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 […]
Anniversaries It was a great year for anniversaries. Sheffield, Northampton, Rotherham and trentbarton, or rather their predecessors, all celebrated a century of operation; Dudleys Coaches celebrated 75 years; Perryman’s, Parry’s and Courtney Coaches celebrated 40, the Mobility Roadshow and Distinctive Systems 30, Anderson Coaches and London Hire 25; Scania and Irizar 20 together and megabus.com […]
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 […]
Electric Bus Operations The final two sessions of the conference featured seven presentations on the operational application of electric buses. The high profile system recently launched in Vienna was described by Peter Wiesinger of Wiener Linien GmbH. Vienna’s extensive tram system circles the city centre, the centre itself being served by four localised bus routes […]