The first buses have begun rolling out of Optare’s new bus assembly plant at Sherburn-in-Elmet, Yorkshire.

The inaugural vehicle to leave the plant was an Optare Versa for delivery to Go North East - one of a batch of 20 being taken by the operator. Final finishing of the vehicle was carried out in Sherburn.

Progressive transfer of production from Optare’s existing site at Leeds started at the beginning of August with the move of finishing shop activities and predelivery inspection leading to final dispatch of buses now taking place directly from the new plant.

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Three vehicles were destroyed and others extensively damaged following rioting in London before disorder spread across cities in the Midlands and the north west of England, severely affecting operators.

Rioting in Tottenham on Monday evening (August 8) spread to other areas of London and by Tuesday night (August 9) was causing disruption and damage to vehicles in urban areas across England.

In Tottenham, an Arriva DAF ALX400 double decker was set alight and completely destroyed and as rioting spread to other areas, services such as First’s Hackney Central D6 were attacked by rioters, causing extensive damage.

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Cambridgeshire’s new guided Busway has seen high demand following its opening on August 7. During the first seven days of the route connecting Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge, Stagecoach and Whippet saw a total of 55,895 passenger trips.

Busway officials are pleased with the initial passenger numbers, but have warned it will take a number of months before the real benefits can be assessed as commuters seeking to avoid the busy A14, are expected to begin using The Busway next month after summer break.

Operators have seen large numbers of people using the route into Cambridge, but businesses in the market towns of St Ives and Huntingdon have also been boosted by the number of people travelling out from Cambridge.

 

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The Kent Messenger newspaper joined Eurolines managing director John Gilbert to unveil a new coach service linking Kent with Dunkerque, Ghent and Brussels.

To mark the occasion, Eurolines arranged for the coach to feature special ‘Kent Messenger’ branding to help promote the region across Europe.

The new service operates daily from Gillingham and means over 100 European destinations are now available from Kent by coach – including Paris, Amsterdam and Bruges. The Eurolines service picks up from various locations across Kent including Canterbury Bus Station, Dover Eastern Docks and Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Stop 24 before crossing the channel via ferry or Eurotunnel. Return fares to Brussels, Ghent, Lille or Dunkerque start from £39.

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New coaches provide fastest public transport link between Caithness and Inverness

Stagecoach announced investment of over £1.5m in a fleet of new coaches providing a boost for public transport in the Caithness area, in the Far North of Scotland. The six new Plaxton coaches were officially unveiled at Thurso Castle on July 25 and operate on the X99 service between Inverness and Caithness. Each vehicle is fitted with a toilet, a special wheelchair lift for easy boarding and CCTV for passenger safety and security.

 

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UK Bus Awards presenter Stephanie Flanders has said UK economy growth figures out last week, were far below ideal but not disappointing due to low expectations.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and grew by 0.5% in the previous three months, but contracted by 0.5% in the last three months of 2010. Growth in the UK economy slowed in the three months to June 30, partly because of the extra bank holiday in April.

The ONS said growth had also been slowed by some other one-off factors, including the effects of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

 

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CBS Outdoor UK and Google are running a campaign on London’s double decker buses to launch Google Transit, a new service on Google Maps.

The new service allows Londoners to access local public transport directions to plan trips using tube, bus, and DLR routes around the Greater London area from their home, office or mobile device.

The routing information in Google Maps with public transport directions is provided by Transport for London (TfL), which becomes one of the first agencies in a major European city to make its timetable information publicly available.

 

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A transport tribunal due to take place in London last week and described by appellant Clayton Jones as a first of its kind for being on grounds of repute, was adjourned until August 10.

The South Wales bus operator told CBW that Nick Jones, Traffic Commissioner (TC) for Wales had alleged Clayton had mislead him in previous public inquiry and called him a "rogue" in his decision letter of April this year.

Clayton, of Heart of Wales Bus & Coach Company, which trades as St Davids Travel, was ordered to pay £9,975 to the Welsh Assembly Government, and its O-licence was revoked with effect from May 1.

 

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