Motorcoach financers remind operators to take time to reflect the hard times they have just been through and understand the game has changed. They say money is available, but the path ahead demands sound basic business with accountability like they have never seen. Credit processes are much more stringent than before.
Transit agencies from four separate regions of the country recently reported their plans and proposals to include BRT in their vision to improve public transportation in and around their communities.
There are two main concepts of buses and coaches in Europe. The first is the complete integral vehicle built wholly by one manufacturer such as Setra or Van Hool. The other is the combination of a chassis built by one supplier with bodywork constructed by another.
Rarely does an accident occur at a convenient time or place. How many times has a coach operator answered a call at the worst possible time of the day or night from a driver reporting an accident?
From crashes to enforcement operations, reports indicate there is plenty of room for improvement in ensuring bus operators transport passengers in a safe manner. This industry has always hung its hat on the premise it is the safest form of ground transportation. However, in the mind of the public consumer, events over the past year have assaulted the reputation of motorcoach operators. Well-documented and publicized incidents coupled with the lesser-known and surprisingly high rate of vehicles and drivers placed out-of-service during enforcement blitzes erode the public trust and lend to an adversarial environment for enforcement.
Most state transportation departments that conduct commercial vehicle inspections focus primarily on the vehicle, when in fact vehicular issues represent only 5- percent of all moving violations.
The February launch in British Columbia of the first full-fledged fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses marks a historic turning point in the bus industry.
The outcome of the recent Copenhagen Summit on Global Warming was inconclusive and disappointing. Perhaps, it was not wise to hold the event in the frigid Danish capital.
Peter Pan operates a fleet of 250 coaches averaging six and a half years in age. Over the next few years the company plans to continue updating the entire fleet with the new graphics and update to the interior cabins.
My last column [BUSRide, January-February 2010, Risk Management] focused on the decision many operators could soon face with regard to retrofitting seatbelts to the existing fleet. Such a decision will ultimately come down to several factors that include cost, restraint capabilities, customer demand and risk.