School Buses Now Can Take Photos of Passing Cars

Posted by Jeff adams - Thursday, September 29, 2011

School bus

A new state law may make it easier to catch drivers who neglect school bus stop signs.

The law allows school districts to voluntarily install automated camera systems on school buses. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is revising its School Bus Specifications Manual to include the new law.

A public meeting on the revisions will be held at 2 p.m., Oct. 7, 2011, in the OSPI building in Olympia.

Substitute Senate Bill 5540, passed by the 2011 Legislature, allows the use of cameras on school buses to identify vehicles illegally passing school buses when students are entering or leaving those buses. The law restricts the camera system to only take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate and not of the driver or any passengers.

The camera systems must be approved by a majority vote of school board members before they can be installed.

Fines from tickets generated through the cameras are identical to fines given by police officers (currently $394). The revenue generated from the automated tickets may be used to offset the cost of the purchase of the camera system and for administrative costs. Any funds remaining are returned to the school district to be used for school zone safety projects.

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'The Magic School Bus': Still rolling after 25 years

Posted by Jeff adams - Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Magic School Bus
After 131 titles, including TV tie-in editions, The Magic School Bus, a kids series featuring an unflappable teacher, Ms. Frizzle, who leads field trips to places like the solar system, the past or inside the human body, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

A look at the numbers behind the series, aimed at readers 7 to 10, written by Joanna Cole, a former school librarian and book editor, and illustrated by Bruce Degen:

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Asia Pacific air travel maintains solid growth pattern

Posted by Jeff adams - Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Air Travel

ASIA PACIFIC. International passenger numbers carried by Asia Pacific-based airlines hit 17 million in August, a +3.9% increase over the same period in 2010, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

International passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, grew by +5.3%, reflecting good demand on long-haul routes. Available seat capacity grew by +6.0%, resulting in a slight 0.6 percentage point fall in the average international passenger load factor to 79.3%.

For the region's carriers, international air cargo demand, expressed in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), was -5.8% lower compared to the same month last year.

AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman said: “For the first eight months of the year, Asia Pacific based airlines carried 126 million passengers, +3.5% up on the same period last year. However, air cargo demand remains relatively weak compared to last year's strong performance, with a -3.8% decline in freight traffic for the first eight months of this year.”

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Local teen travels to China for study

Posted by Jeff adams - Monday, September 26, 2011

Travel to China

Max Drach, 17, of Wilmington, is no stranger to traveling for his education. Two years ago he left home to enroll as a freshman at Phillips Exeter Academy, a boarding school in New Hampshire.

This summer he extended his education by traveling more than 8,000 miles from Wilmington to attend a six-week program to learn Mandarin Chinese, the standard language of China.

His destination was Chengdu, a city of more than 7 million people in southwest China.

Drach was awarded one of 650 National Security Language Initiative for Youth Scholarships for 2011-12. He joined 15 other scholarship winners studying Mandarin and Chinese culture in Chengdu.

The merit-based scholarship, funded by the State Department, covered all program costs, including travel, tuition and day-to-day expenses.

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Metro riders return slowly

Posted by Jeff adams - Sunday, September 25, 2011

Metro Riders

When Metro axed the Eureka Express bus in 2009, Mary Bolte and nine other regular riders temporarily paid a limo service to shuttle them back and forth to work until the line was restored several months later.

"It was pretty nice," said Bolte, a longtime bus rider who lives in Fenton. "We had happy hours — especially Friday nights — and watched TV."

When the express bus returned later that year, she and others did, too. Still, she added, there are people who left for good.

Overall, Metro has seen only modest growth in passenger boardings since March 2009 transit service cuts led to massive ridership losses. Passenger boardings on Metro buses, MetroLink and Call-A-Ride collectively grew to nearly 43 million during the 12-month period ending June 30.

While that was a near 6 percent bump compared with the previous one-year period, it is still well below the 53.8 million boardings during the year ending June 30, 2008. Because some passengers board multiple trains or buses during a single trip, the counts are inflated somewhat.

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Burnett Transit Bus service grows with community support

Posted by Jeff adams - Thursday, September 22, 2011

Bus Service

Since 1954, Spencer children have ridden to and from school on Burnett Transit buses. Over the years, the company has expanded to deliver service to Marshfield's Catholic schools, Abbotsford schools and the Mosinee school district.

Combination of work ethic, community and bank support and business vision have enabled the company to grow in a down economy, said Joe Burnett, second generation owner of Spencer-based Burnett Transit.
Workforce

The Midwest has a reputation for employees with a strong work ethic, which is important to the company's growth, he said.

"But another key thing is that there is no one person here that is any more important than someone else," Burnett said. "There can be no weak link in the chain for success. No one will let anyone fall behind or slack off. This provides a work atmosphere for success."

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Senators focus on GMA travels

Posted by Jeff adams - Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Travels

THE Senate finance committee yesterday skipped the proposed 2012 budget allocation for the Office of the President (OP) and instead bared a 2009 Commission on Audit report that the OP in the previous Arroyo administration racked up unliquidated cash advances in the total amount of P594,040,619.70, mostly on foreign travels .

Appearing before the budget hearing, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa volunteered additional information that while the COA report for 2010 has yet to be released, their internal accounting showed that the OP, as of December 31, 2010, also incurred unliquidated cash advances totaling P571,190,306.

"This shows the impunity and disregard of the previous administration to what was appropriated and an abuse of (the Arroyo administration’s) fiscal authorization (given by Congress)" said Sen. Franklin Drilon, finance committee chairman.

Drilon, an administration ally, disclosed that in 2009, the OP was only appropriated P30 million in travel expenses but disbursed a total of P848 million for foreign travel and P92.5 million in local trips. As of August this year, Drilon said, the amount of unliquidated disbursements included P367 million in cash advances.

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NZ junior cyclists impress at world champs

Posted by Jeff adams - Monday, September 19, 2011

cyclists

New Zealand riders Jason Christie and Georgia Williams have made strong starts to the world road cycling championships in Copenhagen.

Christie (Ashburton) and Williams (Auckland) placed sixth in the time trials of the men's under-23 and junior women's events, respectively, through the streets of downtown Copenhagen, the opening races of this year's world championships.

Christie, 20, was 12th through the first time check and worked his way to ninth fastest after the first lap at the 17.6km mark. He continued to lift his pace to improve to sixth in 44 minutes 47.61 seconds for the 35.2km test won by Luke Durbridge, a member of Australia's world champion team pursuit combination on the track earlier this year, in a stunning 42:47.13.

The Ashburton rider was pleased with his performance in tricky conditions.

''It was pretty good. I think it could have been a little bit better but I am happy with sixth in the world for under-23s. I can't complain with that,'' Christie said.

There was plenty of support for the riders in the opening races of the world championships in the cycle-centric city where 60 per cent of the population ride bikes, most of them as their primary means of daily transport.

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Travel Vietnam and Cambodia in luxury with APT

Posted by Jeff adams -

travel vietnam

APT’s 18-day tour of Indochina is a remarkable adventure on which you will enjoy unparalleled standards of luxury. Combining 11 nights of guided touring and a seven-night river cruise, you will discover a vibrant, exotic culture, beautiful scenery and remarkable historical relics – including many places that are accessible only by water.

In Vietnam and Cambodia, APT offers two intimate vessels. MS La Marguerite is one of the finest ships on the Mekong, with just 46 suites and an elegant art nouveau-inspired design. This year, she is joined by the newly launched MS AmaLotus, an equally luxurious vessel with 62 suites.

On board, you’ll enjoy excellent cuisine and the attention of a knowledgeable APT tour director – local to the area and who speaks fluent English. They remainon hand to ensure that your holiday goes smoothly.

Shore excursions are led by expert local guides and conducted in groups of no more than 25, so you can be sure of individual attention and can immerse yourself fully in the culture of the places visited. What’s more, the price of the cruise includes all soft drinks, beer and spirits on board, plus wine at lunch and dinner and all tips.

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Parents Bus Tour

Posted by Jeff adams - Wednesday, September 14, 2011

bus
On yesterday a group of parents, educators, community leaders, and more participated in the Parent Power Express Bus Trip, a two-day, 9 stop bus tour which involved cities/towns from San Diego to Sacramento, CA.

The event was co-sponsored by The Parent Revolution and the Los Angeles View Park Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). The bus tour’s mission was to highlight the organization efforts of parents throughout the state, on how they are utilizing the new “Parent Trigger Law” to help improve their children’s low-performing schools. The tour started with a breakfast workshop in San Diego.

This writer picked up the tour in South Central Los Angeles when they arrived at the home of a Woodcrest Elementary Parent. At that location a group of the school’s parents (from Woodcrest) hosted a presentation on the local school district’s Public School Choice program. Some of the parents also shared information on what they perceived to be obstacles to their students receiving a quality education – and some solutions. In addition this group of parents has formed their own independent parent organization.

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Duncan Talks Back-To-School Bus Tour

Posted by Jeff adams - Tuesday, September 13, 2011

school bus
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan just returned from a three-day bus tour of schools in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and other cities that are struggling economically. He speaks with host Michel Martin about his tour and how investing in schools relates to President Obama's jobs plan.

MICHEL MARTIN, host: I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. The school year is just beginning and already some students are learning hard lessons. At the University of Akron, an email meant to advise black male students on how to deal with the police has sparked an uproar. We'll hear from a critic of the email plus a university official who is himself a black man about why he thought the email was tough to swallow but necessary. But first, a newsmaker interviewer with the secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.

He started this school year by heading back to class himself. As part of his back to school bus tour, the secretary has met with students, teachers, and administrators in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and other schools in the Great Lakes region to drive home the message that, quote, "education is the economic strategy for the 21st century." The bus tour wrapped up this past weekend. We caught up with Secretary Duncan earlier and he joined us from his Washington, D.C. office.

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China's Largest Bus Manufacturer Selects Maxwell Technologies'

Posted by Jeff adams - Monday, September 12, 2011

Bus Manufacturer

Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL) announced today that Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. (Yutong), China's largest bus manufacturer, has selected Maxwell ultracapacitors for energy storage and power delivery in fuel-efficient, low-emission, diesel-electric hybrid buses that Yutong is producing for public transit agencies worldwide.

Yutong's hybrid drive system incorporates 16 of Maxwell's 48-volt ultracapacitor modules to support braking energy recuperation and torque assist functions that enable hybrid transit buses to achieve fuel savings and CO2 emission reduction of approximately 25 percent and reduce particulate emissions by up to 90 percent compared with conventional diesel buses.

"Ultracapacitors' ability to charge and discharge rapidly enables them to efficiently capture regenerative braking energy and provide instant power for acceleration," said Wang Feng, Yutong's overseas marketing director. "In addition, their long operational life and minimal maintenance requirements in demanding public transit operating conditions make ultracapacitors a very cost-effective energy storage solution for hybrid buses."

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NSW Govt faces transport pressure

Posted by Jeff adams - Thursday, September 08, 2011

Transport

The New South Wales Government is facing a three-pronged attack over its transport policies.

At the top of the list are reports that Cabinet is considering a proposal to overhaul security arrangements on the state's rail network.

The state's 600 transit officers would be sacked.

Instead the number of police dedicated to transport duties would be doubled from 300 to 600.

Transit officers have more limited powers to arrest and demand identification from passengers, and are armed only with a baton.

The position was created in 2002 because of concerns about private security guards who were then patrolling trains.

Opposition spokeswoman Penny Sharpe says fewer staff would put safety at risk.

"The question is, who is best to do the security? There are currently dedicated staff who have provided that role," Ms Sharpe said.

In early 2009 there were reports the then Labor government considered a very similar proposal.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian, then in opposition, condemned the prospect of any cut to security resources.

Back in the present, Ms Sharpe has also taken aim at the Government over legislation giving freight trains priority over passenger services, and the time-line for extending the Sydney Light Rail network.

An extension of the tram system further into the city's inner west, from the current final stop at Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill, was to have been completed by the end of next year.

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Google internet awareness bus arrives on 40-day tour

Posted by Jeff adams - Wednesday, September 07, 2011

google

An internet bus introduced by the Google arrived here on Tuesday and will travel across the state touching several towns in Gaya, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Nalanda, Bhojpur, Katihar, Saran and Purnia districts in the next 40 days.

Commenting on the journey of the internet bus which began from Tamil Nadu in February 2009, Google India managing director (R&D) Peeyush Ranjan said here on Tuesday, "The internet has positively touched the lives of more than 100 million people in India. It has been very exciting to see people from different walks of life visit the bus and learn about what internet could do for them."

He said that the bus has created interest among the people of 10 states covering more than 2,000 locations and touching the lives of more than 56 lakh people across 120 towns. "Surveys have indicated that more than 15 lakh people have gone online for the first time after visiting the bus," Ranjan said and added, "We hope to create awareness about the internet and believe that continuous efforts will enable the common man to utilize the power of knowledge and information for economic prosperity."

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PIPE SUPPORTS & EQUIPMENT SUPPORT SADDLES

Posted by Jeff adams - Tuesday, September 06, 2011

saddles

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If you need help with the form, call us at 877-302-8911. Learn more about wood support saddles.

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Jeju City to trial tour bus service next month

Posted by Jeff adams - Monday, September 05, 2011

Tour_bus

Starting Oct. 1, Jeju City will begin a trial run for a bus that will make stops at tourist attractions within the city.

According to Jeju City Hall, it will run 10 times a day from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. starting from the Jeju City Bus Terminal and stopping at 14 places.

The bus route will include the Jeju Starlight World Park and Planetarium, Saryuni forest road, Jeju Stone Park, Julmul Nature forest lodge, Roe Deer Observation Path, Port, Dong, Seomun market, Yongduam and Jeju International Airport among other destinations.

It will take approximately an hour and a half to travel the entire route.

A bus ticket will cost 5,000 won for adults, 3,000 won for elementary, middle, and high school students, disabled and armed forces veterans. The ticket enables the holder to stop as many times as they wish during the day of purchase.

The trial will run until November, and Jeju City is planning to re-run the service from March to May next year, analyze the outcome, and look to ways to privatize it.

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Go Ahead profits up as bus travel booms

Posted by Jeff adams - Sunday, September 04, 2011

bus travel

PUBLIC transport firm Go Ahead Group said profits rose 14% in its last financial year, adding that its performance was “in line with expectation”.

The Newcastle business said a profit rise to £115.1m and a 6% jump in revenue from £2,167m to £2,297m was “further evidence of consumers switching from cars to public transport”.

The company is one of the largest bus operators in the UK, with around 21% of the market share in London, and has a 65% majority holding in Southern, Southeastern and London Midland rail franchise operator Govia.

Pre-tax profit for the year to July 2 was up 11.3% from £87.7m to £97.6m, and the company added the new financial year had “started well”.

Chairman Sir Patrick Brown said: “Despite facing challenging economic conditions in the last 12 months and the adverse weather in the first half of the year, all of our operations have seen growth in like-for-like passenger revenue and passenger journeys.

“Our bus and rail operations remain fundamentally strong and have benefited from passengers leaving their cars at home and choosing better value public transport alternatives.”

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