GU Piscium

GU Piscium is a star in the constellation Pisces. An RS Canum Venaticorum variable, it ranges from magnitude 12.96 to 13.24 over 1.04 days. It is 48 Parsecs (155 light-years) distant from Earth. This star is also believed to be a member of the AB Doradus moving group with a membership probability of 96.9%.
In 2014, it was found to have a gas giant planet—GU Piscium b—orbiting it.


Red Spider Nebula

The Red Spider Nebula (also catalogued as "NGC 6537") is a planetary nebula located near the heart of the Milky Way, in the northwest of the constellation Sagittarius. The nebula has a prominent two-lobed shape, possibly due to a binary companion or magnetic fields and has an ‘S’-shaped symmetry of the lobes – the lobes opposite each other appear similar. This is believed to be due to the presence of a companion to the central white dwarf. However, the gas walls of the two lobed structures are not at all smooth, but rather are rippled in a complex way.
The central white dwarf, the remaining compact core of the original star, produces a powerful and hot (≈10,000 K) wind blowing with a speed of 300 kilometers per second, which has generated waves 100 billion kilometres high. The waves are generated by supersonic shocks formed when the local gas is compressed and heated in front of the rapidly expanding lobes. Atoms caught in the shocks radiate a visible light. These winds are what give this nebula its unique 'spider' shape and also contribute to the expansion of the nebula.
The star at the center of the Red Spider Nebula is surrounded by a dust shell making its exact properties hard to determine. Its surface temperature is probably 150,000-250,000 K although a temperature of 340,000 K or even 500,000 K is not ruled out, making it among the hottest white dwarf stars known.
The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of Sagittarius. Its distance has been variously estimated as 1900 light years or, more likely, 3000-8000 light-years.


Iota Scorpii

The Bayer designation ι Scorpii (Iota Scorpii) is shared by two stars in the constellation Scorpius:
They are separated by 0.50° in the sky.
Both of them were members of the asterism 尾 (Wěi), "Tail", "Tail" mansion.


R Equulei

R Equulei is a class M Mira variable star in the constellation Equuleus. Its brightness varies between a minimum magnitude of 15.0 to a maximum of 8.7 with an average period of 261 days.


Gamma Crateris

Gamma Crateris is a binary star system, divisible with a small amateur telescope, and located at the center of the southern constellation of Crater. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.06. With an annual parallax shift of 39.62 mas as seen from Earth, this star is located 82.3 light years from the Sun. Based upon the motion of this system through space, it is a potential member of the Castor Moving Group.
The star was confirmed by Gabriel Cristian Neagu and Jan Ovidiu Tercu as a variable of DSCT type. The variability has an amplitude of 0.001 magnitudes and a main period of 0.03647 d  (52.52 min). The variability was discovered during the datamining activity with the goal of increasing the student's investigative competences.
The primary, component A, is a white-hued A-type main sequence star of apparent visual magnitude 4.08 with a stellar classification of A9 V. The star has an estimated 1.81 times the mass of the Sun and around 1.3 times the Sun's radius. It is about 757 million years old and is spinning with a projected rotational velocity of 144 km/s. The primary is radiating 18.8 times the solar luminosity from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 8,020 K. Based upon the detection of an infrared excess, the star may host an orbiting debris disk. However, this finding remains in doubt.
The companion, component B, is a magnitude 9.6 star with an estimated mass 75% that of the Sun. As of 2010, the companion was located at an angular separation of 4.98 arc seconds along a position angle of 93.1° relative to the primary. This is equivalent to a projected separation of 125.6 AU. This star may be the source of the X-ray emission detected coming from this system.


RCW 88

RCW 88 is an emission nebula in the southern constellation of Circinus that first appeared in the 1960 astronomical catalogue by Rodgers, Campbell & Whiteoak (RCW) of Hα-emission regions within the southern Milky Way. Earlier observers, like James Wray in 1966, misclassified this as a likely 12.0v magnitude planetary nebula, but later spectroscopic investigations revealed this as a diffuse nebulae. RCW 88 was then to be identified by the infrared satellite IRAS as an HII region.
Deep red images reveal that the inner nebula is divided into two parts by a central dark lane, and there is evidence of a larger halo of fainter nebulosity extending perhaps out to 10 arcmin. The RCW catalogue states the Hα image size is 3'×2.
RCW 88 is located about 3300 parsecs (10,000 light years) from us, though other estimates place this at a closer 1800±300 pc. or 1800±200 pc. Assuming the former distance and the diameter as 5'-6' across, finds by simple trigonometry the true size subtends a minimum of 5±1 parsecs (16±3 light-years.) This small emission nebula shows a mean radial velocity of −18 km.s−1, and is also a faint radio source that was identified by Lloyd Higgs in 1971. Due to the large distance from us, astronomers have made few studies into the nature of RCW 88.
Field Star.
There is a 10.8v magnitude star identified as TYC 8702-56-1 positioned at RA : 15h 07m 25.1s Dec. : –57° 48' 32" (2000), place 137 arc seconds southwest of the centre of the bright nebulosity. It is unlikely that this star is associated with the nebulosity being probably a field star.


NGC 382

NGC 382 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Pisces. Its discovery (on 4 November 1850) has been credited to William Parsons.
Group of galaxies.
NGC 382 is in a group of galaxies with galaxies NGC 375, NGC 379, NGC 380, NGC 383, NGC 384, NGC 385, NGC 386, NGC 387 and NGC 388.


V433 Aurigae

V433 Aurigae is a variable star in the constellation Auriga. It is a slowly pulsating B star (SPB) that ranges from apparent magnitude 6.02 to 6.06 over 4.6 days. Using a "Hipparcos"-derived distance of about , it shines with a luminosity approximately 322 times that of the Sun and has a surface temperature of 7400 K. However, measurements by "Gaia" indicate a much higher distance of .


Kepler-277b

Kepler-277b (also known by its Kepler Objects of Interest designation KOI-1215.01) is the second most massive and third-largest rocky planet ever discovered, with a mass close to that of Saturn. Discovered in 2014 by the Kepler Space Telescope, Kepler-277b is a sub-Neptune sized exoplanet with a very high mass and density for an object of its radius, suggesting a composition made mainly of rock and iron. Along with its sister planet, Kepler-277c, the planet's mass was determined using transit-timing variations (TTVs).
Characteristics.
Size and temperature.
Kepler-277b was detected using the transit method and TTVs, allowing for both its mass and radius to be determined to some level. It is approximately 2.92 , between the size of Earth and Neptune. At that radius, most planets should be gaseous Mini-Neptunes with no solid surface. However, the mass of Kepler-277b is extremely high for its size. Transit-timing variations indicate a planetary mass of about 87.3 , comparable to Saturn's mass at 95.16 . The planet has a density of approximately 19.3 g/cm3 and about 10.4 times the surface gravity of Earth. Such a high density for an object of this size implies that, like its sister planet, Kepler-277b is an enormous rock-based planet. It is currently the second most massive and third largest terrestrial planet ever discovered, behind Kepler-277c in radius and PSR J1719−1438 b in both radius and mass. Due to its proximity to its host star, Kepler-277b is quite hot with an equilibrium temperature of about , hot enough to melt certain metals.
Internal structure and composition.
Models of Kepler-277b's internal structure suggest that it has a very large iron core with an estimated radius of 2.435 . The core predominantly consists of an allotrope of iron with a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystalline structure. At the innermost region of Kepler-277b's core where pressures reach as high as 37.52 terapascals, iron exists in a body-centered-tetragonal (BCT) and body-centered cubic (BCC) crystalline structure.
Kepler-277b has a relatively thin silicate mantle in comparison to its core. The mantle of Kepler-277b is thought be predominantly composed of ultrahigh-pressure phases of magnesium silicates (MgSiO3). The uppermost mantle of Kepler-277b is thought to consist of olivine, wadsleyite, and ringwoodite while the lower part of Kepler-277b's upper mantle consists of silicate perovskite and post-perovskite.
Orbit.
Kepler-277b orbits close to its host star, with one orbit lasting 17.324 days. Its semi-major axis, or average distance from the parent object, is about 0.136 AU. For comparison, the planet Mercury in our Solar System takes 88 days to orbit at a distance of 0.38 AU. At this distance, Kepler-277b is very hot and most likely tidally locked to its host star. It is close to a 2:1 resonance with Kepler-277c.
Host star.
The parent star Kepler-277 is a large yellow star. It is 1.69 and 1.12 , with a temperature of 5946 K, a metallicity of -0.315 [Fe/H], and an unknown age. For comparison, the Sun has a temperature of 5778 K, a metallicity of 0.00 [Fe/H], and an age of about 4.5 billion years. The large radius in comparison to its mass and temperature suggest that Kepler-277 could be a Subgiant star.


W Orionis

W Orionis is a carbon star in the constellation Orion, approximately away. It varies regularly in brightness between extremes of magnitude 4.4 and 6.9 roughly every 7 months.
Variability.
W Orionis is a semiregular variable with an approximately 212‑day cycle. A long secondary period of 2,450 days has also been reported.
Properties.
The angular diameter of W Orionis has been measured using interferometry and a value of 9.7 mas is found. Although it is known to be a pulsating variable star, no changes in the diameter were seen.
Technetium has not been detected in W Orionis, an unexpected result since this s-process element should be dredged up in all thermally-pulsating AGB stars and especially in carbon stars.


Mu Fornacis

μ Fornacis (Latinised as Mu Fornacis) is the Bayer designation for a star in the southern constellation of Fornax. With an apparent visual magnitude of 5.27, it is visible to the naked eye. The distance to this star, as determined by its annual parallax shift of 10.18 mas, is around 320 light years.
This is an A-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of A0 V. It is a Be star that displays "central quasi emission" (CQE) bumps in its spectrum due to a surrounding shell of material. The star has an estimated 3.1 times the mass of the Sun and 2.5 times the Sun's radius. Mu Fornacis is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of 320 km/s and is around 188 million years old. It radiates 68.7 times the solar luminosity from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 11,745 K.
Mu Fornacis appears to be emitting an infrared excess at a wavelength of 22 μm, which could be due to an orbiting debris disk.


NGC 365

NGC 365 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on November 25, 1834 by John Herschel. It was described by Dreyer as "faint, small, round, gradually a little brighter middle."


Sh2-9

Trolleybuses in former Soviet Union countries

The first trolleybus vehicle in Russia was built in Saint Petersburg in 1902 at Frese machine-building factory. It utilised a carriage-type current collector like the early von Siemens prototypes. There was no attempt to organize passenger or cargo services at this time.
The first operational trolleybus service was introduced in 1933 in Moscow. In Soviet cities with underground metropolitan railways, trolleybus systems were intended to replace tramcars. In reality such plans were partially performed in the 1950s rather than in the 1930s. The first Soviet-made passenger trolleybus LK-1 was named after Politburo member Lazar Kaganovich. It was a dangerous and unreliable vehicle, quickly replaced by more advanced YaTB vehicles. These cars, both passenger and cargo, were the mainstay of the Soviet trolley fleet before the World War II. At this time new trolleybus systems were opened in Leningrad, Kiev, and a few other major Soviet cities.
During World War II, new trolleybus systems were opened in the Soviet Union. The need for mass transit in cities away from the front was urgent, but construction of tram lines was too expensive and time-consuming. Buses were largely mobilised to the Red Army as staff and medical vehicles. The remains of the bus fleet quickly stalled due to fuel shortages. The trolleybuses proved a good solution. Some vehicles, wires and other equipment were evacuated from Moscow in 1941; these materials were used for erecting new lines and systems in other cities. In the front-line city of Leningrad, trolleybus service ceased operations in November 1941 and was not restored until the end of the war. City trams were relaunched in April 1942 and performed without interruption under siege conditions. This restored Soviet plans of mass transit development in the form of co-existence of subways, trams, and trolleys.
The postwar period saw an explosion of development and expansion of trolleybus systems in the Soviet Union. Many cities and towns introduced passenger and cargo trolleybus services, sometimes interfering with tram operations. One of the most notable of these new trolleybus systems was the Crimean Trolleybus, currently the world's longest trolleybus line. Production at the time was limited to the monopoly "Zavod imeni Uritskogo" (ZiU, named after Moisei Uritsky). It produced thousands of MTB-82, ZiU-5, and ZiU-9 passenger trolleybuses for domestic purposes and for export. ZiU-5s and ZiU-9s were sold to Greece, Colombia, Argentina and Eastern Bloc countries. Three ZiU-9 cars were on loan in 1973 for testing purposes in Helsinki, Finland.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to insufficient funding for many municipal trolleybus systems, but they proved more resilient than municipal tram or bus operations. Within the area of modern Russia, there are two closed trolleybus systems, in Shakhty (whose operations ceased in October 2007) and Moscow on 26 August 2020. The suspended trolleybus operations from October 2006 in Archangelsk were reactivated in December 2007. The trolleybus system in Grozny was completely destroyed in the First Chechen War; reconstruction is in planning. There is also one system with uncertain futures, in Voronezh. In other cities the development of trolleybus passenger services continues. Two new systems were introduced in Moscow suburbs Khimki and Vidnoe in the second half of the 1990s. ZiU, now named Trolza, has lost its monopoly in producing trolley vehicles. Today a number of domestic factories offer trolleybuses for the Russian market.


Shenzhen Tram

Shenzhen Tram is a light rail system consisting of two (formerly three) tram routes in Longhua District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Construction commenced on 27 December 2013 and public testing started on 30 June 2017, with the system fully opening on 28 October 2017. The tram system integrates the north side of Longhua into the city's rail network and is expected to significantly ease commuting difficulties, especially since the northern extension of Shenzhen Metro Line 4 is still being planned.
The initial system consists of 11.7 km and three lines. The tram links Qinghu Station on Line 4 of the Shenzhen Metro with central Guanlan, with service to Longhua areas including Automobile Industry City, Guanlan Strategic New Industries Park and the Science and Technology Service Center. It will eventually connect with Shenzhen Metro Line 4 at Xinlan Station. There are 21 stations, constructed at a cost of about 1.38 billion yuan (US$226 million). It is expected to help residents commute and relieve traffic congestion in the local area. A 3.8-kilometer spur links Guanlan New Industry Park with Dahe Road. The spur is expected to cost 218 million yuan.
Lines.
There are 2 lines in operation; line 1 (Qinghu – Xiawei) & Line 2 (Qinghu – Xinlan). Lines 1 and 2 share tracks between Qinghu and Dahe, where they branch off. Line 3 formerly connected Xiawei with Xinlan, passengers travelling between Xiawei and Xinlan are now required to transfer at Dahe for a connection.
Services formerly ran at a 20-minute frequency on each of Line 1, Line 2 and Line 3 with the parallel section between Qinghu and Dahe receiving a 10-minute frequency. To meet demand, services on Line 3 were withdrawn on 27 December 2017, and a 12-minute frequency was provided on Line 1 and Line 2, with a 6-minute frequency on the parallel section as these flows accounted for 94% of the demand. This provided an 87% increase in transport capacity. From 28 June 2018, an 8-minute frequency is applied on Line 1 and Line 2, with a 4-minute interval on the parallel section to meet increasing demand during peak hours. To meet the desired density, all the trams are put into service, the first in railway transport industry.
Rolling stock.
Rolling stock consists of 4 section trams constructed by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, using technology from Siemens. The system does not use overhead wires, with trams recharging an onboard capacitor from fixed power bars above the tracks at each stop.
Discussion.
Zhao Pinglin, deputy director of Shenzhen Rail Construction Headquarters, said tram systems have shorter, cheaper construction periods than metro and light rail. Modern tram systems also have lower energy consumption, more flexibility and quieter operations, Zhao said. Longhua is planning three tram lines totaling 51 kilometers. Construction of metro projects can take four to five years and cost 600–700 million yuan per kilometer, while tram lines can cost about 100 million yuan per kilometer and be used for 30 years. The tram has been criticized for roughly following the path of the under construction north extension of Shenzhen Metro Line 4 rendering the project redundant. However, given that the goal of the tram project was to improve short distance transport and serve as a feeder line to the metro, the tram project will complement the Metro extension rather than compete with it.


Bombardier Innovia APM

Innovia APM (stylized as INNOVIA APM) is a rubber-tired automated people mover system (APM) manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. The APM technology was originally developed by Westinghouse, then owned by Adtranz, and most recently acquired by Bombardier in 2001. Since its market debut in 1971, there have been three generations – Innovia APM 100 (known originally as C-100 and CX-100), Innovia APM 200 (originally known as just Innovia people mover) and the latest Innovia APM 300.
History.
Development began in the 1960s when Westinghouse (bought by AEG in 1988, later Adtranz in 1996) first engineered the South Park APM demonstration project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1963. The technology came to be known as the Skybus, because it was a rubber-tired vehicle, similar to a bus that operated on a designated elevated roadway. From the very beginning, it was designed to be an automated rapid transit system. Engineers believed that it would be able to move 5,000 to 14,000 per hour per direction, and could offer around-the-clock service every two minutes. The first attempts to bring the Skybus technology to market were controversial, with political leaders holding opposing views on the prospects of a rubber-tired mass transit system. Eventually plans to implement a Skybus system in Pennsylvania were rejected. Despite this, work continued on the technology.
In 1971, the first airport people mover system was opened at Tampa International Airport – beginning a new chapter in transportation history. After Westinghouse was acquired by Adtranz, the technology was marketed as the Adtranz C-100 automated people mover system. The C-100 system (and the newer CX-100 system) was relatively successful in the 1980s and 1990s with 14 new systems delivered. As the competing Mitsubishi Crystal Mover technology grew in popularity, Adtranz began developing a new, more aerodynamic model known as Innovia, which started testing in 1999. In addition to its sleeker appearance, the new Innovia people mover also offered greater speeds, tighter turns, full composite construction and a choice in end caps. The first Innovia people mover system delivered opened in 2005 at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Despite the development of this newer model, Bombardier continued to sell the CX-100 technology under then name Innovia APM 100 while it also marketed the new Innovia people mover technology (last Innovia APM 100 system delivered in 2010). However, after the development of a third generation model and a rebranding strategy by Bombardier to label its entire automated transit system portfolio as ‘INNOVIA’, the two previous models became legacy systems and are no longer marketed to new customers. Although, existing customers can and do still order more vehicles as needed. The third and latest model is called the Innovia APM 300 system. It looks very similar to the original Innovia people mover (now called the Innovia APM 200 system), but is longer, more energy efficient and capable of 6-car train configurations.
In November 2014, Bombardier signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with CSR Puzhen in China to develop and manufacture Innovia APM vehicles (as well as Innovia Monorail vehicles) for the Chinese market.
Production.
Innovia APM vehicles are assembled in West Mifflin, part of the Greater Pittsburgh Area, Pennsylvania. The multi-building facility specializes in automated people mover technology and has three test tracks. Vehicles manufactured by the joint venture, CRRC Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems Limited, are manufactured in Wuhu, Anhui Province in China.
Implementations.
Innovia APM 256 systems.
The Innovia APM 256 was designed as a direct replacement for the VAL 256 system
Integrated Systems.
Innovia APM vehicles operate as part of a fully integrated transit system with all elements (vehicles, signaling, communications, power supply and distribution, trackwork, platform screen doors, etc.) designed to function together as a complete package. Typically, these integrated systems are delivered as a turnkey transit system contract.
Route layout and system configuration.
Innovia APM systems are most often used in airport settings as inter-terminal connections or links to local amenities in and around the airport such as car rentals, parking garages and local public transit. Currently there are three urban systems used as feeder systems as part of a larger mass transit network. Innovia APM systems operate in tunnels, on elevated guideways, and sometimes in an open cut (pit) or a combination of tunnels and elevated guideways.
They can assume three different system configurations – shuttle, loop, and pinched loop. The shuttle system is the least complex. One train operates on each lane of a dual lane guideway. After the train dwells in one of the end stations for passengers for entry and exit, it reverses direction and returns to the opposite end station. Because Innovia APM vehicles are fully automated, they do not require a driver's cab, which allows them to be bidirectional. A loop is an enclosed system that connects multiple stations along a track or guideway that is a continuous circle or closed curve. Loop systems can be designed as either a single lane or a dual lane configuration. A pinched-loop system shares common characteristics with both the shuttle and the loop systems. Pinched loops look like a dual-lane shuttle (with two parallel guideways), but trains can go from one track to the other changing direction via switches at each end. As a result, traffic on a pinched loop flows in opposite directions on two parallel tracks, but can accommodate many stations.
See also.
Competing systems:


Trams in Minsk

The Minsk tram network ("Минский трамвай") is organised into 10 routes, integrated with the city's trolleybus, Metro and bus services. It uses a standard Russian broad gauge.
Trams, initially using horse traction, have been operating in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, since 1892. At that time the entire territory was part of the Russian empire. Services were interrupted for a few years following the 1917 Russian Revolution and again during the Second World War.
Minsk used horse trams for longer than many other cities, but a programme of tram electrification took place during the 1920s.
Network.
The focus of the network is two sets of lines crossing through the city centre, with a small ring/loop section in the central district. There are five terminus turning loops at the ends of the lines (one of which splits shortly before reaching its western end points). There are also three terminus-style turning loops positioned approximately mid-way along a couple of the lines: these serve additional, shorter, routes.
Tram fleet.
In recent years the network has been operated mainly by trams from the local manufacturer, Belkommunmash. Before that, most of the vehicles came from the Latvian RVR company, some of which have been rebuilt. The RVR-6 was introduced to the network in 1966 and by 1981 was said to have become the only tram type in regular use. 24 Tatra T6B5 trams were acquired in 1991, followed in 2003, by ten twenty year old from the city of Karlsruhe: the Germans handed over the trams for free, stating that this was cheaper than paying to scrap them, while the Belarusians were confident of being able to undertake cost-effectively the principal modification, which involved adapting the axles for the wider Russian gauge.
The local Belkommunmash company is currently completing development of a low-floor fourth generation tram for the city: the first examples are currently in service on a test basis.
History.
Horse trams.
The history of the tram network starts with the opening of a horse tram on 22 May 1892, following two years of construction by the "Company for city and suburb horse-railways in Minsk". This came in the wake of massive population growth, from 5,500 in the 1860s to 91,000 by the end of the century, and after several decades during which horse-drawn omnibus services had proliferated across the booming city. Horse trams were already well established in other major Russian cities, and were considered safer and more comfortable than the horse omnibuses at a time when city streets were generally unpaved. By 1900 a horse-tram line connected two of the principal main-line rail stations, and a slow process now began creating a wider network centred on this. In 1909 the network was taken over by the "Russian Company of Urban and Suburban trams" and in 1913 it was transferred into the ownership of the city authorities.
Between May 1918 and 7 August 1921 the trams stopped, thanks to the First World War and the Civil War that followed the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Electric trams.
A major upgrade, which some sources identify as the beginning of the modern tram network in Minsk, started on 20 January 1928 and concluded on 13 October 1929. This marked the formal opening of a new system, now using electrically powered trams. The old one meter gauge had been replaced with standard Russian broad gauge. At this stage there were two routes:
In 1929 approximately 18-19,000 passengers used the trams each day, and the tram cars were also being used for carrying freight. The early 1930s saw a steady expansion of the network. By 1934 the system had been extended further and was organised into seven routes, serviced by 6 tramcars over a total line distance of . In 1939 there were 70 tramcars for passengers and the total length of the tramlines had grown to .
More war and its aftermath.
The trams stopped again with the German invasion in June 1941. Under occupation, one line was restarted in May 1943, but as the tide turned of war turned the trams stopped running again in June 1944, and the retreating German armies took with them substation equipment and blew up important tram infrastructure as they left. After the war it took some time for services to get back to normal.
The post war years saw a big growth in motor bus and trolleybus operations in Minsk. In August 1951 the city sent 26 workers from the tram department to retrain as trolleybus drivers and in March 1952 the city's tram and trolleybus services were merged into a single operation. Nevertheless, work on extending the Minsk tram network also continued, and by there were tram routes totalling , serviced by 122 tramcars. A major investment in the 1960s funded a new tram depot, completed in 1966, with capacity for 250 tramcars, and there was also investment in electrically heated points for the tram network.
Minsk Metro.
Work started on the Minsk Metro in 1977, and the first of its two lines opened in 1984. The second opened in 1990. On 30 June 1984 tram lines were removed from main streets in the busy centre of Minsk, and the tram network assumed the configuration which it currently (2015) retains.


Flexity Outlook (Toronto)


DAF SB220

The DAF SB220 was a full-size single-decker bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International from 1985. Initially only built in left hand drive, in 1988 a right hand drive version was launched for the United Kingdom market. An articulated version was also manufactured.
It was superseded by the DAF/VDL SB200 and SB250.
Bodywork.
Makes and models of bodywork were fitted to the SB220 full-size single-decker bus chassis include the following:


SsangYong Transstar

The SsangYong Transstar is a luxury coach made using components derived from Mercedes-Benz buses. It is available in three trim levels: luxury express bus, express bus and tourist express bus. The bus is very popular in South Korea and former Soviet nations. The name "Transstar" comes from the words "transportation" and "star".
History.
SsangYong started development on the Transstar in 1991. The development lasted for three years and had total cost of 20 billion won.


Tucson Streetcar


Magic Bus (Stagecoach)

Magic Bus is a brand of Stagecoach Group for local bus operations in the United Kingdom, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators. The brand is currently used in Manchester and in the past have been used in Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, and Rotherham. A similar brand Magic Mini have also been used in Corby, Ayrshire and the Scottish Highlands.
History.
The name was first introduced in Glasgow in 1986, where ex London Transport AEC Routemasters were used on a route to Castlemilk. In 1992 this operation was sold to Kelvin Central Buses.
The brand was used in Newcastle around 1997 when trying to eliminate smaller companies operating in the area. The buses were prone to breaking down due to their age and broken down Magicbuses in Newcastle were common sights.
The Magic Bus brand was reintroduced to Glasgow by Stagecoach West Scotland in 2002. At its peak it was used on three routes; one was withdrawn in 2005, and the remainder in 2006.
It was also used more recently in Liverpool by Stagecoach Merseyside.
The Magic Bus brand was introduced by Stagecoach Manchester to the Wilmslow Road bus corridor where Bullocks Coaches, Finglands Coachways, and UK North competed.
In 2006 the Magic Bus brand was introduced in Manchester on route 192 to counter a bus war started by UK North. Following UK North being delicenced, the Magic Bus ceased operating on route 192 with all services provided by Stagecoach liveried buses.
Buses used in Manchester have been older buses from the Stagecoach Manchester fleet including Leyland Olympians, Volvo B10Ms, Volvo Olympians, Scania N113NRBs as well as some 3-axle Leyland Olympians imported from Stagecoach's Citybus operation in Hong Kong (via a stint with Megabus) and Kenya.
In April 2012, Magic Bus was introduced in Rotherham by Stagecoach Yorkshire on route 22 to compete directly with First South Yorkshire's service of the same route number, albeit a slightly different route terminating at Manvers instead of Barnsley. Dennis Darts were used on this service. This service has since ceased due to low patronage.
In April 2010 Stagecoach Manchester purchased competitor Bullocks Coaches bus operations, but the sale of Finglands Coachways to First Greater Manchester has ensured competition remain on the corridor. In September 2014, route 141 commenced, funded by Manchester Metropolitan University, to serve its Birley Fields accommodation in Hulme. This route was withdrawn in September 2018, after funding from MMU ceased.
In 2018, Stagecoach started operating route 147, from Manchester Piccadilly railway station to West Didsbury, after the expiry of the previous contract with Bullocks Coaches, with the route being extended from its previous terminus at the Manchester Royal Infirmary to West Didsbury, but now omitting the hospital grounds.
Present operations.
As of April 2021, the Manchester Magic Bus fleet consisted of 48 2010/2012/2013 built Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 hybrid’s and 8 2008 built Alexander Dennis Enviro 400’s transferred from the Stagecoach Manchester fleet, for operation on Wilmslow Road routes 142, 143 & 147. During the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, services 143 and 147 were temporarily withdrawn, but were reinstated on 1 June 2020.
Magic Mini.
The Magic Mini brand was used in a small number of locations across the UK including Corby and Ayr.
The brand was used in Corby as "Corby's Magic Mini's" operated using Iveco minibuses along lettered routes around the town centre. The service commenced in 1990 under the then-separate United Counties Omnibus Company, with the purpose of revitalising the bus network in the town from the previous downfall of bus travel due to an influx of Hackney carriages. The service was operated by United Counties until the 29 November 1999, when it was incorporated into the Stagecoach group. The livery used on the vehicles was a recoloured version of the Stagecoach "Stripes" paintwork. The main bodywork was black, with the stripes being recoloured to gold. The services ran a 5-6 minute frequency, and were free on Saturdays.
The brand was also used in Ayrshire for a time to compete against Ayrways in Ayr and T&E Docherty in Irvine. The Ayr operation used minibuses and larger single-deck buses branded as "Magic Mini", which were introduced in February 2004. The brand has since been dropped in Ayrshire when the competing operators withdrew their services.
The Magic Mini brand was also engaged in a miniature bus war on the Black Isle to Inverness route in the Scottish Highlands with local operator Scotbus, with Stagecoach in Inverness adopting aggressive tactics such as scheduling buses five minutes before the rival operator and undercutting fares. Competition between the two operators was acrimonious, climaxing in an arson attack on Stagecoach's Inverness depot.


Nissan Cabstar

Nissan Cabstar (kana:日産・キャブスター Kyabusutā) is the name used in Japan for two lines of pickup trucks and light commercial vehicles sold by Nissan and built by UD Nissan Diesel, a Volvo AB (now Isuzu) company and by Renault-Nissan Alliance for the European market. The name originated with the 1968 Datsun Cabstar, but this was gradually changed over to "Nissan" badging in the early 1980s. The lighter range (1-1.5 tons) replaced the earlier Cabstar and Homer, while the heavier Caball and Clipper were replaced by the 2-4 ton range Atlas (kana:日産・アトラス). The nameplate was first introduced in December 1981.The Cabstar is known also as the Nissan Cabstar, Renault Maxity and Samsung SV110 depending on the location. The range has been sold across the world. It shares its platform with the Nissan Caravan. In spring 2014, Cabstar is now known as NT400.
First generation (A320; 1968-1976).
The first Cabstar (A320) appeared in Japan in March 1968, as a replacement for the earlier and Nissan C80. It is a cab-over engine truck and was available either as a truck, light van (glazed van), or as a "route van" (bus). It was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealerships called "Nissan Bluebird Store".
It uses the 1189 cc Nissan D12 engine with . After some modifications and the new 1.3 liter J13 engine, with , in August 1970 the code became A321. The Cabstar underwent another facelift with an entirely new front clip in May 1973. The 1483 cc J15 engine became standard fitment at this time (PA321), with at 5200 rpm. The Cabstar was shared with the Prince developed Homer range in Nissan's commercial vehicle lineup, but sold at a different Japanese Nissan dealership. It received a full makeover in January 1976, although the van models were not replaced.
Second generation (F20; 1976-1982).
The F20 Nissan Homer, introduced in January 1976, was also sold as the Nissan Datsun Cabstar in Japan. Both ranges were sold with either a 1.5 (J15) or a 2.0 liter (H20) petrol inline-four or with the 2.2 liter SD22 diesel engine.
The F20 received a desmogged engine range in September 1979 and with it a new chassis code, F21. Manufacturing of the heavier range (H40-series) Atlas began in December 1981, while the lighter series Atlas (F22) was introduced in February 1982 - this succeeded both the Homer and Cabstar ranges and the nameplate has not been used in the Japanese market since.
Europe.
The Atlas F22 was sold in Europe as the Nissan Cabstar and proved a popular truck in the UK market due to its reliability and ability to carry weight. The H20 two-litre petrol engine was replaced with the new Z20-engine with , while diesels were also available. From 1990 the range widened and was sold as the Cabstar E. In Taiwan, the F22 continued to be sold as the "Yue Loong Homer". It was also used as recreational truck (motorhome conversions). It proved to be serious competition for the dated Bedford CF and Ford Transit which were its main competitors. The trucks popularity in the African market saw vast majority of the remaining early UK F22 models being exported to Africa.
Australia.
Australia was another important market for the Atlas, where it took over after the previous Nissan Caball which was sold there from 1970 to 1981. It was later marketed as the Nissan Cabstar (1984–1992). It was built in Australia using many local components.
North America.
The UD 1400 was similar to the Atlas F23 featuring a 4.7 L turbo diesel 175 hp and was available until 2010.
South Africa.
The F22-series Atlas was sold in South Africa as the Nissan Cabstar. In 1984 it was available with a 2.8-liter L28 petrol engine producing , in a shorter model or in a longer model.
The Atlas F23 is sold as the UD 35 and UD 40 Series and features a 4.2 L 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine producing 87 kW.


Long Key Fishing Camp

Long Key Fishing Camp was established on Long Key in Florida in 1908 by Henry M. Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway Company for the use of tourists to enjoy what was described as "some of the best fishing in the world." It initially served a housing for some of the employees who were building the Overseas Railroad to Key West.
Long Key Fishing Camp featured a two-story hotel and a number of cottages. The camp was made famous by author Zane Grey, who was a regular resident, and a pioneer of the sport of sail fishing. Grey became the first president of the Long Key Fishing Club in 1917. The list of other early distinguished guests included Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Andrew Mellon, Charles Kettering, and other notables.
The fishing camp was destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, as was the Overseas Railroad. After the latter was destroyed, the Overseas Highway (U.S. 1), was built across Long Key in replacement.


CAF Civity

The CAF Civity is a platform of regional passenger trains which is manufactured by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF. Available as both a diesel and electric multiple unit, the "Civity" was first launched in 2010 and received its first order two years later.
As of 2018, twenty "Civity" units have been constructed, with a further 254 on order. The United Kingdom had been the largest customer of the platform up until then, with 136 units due to enter service there by 2020. Dutch operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen has since ordered a total of 206 units in 2 orders of 118 and 88 units respectively.
Description.
The "Civity" is a modular platform available in four variants, which are diesel, diesel-electric, electric and bi/dual mode. Most variants of the "Civity" platform, with the exception of the "Civity UK", have shared bogies and a low floor.
Diesel.
As of 2018, the diesel variant has only been ordered by operators in the United Kingdom (Northern, West Midlands Trains and Transport for Wales), with these units being constructed in either two, three or four-car formations. These trains will be fitted with MTU powerplants which produce per engine (one engine per car), which will give them a maximum speed of .
Electric.
The electric variant is capable of operating on 1500 V or 3500 V DC power supplies with a pick-up shoe or 15 kV or 25 kV AC power supplies with a pantograph. It has so far been ordered in either three, four or five car formations, with these being capable of speeds between and .
Operations.
Italy.
In 2010, the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giuila placed an order with CAF for eight ETR 563 five-car units for Trenitalia. Four more units were subsequently ordered, with these units capable of operating services into Slovenia and Austria, with these being designated as ETR 564 units. The units were delayed into service as they could not be approved.
Montenegro.
Three Class 6111 three-car EMUs were delivered to the Railways of Montenegro specifically to serve the Podgorica-Nikšić railway, cutting travel time to only 50 minutes. The first of the new trains started with service on 13 July 2013.
Netherlands.
In 2014, Nederlandse Spoorwegen placed a €510 million order 118 "Civity" sets. These new trains, which will consist of three and four car formations, will replace the NS SGMm sets. The train is known as the "Sprinter New Generation" (SNG) by the NS. The trains will be delivered from 2018 and can operate at . A mock-up of an SNG was presented in September 2015, featuring sockets, recycling bins and a toilet. An additional 88 sets were ordered in December 2018, with deliveries expected to continue through 2023.
Australia.
In February 2019, Transport for NSW signed a contract with Momentum Trains PPP to supply 117 "Civity" bi mode (diesel and electric supply) carriages, a new maintenance centre in Dubbo and a maintenance contract as part of the Regional Rail Project. The new trains will replace the XPT (19 power cars and 60 carriages), Xplorer (23 carriages) and Endeavour (28 carriages) trains. The 117 new carriages will make up 10 diesel-electric trainsets for use on long-distance services linking Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, plus nine short and 10 long multiple-units for regional routes, a total of 29 trains. The trains are due to commence in service in 2023.
United Kingdom.
Northern Trains.
In January 2016, Arriva Rail North placed an order for 98 (later increased to 101) units, with the majority of these trains due to operate on the company's "Northern Connect" regional express services (now under new operator Northern Trains.) The order breakdown is for 58 (originally 55) diesel multiple units (two and three-car) and 43 electric multiple units (three and four-car). All of these trains were planned to gradually enter service throughout 2019.
In early 2018, it was revealed that there is an option for an undisclosed number of additional carriages. There is also a provision available to extend the four car Class 331 units to five carriages in the future.
The extra three Class 195 units were ordered in November 2018.
TransPennine Express.
CAF built twelve five-car electric multiple units for TransPennine Express for its West Coast Main Line services, which operate from Liverpool and Manchester Airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh. These units were due to be delivered between 2018 and 2019, replacing the four-car /4 units which were previously used on these services. They have a maximum speed of .
West Midlands Trains.
It was announced in late 2017 that CAF will also supply 26 diesel multiple units for West Midlands Trains, which will be in two-car and four-car formations. They are due to be delivered in 2020 and will operate services for the company's West Midlands Railway sub-brand.
Transport for Wales.
In June 2018 it was announced that KeolisAmey Wales would take delivery of 51 two car and 26 three car diesel multiple units from CAF, which are to be based at Chester and Machynlleth depots. These have since received the TOPS designation Class 197.
Sweden.
The public transport agencys of Jönköpings län, Kronobergs län and Kalmar län have made a joint order for 20 EMUs and 10 BMUs along with an option another 34 trains through the leasing company Transitio. The first trains are set to arrive in 2023 and will replace the 11s, X14s, Itinos and Y2s currently running in the regions.
Cancelled orders.
Pasažieru vilciens.
In 2012, Latvian railway operator Pasažieru vilciens placed a €400 million order for 34 electric and seven diesel-electric multiple units. The order also included a 30-year maintenance plan for the units. The three car sets were to be built for the and capable of operating on lines electrified at 3000V DC with a maximum speed of . The order was subsequently cancelled, with no units built.


Trailer bus

A trailer bus or articulated trailer bus is a bus formed out of a bus bodied semi-trailer pulled by a conventional tractor unit in the same way as a conventional articulated semi-trailer truck.
Trailer buses are usually pulled by a conventional truck from various truck manufacturers, while others have larger space cabs. Trailer bus bodies are built by various local builders.
History.
An early trailer bus was designed in Amsterdam in the 1920s as bus designs got longer. As a solution to possible grounding hazards on humped bridges, three prototypes were built in 1924, but proved to be problematic, and later converted to rigid bodies in 1927.
During World War II and in the immediate post-war years, trailer buses were turned to as a simple and economical way of providing bus transport to replace worn out conventional bus fleets. The semi-trailers were basic and uncomfortable, but each could carry more passengers than an ordinary single-decker bus, and nearly as many as a double-decker bus. Indeed, in India, BEST of Mumbai and BMTC of Bangalore had double-decker trailer buses in its fleet during the 1970s and 1980s.
In Australia, 123 semi-trailer type buses were built between 1939 and 1984; one example, a 1947 semi-trailer coupled with an American-built 1943 White M3A1 tractor, is now located in Sydney Bus Museum in Sydney, New South Wales. The Sydney exhibit was the last trailer bus used in NSW, withdrawn in 1977.
Trailer buses were also used in Perth, Western Australia by several private bus companies from 1943 onwards, including Metro Buses (formerly Metropolitan Omnibus), Pioneer Omnibus and Scarborough Bus Services. The units were bodied by various different companies, including Boltons, Campbell & Mannix, and Motor Body Builders, a subsidiary of Scarborough Bus Services. From 1958 onwards, many trailer buses passed to the State-owned Metropolitan Transport Trust as the private operators were bought by the Western Australian Government. Several units were later re-bodied into conventional buses by the MTT. A number of units were also purchased by the Western Australian Government Railways from 1945 to 1948, with the trailer bodies built by Fowler Constructions and Campbell & Mannix.
In 1948, ten British-built trailer buses saw service as a staff canteens for London Transport (in country green livery) with one passing to the Cobham Bus Museum in 1972.
A large order for 1175 buses from the Dutch Railways for buses from Crossley included an order for 250 trailer buses, each to carry 52 seated and 28 standing passengers. The tractor units were delivered as short Crossley DD42s, and these were matched in the Netherlands with DAF built trailer chassis fitted with bus bodies.
In the late 1980s, a Mexican-built trailer bus was in test service in the Los Angeles / Orange County area of California. In the 1990s, Orange County Transportation Authority used it on two express routes. The trailer buses were known as Superbuses.
Custom motor/trailer units manufactured by Orion Bus Industries were used from 1985 to 2012 on the Niagara Parks Commission People Mover route in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
In Greece trailer buses are still, often used for tours, usually in small villages. Trailer Buses are also used in some kids' attractions.
Obsolescence.
As early as the mid-1940s, trailer buses began to quickly fall out of favour for a variety of factors:
Trailer buses saw service until at least 1984 in South Africa, possibly due to the rugged terrain in its remote areas, and the availability of specialist bus builders as opposed to truck dealers and basic body builders.
Trailer buses are still in service in Cuba, where they were introduced under the nickname of "camellos" ("camels", from the twin-humped shape of the trailers) during the so-called "Special Period" after the fall of the Soviet Union. , the trailer buses are reportedly being gradually retired from service in Havana city, replaced by Chinese-made buses.
Nonetheless, the Munich transit authority ordered a batch of trailer buses from Solaris with deliveries starting in 2013. The buses were intended for service on the city's busiest routes. The advantages of such buses were the ability to attach or detach the trailer depending on demand, spaciousness and flexibility.


Taxis in Australia

Taxis in Australia are highly regulated by each Australian state and territory, with each state and territory having its own history and structure. In December 2014, there were 21,344 taxis in Australia. Taxis in Australia are required to be licensed and are typically required to operate and charge on a fitted taximeter. Taxi fare rates are set by State or Territory governments. A vehicle without a meter is generally not considered to be a taxi, and may be described, for example, as a hire car, limousine, carpool, etc. Most taxis today are fuelled by liquid petroleum gas. Cabcharge Australia owns and operates the Cabcharge payment system, which covers 98% of taxis in Australia, and operates one of Australia's largest taxi networks.
Taxi services are particularly valuable to less mobile groups in the community, such as elderly and disabled people. As a result, government intervention has historically ensured that taxi services have assisted in ensuring equity, reliability, quality, and safety. At the same time, regulation has created barriers to entry and limited competition in the sector. In April 1995, the Commonwealth and all State and Territory governments entered into the Competition Principles Agreement that required all jurisdictions to review legislation which restricts competition by the year 2000. As a result of pressures from competition law, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (and preceding legislation), and evolving technology, the regulated industry is facing challenges from deregulated vehicle for hire companies including Uber.
Brief history.
Australia adopted horse-drawn taxis once cities were established and, in the case of Queensland, Brisbane introduced the first horse-drawn taxis, which plied throughout the city. These also included hansom cabs, a more elaborate type with a closed-in cabin for passengers with two small front doors and glass windows and their driver sitting high at the back. This type of vehicle was a standard type used in England. Hansom cabs were used in Brisbane until 1935, operating from a rank outside the Supreme Court in George Street.
Motor taxis were introduced into Australia not long after they were put into service in the United Kingdom and Europe. In 1906 Sydney inaugurated motorised taxis, followed soon after by the other states.
The taxis of the period included a variety of types, with tourers and sedans. The latter were mainly French built Renaults, which were designed as taxis, not unlike the hansom cabs. Brisbane had a number of them that plied from the ranks outside Parliament House, Brisbane in Alice Street, and the Supreme Court of Queensland building in George Street. As applied to the hansom cabs, the Renaults catered mainly for gentlemen of standing, including judges, barristers and other notables. The drivers wore uniforms with leggings, the same as those worn by chauffeurs of horse-drawn carriages.
Each large taxi company had telephones installed in a steel box type cover at city and suburban ranks, direct to the switch control rooms in the city.
Although motor vehicle taxis were being used at the time, a few horse-drawn taxis continued service in Brisbane until the early 1920s. Country towns had them for a while longer.
The progress through the years included many types of tourers from circa 1910 until the late 1920s, with British and American cars predominating. Makes featured such names as Buick, Dodge, Talbot, Vauxhall, Saxon, Ford, Chandler, Studebaker, Chevrolet, Hupmobile, Whippet, Oldsmobile, Marmon, Pontiac, Hudson, Oakland, Erskine, Rugby, Essex and Chrysler.
Sedans were added during the late 1920s and included similar makes of vehicles. This was the case with all cars being imported into Australia until World War II. American cars proved more suitable to Australian motoring conditions, especially for taxis. General Motors Corporation built thousands in Australia, as did the other American companies including Ford and Chrysler.
Current industry structure by state or territory.
New South Wales.
New South Wales is served by around 6,000 taxis, and the industry employs over 22,700 taxi drivers, the largest number of taxis and drivers in Australia.
In general, individual taxis are owned by small-scale operators who pay membership fees to regional or citywide radio communication networks. These networks provide branding as well as telephone and internet booking services to operators and drivers.
Fares are set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales (IPART). Other aspects of the industry are regulated by the Transport for New South Wales and the Roads & Maritime Services. The industry plays a self-regulating role through the New South Wales Taxi Council.
Vehicle operators are represented by the New South Wales Taxi Industry Association and, in country New South Wales, by the New South Wales Country Operators Association. Drivers are represented by the New South Wales Taxi Drivers Association. The New South Wales Transport Workers Union purports to represent taxi drivers. Most regional centres have a local taxi network.
Queensland.
There are numerous taxi services throughout Queensland which operate in all main city centres, as far north as Thursday Island off North Queensland.
Prior to a taxi company being formed in Queensland, owners of taxis simply had signs on the vehicles indicating "For Hire" painted on the side, front and rear. Before 1924, all taxis plied for hire without a means of recording the mileage, other than the driver himself calculating the fare according to how far he drove his passengers. There was a fare scale, however, the driver could charge whatever he thought was nearest to the amount specified. This no doubt, brought about the introduction of meters.
The first taxi company in Queensland was Ascot Taxi Service which was formed in 1919 in Brisbane by two motor mechanics, Edmund William Henry Beckman and Edward Roland Videan. In 1924, the Yellow Cab Company imported their taxis from the United States, which were built especially for taxi work by the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago. The vehicle was the A2 Brougham (mustard pots)—a sedan with the driver separated from the passengers by a window with the baggage compartment in front beside him. The meter was alongside the window by the driver's side. The taxis were also the first fitted with meters in Australia. The vehicle was known as a yellow cab, having been built by the company with that name plate on the front of the radiator. The engines were also built especially for the type and were similar to the Willys Knight. The driver's compartment did not have side windows. The Broughams were taken out of service in 1936.
The Yellow Cab Company has now become the largest cab fleet in Brisbane and introduced the first computerised data dispatch from the control room to taxis. The system was designed to increase efficiency and provide a better and safer service for the public and increase drivers' security. The computers have been installed into the fleet of over 580 taxis.
The Taxi Council of Queensland is the trade association and its objective is to expand the total market for taxi services.
SsangYong Stavics are also currently being trialed in Queensland as 'maxi cabs'.
Uber is disrupting the Queensland taxi industry.
Victoria.
Taxis and private hire cars are a part of public transport in Victoria. In December 2014, there were 5,778 taxis in Victoria. Each taxi is required to be licensed and one vehicle only is permitted to operate on each licence. The number of licences issued is restricted, but transfers of a licence can take place. Licence fees were abolished in 2018.
Eight taxi licence holders own and control more than 10 licences. The largest licence holders are Cabcharge Australia and the Gange Corporation, both of which hold licences under a variety of names. Cabcharge also operates the 13CABS booking network, and the Gange Corporation operates the Silver Top Taxis booking network. These companies are the two main network service providers in the greater Melbourne area. Taxi operators pay the booking service an affiliation fee.
More than 60% of licences are assigned (or leased or rented) to taxi operators, who pay the licence holder assignment fees. These fees fluctuate, and typically are in the order of $24,000 per annum. The operator owns, maintains and operates the taxi vehicle as well as the taximeter. Taxi operators may drive their taxis or may employ drivers. In June 2016 there were 14,771 active taxi drivers. Taxi drivers are required to be registered, and their registration certificate must be displayed in the taxi. A taxi operator can sell the taxi, comprising the assigned licence, vehicle and meter, as a going concern. Besides receiving the assignment fees from the taxi operator, licence holders also commonly benefit from capital growth in licence values, or carry the risk of a decline in the market value of a licence.
Concern about the availability and quality of taxis continues to be a major public issue in Victoria.
Significant reforms were made to the industry in 1994 under the Kennett Government, including taxis being required to be painted canary yellow. In 2002, peak service taxis, which must be yellow and a green top, were introduced to operate at night, between 3 pm and 7 am, and at special events only. In 2013, the taxi regulations were relaxed to allow colours other than yellow.
The taxi industry in Victoria was the subject of a major government inquiry, the Taxi Industry Inquiry in 2011.
The market value of a taxi licence fluctuates over time. They were estimated to be valued at around $464,000, in October 2008. In April 2011, metropolitan taxi licences had an approximate market value of $512,500. In June 2016 the approximate market value of a metro licence was $158,688. Taxi licences were abolished in 2018, and licence holders are to be compensated at a cost of $494 million.
In 2008, there were 3,774 licensed taxis in Melbourne, including 235 wheelchair accessible taxis. In 2011, there were 5,045 taxi licences across Victoria, including 502 wheelchair accessible taxis. In December 2014, there were 5,778 taxis in Victoria. More recently, the number of taxi licences were:
In 2018, Uber, DiDi, Shofer, Taxify, GoCatch, Shebah, and Ola Cabs were legalised in Victoria. Taxi licences were abolished and licence holders are to be compensated by an 8-year A$1 levy on all taxi and ride-booking services in Victoria.
Regulatory scheme.
Victoria does not have a dedicated industry statute covering the taxi industry. The prime operational statute for the taxi industry is the "Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983". Part 6 of that Act contains the key provisions regulating the taxi industry including provisions relating to licensing, accreditation and compliance. The overarching "Transport Integration Act 2010" (TIA) is a key piece of legislation. It both establishes the taxi industry regulator, the Director of Public Transport, and contains a set of high level policy objectives and principles which the regulator must have regard to when exercising functions including licensing and accreditation decisions. In practice, the Director delegates taxi industry functions to the General Manager of the Victorian Taxi Directorate. Another key operational legislative instrument is the "Transport (Taxi-cab) Regulations 2005".
The Taxi Industry Inquiry of 2011 resulted in major reforms to Victoria's taxi industry and has had a far reaching impact on taxi services in Melbourne and beyond. The "Transport Legislation Amendment (Taxi Services Reform and Other Matters) Act 2011" created the Taxi Services Commission to regulate the taxi industry. The Commission commenced its role on 1 July 2013 and began operations on 19 July. Accreditation requirements apply to a number of key parties in the taxi industry.
Taxi Talk.
Taxi Talk Magazine – Voice of the Taxi Industry – was the first ever magazine dedicated solely to the Victorian taxi industry. The first edition was delivered to depots on 1 May 1966, and each issue was a small pocket size magazine, 8" x 5", until Taxi Talk became a B5 colour magazine produced monthly. With collaborations from all sectors of the industry, the magazine kept taxi owners, operators, drivers, industry suppliers, service trade providers, associations and government interested people up to date with the latest news within the Victorian taxi industry.
In April 2017, Taxi Talk was rebranded to represent the taxi industry on a national level and developed into DRIVE A2B Magazine, the new Voice of the Australian Commercial Passenger Transport Industry. In September 2018, DRIVE A2B printed its first issue, and since has featured information on the Australian taxi industry for every State and Territory in Australia.
Tasmania.
As at 19 February 2009, there are 448 perpetual, 8 owner-operator and 45 wheelchair accessible taxi licences on issue in Tasmania. The industry employs over 1,000 taxi drivers: some owner-drivers and most drivers on a bailiff agreement commission basis.
There are 3 main providers in Hobart – 131008 Hobart, Taxi Combined and Yellow Cabs. 131008 Hobart alone service over 50% of Hobart's immediate population. The remainder of the industry consists of smaller fleet operators with several licences each and the rest are owner-operators. The location of taxi ranks in the southern district are around the main CBD area, with many others in suburbs close to Hobart.
The Tasmanian Taxi Association began publishing a quarterly industry newsletter "TTA Taxi Talk" in December 2008. In October 2008 Yellow Cabs began operating their first Toyota Prius, becoming Tasmania's first taxi company to run hybrid vehicles.
Western Australia.
There are two main taxi dispatch service operators in the greater Perth area of Western Australia: Australian owned (parent company ASX listed) Black and White Taxis (with about 10% of traffic), providing Black & White Cabs, Sunseeker Taxis, Maxi Cabs, 13eCab and 13LCab; and Singaporean owned (through a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro) Swan Taxis (with almost 90% of traffic) which dispatches Swan Taxis, 13Cabs, Easy Access Perth, Coastal Cabs, Silver Service, Tricolor and Yellow Cab taxis. Other much smaller independent dispatch companies include West Coast Cabs, Rainbow Taxis, Carlisle Cabs, Cabwest and White Eagles.
In Perth, there were 2,215 taxis operating in 2013, most being either conventional sedans or station wagons. This number included 116 multipurpose taxis that can also cater for passengers who are wheelchair-bound, 41 peak period restricted taxis and 75 restricted area taxis. An additional fifty London-style taxis were introduced in late 2013, dispatched by Black and White Cabs.
Outside the Perth metropolitan area, taxi fleets vary considerably in size from the largest, Kalgoorlie/Boulder with 44 licensed taxis (2013), to numerous very small towns with only one licence. The largest rural taxi fleets for 2014 were Kalgoorlie/Boulder (44), Mandurah (36), Bunbury (30), Broome (29), Geraldton (25), Port Hedland (23) and Carnarvon (23).
All taxis in Western Australia have meters operated by the distance and time. The meter is connected to a rooftop light that illuminates when the cab is vacant. Cabs can be booked either by phone call or on the internet. Hailing of taxis on the street is permitted in Western Australia. There are also taxi ranks at airports, many railway stations, popular nightspots and shopping centres.
Australian Capital Territory.
Taxis in the Australian Capital Territory originated from hire cars, which began operating in Canberra from 1924. The most well-known operators of the Canberra hire car industry at this time were Horrie and Alice Cleaver.
In 1956, one hire car was successfully fitted with a two way radio, leading to a new era of radio hire cars. Twenty-seven of these radio hire cars worked from the owners' homes as well as from ranks in the city, and picked up hails; these were then called public hire cars or taxis. Fares were calculated by the operators and were based on a return trip. Within the next year, Deluxe Taxis and Black and White Taxis were introduced and started servicing the public.
Aerial Taxis was founded in 1957 by Ken Lambert, Bruce Lamber, Jack McCarthy, Bill Dennis, Clem Sykes, Alec Vince and Rex Brodie. The founders created a telephone booth sized dispatch centre and set up an antenna for their two way radios at the Ampol Service Station in Kootara Cres, Narrabundah. The name Aerial Taxis came about, as each vehicle in operation needed a one metre long antenna fixed onto the roof. By 1963, Aerial Taxis was thriving and merged with the only other taxi group in the state Deluxe Taxis. Aerial Taxis is known today as Canberra Elite (Canberra Cabs).
Canberra Cabs is now one of Canberra's largest taxi booking service providers, alongside taxi service ACT Cabs.
Northern Territory.
To own and operate a taxi in Northern Territory, one has to be approved as an accredited operator, attain a Commercial Vehicle Licence (CVL) and register their taxi. There is a limit on how many taxi licences can operate in Darwin and Alice Springs, and licences are issued by ballots. A ballot is held every time taxi licences become available, with people receiving 3 weeks notice on when it will occur.
Fares in Northern Territory are regulated by the Northern Territory Government. Taxi meters must be certified each year and checked they are showing the correct set fares. Taxi vehicles are also required to have a roof sign, including two tariff indicator lights indicating the rate being charged on the meter, and the word 'TAXI' on the front, which is to illuminate when the taxi is currently operating and not already servicing a passenger.
South Australia.
As at 1 September 2020, there are 994 metro taxis, 253 country taxis and 102 metro wheelchair accessible vehicles registered in South Australia. In addition, as at 1 September 2020, there are 780 accredited taxi only drivers in South Australia.
Under the current legislation and the standards outlined by Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT), vehicles used as taxis must meet road safety and basic amenity requirements. Taxis are to display the details of the booking service provider or operator and a vehicle inspection sticker on the left hand corner of the windscreen.
On 1 October 2016, maximum fares for Adelaide metro taxis increased, for the first time within a period of 3 years, by 3%. In Adelaide, fares are calculated by the flagfall, distance travelled and waiting time. Tariffs set these rates depending on the time and day and the number of passengers in the taxi.
The Taxi Council SA is the peak taxi industry body in South Australia.
Cabcharge.
The Cabcharge account payment system was established in 1976 to provide a way to pay for taxi fares throughout Australia and participating countries. Cabcharge has been the subject of Federal Court proceedings over alleged anti-competitive practices including predatory pricing activities and was subjected to a record high $15 million settlement for these behaviours. The company is also facing criticism of profiteering for the 10% surcharge it imposes on taxi fares paid by card and the matter is currently being investigated by the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the surcharge has been limited to no more than 5% in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia.


Midibus

A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the midibus is perhaps most common in the United Kingdom, where operators have found them more economical, and to have a sufficient number of seats compared to full size single-decker buses.
Midibuses are often designed to be lightweight to save on diesel fuel (e.g. smaller wheels than on larger buses), making them not as durable as heavier 'full size' buses. Some midibuses, such as the Scania OmniTown, are heavier and therefore more durable.
In some places such as Hong Kong, some bus routes have to be served by midibuses due to the winding roads along such routes.
United States designs.
The term "midibus" is not in common use in the United States, such smaller and lighter-duty buses not being employed in public transit roles there except in some very specialized instances. For example, Muni in San Francisco operates both and versions of the Orion VII transit bus to serve routes that include some of the steeper and curvier hills.
In charter / tour roles, there is indeed a gap between the minibus (12-28 seats) and the touring coach (47-50 seats). Several shuttle bus companies such as Goshen Coach and Crystal have manufactured rear-engined vehicles that have 30–35 seats, but no generic term has ever been applied to them. They are usually lumped together with their smaller "minibus" brethren and called "minibus", or "shuttle bus". The only other alternative was to import a "short" (two-axle) version of European touring coaches, known often as "baby coaches", around long and equipped with some 30–32 seats. Examples of these include the TEMSA TS 30/TS 35 and the MCI J3500.
In the 2000s, some manufacturers introduced mid-sized bus models based on large truck frames.


Centro Ybor station

Centro Ybor (formerly known as Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union or Federal Credit Union) is a TECO Line streetcar station in historic Ybor City. The station has one island platform, located on a passing siding, that allows for trams to pass by each other on the single track line. Just west of the stations, there are two pedestrian overpasses over 8th Avenue that are part of the Centro Ybor complex.


Old Union Depot Hotel

The Old Union Depot Hotel (previously known as the Union Hotel and Cafe) was a historic hotel and commercial building in Tampa, Florida, United States. The building was constructed in 1912 at 858 East Zack Street, directly across Nebraska Avenue from Tampa Union Station. On December 11, 2000, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, however, the building was torn down on May 23, 2010.
Built as one of twelve continuous, two-story, brick storefronts around the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and East Zack Street, on the northeastern edge of downtown Tampa, the building had six sides, an unusual design made necessary by the irregular shape of the lot upon which it was built. The hotel and its neighboring businesses generally catered to train passengers arriving at Union Station, which like the hotel, first opened in 1912. Of those dozen commercial buildings, the Union Hotel structure was the last to remain standing. Its standing as a hotel, however, could not last indefinitely, and after a period of time the Union Hotel and Cafe closed. The building was boarded up and sat vacant for a period of many years, during which time it failed to attract any new occupants.
On December 11, 2000, the Old Union Depot Hotel building was recognized with a listing in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It had been hoped that the historic status and accompanying tax incentives would be catalysts towards restoration and preservation of the building, but unfortunately, this would not be the case. After a lengthy period of disuse, and nearly a decade after its NRHP designation, the building suffered a collapse of its roof and was deemed to be hazardous. The city of Tampa condemned the structure and ordered its demolition, which took place on May 23, 2010.
The Union Hotel and Cafe began its operations during the era of racial segregation, and functioned as an establishment for "whites only". Train passengers and other travelers who were black were directed about one block west from the hotel along Zack Street to the Jackson House, a rooming house which was one of the only lodging establishments in the city for blacks. The Jackson Rooming House building, incidentally, was built during the same period as the Union Depot Hotel, and is also NRHP-listed.


Renault AGR


Santa Fe Trails

Santa Fe Trails is the local transit agency in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe Trails operates ten bus routes which serve most areas of the city. Nearly all of the routes originate at either the Downtown Transit Center one block west of the Plaza, or the Santa Fe Place Transit Center.
The fleet consists of 2001 model Blue Bird CSRE buses (being replaced), 2008 and 2009 model ElDorado EZ Rider II MAX buses, and 2009 model ElDorado Passport buses. In late 2011, Santa Fe Trails announced an order for two Gillig Low Floor buses, which entered service in 2012. Five additional Gillig Low Floor buses, which are 35 feet long, entered service in 2014. All buses are powered by compressed natural gas. Santa Fe Trails has operated one of the first bus fleets to be entirely powered by CNG, and continues to be today.
All buses are wheelchair accessible and are to in length. In early 2013, Santa Fe Trails placed an order for five 35-foot Gillig Low Floor buses, which entered service in November 2014; these are the first 35-foot buses for Santa Fe Trails. An additional seven 35-foot Gillig Low Floor buses were ordered in 2014 and are scheduled for delivery in 2015.


Cumberland Avenue station (Tampa)

Cumberland Avenue is a TECO Line station located in Tampa, Florida. It is located at Cumberland Avenue and Channelside Drive.


Horton Grand Hotel

Horton Grand Hotel is a restoration of two historic hotels, the Grand Horton and the Brooklyn Kahle Saddlery, in downtown San Diego, California. The Horton-Grand was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
History.
Built in 1887 by Comstock & Trotsche, the Grand Horton was a luxury hotel with a design based on the Innsbruck Inn in Vienna, Austria. The Grand Horton was part of a building boom following the opening of the city's first transcontinental railroad connection in 1885. It is in the Italianate Victorian architecture style.
The Brooklyn-Kahle Saddlery Hotel was a less formal hotel that combined Western/Cowboy and Victorian styles. Built around the same time as the Grand Horton, it was originally known as the Brooklyn Hotel, but was later renamed the Kahle Saddlery due to the presence of a prominent saddle and harness shop on the building's first floor starting in 1912.
Dismantled.
Both hotels were scheduled for demolition in the 1970s when the City of San Diego purchased them to build the Horton Plaza shopping center on the site. The hotels were dismantled brick by brick, with each brick numbered, catalogued, and stored. In 1986 the hotels were rebuilt into an entirely new hotel at the present location at Fourth Street and Island Avenue.


Waverley Bus Depot

Waverley Bus Depot is a bus depot in the Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction operated by State Transit.
History.
Waverley Tram Depot opened on 7 September 1902 as a seventeen road depot on the corner of Oxford Street and York Road, Bondi Junction. It provided trams that operated the Bondi and Bronte routes.
The depot closed on 27 June 1959 for conversion a to bus depot. Today only the southern section of the car shed remains, the northern section having been demolished. It remains in use as State Transit's Waverley depot.
As of December 2020, it has an allocation of 167 buses.
Design.
The side elevations looking west to Centennial Park were designed with stepped Dutch gables with circular ventilation openings. Including:


Skip-stop

Skip-stop is a public transit service pattern which reduces travel times and increases capacity by not having all vehicles make all designated stops along a route. Skip-stops are used in both rail transit and bus transit operations. It is also used to describe elevators that stop at alternating floors and hence also used to describe building designs that exploit this design and avoid corridors on alternating floors.
History.
The Chicago Transit Authority invented skip-stop service in 1948 as a means of speeding up old trains it inherited when it took over from private operators. The first skip-stop service was run on April 5 of that year on the Lake Street line with the north-south (Howard-Englewood/Jackson Park) and Ravenswood lines beginning skip-stop service on August 1 of the following year.
Rail operation.
When skip stops are used in rail transit, the transit operator designates stations as either major or minor, typically by ridership. Usually, all vehicles stop at the major stations, but only some vehicles stop at the minor ones.
Since one rail vehicle can only pass another by using an additional track, skip-stop may require additional investment in infrastructure if express services, where trains skip many stops along a route, are employed simultaneously with vehicles making stops on every station.
In systems that have no extra track for a faster train to pass a slower train, skip-stop may be employed either during busier travel hours to reduce travel time of a particular train, or during off-peak hours to raise efficiency by not stopping at "unpopular" stations.
In some systems, such as the New York City Subway, these are considered as two separate services (, the / (which was discontinued in May 2005); and formerly the /—the latter of which were in fact two separate services), as if the two services were separate lines instead of two different stopping patterns on the same line. On other systems, such as Philadelphia's SEPTA Market-Frankford Line (which was discontinued in February 2020), they are distinguished by lights on the train, and stations skipped by half the trains are designated "A" and "B" stations depending on which trains stop there.
The Chicago "L" used skip-stop service from the 1940s until the early 1990s, at which point it was discontinued in favor of all-stop service. This was done to reduce waiting times for passengers riding to or from "A" and "B" stations who could only take half of the trains. It also eliminated the need for a train transfer for passengers riding from an "A" station to a "B" station, which required a transfer at an "AB" (all trains stop) station to complete their trip. Further, the system was simpler to use for new riders and visitors.
The Santiago Metro runs skip-stop services on line 2, line 4, and line 5 during the morning and evening rush hours; trains with marker lights stop only at the minor stations that are located on the "(la ruta roja)", and trains with marker lights stop only at the minor stations that are located on the "(la ruta verde)". There are some stations where all trains stop, which are known as common stations "(estaciones comunes)"; common stations allow passengers to change between trains to get to their final destination.
Few Chinese urban rail lines use such a strategy.
Bus operation.
In bus operations, skip-stop refers to a stopping pattern where buses do not stop at every block or at every designated bus stop, typically in a central business district. Skip-stop operation reduces travel time and increases the number of buses that the streets and bus stops are able to accommodate. With skip-stop operations, bus routes are typically grouped together by geographic area in order to provide a common stop for areas that are served by multiple routes. The skip-stop groups are sometimes identified by color or letter so that passengers and bus operators can easily identify their desired stop. A disadvantage with skip-stops is that passengers may have to walk farther or change buses to catch their intended bus, which increases travel time. Passengers may also be unsure about which bus stop to walk towards to catch their intended bus.
Skip-stops work best when buses are able to easily pass each other at bus stops, such as on a low-traffic street, street with bus stop pockets or dedicated busway with at least two lanes in each direction. If there is a large amount of other traffic on the street or only a single bus lane is provided, then buses have difficulty passing each other and much of the benefit of using skip-stops is not realized.
In Seattle, WA, which has an extensive local and regional bus system operated by three different transit agencies, skip-stops are used on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Avenues in the downtown area. Bus routes on 3rd Avenue are grouped into Blue and Yellow stops, while bus routes on 2nd and 4th Avenue are grouped into Red and White stops.
In Portland, Oregon, buses of TriMet and C-Tran use skip stops on the Portland Transit Mall in Downtown Portland. The practice has been in use on the mall since its opening in 1977, and was continued (for buses) after MAX Light Rail was added to the mall in 2009. Buses stop at every third or fourth bus stop. Until 2007, the bus stops for the different groups of routes were identified by colors and symbols, such as "Yellow Rose" and "Orange Deer", but with the rebuilding for the addition of light rail, those designations were replaced by simple letters—A, B, C, D for southbound on 5th Avenue and W, X, Y, Z for northbound on 6th Avenue.
This term may also refer to limited-stop bus services.


Corbeil Bus Corporation

Corbeil is a defunct trade name that has been used in bus manufacturing. From 1936 to 1975, J.H. Corbeil was a manufacturer of bus bodies; Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil was a body manufacturer that specialized primarily in school buses, opened from 1985 to 2007. In 2007, the company was acquired out of bankruptcy by Collins Industries and renamed Corbeil Bus Corporation. Serving as the Canadian equivalent of Collins Bus Corporation, manufacturing was shifted from Quebec to Hutchinson, Kansas.
Prior to its 2007 shift to Kansas, Corbeil manufacturing was located in Saint-Lin–Laurentides, Quebec, Canada.
Following the 2013 discontinuation of manufacturer Mid Bus, Collins ended the use of the Corbeil name after 2015 in favor of using its namesake brand on its vehicles across North America.
History.
1936-1975: J.H. Corbeil.
Corbeil traces its roots to 1936, when Joseph Henri Corbeil founded J.H. Corbeil. Located in St-Lin-Laurentides, the company was a manufacturer of bodies for trucks and buses, shifting to bus body production in 1956. Following the 1960 death of Joseph Corbeil, control of J.H. Corbeil shifted to his sons, including Michel Corbeil. During the late 1960s, the company held nearly two-thirds market share of bus body production in Quebec and eastern Canadian provinces.
To accommodate increased demand, J.H. Corbeil introduced a larger manufacturing facility in St-Lin-Laurentides (next door to the first factory). After the 1975 sale of J.H. Corbeil, the company ended operations in the early 1980s.
1985-2007: Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil.
In 1985, with several business partners in St-Lin-Laurentides, Michel Corbeil founded Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil, Inc. restarting production in the 7,000 square-foot factory founded by his father in 1936. For the first time, Corbeil produced school bus bodies, specializing in bodies for single rear-wheel cutaway van chassis. By the end of 1985, the company produced 77 bus bodies.
By the end of the 1980s, production of Corbeil buses expanded, with the company replacing its 1930s facility with a 130,000 square-foot factory to accommodate demand. In 1990, the company added bodies for dual rear-wheel van chassis for the first time.
In the early 1990s, the company introduced its first full-size buses, the EMC 1st Premier conventional (EMC=Enterprises Michel Corbeil), using an International 3800 chassis (with Ford B800 as an option). In 1993, the EMC3900 was introduced; sharing its International 3900 chassis with the AmTran Genesis, the EMC3900 was a front-engine transit-style bus. For the United States bus market, Corbeil concentrated on its small bus offerings, not selling the 1st Premier or the EMC3900 outside of Canada. For 1994, Corbeil entered a joint venture with Indiana-based manufacturer Carpenter, manufacturing single rear-wheel buses marketed through its deal network (similar to a joint venture between Blue Bird and Girardin); the joint venture lasted through 1998.
In 1995, Corbeil changed its company emblem, shifting from a vertical EMC to a large smiley face on the roofline of the bus, with the design becoming one of the most widely recognized manufacturer emblems in the transportation industry. With the addition of the "smiley face", the EMC 1st Premier was renamed the Corbeil Conventional.
In 2000, Corbeil produced a rear-engine transit-style bus using an International 3000 chassis. Similar in configuration to the AmTran RE, very few examples of the Corbeil Rear Engine were produced; all were sold in Canada.
In 2001, Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil underwent several major changes. Following poor sales, the Corbeil Rear Engine was withdrawn, alongside the EMC3900 front-engine bus. The body of Corbeil minibuses and conventionals underwent several revisions, largely distinguished by the warning light surrounds.
During the early 2000s, Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil struggled to compete. In 1999, Carpenter shifted exclusively towards production of full-size buses, effectively ending its joint distribution agreement with Corbeil (before closing its operations forever in 2001). In the mid-2000s, IC Corporation (the successor to AmTran/Ward) commenced sales of full-size buses in Canada, largely taking the place of the discontinued Corbeil Conventional and EMC3900.
In September 2007, after 22 years of assembly, Corbeil shut down its operations.
2007-2016: Corbeil Bus Corporation.
In late 2007, Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil was acquired by Collins Bus Corporation, with Collins purchasing the assets, designs, naming rights and warranties of Corbeil. In a major change, Corbeil transitioned from a stand-alone manufacturer to a regional product line of Collins Bus Corporation, consolidating headquarters from Quebec to the Hutchinson, Kansas facility of Collins. The parent company of Mid Bus, in 2007, Collins consolidated production of all three bus product ranges in its Kansas facility, with the first American-produced Corbeils assembled before 2008. As the company restarted bus production, Corbeil offered the Collins Bantam product line under the Corbeil Quantum nomenclature.
To minimize internal competition, Collins marketed itself, Mid Bus, and Corbeil in different regions of North America. As before, Corbeil production was marketed primarily in Canada (Quebec and Ontario) and New England. In 2012, the Quantum naming scheme was retired as Collins introduced the NexBus bodyshell for all three of its brands (shifting towards a naming scheme naming buses by function).
During the 2010s, Collins has consolidated from three vehicle brands to one. In 2013, Mid Bus (the final remaining entity of the bus manufacturer Superior) was withdrawn. In 2016, Collins ended the use of the Corbeil brand in Canada in favor of using the Collins brand across North America.


Mercedes-Benz MB700

The Mercedes-Benz MB700 is a medium sized cab-over truck designed and produced by PT German Motor Manufacturing in Indonesia since June 1994. The MB700 was intended specifically for Asian markets. Its rough road capabilities also made it suitable for sale across Africa and the Middle East and it ended up being assembled and sold in several additional countries. Turkish assembly, by Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş, commenced in June 1996. This was also the time that the facelifted MB800 model arrived. The truck was discontinued in 2002.
MB700.
The MB700 is powered by a 4.0-litre Mercedes-Benz OM364 engine in two versions, built under license by Atlantis Diesel Engines (ADE) in South Africa. The naturally aspirated version has while the turbo charged version has . The transmission was sourced from Spain and the Indonesian-made cabin was a modified version of the Mercedes-Benz MB100. The front axle came from Tata in India and was considerably wider than that used on the MB100; the rear axle was supplied by Rockwell in the United States. The MB700 was an attempt by Mercedes-Benz to challenge the dominance of the Mitsubishi Colt Diesel in the Indonesian medium truck market, but it did not meet with significant success. A longer wheelbase, bare chassis intended for a bus body was also built.
Sales markets aside from Turkey and Indonesia include North Africa, South Africa, the Middle East, and New Zealand. In 2000, PT German Motor Manufacturing changed its name to "PT DaimlerChrysler Indonesia" following the merger with Chrysler.
MB800.
The facelifted MB800 can be recognized by its more modern, rounded off appearance, and by having the headlights mounted in the bumper rather than in the grille. The interior was also modernized, with a more softly contoured dashboard. Payload is with a gross weight; the engine remained the same naturally aspirated or turbocharged diesels as used in the MB700.
In its Indonesian home market, neither the MB700 nor the MB800 were able to challenge the Colt Diesel's market dominance, however, and following the Asian market crash in 1998 sales slowed down even further. Sales in Indonesia dropped from 800 trucks in 1997 to about 200 the following year. 314 examples were exported in 1997, but this increased five-fold in 1998 and Mercedes-Benz aimed to bring that number up to 2,500 eventually. Mercedes-Benz added assemblies in Egypt and Turkey to serve local markets including North Africa and Eastern Europe, and in early 1999 the MB800 entered production in South Africa. The South African variant was rated for a payload; as for the previous generation, a longer chassis (MBO800) continued to be available for fitment with bus bodies. The possible synergy of using locally made engines, however, came to naught as ADE had wrapped up operations by the time South African assembly started, and only the first 200 trucks built there received locally made engines. Later engines, at least for Turkish-built trucks, were sourced from Brazil. The braking system and the transmission were strengthened to suit sub-Saharan conditions, modifications which were then applied to the Indonesian-built trucks as well.


Renault Premium

The Renault Premium is a heavy-duty truck that was produced by the French Manufacturer Renault Véhicules Industriels and later Renault Trucks (also part of Renault, now Volvo) from 1996 to 2013.
It was sold alongside the Renault Magnum as a slightly lower positioned alternative. There was also a version intended for lighter duty construction work called the Premium Lander, positioned beneath the heavy-duty Kerax. The Premium was mainly used as a distribution truck, competing with for example the DAF CF and Volvo FM.
Engines.
At launch, the Premium was available with either a 9.8 or 11.1 6-cylinder diesel engine. Later Euro IV engines were sourced from parent company Volvo Trucks.


Trolleybuses in Atlanta

In Atlanta, Georgia, trolleybuses, generally called trackless trolleys there, were a major component of the public transportation system in the middle decades of the 20th century, carrying some 80 percent of all transit riders during the period when the system was at its maximum size. At the end of 1949 Atlanta had a fleet of 453 trolleybuses, the largest in the United States, and it retained this distinction until 1952, when it was surpassed by Chicago.
History.
Origins.
As in many other cities, trolleybuses mostly took over streetcar routes. Some Atlanta streetcar lines were converted to buses starting in 1925. Those early conversions were to "motor buses" (gasoline-powered buses), but starting in 1937 some streetcar lines were converted instead to trolleybuses. The first trolleybus route opened on June 28, 1937, and was a suburban route to East Point and with branches beyond to College Park and Hapeville. A second route opened in 1940. Conversions continued until closure of the last streetcar line, in 1949.
In 1950, 453 trolleybuses served 31 routes. Trolleybuses made up 70% of the fleet, but carried 80% of the transit system's riders.
Operation, continued growth.
The transit system was owned and operated by the Georgia Power Company until June 1950, at which point it was sold to a group of local businessmen, who formed the Atlanta Transit Company (ATC). Trolleybus service continued, and the large network of electric routes remained largely intact for another decade. One of the system's unusual features was express operation, uncommon on trolleybus systems. Express service ultimately was implemented on eight routes, and these were equipped with "sidings" in the overhead trolley wires to enable vehicles on express trips to pass those on "local" trips. Although the pace of expansion slowed after 1950, it did not cease. Extensions continued to be built under ATC, including the conversion of bus line 26-Perry Homes to trolleybuses in November 1956, and extensions of that route in 1960 and 1962. There were 39 trolleybus routes at the end of 1962.
Closure.
In late 1962 Atlanta Transit decided to phase out all trolleybus service the next year, to avoid the expense of having to string new overhead wires when extending service to new areas. Another reason cited was the anticipated high cost and difficulty of obtaining new trolleybuses to replace ATC's large fleet, which ranged in age from 14 to 17 years. Since 1959, when Marmon-Herrington ceased production of trolleybuses, no manufacturer in North America was still making the electric vehicles (a situation which lasted until the late 1960s). At the beginning of 1963 the active fleet included 273 trolleybuses. The entire electric system was converted to diesel buses over a period of less than one month in September 1963. Atlanta's last trolleybus service operated on the night of September 27, 1963.
Fleet.
Over the years, Georgia Power (GP) purchased its trolleybuses from four different manufacturers: Twin Coach, the St. Louis Car Company, Pullman-Standard and Brill. The first came in 1937, the last in 1949. GP's successor, Atlanta Transit Company, never purchased a trolleybus.
Routes.
An early 1950s map of the trolleybus system detailed the following routes:


Hampton station (DART)

Hampton station or Hampton Road station is a DART Light Rail station Dallas, Texas. It is located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood at Hampton Road and Wright Street. It opened on June 14, 1996 and is a station on the , serving the nearby YWCA and Sunset High School.


List of trolleybus systems in the United States

This is a list of trolleybus systems in the United States by State. It includes all trolleybus systems, past and present. About 65 trolleybus systems have existed in the U.S. at one time or another. In this list, boldface type in the "location" column and blue background colored row indicates one of the five U.S. trolleybus systems still in operation.
New Jersey.
The operator conducted a demonstration at Weehawken in 1934 prior to opening of public service with ASVs in 1935. Weehawken was served by the Newark system.
The Newark ASV system also served many adjacent towns, including the Hudson County towns of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City and West New York, the Passaic County towns of Passaic and Paterson, and the Union County towns of Elizabeth and Plainfield.
Washington.
Dual-mode (diesel-trolley) buses operated 15 September 1990 – 24 January 2005 on routes using the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. The overhead wire system in the tunnel was not connected to that used by surface trolleybus services.


Iveco Metro

The Iveco Metro is a low-entry single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Iveco Bus in Dandenong Victoria for the Australian market.
It has been purchased by a number of Australian operators including Carbridge, Coastal Liner, Green's Northern Coaches, Grenda's Bus Service, Ivanhoe Bus Company, Moonee Valley Coaches, Red Bus Services, State Transit, Telford's Bus & Coach, Torrens Transit and Transdev Shorelink.


Leichhardt Bus Depot

Leichhardt Bus Depot is a bus depot in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt operated by Transit Systems.
History.
Leichhardt Tram Depot was built as a twelve road depot on the corner of William Street and Derbyshire Road, Leichhardt, being available for use on 22 June 1915. It was never used as an operational tram depot, instead being used to store trams.
It was converted to a bus depot in 1937. It was also the central maintenance facility until the Chullora Bus Workshops opened in 1958. The old tramshed is used as part of the new expanded Leichhardt Bus Depot while the Sydney Bus Museum occupies the northern bays after its relocation from Tempe Bus Depot. Both the former Cable Stores Building and Traffic Office (also known as the Tram Depot
Office) was proposed as part of the cancelled Leichhardt Police Station development.
The depot is also home to the Roads & Maritime Services barrier transfer machine that moves the central barrier on Victoria Road between the Gladesville and Iron Cove Bridges.
As part of the contracting out of region 6, operation of Leichhardt depot passed from State Transit to Transit Systems on 1 July 2018.
As of December 2020, it has an allocation of 237 buses.
Design.
As a tram depot, its design had some unique features such as the roller doors, and ancillary store and workshop buildings plus: