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Do you believe in aliens? Seriously, do you? I don’t. I mean, if they haven’t got here by now having monitored us for millennia or whatever, knowing we have binoculars, the internet, pretty acceptable beer worldwide and BBQ skills the envy of the other galaxies – trust me, ‘they ain’t comin’. That said, I kind of do hope they exist and do come – even the bad ones – because they might have a better chance of solving current world problems one way and getting us back out of this heap. No matter how you look at it, the current Covid-19 pandemic has, is and will be inflicting pain into most of the global community. That’s fact. The business world is having to adapt at record pace and many may…
A ‘LEAN PHILOSOPHY’ implemented under Volgren CEO Thiago Deiro since assuming the role a year ago has timed well for recent risk assessment and operating procedure upgrades, which prioritise employee safety, the company reports. With a range of further action plans underway to turn Volgren facilities into a better and safer place to work, insiders say Deiro’s company transformation is well underway. Taking over as chief executive officer of Volgren in April 2019, Deiro immediately began to talk about making the production line flow more smoothly. He publicly declared that his company needed to remove waste, to concentrate on safety, quality, delivery and cost, and to eliminate “disturbances on the line”. Almost a year into the job, he has turned his rhetoric into results, the company confirms. The desire to…
A LONGER range, even smaller carbon footprint – from energy source to on-road use – plus full bio-diesel compatibility are striking hallmarks of Volvo’s latest ‘S-Charge’ self-charging hybrid electric bus, announced for Australia recently. Officially known as the Volvo B5L S-Charge this self-charging bus with hybrid power is an upgrade of the company’s original hybrid electric bus, whose new capabilities mean it can now drive silently and emission-free on electricity at higher speeds and cover longer distances than ever, Volvo states. The B5L S-Charge delivers an environmentally sustainable electric solution to the Australian market that is ready to be deployed immediately – without the need to wait for additional infrastructure to be built, the company explains. “The new S-Charge model is one of Volvo’s cleanest buses and will reduce the…
NEW ZEALAND bus operator Go Bus is now essentially in the new ownership hands of Skybus-rebrand Kinectic, making the leading and fastest growing mass transit operator the “…largest bus mass transit operator by owned fleet in Australasia,” it’s been announced, recently. With 29 depots and more than 1,700 vehicles operating from Auckland to Invercargill, Go Bus is New Zealand’s largest and most diverse operator of passenger service vehicles, Kinetic explains. Go Bus provides urban and school services under long-term contracts to more regional authorities in New Zealand than any other operator, together with regional school bus and special needs transport for the Ministry of Education, and charter services under the Go Bus and Johnston’s brands, it says. The company joins Kinetic’s growing mass transit platform that includes Queensland bus operators…
PUBLIC TRANSPORT operator Transit Systems is building up its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities through a telecoms and cloud overhaul, according to its service provider, recently. Transit Systems – the largest operator of metropolitan public bus services in Australia, it states – is now able to, “… monitor, analyse and take action on live data as NBN migration continues and privatisation drives enhanced technology,” states Macquarie Telecom, part of Macquarie Telecom Group. Macquarie’s mobile SIM cards are being used across Transit Systems’ entire staff to monitor data including driver performance, acceleration, ticketing information, engine diagnostics and more in real time, explains MAQ. This data is fed into Macquarie’s data centres and cloud services, which power AI for deep analysis and insights to improve the transport network, it adds. “Historically, a bus…
CHINESE BUS manufacturer Yutong’s Australian-based operations has added to its ‘official’ Yutong Bus Centre strategy by opening a Brisbane dealership, it’s announced recently. At a time of launching its new-look website (www.yutong.com.au) and six months after opening its factory-owned Victorian dealership – to service Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania – Yutong Australia’s own Brisbane dealership has started, effective March 1, 2020. Heading up operations at the new Brisbane outlet – located at 53 Kenway Drive, Underwood – is Barry Henderson, who has a wealth of bus experience and knowledge and has worked with the Yutong brand for nine years, Yutong Australia confirms. Henderson has been involved in the industry for 42 years, starting as a bus driver before working in operations and management of coach tour company Tropic Wings, based…
