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With only two hours’ sleep I was up on a Saturday morning at 4am, packing bags and showered by 5am and at the local train station by 5.15. Luggage and camera gear in hand, the station lift was out of order. Not ideal, but not to worry. First World problems and all. Schlepped it up the stairs not only to discover the lift going down was also stuffed, but that none of the train destos had info on them. That and the big yellow signs pointing to replacement buses down on the street were the giveaway it was train-replacement time. Dang! I must have missed the memo. Not to worry, plenty of time to catch my 8.40am flight to Adelaide from Sydney for the 2019 Bus SA Conference. Too easy.…
MARCOPOLO-OWNED Volgren has begun its move into zero-emission vehicle technology, starting its first ever electric bus production onto a BYD e-bus chassis, it’s reported recently. Touted as Australia’s largest bus body builder, Volgren says its prototype will be completed by the middle of June, 2019, and will include 324kWh of batteries, enabling a range of more than 250 kilometres on a single charge. According to the company, the depleted batteries will take 4-5 hours to fully replenish with the use of a charger, a system commonly known as overnight or depot charging. Volgren Business Development manager Jon Tozer says the company has been investigating electric vehicles for more than five years and the prototype itself has been a full 12 months in the making. “We’ve known for some time that…
TRANSPORT FOR LONDON (TfL) has ordered 20 of the “world first” hydrogen double-decker buses from Wrightbus to “help tackle London’s toxic air”, it’s been announced recently. Arriving next year, the new double-deckers will be introduced on three London bus routes, helping tackle the capital’s air quality crisis, TfL states. The 20 ‘green’ buses – which produce no pollution from their exhausts – are part of TfL’s drive to make London’s transport zero-emission, it says. It follows the introduction of the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone last month. The environment-friendly vehicles will be introduced on routes 245, 7 and N7, with people traveling to Wembley Stadium, or from west London to the West End, able to hop on the new green buses for a smoother and quieter journey, it states.…
DESPITE LOCAL COUNCIL efforts seeking rate-payer support in its quest to garner state government funds to improve its bus services, Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have conceded they’re yet to achieve “any significant upgrades”. According to The MPNews and Southern Peninsula News media outlets, mayor Cr David Gill says despite seven months of lobbying the state government and working closely with bus company Ventura, there have been no improvements. “Our advocacy efforts and those of the community have not resulted in any significant upgrades to bus services on the Peninsula,” Cr Gill said, confirming that 82 per cent of the Peninsula had no public transport. “For $20 million a year we could fix the bus services on the Peninsula. It’s a public service that’s not being provided. “We have got to…
AUCKLAND PUBLIC TRANSPORT has reached a new high with a record number of passengers leaving their cars at home in favour of public transport to get into the north New Zealand city’s centre each morning, according to Auckland Transport (AT). Auckland Transport’s group manager of Metro Services Stacey Van Der Putten says 48 per cent of people used buses, trains and ferries to get into the city between 7am and 9am in March. “This is a new high, up two per cent on February and a six per cent increase on January.” Last month, 767 fewer vehicles drove into the city in the morning, despite 4,000 more people making the trip, AT states. “It’s great that Aucklanders are getting the message that there are options other than driving. In fact,…
AUSTRALIAN BUS OPERATOR Busways has taken another step towards a sustainable future with the installation of solar panels at its Penrith depot, the company has announced. Busways Penrith aims to produce more than 150,000kWh of solar power annually with the installation of its new 99.75kW solar power plant, it states. This amount of power is the equivalent reduction in C02 emissions achieved by 1,754 trees growing to 10 years old, or reducing petrol use by 45,000 litres annually, it explains. The solar panels are REC Twinpeak series panels, an emerging technology that minimises losses across the array. It was installed by 24-Hour Solar Power as Busways moves towards more energy efficient depots. REDUCED IMPACT “When you look at the statistics behind solar panel energy and how much more efficient and…
