User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Buses World News

Buses World News

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

31.3.16

VIDEO-RECORDING PASSENGERS on BUSES * USA

* Nebraska - On city buses, big brother is watching

-- The conversations and actions of thousands of Lincoln residents who board city buses each day are being recorded... StarTran, the city’s bus system, has audiovisual recording devices on each of its 67 fixed-route buses and 13 Handi-Van vehicles, said Transit Manager Mike Davis. StarTran began installing the equipment on its vehicles in 1997, back when it recorded only in black and white... Nebraska, like most states, only requires that one party to a conversation be notified that he or she is being recorded. However, in cities and states across the country, efforts to remove recording devices from buses are underway by politicians and civil liberties groups seeking to protect people’s privacy... Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the use of surveillance equipment on city buses may not violate state laws, but it could violate a constitutional ban on unreasonable searches. He said laws that require law enforcement agencies to get warrants to record private phone conversations demonstrate the legal principle that equates the secret recording of a conversation to an unreasonable search... He said recording a private conversation between two people who aren’t aware they are being recorded seems to violate the one-party requirement within state law as well...
Lincoln, NEB, USA - The Lincoln Journal Star, by KEVIN ABOUREZK - 30 March 2016

Labels: passengers complains

26.2.16

PASSENGERS COMPLAINTS * India: To avoid "frequent use of vulgar and loud music in the buses"

* Punjab - Bans 'Vulgar and provocative songs' in buses

-- Punjab Government has banned playing of "vulgar songs" and "provocative music" in the state-run buses with immediate effect following complaints in this regard... The directions have been passed by state Transport Minister, Ajit Singh Kohar, who warned that any bus driver found violating government's directive would have to face strict departmental action... The Minister stressed that the "frequent use of vulgar and loud music in the buses" not only disturbs the passengers but is "instrumental in fatal accidents which occur due to distraction caused to the drivers" ...
(Representational Image - "Random surprise checks would be conducted by a specially constituted committee to check the use of provocative music in the buses," the minister said) -- Chandigarh, Punjab, India - NDTV - February 15, 2016

Labels: passengers complains

5.11.14

PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE * USA:

* New York - The Commute: Just another day riding the buses

NY,USA -Sheepshead Bites, by Allan Rosen -Nov 3rd, 2014: -- Last week, a one-and-a-quarter-mile afternoon trip took my friend one hour and 20 minutes using two buses. He waited 28 minutes for the B68 and another 30 minutes for the B82 in Coney Island. Three B68s came at once, and he just missed the B82. BusTime obviously is not being used to regulate the buses. What the MTA is doing, however, to help buses adhere to their schedule is putting pressure on bus drivers not to be late... Years ago, it was a priority for buses to service all customers. Drivers always asked passengers to move to the rear and sometimes refused to move the bus if passengers did not comply. Those days are long gone with the uptick in bus driver assaults... So today, bus operators seem to pick and choose whom they will pick up... Enough doom and gloom. This piece has been filled with a lot of complaining but I believe in being fair. Every bus trip is not a nightmare. Sometimes the system works well... But the SBS will not solve most of the problems with local bus travel today, as the MTA is trying to convince us...

Labels: passengers complains, public transport services

26.3.11

COMPLAINS * UK - Passengers’ fury at rural bus route cuts

Northamptonshire,EN,UK -The Evening Telegraph -23 March 2011: -- News that scores of bus services across the north of the county are to be axed has been greeted with anger by people in rural communities... Service operator Stagecoach has announced a first round of cuts as it attempts to make up a shortfall in council funding... The £3.1m a year previously given to bus companies by Northamptonshire County Council is being cut to £1m and Stagecoach says it cannot afford operate non-profitable services... But in Loddington, a village currently served by six buses a day to Kettering which will soon be axed, residents fear it will lead to people becoming isolated... (Photo: The Route A bus will be less frequent)

* Rural areas face double hit of bus fare rises and service cuts

Yorkshire,EN,UK -The Yorkshire Post -23 March 2011: -- Rural areas are set to be hard hit as bus passengers face a double hit of “large scale” cuts in routes and fare increases on remaining services because of Government funding cuts and soaring costs... Arriva, which operates buses across West and North Yorkshire, says fares will rise beyond inflation and many services will be cut because it is losing £14m a year in Government funding while also being hit by increasing fuel and staff costs... Bosses also warn of further strain imposed by cuts in funding for free bus travel which they say will have an uneven impact, smaller cities and rural areas being particularly affected...

Labels: passengers complains

8.11.10

PASSENGERS FURY * UK - Over shake-up on Hampshire buses

First is accused of putting financial savings before customers’ interests

Eastleigh,Hampshire,UK -The Southern Daily Echo, by Simon Carr -5 November 2010: -- A bus service shake-up has caused chaos, claim angry passengers... Pensioners, workers, schoolchildren and patients could all be affected by the changes which have hit 16 routes across Hampshire... Bus users have criticised First bus, claiming the new changes were brought in to save money and introduced without considering passengers... The firm’s bosses say it was matching resources with demand and trying to make the buses more reliable... There are six routes being changed in Southampton, affecting services to destinations including Hedge End, Hamble, Bitterne, Shirley, Millbrook and Lordshill...

Labels: passengers complains

PASSENGERS' COMPLAINS * Vietnam - Commuters say no to buses in Vietnam metro

Rundown buses and faciliites as well as bad service is seeing public transportation deteriorate in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City,Saigon,Vietnam -The Saigon Tiep Thi/Vietnam Society's Posterous -November 4, 2010: ... Several dozen bus routes are operating inefficienty because of decreasing number of passengers, said Phung Dang Hai, director general of HCMC Transport Co-operative, which operates one-third of the local buses... In fact, in the first nine months of this year, the co-operative has experienced a 10 percent decline in the number of passengers over last year, Hai said ... The decrease is considerable, although subsidies were raised to VND700 billion (US$35.9 million) from VND600 billion ($30.8 million) last year, Hai said... The Saigon Tiep Thi reports that the staff's poor attitude towards passengers, the lack of safety, broken air-conditioning systems and other degraded facilities are discouraging people from opting to take a bus... Reckless driving, including not slowing down while driving over potholes, and the disregard for passenger comfort was blatant, it reports... (Photo from static.dzmind)

Labels: passengers complains

Passengers complain * New Zealand - Complaints continue over buses chaos

Christchurch,NZ -The Press, by PAUL GORMAN -3 Nov 2010: -- Temporary buses, new operators, different runs and inexperienced drivers are causing chaos on Christchurch bus routes... Roadworks and detours along Lichfield St, to the east of the central-city Bus Exchange, are also adding to the frustration of drivers and passengers... Problems triggered by last month's earthquake and operator changes on November 1 have left many passengers angry and confused... Some have emailed The Press complaining about the state of older buses, overcrowding and the confusing number of white buses on the road... Leopard has been forced to buy and hire 33 buses because of earthquake damage at DesignLine's Rolleston bus factory... Leopard and Christchurch Bus Services both won routes from Red Bus Ltd in a recent tender round... Concerns had been expressed that some of the older replacement buses were unsuitable for people in wheelchairs... Leopard managing director Brent Early said new buses were scheduled for delivery in the next three months and that would reduce the number of temporary buses on the roads... (Photo - NO EASY STREET: Buses try to navigate around roadworks and rush-hour traffic in Lichfield St, Christchurch)

* Auckland - Passenger Information System. Getting you to the game on tim

(Video from YouTube, by sigtecworldwide -24 Sept 2009: Sigtec delivers solutions for the public transport authorities that will assist in improving services and delivering real time passenger information. The RAPID™ Real Time Passenger Information -RTPI- system has been primarily developed for enhancing bus, tram, rail and ferry services)

Auckland,NZ -Infonews, by Sigtec Group -3 November 2010: -- The Sigtec Group today announced a new contract with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) that will see Sigtec upgrade the successful Auckland Real Time Passenger Information System to provide an integrated Multi‐Modal Passenger Information System for all Bus services in the Auckland Region... Based on Sigtec’s RAPID technology, which has been providing real time information and traffic light priority for Auckland’s buses since 2005, the upgraded system will display predicted service arrival times to commuters at signs located at bus stops, on rail platforms and at ferry terminals... The system monitors the position of each bus in real time using the global positioning system and other inputs to accurately predict when the service will arrive. Priority is automatically requested at traffic lights for late running buses... The provision of real time passenger information for rail and ferry services, and the improvements to information available for bus services are part of an ongoing investment in public transport in the Auckland Region that will benefit the community through and well beyond Rugby World Cup 2011...

Labels: buses information, passengers complains

13.8.10

Bus Passengers Complaints * UK - They do make 1,400 complaints about services in six months

Manchester,UK -Manchester Evening News, by Alan Salter -August 09, 2010: -- Bus passengers made more than 1,400 complaints about services in Greater Manchester in just six months – a rate of over 50 a week... Figures show the bus was responsible for by far the most complaints by the region’s public transport passengers in the period January-July this year. Some 271 were about Metrolink... The most common complaint about buses was that a driver failed to stop – something that was noted 223 times... A further 188 people rang or wrote to say a driver had been unhelpful, abusive, rude or argumentative... In 24 cases the complaint was that a driver failed to help a passenger in need... By contrast, transport bosses logged only 52 compliments about services...

Labels: passengers complains

14.1.10

COMPLAINS * UK - Anger at bus company as

Empty vehicles drove past passengers stranded in the snow

Flintshire,North Wales,UK -Coach Broker, by Louise Williams -January 10, 2010: -- Anger is mounting in Flintshire, North Wales, after scores of passengers were left stranded in the snow after buses failed to stop to let them board, despite the vehicles being empty... During the heavy snowfall which fell last Tuesday, passengers waited in the freezing conditions for a bus to arrive. However several empty Arriva buses displaying an “Out of Service” sign, passed by the individuals waiting at the stops along a route in Deeside, leaving them stranded. Many had to rely on the kindness of strangers, who stopped to give lifts to some of the waiting passengers in their own 4×4 vehicles... (Photo: Bus company criticised after vehicles with "out of service" sign refused to pick up passengers waiting in the snow)

Labels: passengers complains

11.2.09

CONTROLS * Vietnam - Bus services go under lens

Hanoi,Vietnam -VietNamNet Bridge -10 Feb 2009: -- Directors at Transerco bus companies could be dismissed if the quality of their service fails passengers' expectation, said Bui Xuan Dung, chairman of the Management Board of Ha Noi Transport Service Company... Dung's statement comes on the heels of a flood of complaints by customers about services provided by the company... By the end of last year, the company sacked almost 200 drivers and conductors who violated regulations by taking short cuts and provided poor customer service... Many passengers miss the bus when drivers fail to stop. Overcrowding during the peak hour traffic also troubles passengers... After Tet, thousands of people were left stranded and unable to return to cities such as Ha Noi and HCM City because of the increased demand for seats... In an attempt to improve bus services, proper training, supervision and improved service quality will be targeted... Each driver and conductor would have to spend five days training in customer service skills, Dung said... The company has also set up teams of 170 quality inspectors to monitor services at member companies...(Each driver and conductor would have to spend five days training in customer service skills.)

Labels: passengers complains

8.2.09

PASSENGERS' COMMENTS * Argentine - Travelling on buses

City Buenos Aires,Argentine -Argentina, Baby! -February 7, 2009: -- They go almost on schedule. Finding out which is your bus is impossible. Quite a challenge, I would say...

Labels: passengers complains

7.2.09

COMPLAINS * Indonesia - Officials fail to stop people from puffing on public buses

Jakarta,Indonesia -The Jakarta Post, Agnes Winarti -6 Feb 2009: -- Although smoking on board public transportation is prohibited under a 2005 bylaw, some drivers, bus assistants and passengers continue to puff away without official stepping in to put them out... This is because the city transportation authority has not yet fully prioritized the smoking ban... "We cannot make it a priority because we have to handle many other traffic violations by public transportation drivers"... But, even when passengers protest, a mere grumble might not be enough for violators to snuff out their cigarettes...

Labels: passengers complains

6.1.09

CONCERNS * UK - After bus stop move

Bus passengers have voiced concerns about a change in bus stop for the popular 121 service

Scarborough,UK -The Scarborough Evening News, by Susan Stephenson -6 January 2009: -- The service for Scarborough, Filey, Hunmanby, Bridlington and other stops on the way to Hull now terminates at Valley Bridge instead of the steeply sloping Somerset Terrace behind Debenhams, as from Sunday... Last year East Yorkshire Motor Services, which runs the service, said it would need to move the stop to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act... Public transport campaigner Nick Harvey says people have expressed fears about problems the move could create. Their worries include the distance from the shops and the fact that Valley Bridge is an "exposed location with no shelter nearby and the chill factor"... (Picture: Scenes such as this long queue for the buses in Somerset Terrace are now a thing of the past, following the creation of the stop on Valley Bridge)

* Star Trak bus system letting passengers down

Leicester,England,UK -The Leicester Mercury -January 5, 2009: -- It was meant to transform the bus network, but after eight years and more than £2.5 million of investment, the Star Trak information system still does not work... Leicester City Council said operators were letting it down, with one in three buses still not having a functioning system... Passengers have complained displays at stops do not show how many minutes until the next bus or that the figure is wrong... A task group set up to investigate problems said until bus companies showed more willing, it would continue to fail... A spokesman for First said: "There is certainly under 30 per cent of buses without a working system now... No-one from Arriva was available for comment...

Labels: passengers complains

9.7.08

PASSENGERS' COMPLAINS * Viet Nam - Why readers aren’t overjoyed at travelling by bus in

Last week: We asked our readers about travelling by bus

Hanoi,Vietnam -The Viet Nam News -4 July 2008: -- This means of transportation has become more popular in Golden opportunities, but the service it supplies still has several shortcomings. With a little work, it could be a cheap and efficient means of transport in a modern society.The following are opinions on how to improve bus service in Viet Nam, so that buses can become a safe, cheap and efficient means of transport... Your say...
- Sherman Chau, Canadian: I have experienced the rudeness of bus staff myself and seen their lackadaisical attitude...
- Knut Sch, German: As a participant of Vietnamese traffic, with 14 years of experience, I’ve recognised an upward tendency of ruthless bus drivers...
- Nguyen Tuyet May,Viet Nam: In my opinion, buses in Viet Nam, as well as other public transportation, are convenient for travelling, especially on a hot, sunny or rainy day... (Video from YouTube, by s0nicdeathmunky - February 16, 2008: "Bus - Vietnam to Cambodia" - The sights and sounds of the bus trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh)

Labels: passengers complains

9.6.08

COMPLAINS * Canada - Suburban transit users spin wheels

Bus-stop delays; Rush-hour travel can be trying for passengers when no bus lanes exist. Off hours? Don't ask

Montreal,QBC,CAN -The Gazette, by JAMES MENNIE -June 3, 2008: -- ... The city of Montreal is to unveil its 20-year, $8-billion transportation plan this week, and make public an environmentally friendly blueprint that theoretically will lure commuters away from their cars... The equation consists of improving the quality and frequency of on-island public transit, while re-establishing tolls on bridges in an effort to reduce the 1.2 million automobile trips made daily to and from the city by suburban motorists - a number that increased by 41,000 between 2003 and 2006... But off-hour, suburban transit - on Montreal Island or in the 450 area code surrounding it - is where die-hard commuters are forged, not bred... While waits for buses on residential routes in Laval still vary from 20 to 40 minutes, commuters now have the option of driving to one of the three subway stations, then continuing to Montreal underground... Laval transit authorities calculate that 2,000 of the 30,000 commuters who use the line daily are new users of the public transit system. Before the stations opened, public transit ridership in Laval was pegged at 25,000 people a day... (Photograph by : MARCOS TOWNSEND/The Gazette - Commuters wait for their buses yesterday at the RTL bus terminal in Brossard. Off peak hours, suburban riders face long waits.)

Labels: passengers complains

15.5.08

COMPLAINS * Australia - A busway that needs buses

Brisbane's new busway is at risk of becoming a $333 million white elephant because City Hall is struggling to find enough buses to service it

Brisbane,Australia -The Courier Mail, by Alison Sandy- May 14, 2008: -- ... Lord Mayor Campbell Newman yesterday admitted the city's bus network would be stretched to the limit when the Inner Northern Busway opened on Monday... The withdrawal of more than 60 buses over the past few weeks has put the bus system in crisis, with the council being forced to bring in vandalised buses to try to make up the shortfall... The INB was meant to take the pressure off. But, with commuters already experiencing delays, fears are held that the opening of the busway could make things worse... Cr Newman said there were more buses on the road than ever before and the difficulty was increased passenger numbers... Only 18 of the 63 buses that were taken off the road following a gas bottle explosion have been returned after it was revealed the council had not followed appropriate safety checks... Opposition Transport spokeswoman Victoria Newton said the bus network couldn't cope, with the number of overcrowded buses trebling last month, compared to the same time last year...

Labels: passengers complains

2.5.08

COMPLAINS * UK - "TfL would have to be stupid not to replace the 29 bus"

’‘Overcrowded, unsafe, inconvenient’ – councillors and passengers list borough’s worst buses

London,UK -The Camden New Journal, by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS -1 May 2008: -- Transport for London (TfL) have been urged to improve safety and conditions on the borough’s buses after councillors highlighted three bus routes as cause for concern... Conservative councillor Kirsty Roberts raised the issue in front of the full council, singling out number 29 bus and the 46 last month... She later said she was also worried about the 24, with youth disorder apparently increasing on buses in Hampstead...

Labels: passengers complains

15.3.08

PASSENGERS COMPLAINS * Dubai - Senior citizens face harassment in buses

Senior citizens have expressed concern that they were getting a raw deal in city bus services

Dubai,United Arab Emirates -SahilOnline/S.O. News service, by I.G. Bhatkali -12 march 2008: -- ... They rued that in most of the buses; very often the seats reserved for senior citizens were occupied by others and requested to conductors fell on deaf ears... Many commuters complained at the Transport Adalat held here at RTO office on Tuesday that conductors in city buses were not issuing tickets after taking money... Another complaint was the reckless driving and over speeding. She assured the public that though timings were scheduled for city buses, she would ensure that buses do not ply on high speed... The City Bus Owner's Association office-bearers, bus agents, drivers and conductors association office-bearers were also present...

Labels: passengers complains

10.3.08

TOURIST COMPLAINS * Malta - Tales from the buses

Valletta,Malta -Times of Malta, by Brian Simmons (Birchington, UK) -8 March 2008: -- ... I have some questions about the transport system and wonder if anyone can enlighten me... Firstly, I appreciate that the transport system in Malta is, in the main, rather good and quite cheap, especially when compared with the UK... It seems that I should not experience these in Malta, but it seems that no one cares, especially ADT... On a bus journey from Valletta the driver was most pleasant but then lit up a cigarette, made a telephone call and attempted to stop the bus at that stop while still juggling the phone and cigarette... On another, the driver lit up the first cigarette before leaving Valletta. He left this burning in the bus (his window was shut, so the smoke drifted throughout the bus) while he stopped, not for passengers, but to get a cheesecake, which he then ate while dawdling along... On another occasion, the driver took the 27 bus route, as he was engrossed in conversation, yes, with an inspector, and had to double back!... On another journey a young driver was making and receiving a series of text messages after leaving Sliema Strand on a direct bus... Finally, a suggestion. There is much confusion about the cost of direct buses for both locals and tourists. I assume that it would not be practical to prefix the numbers in some way, so why not produce a small notice stating, for example: "Direct Bus minimum fare €1.16 for any distance" that could be fixed to the windscreen?...(Video from YouTube, by wyllieohagan - January 16, 2007: "Malta Bus Brum Brum" jump up and down in your seat, say brum brum and you're off on a bumpy ride. Video made by London based artists Wyllie O Hagan)

Labels: passengers complains

26.2.08

Riders complain * USA - School activity buses are freezing

Coach tells of windows that won't close, broken heaters

Palmer,AK,USA -The Anchorage Daily News (subscription) (Anchorage,AK,USA), by MELODIE WRIGHT February 22nd, 2008: -- Cold buses were the topic of hot conversation at Wednesday's meeting of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board... Students described for board members long trips through cold nights, huddled in down sleeping bags against the frigid air inside their bus... Wasilla High School basketball coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax led the girls' basketball team to a state-championship last year and continues to coach one of the state's most successful teams... She described freezing conditions, bus windows that don't close, delays due to drivers who became lost, broken heaters and lack of storage for gear...

Labels: passengers complains