As all-electric buses continue to make greater inroads into the motorcoach and transit industries, the terminology is slowly changing from miles-per-gallon to miles-per-kilowatt. Although the Chinese have been using some form of electric bus for years, an increasing number of agencies in the U.S. are accepting and utilizing all-electric transit vehicles. Fleets now sport sleek, all-electric vehicles with the capacity to save thousands of dollars over a vehicle’s lifetime. Also, technology has improved to the point where recharging can be done in minutes.
The convergence of an Academy Award-winning film and a bus tour operator led to one of the more interesting travel tour destinations in South Dakota. Herman Jones, owner of Mount Rushmore Tours and a reminder of the rugged Old West individualism, forged his longtime dream of building a working town square with the remnants of the original movie set for Kevin Costner’s 1989 film, “Dances with Wolves.”
For years while on his way to work Rick Cibik passed by the yellow school bus parked in the yard of someone’s home on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation northeast of Phoenix, AZ. As general manager of Fort McDowell Adventures, Cibik hit on an idea to put the old bus to use for the company that offers visitors the Wild West experience. Inspired by “The Mexican Bus” he had heard about in San Francisco, Cibik envisioned a moving party bus for corporate events and special occasions.
My passengers have been talking nearly every day about the Megabus accident a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know any more about the accident than what I read in the papers and online, so I’m not in a position to make any judgments about what the driver did or didn’t do. But accidents like this serve as a reminder to all of us drivers that we have to be vigilant at all times when we’re behind the wheel.
Retaining capable bus and coach drivers has always been a major challenge for motorcoach operators. In today’s travel market, however, retaining safe and qualified drivers is no longer enough. The most competent drivers also serve efficiently and effectively as safety experts, schedulers, technicians, ticket-takers, baggage handlers and customer service representatives.
The American Bus Association (ABA), Washington D.C. today released the list of its Top 100 Events in North America for 2011, naming the July 21-24 commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the First Battle of Manassas during the U.S. Civil War the Top U.S. Event, and the Montréal Botanical Garden’s “The Magic of Lanterns” Sept. 9-Oct. 30 the Top Canadian Event.
Vehicle Assist and Automation (VAA) is a guidance technology that provide partial or full control of a vehicle’s movements in the transit industry.
ARBOC Mobility, Middlebury, IN, worked eight years to perfect its concept of the low-floor paratransit bus it calls the Spirit of Mobility, conceived to provide easy and equal access for all passengers. This year ARBOC Mobility is bringing the exclusive features of the Spirit of Mobility to operators in private markets with its introduction of the Spirit LP.
A new American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) grant is providing subsidy for Native Americans residing in northeast Oklahoma. According to the Seneca News-Dispatch, Seneca, MO, as of this summer residents began receiving reduced fares to ride Pelivan Transit and even for free transportation in some travel zones.