Bus travels, Tour and transport

Christmas travel spending to increase, survey says

Posted by Jeff adams - Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Despite continued high unemployment rates and a volatile stock market, American who plan to travel for the holidays expect to spend up to 43% more this year, according to a new survey.

The online survey released Monday by the American Express credit card company found that the percentage of Americans planning to travel for the holidays will stay about the same as last year.

But the survey also found that those Americans who plan to travel expect to spend about $659 on holiday travel this year, an increase of $200, or 43%, over last year.

Most of the additional spending, according to the survey, will go toward dining out and entertainment.

Although most Americans plan to drive to their holiday destinations, the percentage of travelers who will fly is expected to increase 10% to 36%.

"No matter where consumers choose to go, there is a clear interest in getting more out of travel," said Claire Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of American Express Travel.

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Luxury Travel Ltd’s Special Multi-Country Private Tours in Southeast Asia

Posted by Jeff adams - Friday, October 14, 2011

Luxury Travel Vietnam designs multi-country touring options, invites elite travelers to experience the luxury, food, culture, lifestyle, travel and charm at its finest of five destinations in Southeast Asia with their great selection of multi-country tours, specially designed to show you the unique way of life and the wonderful sights of each country in one journey.

Southeast Asia is a captivating region brimming with intriguing cultures, age-old customs and diverse landscapes. While the cultures and histories of Southeast Asia are intricately woven together, each country retains its own distinct and vibrant traditions.

To truly experience the essence of the region, the best way is to embark on one of the enchanting multi-country tours, this is especially for travelers that come from a longhaul destination. Most of Luxury Travel Company's luxury tours start either from Hanoi/Saigon Vietnam or Bangkok, Thailand.

“Luxury Travel’s multi county tours combine two countries, Vietnam with Cambodia tours, Thailand with Laos Tours, Vietnam with Myanmar or Indochina tours or 5 countries Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand in one trip. With our superb multi-country tour collection, the hardest thing is probably deciding which one to do,” said Pham Ha Founder and CEO of Luxury Travel Vietnam Group Ltd.

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Acropolis closed as Greek strikes spread

Posted by Jeff adams - Thursday, October 13, 2011

Unions and protesters shut down the Acropolis, halted public transport and occupied government buildings on Thursday, intensifying their confrontation with the Greek government as it scrambles to push more painful cuts through parliament.

Greece's largest labor union, the GSEE, sided with protesting public servants and announced plans to strike on Oct. 19 and 20, in opposition to the Socialist government's "ineffective and catastrophic policies," it said.

Stores and even farmers' markets in Athens are also due to close on the first day of the strike.

Public servants are the main targets of new austerity measures, slated for parliamentary approval Oct. 20, that include across-the-board salary cuts, and the suspension of 30,000 workers on the state payroll with reduced salaries.

Pensioners will also see more cuts, and salary earners will pay higher taxes, while parliament has already approved an emergency property tax due to be levies starting this month through electricity bills.

"The recession is deepening, unemployment has rocketed to appalling heights, the economy is collapsing, the living standards of our people has been pushed back decades back," the civil servants' union ADEDY said. "Employees and society are being driven to despair as the (government) pursues its policies that are creating the economic deadlock."

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Bus riders air concerns

Posted by Jeff adams - Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Metro Bus riders tonight complained about decreasing services and vented their frustration over talk of a possible fare increase to cover rising costs and cuts in government subsidies to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.

NFTA Commissioner James J. Eagan assured about 45 residents who attended a question-and-answer forum in the Delavan-Grider Community Center that there are no formal plans to increase fares, but stressed the authority faces enormous fiscal challenges.

"We're facing a $15 million deficit. The NFTA is not a for-profit organization. The [Erie] County Legislature [was] kind enough ... to subsidize us with part of the mortgage tax and part of the sales tax. That helps us tremendously," Eagan said.

All 12 members of the NFTA board were invited to the meeting, organized by County Legislator Betty Jean Grant, D-Buffalo. Eagan was the only one who attended.

" We don't know if there is going to be a fare hike. We don't know if it's going to be a quarter or 50 cents. It's certainly not going to be $1," Eagan said.

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Transport for London boss calls for "a century of cycling"

Posted by Jeff adams - Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), who is also commissioner of Transport for London (TfL), has issued an appeal for “a step change in cycling” in the UK over the next 25 years, which he hopes will deliver a “century of cycling.”

Speaking last week at TfL’s headquarters at 55 Broadway in the inaugural CILT Cycling Lecture, Peter Hendy said that although there was little that could be done about issues such as Britain’s weather, the introduction of “a systematic programme of relatively small and cost-effective measures that will deliver a step-change in cycling in this country over the next 25 years.”

Mr Hendy, himself a keen cyclist, opened his speech by explaining that the fact cycling now had its own CILT Lecture, similar to rail, shipping and aviation, reflected the way in which “cycling is coming to the fore as a transport mode in its own right.”

He went on: “Cycling is a subject that is close to my heart in my dual roles not only as
President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, which enhances the careers of thousands of professionals in the transport sector, but also as this city‟s Transport Commissioner with Transport for London and with a boss who is famously a cycling enthusiast.

“Wearing these two hats – two complementary roles – gives me, I believe, a fascinating and privileged perspective on the growing role of cycling as a 21st century solution within a broad range of public and private transport choices.”

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Transport Bosses Face Quiz On Olympics Traffic

Posted by Jeff adams - Monday, October 10, 2011

Transport bosses are preparing to be quizzed on how they plan to prevent London from grinding to a halt during next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games.

London's transport infrastructure is one of the biggest concerns for the International Olympic Committee, who last week said it was an issue they would "have to follow very cautiously until the end."

The Transport for London commissioner, Peter Hendy, will face questions from the London Assembly about how to ensure the millions of extra visitors expected in the capital can move freely during the Games.

The Olympic Delivery Authority is already predicting delays of over an hour on some of the busiest Tube lines, and has identified 22 travel hotspot areas which will struggle to cope with the increased demand.

Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, told Sky News they would be asking: "Can each area cope with the number of spectators that are going to be visiting?

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Holiday travel popular as ever

Posted by Jeff adams - Sunday, October 09, 2011

A CHRISTMAS venture overseas is still a reality for travellers despite many Australian tourists already finalising their holiday preperations.

A boom period for the travel industry, the Christmas holidays are not out of reach for the last-minute traveller, with bargain hunters still able to secure a value for money deal.

Flight Centre Limited global marketing manager Colin Bowman said there were still plenty of great packages available for people to enjoy outside the peak Boxing Day to New Years Day period.

"With just two months to go to until the peak season, interest has been keen in the traditional international and domestic holiday hotspots," Mr Bowman said.

"While you can still book an airfare or room across the Boxing Day to New Year period, there are much cheaper options available in mid December or early in January.

"The best advice we have for travellers is to lock in a deal now, given that this is traditionally the busiest time of the year.

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Bargain train travel to London and more!

Posted by Jeff adams - Thursday, October 06, 2011

THE Northumberland Gazette has teamed up with East Coast trains to offer readers discounted travel to destinations across the country.

Tokens are appearing in the Gazette and by collecting them you can snap-up East Coast tickets from only £5.50 to York, £12 to London and £4.50 to Edinburgh (all one-way fares travelling from Alnwick or Morpeth).

Two tokens will be available in the Gazette on October 6 and October 13 and one set of four tokens allows up to four people to travel together.

Bookings are made online via a unique booking site detailed below and journeys can be made between October 31 and December 16, for travel on off-peak services with limited availability on Friday and Sunday afternoons.

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Unsustainable bus fares face review

Posted by Jeff adams - Wednesday, October 05, 2011

BUS travel in the Northern Rivers is more expensive than in inner city Sydney, according to the Northern Rivers Social Development Council.

The not-for-profit organis- ation has made a submission to the 2011 review of Rural and Regional Bus Fares which will determine standard bus fares from January 2012.

Social Development Council development and innovation manager Molly Galea said the Independent Pricing and Regu- latory Tribunal review must address the "substantial discrepancies" between bus fares in metropolitan and regional areas.

"The fact that people live in a more sparsely populated area doesn't mean they can afford to pay more, because they can't," Ms Galea said.

"For example, a bus from Parramatta to Sydney is $4.30 but a similar bus trip from Ballina to Lismore is $11.80.

"For people on lower incomes making this journey a couple of times a day, it quickly becomes unsustainable if you are spending $20 a day or $100 a week."

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Gilbert small-business bus tour points out sign woes

Posted by Jeff adams - Monday, October 03, 2011

An overly restrictive sign code is keeping some Gilbert businesses from getting noticed and attracting new customers, owners told town officials during a small-business bus tour Thursday morning.

Town Council members and high-ranking administrators joined the Gilbert Small Business Alliance in visiting several companies to hear their challenges and success stories.

Sign regulations quickly emerged as the dominant issue for the businesses, which included a gas station, property management group, an optometrist and a chiropractor.

Over the past several months, Gilbert officials have worked with businesses in a "stakeholders group" to rewrite much of the town's sign code. The proposed changes go before the council for possible approval next week.

The group included representatives of the Alliance, Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, International Sign Association and others. They met eight times and produced a set of amendments intended to make the code "less onerous" for businesses, according to a town staff report.

But the proposed changes won't resolve some of the concerns officials heard during the Alliance bus tour.

Many of the businesses are tucked away in shopping centers and suffer from visibility problems, owners said. They called on town officials to loosen certain sign regulations to give them greater flexibility in marketing themselves.

Houston-based real-estate company Whitestone REIT in July bought Gilbert Tuscany Village, a shopping center on the northeastern corner of Higley and Guadalupe roads. The retail center is home to Rancho de Tia Rosa restaurant and Salon Di Bella but remains mostly vacant.

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Dial-a-bus scheme pilot

Posted by Jeff adams -

A new pilot dial-a-bus scheme is beginning this week in the South Aberdeenshire Regeneration Priority Area (RPA) which runs from Catterline to St Cyrus.

The 65 Special dial-a-trip is providing a local service for Gourdon and Inverbervie. The bus has been redeployed by Aberdeenshire Councils Public Transport unit, who operate the 65 Special services, and will provide a service into and within Inverbervie every Wednesday.

The bus will offer a demand responsive service picking up passengers at their homes and taking them anywhere in the local community which might include the health centre, Library, shops, or just visiting friends nearby.

Primarily designed for those who are less mobile the service will be provided for anyone in the community with a genuine transport need where suitable public transport is not available. The Wednesday service will also include a morning pick up on demand in Catterline and Kinneff around 9.45am returning around 2.45pm allowing anyone resident in those isolated communities access to Inverbervie for shopping, health visits and social calls.

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School Buses Now Can Take Photos of Passing Cars

Posted by Jeff adams - Thursday, September 29, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 -

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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Bus travels, Tour and transport

Christmas travel spending to increase, survey says

Luxury Travel Ltd’s Special Multi-Country Private Tours in Southeast Asia

Acropolis closed as Greek strikes spread

Bus riders air concerns

Transport for London boss calls for "a century of cycling"

Transport Bosses Face Quiz On Olympics Traffic

Holiday travel popular as ever

Bargain train travel to London and more!

Unsustainable bus fares face review

Gilbert small-business bus tour points out sign woes

Dial-a-bus scheme pilot

School Buses Now Can Take Photos of Passing Cars

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

Asia Pacific air travel maintains solid growth pattern

Local teen travels to China for study

Metro riders return slowly

Burnett Transit Bus service grows with community support

Senators focus on GMA travels

NZ junior cyclists impress at world champs

Travel Vietnam and Cambodia in luxury with APT

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