleet of Hybrid Electric Buses

Albany,NY,USA -CBS 6 Albany -December 3, 2007: -- The Capital District Transportation Authority received over $1 million from the Department of Transportation to purchase a new fleet of hybrid electric buses... The new buses will reduce air pollution by 90 percent over older models, and are part of the CDTA's goal to improve services and increase capacity by replacing 20 percent of their fleet with modern electric-diesel vehicles... CDTA currently has 250 buses in its fleet; the bus company serves over 750,000 people in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady Counties...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

29.11.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECT * Dubai - RTA announces world's record bus purchase of 1616 buses

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), unveiled the world's biggest bus purchase transaction; whereby RTA will buy 1616 buses of various sizes and models manufactured at the highest security and safety standards

Khaleej,Dubai,United Arab Emirates -The Khaleej Times -November 25 2007: -- The buses are equipped with the latest technologies such as voice announcement of the next stop, passengers counting system, bus-positioning system linked with the RTA Control Center, and internal and external display monitors. Following this deal, the number of buses operated by the RTA will jump in 2009 to 2500 buses, providing public transport services covering all areas of Dubai, and providing feeder service to Dubai Metro Stations; a matter which will raise person trips percentage made by public transport modes... (Picture from www.dubaitourism.ae: New buses for public transport)

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

12.11.07

BUSES' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * India - Maharashtra to hire 240 A-C buses

Mumbai,Pune -The Business Standard, by Kaustubh Kulkarni -November 09, 2007: -- The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is planning to acquire 240 air-conditioned buses on lease that will connect prominent cities in the state with major destinations in the neighbouring states including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Indore and Goa... The move, apart from an attempt to address the rising demand for air-conditioned buses within the state, is aimed at getting back the passenger traffic from private busses that is cutting into its revenues...

Labels: buses purchasing prospects

20.9.07

Comment * Australia - Libs' bus backflip

"The facts of the matter are it is, today, impossible to deliver 120 buses in this coming year, and that's because of poor planning on the part of the previous Labor administrations."

Brisbane,Queensland,Australia -The Brisbane Times,by Daniel Sankey -September 12, 2007: -- That statement was made by Liberal councillor - and former public transport chair - Graham Quirk on June 4 this year in response to a plan put forward by Labor's Lord Mayoral candidate Greg Rowell... On a positive note - finally! - something is now being done to address the failures of Brisbane's bus system... Tomorrow, the council will approve a $20 million plan to put on the road 36 sweeper buses, which will pick up passengers left behind by buses on the city's 10 busiest routes during peak traffic times... (Photo by grantravel: Brisbane- Free bus)

Labels: buses purchasing prospects