News 2020 EN BUS
Customized Bus Service to be Launched Under Beijing Customized Public Transport Initiative
Under the Beijing Customized Public Transport initiative, the first batch of nearly 200 customized buses is expected to be launched for people who resume to work within the urban areas of Beijing on February 27.
Beijing Customized Public Transport initiative, supported by Beijing Public Transport Corporation (BPTC), was established since 2013. The initiative acts as alternative of conventional public transport system to customize its service to riders for various functions such as commuting to work and seeking medical treatment in hospitals. Big data application and smart algorithm are utilized to get insights of riders' needs, which in turns optimizes users' experience under different functions. The operation is mainly run by TUSPASS, a Chinese smart public transport system service provider.
On February 17, BPTC started carrying out surveys on the demand from the users for the upcoming launch of customized bus service. Receiving positive receptions, it has collected applications from more than 10,000 individuals and 300 companies for the customized service since the first day when the application information was announced.
According to individual applications, the areas that are highest in demand for customized bus service include Liyuan, Huilongguan, Tiantongyuan, Changyang, Huangcun and Zhongguancun. For corporate applicants that mainly consist of SMEs, large amount of reservations was made at places where offices gather such as Advanced Business Park, Wangjing Subdistrict and Yizhuang town.
From February 25 (Tuesday) onwards, individuals and companies can start making reservations or buying tickets through a micro-app on the popular social media platform WeChat, according to the company. The planning of bus lines will be completed within five days after integrating the responses from the online reservations.
The bus is only allowed to embark if the number of applicants for the same line and the same timetable can reach half of the bus seats. Adding to that, the bus line will be adjusted or even cancelled if there are not enough number of riders in a shift.
Under this initiative, ¥8 (RM4.81) per person will be charged for travel distance below 20 km. For every increase of 5 km, ¥3 (RM1.80) will be added to the bus fare. Passengers may enjoy a fare discount of 40% for one month since the launch of bus service.
All Nippon Airways Test Runs Autonomous Bus Driving at Haneda Airport
All Nippon Airways Co Ltd (ANA), the largest airline in Japan by revenue and passenger numbers, began trials of an autonomous electric bus at the Haneda International Airport (Haneda Airport) in Tokyo, Japan. In collaboration with SB Drive, BYD, and Advanced Smart Mobility, the test run of the autonomous vehicle was carried out from 22 to 31 January.
The demonstration was conducted to determine a means of transportation for general customers and airport staff within the terminal. The self-driving vehicle was set to navigate itself repeatedly via the same 1.9km route in the restricted area north of Haneda Airport Terminal 2. The route connecting the north and south sides was based on the BYD’s large 57-seater EV bus, K9RA. The test operation was also achieved by using an autonomous driving bus that was modified by Advanced Smart Mobility.
SB Drive, a subsidiary that was founded in 2016 under SoftBank Corp to develop autonomous vehicle technology for public transport, partnered up with ANA two years ago to run driverless bus trials, where the former provided the advanced “Dispatcher” technology designed to detect obstacles in close proximity. For the purpose of preventing any unwanted accidents and the like, the trial K9RA bus at Haneda Airport was equipped with the Dispatcher. The function of this technology allowed for the trial vehicle to detect passengers’ departure before sitting and any movement inside the vehicle while driving, as well as to alert nearby observers and passengers to perform remote monitoring of the bus. Additionally, the Dispatcher allows the remote supervisor to check departure and arrival information from the tour operator and start the autonomous vehicle from the linked smartphone app.
From this demonstration, the vehicle would be assessed on its conditional automation performance with minimum human monitoring. Based on the results of the trial, ANA will decide whether to proceed with the implementation of autonomous transportation at the airport by the end of 2020.
Shinzo Shimizu, Senior Executive Vice President of ANA: “ANA is committed to actively embracing the most innovative technology to improve all aspects of the passenger travel experience. Once fully implemented, the autonomous electric bus will allow us to provide a more convenient transit experience for our passengers while also improving efficiency for our airport staff. As sustainability has always been a priority for ANA, we will continue looking for opportunities to make our products and services more eco-friendly.”
Messe Frankfurt’s Upcoming Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City and Auto Maintenance & Repair Expo to be Rescheduled
Messe Frankfurt has announced that two of the company’s Mobility & Logistics fairs in Asia have been postponed in the wake of the recent Novel Coronavirus outbreak. The two events include Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City (AMHCMC) and the Auto Maintenance and Repair Expo (AMR), which were originally scheduled from 5 to 7 March 2020 in Ho Chi Minh City and 15 to 18 March 2020 in Beijing respectively.
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had listed the recent Novel Coronavirus outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The assessment signifies that the spread of the virus has become a public health risk, thus, the WHO calls for greater international collaboration on disease control.
Following this, Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, urged the public to suspend non-essential crowd gatherings. While in Beijing, the municipality had already declared the highest level of public health emergency on 24 January 2020. The city started to carry out a series of disease prevention and control measures, and advised citizens to avoid going to crowded places or taking part in public activities.
With these measures in place in the fairs’ two host cities, Messe Frankfurt has decided to reschedule AMHCMC and AMR. Updated show dates will be announced in the near future.
Mr Stephan Buurma, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt Group, commented: “As a responsible player in the global trade fair industry, Messe Frankfurt is committed to delivering a safe environment for business exchange across all of our trade shows. Accordingly, the health of fairgoers, contractors and staff is our top priority, and we actively support local governments’ actions to prevent the spread of the virus.”
Asian Buses Wishes You A Happy New Year!
Scania Deploys Human Oriented Approach on Managing Its Workforce
During the tour of Scania Regional Product Centre (RPC) located in Port Klang on 4 February along with Scania Malaysia representatives, the Asian Trucker team was presented how Scania deploys structured yet caring approach on staff management, on top of Scania's smooth manufacturing pipeline to produce trucks of quality.Mr Bala said that there used to be an all-male environment in Scania RPC, but currently they have five female employees on board. He added the fact that they hired an employee who is over 50 years old, which indicates any discrimination such as racism or ageism is not encouraged in Scania especially during the hiring process. Having diversity of workplace as one of the top features in Scania, everyone is hired based on skills regardless of background.
Great Initiatives from Sarawak Government on Improving State Bus Service
In recent months Sarawak has introduced few initiatives to improve its state bus service. In addition to electric bus services established in February 2019, Sarawak lead its path of emission free public transport by launching three China-made hydrogen buses for service starting 22 January (Wednesday) this year. Serving the route that starts and ends at Kuching Waterfront at Jalan Main Bazaar, the bus service is currently free for public to hop on daily from 6am to 6pm.The hydrogen buses are manufactured by Foshan Feichi Automobile Manufacture Co Ltd, one of the leading hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manufacturers in China. Accommodating 30 passengers at one time, each bus can travel up to 300 kilometres per full tank of 20kg hydrogen.
Volvo Buses present at Busworld South East Asia 2019
At Busworld South East Asia 2019, Volvo Buses will be showcasing three of its product; the Volvo B11R, B8R and B8RLE. After 10 years of absence from the Indonesian bus market, Volvo Buses are proud to announce their come back at the upcoming bus exhibition, Busworld South East Asia 2019. There, Volvo buses will be launching their premium product range, bringing the successful experience from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and many other Asian countries to Indonesia.Volvo Buses first entered the Indonesian bus market as early as the 1980’s, with 320 double-decker city buses sold under the Ministry of Transport acquisition program from 1981 to 1984. Thanks to these iconic units, the people of Indonesia have continued to remember the Volvo brand. Units which were sold prior, such as the Volvo B7R, continue to be used for inter-city routes and to transport workers in the mining industries.
Volvo Buses look forward to building relationships with Indonesian bus operators and rebuilding the renown Volvo brand in Indonesia
Volvo B11R
The Volvo B11R features; 6x2 axles with full air suspension, a 370 Hp engine and a 6-speed full auto gearbox with built in retarder. The vehicles are designed with high floors for better passenger access through the elevated corridor. This configuration is known locally as “maxibus” and -could accommodate up to 90 passengers.
The Volvo B8R range presents two models. The Volvo B8R, which is a 4x2, high floor vehicle - suitable for school, charter & long distance, as well as high floor route operation and the Volvo B8RLE which features a low entry - ideal for urban traffic environments with high capacity.
ComfortDelGro Launches Anti-Collision Bus
ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest unscheduled bus operator recently rolled out four Volvo B8R 49-seater buses which feature a Driver Support System that comes with a built-in Collision Warning and Emergency Brake (CWEB). The bus is equipped to brake automatically and come to a stop if it “senses” that a collision is about to happen.
This is how it works: A radar-based sensor and a camera are activated once the bus accelerates past 15km/h. When it detects a potential collision with another vehicle, the system alerts the driver through a blinking red light on the dashboard and a beeping sound. If the driver still does not respond, the system immediately initiates soft braking before applying full braking power to bring the bus to a complete stop before any collision happens. The system also comes with a lane assist function that alerts the bus driver when the bus veers into other lanes. Similarly, the braking system kicks in if it senses a frontal collision threat.
Mr Pang Weng Heng, CEO of ComfortDelGro Bus said: “As a private bus operator, safety is key. With its ability to intervene and stop the bus before a frontal collision happens, Volvo’s CWEB feature is a welcomed safety enhancement that will help our bus drivers avoid critical situations and accidents.”
As there are plans to purchase more of such buses over the next two years, six ComfortDelGro Bus drivers have undergone training about the in-built CWEB feature. Amongst them is Mr Lim Chye Whatt, ComfortDelGro Bus driver of 17 years. “I think these features are helpful as it alerts me when I am not keeping to my lane. But of course, at the end of the day, as a driver, I need to be aware of my surroundings and not just rely on the machine” said the 56 year old.
SITCE 2020: People as Focus for Developing Urban Mobility
Themed “Heartbeat of Mobility”, LTA-UITP Singapore International Transport Congress & Exhibition (SITCE) 2020 will put its focus on human-oriented approach in ensuring the sustainability of urban mobility development, while at the same time, recognising the importance of technical aspects in public transport systems, such as infrastructure connectivity and speed.
