There were 7,708 buses and coaches registered in 2013, down 4.9% on the year before, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Despite this, December saw the fifth consecutive month of growth, with registrations totalling 647, a 55.9% rise on the same month in 2012. Mike Hawes, SMMT […]
BYD ambitions After the main launch event, I joined Isbrand Ho and his team at an informal press briefing at which he revealed more about BYD’s plans and took questions. The company is among the world’s largest manufacturers of rechargeable batteries, with 170,000 employees. Apart from buses, BYD produces taxis and fork lift trucks and […]
Operators As ever there was a lot of movement in the operating world and sadly a number of respected names ceased trading or were bought out. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the sell off by First of all its London operation. That brought a new operator into the capital and the country, Australia’s Transit System […]
Jim Collins From the transport authority to the operator, the next speaker was Jim Collins, Fleet Manager for Go-Ahead. He said the company operates 4,500 buses a day, with an increasing focus on running in dense urban areas. He mentioned that the company is very aware of its social responsibility in the communities and environments […]
Involved Quantum is Q’Straint’s second product release this year, having previously launched a new range of retractors for wheelchair restraint systems in response to the growing weight of wheelchairs. The QRT 550E and QRT 350E are designed and tested to handle loads of up to 200kg and 150kg respectively. The new 5 Series systems are […]
Group Chief Executive of Translink, Catherine Mason, is to leave her post in March 2014 to take up a position in NATS, providers of Air Traffic Management (ATM) services. Catherine said, ‘It is with mixed emotions I am making this move; firstly genuine sadness, I have enjoyed my time in Translink and Northern Ireland. I also […]
Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams have launched their new Transport for Edinburgh brand identity at the tram stop in St Andrews Square. The newly formed Transport for Edinburgh brings Lothian Buses, Edinburgh Bus Tours and Edinburgh Trams together into a combined group with integrated operations and common ticketing. Services such as finance, marketing, human resources […]
Technical visit Having heard the details behind the AutoTram® Extra Grand, conference participants had the opportunity to sample the vehicle at Fraunhofer IVI’s test track in Dresden. Transport to the site was provided by one of DVB’s Citaro Hybrid buses that performed well with a full standing load along the predominantly flat route. The hills […]