As operators in North America begin to take delivery on Volvo 9700s, Brad Hunter, general manager of Orion Pacific, a family-owned charter tour operation established in 1985 in Orange, CA, agreed to take the coach on the BUSRide Road Test and offer his objective assessment. Orion Pacific operates a mixed fleet of Prevosts and Van Hools.
ARBOC Mobility, Middlebury, IN, worked eight years to perfect its concept of the low-floor paratransit bus debuted one year ago. The Spirit of Mobility bus begins where minimum ADA requirements end; conceived to provide easy and equal access for all passengers, which certainly includes those using wheelchairs, scooters and walkers.
The National Tour Association (NTA), Lexington, KY, has announced new criteria for participation in its China Inbound Program. In conjunction with the China National Tourism Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce, NTA issued changes in order to ensure Chinese group leisure travelers to the United States have a safe and quality vacation experience.
As pastor of the Terrestrial Temple Church of God In Christ, Muncie, IN, and an active member of the Martin Luther King Dream Team, James Lawson has a keen sense of history and how it can inspire and motivate young people.
Environmental consciousness has a definite effect on corporate policy. Corporate social responsibility programs are transforming forward-looking companies like FirstGroup America, challenging leadership to take a hard look at fuel choices, driving techniques and improved vehicle technology.
I do not need a crystal ball to tell me what comes to mind for most bus company owners when they hear the word compliance. I already know they would say DOT regulations.
The many innovations at the UITP conference and exhibition in June in Vienna, Austria, may have overshadowed the significance of the latest generation of fuel cell bus from Mercedes-Benz.
The advertising industry has its ideas about transit media products, and they are none too rosy according to a new study from the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), Practical measures to increase transit advertising revenues. The belief by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) that motivated this study is public transit agencies could be—and needs to be—benefiting more from their advertising assets.
In unyielding market conditions, bus and motorcoach operators are casting a wide net in an effort to strengthen performance and improve the bottom line. One area executives can make improvements is in commercial insurance programs.
Earlier this year Guide Dogs for the Blind, Concord, CA, took its puppies on its annual extracurricular training mission to The County Connection, for further training and practice on the intricacies of exiting transit buses, how to enter and exit using ramps and lifts. As Guide Dogs for the Blind they will learn to assist their partner, board the bus and take a seat while ignoring any distractions from other passengers or vehicle sounds. County Connection community relations director Marie Knutson says the dogs and trainers are one her favorite groups that visit the transit agency.