London bus users now have an alternative to topping up their Oyster card or having the right change with the introduction of MasterCard PayPass technology using contactless bank cards. From December, they have been able to pay with a contactless MasterCard or Maestro card, charged the same fare as Oyster for pay-as-you-go tickets, rather than the more expensive cash fare. Marion King who heads MasterCard’s UK & Ireland operation said, “travellers can now pay for their travel...

Trains, metros, buses and trams are more than a transport mode. They provide a very significant social environment too. The quality of the experience people have when travelling - space, comfort, temperature and personal security - are some of the key issues determining willingness to use public transport, particularly amongst women. Recent incidents suggest that there could be new problems emerging here. Rape and murder, as happened to a young women on a bus in Delhi might be an extreme...

Public address and voice alarm specialist ATEÏS-Group have switched their UK activities away from ATEÏS UK to a new partner and distributor Fuzion. The new Walton on Thames based agents are professionals in audio distribution and system design including after-sales service and support, with almost 20 years of experience in the professional audio field. Fuzion’s drafting and rack-building facilities enable them to provide service from the drawing board to final commissioning....

The digital revolution has unlocked a rush of new information systems that offer diverse ways of putting both encyclopaedic and highly specific rail and bus service information in front of users. But by their very diversity and variety such messages risk being overlooked in the resultant potential ‘information overload’. Sometimes, a single simple overriding ‘alert’ or ‘announcement’ needs to get through above the rest. The basic means to do this - the public...

Gareth Llewllyn has been appointed director of safety and sustainable development at Network Rail. He previously had senior safety roles with National Grid, Anglo American, and the Renewable Fuels Agency. Network Rail’s chief executive David Higgins said Llewllyn was joining at a time of great change “when we need to make a further significant improvement to the safety culture of the business. His enormous experience across sectors and across the globe will be invaluable in...

GreenRoad’s 360 fleet driver performance and safety management system has been enhanced to allow speeding and engine idling analysis as well as extended data integration. The new functions will improve the system’s ability to cut fuel costs and reduce accidents, said Glenn Pereira, director of product marketing at GreenRoad. The speed performance feature means that drivers are made aware in real time if they are speeding. An in-vehicle device monitors the movement of the vehicle to...

Nexus has launched an interactive teaching pack to warn children across Tyne & Wear about the dangers of trespassing onto rail lines. Nexus, which owns and manages Metro, will be using the package during visits to more than 200 schools over the coming year. The package — devised by Nexus youth liaison officer Rebecca Ditchburn working with design agency Graphic Ad — allows youths to use a touch screen smart or ‘white board’. “The interactive nature of the software...

Automatic ticket gates are being installed at five Glasgow stations in a bid to combat fare evasion and anti-social behaviour. ScotRail estimate that the gates will save around £2m a year in lost revenue. The gates are being supplied by Cubic Transportation Systems. “Cubic was the successful supplier — they met all criteria in terms of functionality, design, price and programme,” said ScotRail’s project manager Kirsty Watson. The gates have been installed at...

An independent report commissioned by Network Rail has cleared former chief executive Iain Coucher of allegations claiming he had taken illicit payments and rejected claims that the company had used offshore accounts and cash payments to discourage departing employees from talking publicly about the reasons for leaving or taking legal action. The report also said: “It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the TSSA (Transport and Salaried Staff Association) introduced a series of...

21st Century has been awarded two contracts, totalling £7.2m, by Keolis Sverige AB to supply CCTV systems, related maintenance and depot infrastructure for 1,475 buses. The Swedish firm operates under the ‘Busslink’ trading name in Stockholm. The first contract is for the installation of CCTV on 507 buses and related infrastructure, which will be installed this year, is worth more than £2.4m. This includes on-going maintenance revenue of around £100,000 a year for...

Bus operator Arriva has reported how its on-board CCTV system proved that two accident claims made by motorists were fraudulent. Thanks to the evidence captured on the system, supplied and fitted by 21st Century, the bus operator saved £14,000 and was also awarded court costs of more than £7,500. In the first case, a female motorist falsely claimed that an Arriva bus had collided with her car while overtaking another vehicle in four lanes of traffic. But the CCTV footage showed that...

Women are the ‘great unseen’ in transport decision- making. Yet they make up the majority of bus users in Britain, and account for 46% of rail travellers. They are hugely under-represented in management, in many ‘front-line’ jobs such as drivers, and in policy and planning roles. Over the years a small number of determined campaigners and academics have produced plenty of evidence that women are losing out in transport provision and service delivery because their...

In preparation for the Olympics, BTP has recruited two Malinois (Belgian Shepherd dogs) to its Explosives Search Dog (ESD) section. Their arrival brings to eight the number of passive detection dogs. This will increase to 10 by the time of the Games. The dogs can work in a static position or on the move as they pass through crowds, to monitor the environment and luggage as well as detecting a wide range of explosives. Their effectiveness was tested in trials carried out in 2006 with the...

A unique policing environment, the transport system has a unique set of needs. To meet them, an independent body, British Transport Police (BTP), monitors the tracks, trains and stations, and provides a vital service to rail and other operators, their staff and passengers in making the system secure and safe. Chief Constable Andy Trotter has been at its helm for for the past 18 months, and for five years prior to that was BTP’s Deputy Chief. “We are a normal police force now...

Why is he on the list? The traffic commissioner is one of the bus industry’s regulators. They are responsible for ensuring that services are safe and reliable. What kind of year has he had? Balancing the need to secure the fundamental guarantee of the independent role that traffic commissioners perform in the unique context of their regulatory and judicial functions as a tribunal is an issue which Brown believes has been addressed robustly during 2009-10. What’s coming up in 2011?...

German state rail operator Deutsche Bahn is to conduct a trial run later this month that could pave the way for a future direct rail service between London and Frankfurt. The move follows the signing of an agreement between DB and the owner of High Speed 1 rail route, plus planned changes to safety regulations in the Channel Tunnel. If the test run is a success, DB says that it is planning to commence services to London in 2013 with a Frankfurt route that would also call at Cologne and possibly...

Arriva won a Company Driver Safety Award at the annual Fleet Safety Awards presented by the road safety charity Brake earlier this summer. The award is in recognition of the use of a new system that reduces accidents, costs and carbon. The judges were impressed to hear that after installing 21st Century’s ‘EcoManager’ system to its North West fleet, Arriva saw a 62% reduction in accidents in the first year.  And following the early success of the system in reducing...

Fun and games on London Overground were recently reported by the Going Underground blog when passengers on one particular service were treated to every single prerecorded public address announcement.   Captured on the YouTube website, the dulcet tones of Emma Hignett, over a period of several minutes, announce gems that include: “The emergency evacuation stairs of this train have been deployed... please calmly evacuate the train”; “If there is a doctor or nurse...

Whilst on the subject of China, the Longxiang Public Bus Company in Changsha, Hunan province has launched a new 'drive safely' campaign - by hanging big bowls of water above the driving positions of its buses. “Passengers often complain that sudden braking and bad driving makes them really uncomfortable,” said a spokesman. “Hanging bowls of water in the driver's cab will discourage them from making any jolting starts, sudden braking or bad turns.” Forget sophisticated...