My last vehicle launch of 2013 was TfL’s new BYD e-bus and at the press lunch that followed it Isbrand Ho, General Manager BYD Auto Europe, said that now was ‘the Kodak moment’ for the European bus manufacturing industry. It was a reference to the once all-powerful film manufacturer’s refusal to take seriously the threat […]
Enhancing its profile Despite sharing a building, MasterPart is a separate company to Johnson Bros and is effectively a tenant, hiring space from the operator’s premises. The storerooms it is hiring have been well stocked, filling up considerably since my last visit, a sure sign of an even busier operation. This facility is proving big […]
Refurbishment The current fleet strength stands at 87 the majority of which are PSVAR compliant and therefore ready for when DDA accessibility becomes a legal requirement. There are still 23 exceptions which do not comply, most of which are 1999/2000 Dart Sprytes though there is also a batch of three Optare DB250LFs and the last […]
The Friends of King Alfred Buses’ annual Winchester Buses Running Day has become a New Year’s Day institution over the past 30 years. What started in 1983 with just two buses, a King Alfred Leyland Tiger Cub and a former Paris bus offering a free service, developed until over 30 buses and coaches were providing […]
On 18 December, following consultation with the finance company that underwrites its VOSA financial standing and invoice discounting facilities, a decision was made for Classic Bus North West Ltd (CBNW Ltd) to suspend trading. The routes being operated on the CBNW Ltd licence were therefore suspended, affecting services 80 (Blackpool-Poulton-Preston) and the Red Rocket Express […]
One of the simple measures of the strength of a country’s economy is the number of tower cranes and new multi-story buildings under construction. Istanbul is booming and spreading on both sides of the Bosphorus. A new rail tunnel link has just been opened under the waterway, and a third bridge will be built to […]
Operators of all sizes are invited to enter their technicians in the IRTE Skills Challenge as the event returns for its fourth year of competition. Pioneered by IRTE (Institute of Road Transport Engineers), one of the most respected names in UK transport, it is aimed directly at technicians from the bus and coach industry. It […]
Director of Carmarthenshire based Taf Valley Coaches, Clive Edwards, is to make a TV appearance on the Welsh language channel, S4C, on 17 January at 19.35. He is to appear in an episode of Cefn Gwlad. The show gets an inside view of his day job running a rural coach operation, as well as his […]