From England: "Department of Transport unveils 'smart-card' national bus pass for older & disabled people."

This story originally appeared on PublicTechnology.net at this address: http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=11565. That link no longer exists. Below is a copy of the original story.


Department for Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly yesterday unveiled a new smart-card pass that will give older and disabled people free off-peak bus travel across England from 1st April, 2008.


Currently, people aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people are entitled to free off-peak bus travel within their own local authority area. But from April 2008 the Government will invest up to an extra £250m each year to extend the scheme to include off-peak local bus travel anywhere in England.



The new passes will also incorporate ITSO 'smartcard' technology to boost the roll out of 'smart ticketing'. This will help minimise fraud and ensure that the number of journeys made by pass-holders are accurately recorded for reimbursement purposes between local authorities and bus operators. In areas where buses are not yet fitted with smartcard readers the cards can still be shown to the driver as a traditional 'flash' card upon boarding.



Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said:


 "We have already seen how popular concessionary fares are. Bus use in England rose by 4% in the year after we introduced free, off-peak local travel. Now we are extending their entitlement, millions of older and disabled people will be able to use their passes while visiting friends and family anywhere in England as well as to access local services."



"We hope that allowing eligible passengers to use their passes across local boundaries will continue to encourage even more people to get the most from the bus services available across the country."



"By introducing smartcard technology from the outset we are paving the way for full smart ticketing across the country. This would speed up boarding, cut fraud and open up the possibility of using the same pass to access a range of other local services such as libraries and leisure facilities.

"

Commenting on the scheme, Alan Burnett, senior policy officer at Help the Aged, said:


"Millions of older and disabled people rely on local bus services. From April, they will be able to save money when they cross local boundaries or visit friends and family in other parts of England."



The Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG) welcomed the decision to make the pass a smartcard. Neil Scales, director general of Merseytravel and PTEG spokesman on smartcards, said:



"Smartcard ticketing offers the prospect of greater convenience for passengers and lower administration costs for local authorities, operators and ultimately the taxpayer. "



"We look forward to working with the DfT and with bus operators to realise the full potential of the national concessionary smartcard-as a
precursor to much wider application of public transport smartcards in
the years to come."



Steven Salmon, director of policy development at the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK, said:


"Operators will be ready to welcome pass-holders from all over England from 1 April. The Government's decision to make the passes 'smart' could help authorities and operators to offer fast, friendly and efficient services for everyone."



Currently, people aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people in England are entitled to free off-peak bus travel within the local authority area in which they live. This full waiver of the fare, replacing the previous half fare entitlement, was introduced by the Government in April 2006.The concession applies between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays, and all day weekends and bank holidays.



Some existing local concessionary travel schemes in England include travel into neighbouring local authorities, but provision varies across the country and could be discontinued at any time. The Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 makes it a statutory entitlement, for the first time, for eligible people to travel outside their local authority area, anywhere in England, for free, by local bus from 1 April 2008. The existing timings remain unchanged.



Local authorities are currently able to issue concessionary passes to their own design. These vary across England with some authorities already issuing ITSO smartcards with strong fraud prevention characteristics. At the other extreme some current passes have no photos and no expiry date. Because bus drivers across England next year will have to recognise the entitlement of any eligible pass holder, irrespective of which authority issued the pass, from 1 April 2008 all passes will have to conform to a specification set out in regulations. These will set out the physical design, including a new requirement that all passes must have photos and expiry dates, and also ensure that all passes are ITSO smartcards.



In London, Freedom Passes will be re-stickered with the new national concessionary travel logo so that they are recognisable across the country from April 2008. They will be fully re-issued to comply with the standard specification from 2010. Discussions are ongoing to convert the London Oyster system to accept ITSO smartcards.



Smartcards have a number of advantages over traditional paper-based passes. When used on smart readers, they are highly resistant to fraudulent replication. They can also help to speed up boarding, helping to reduce bus journey times. And in addition to use as concessionary travel passes, smartcards could be used for commercial ticketing on other transport services and additional services at local authorities' discretion, such as allowing access to leisure or library services.



ITSO is a national smartcard specification developed by industry and the Government. Using ITSO helps to ensure wide compatibility as the ITSO specification is protected by Crown Copyright and available to a wide range of users. ITSO-based smartcards are already being used for concessionary bus travel throughout Scotland and in some parts of England, and are being introduced on some parts of the rail network.



Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already operate their own schemes. The Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 includes a power to allow, via regulations in the future, for mutual recognition of concessionary bus passes across the UK, and the Government had initial discussions with the devolved administrations about the inclusion of this power last year.

From NYC: "A Noisy Train, a Fed-Up Rider and a Day in Court," by Anemona Hartocollis

All John Clifford wanted was a peaceful ride to work on the 7:39 to Pennsylvania Station. (Read more here.)

from American City and County: "Steering transit progress [in Albuquerque]"

In 2000, Albuquerque's transit department had earned a bad reputation with problems that included safety issues, drivers who had gone years without a union contract, declining ridership and increasingly angry complaints from riders. In July 2000, a bus caught fire, solidifying concerns about the department's administration. (Read more here.)

From Snohomish County, Washington: "Community Transit orders 23 'double talls' " (KOMO news staff)

Snohomish County's Community Transit announced Monday that it has ordered 23 more of its popular double-decker bus. Read more here.)

From Calgary: "Perfume spat gets woman kicked off Calgary bus." (CTV news staff)

This story originally appeared on the CTV News website at this address: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070327/perfume_fuss_070327/20070327/. That link no longer connects to the original story. Below is a copy of the original.


A Calgary transit passenger is demanding a public apology after being ordered off a bus -- twice --  because of the apparently overpowering scent of her perfume.

During her morning commute to work last Friday, Natalie Kuhn was ordered off the No. 137 Dalhousie bus by a driver who complained her perfume was too strong and was aggravating his allergies.

It happened again Monday. Kuhn said after about eight minutes into her commute, the driver pulled over and started opening all of the windows before telling her to get, just around the corner from her regular stop.

"I was humiliated and embarrassed in front of other passengers," the 25-year-old chiropractic assistant told CTV News. "I got off that bus in tears."

Kuhn said she heard no complaints from the other riders. Before she exited, she got in an argument with the driver about her perfume, "Very Irresistible" by Givenchy.

"(The bus driver) stood up, looked at the other passengers and said, 'just so everyone knows, we won't be going anywhere because of the excessive amount of perfume this woman's wearing. I can't operate this bus.'"

Kuhn called the city to complain while the driver paged his supervisor. A short time later, a transit employee arrived to escort her to her destination.

A 'civil rights' matter

Kuhn said her experience is about more than just public embarrassment.

"It's not about the perfume anymore, it's about the way I was treated," she said. "It's about rights. People's civil rights are being violated, and that's what happened to me."

The union representing Calgary's transit workers began a work-to-rule campaign on Friday -- the day of the first incident. Kuhn said she wasn't certain whether the drivers were making an issue about her perfume as an excuse to disrupt service.

Calgary Transit said an investigation is underway, although it's too early to say whether any action will be taken or whether an apology will be made. Calgary Transit spokesperson Tom McCallum said the city doesn't have a policy allowing bus drivers to deny travel to passengers wearing perfume.

Kuhn said she's been spraying on less perfume than usual after the embarrassing bus incidents, but she won't stop wearing it, and she'll keep riding bus 137 to work.

From Atlanta: "Ads Add a Certain Glow to Atlanta's City Buses," by Kathy Lohr

There are a dozen buses on the streets of Atlanta wrapped with a new material called glow skin, which gives the ads on the sides of the bus a whole new look. (Read more here.)

From Albuquerque! "Rapid Ride Reaches 5 Million Passengers - Lucky Rider Wins Prizes" (City of Albuquerque website)

This story originally appeared on the City of Albuquerque website at this address: http://www.cabq.gov/transit/5MillionRiders.html. That link no longer exists. Below is a copy of the original.

Mayor Martin Chávez and ABQ RIDE Director, Greg Payne, are proud to announce that today the five-millionth passenger boarded the Rapid Ride.

"In only a little more than 3 years, 5 million passengers have taken advantage of the express service," said Mayor Chávez. "The Rapid Ride continues to provide riders with a fast and convenient way to commute in Albuquerque."

The original Rapid Ride, the Red Line, began service in December 24, 2004. More than 150,000 passengers now board the Red Line monthly. The BlueLine, which services the West Side to downtown and the UNM area, was launched in July 2007 and averages more than 20,000 passengers per month.

During a press conference today, Bryan Evans, a local artist and frequent user of the Rapid Ride, was presented with prizes that included dinner for two at Tucano's, a night's stay for two at the Hyatt Regency, a bouquet from People's Flowers and a one-year bus pass.

 "The Rapid Ride picks up where the other routes leave off, " said Director Payne. "We developed the routes to provide a service to the commuter who needed fast, frequent and consistent rides along our busiest transit corridor. The Rapid Ride has helped ABQ RIDE increase ridership because it attracted new riders, even along the regular local routes." According to the American Public Transportation Association, nationally bus ridership saw a growth of 1% from 2006 to 2007. For the same period, ABQ RIDE saw a growth of 8%.

"Increased gasoline prices definitely drives some of our ridership increase, but that's not the only explanation." Payne said. "We've expanded Rapid Ride, connected with the Rail Runner, partnered with UNM and CNM on students passes and improved our overall level of customer service. We're simply a different, better, more modern transit system."