Heuliez Bus introduces new GX ELEC electric bus

France-based Heuliez Bus, a brand of CNH Industrial N.V., has entered the electric bus market with its new battery-electric GX 337 ELEC, which will be tested by the French public transport operator RATP.

The 12-meter bus is propelled by a 175 kW electric motor suited for low operating speeds and frequent stops. The bus is equipped for all-day use with night-time recharging and pre-heating in the winter months at bus depots.

Heuliez Bus represents around 26% of the French Bus market; Heuliez has sold 400 hybrid buses to date.

Public Transit Use Reaches A 57-Year High

It has taken a global recession, stagnating wages, and high gas prices, but use of public transportation in America has reached a 57-year high. Public transit use has leaped up more than 37% since 1995, one study finds, and this could be a key factor in pushing for improved access to better mass transit systems.

Put out by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the study finds that Americans took some 10.7 billion trips on subways, buses, and streetcars across the country. This is the highest estimated public transit usage since 1956, which is about when the American auto industry really started to hit its stride and transit use started to slide toembarrassingly-low levels.

Public transit use has grown for the past six consecutive quarters, a growing trend since 2008 when gas prices surged over $4.00 a gallon. But it seems like America has experienced a fundamental shift in how public transportation is perceived, and the old Homer Simpson “Public transportation is for suckers” mentality is starting to fade, especially among Millennials. With renewed interest in living in places like New York City and San Francisco, where owning a car is often more hassle than its worth, it’s a natural transition for many people to seek out alternatives like car sharing or public transit.

Americans are also driving less overall, with peak miles traveled dating back to 2007. Even though most of us are “used to” $3.00+ a gallon gasoline, it doesn’t mean that most of us can afford the luxury of, you know, just driving.

It’s a good trend for the environment, and America overall, as our public transportation system has been woefully underfunded and unimproved in the past decades. With public transit use growing though, new projects and improvements are bound to break ground, opening the door to even greatest mass transit usage.

That also means more room on the road for car lovers like you and I. Can you dig it?

Source: APTA | Image: Design by Zouny

America’s Public Transit Sucks Because The Rich Don’t Use It

America prides itself on being numero uno in a wide array of categories, though one area where the U.S. has fallen farther and farther behind is public transit. For decades politicians have pushed for large and costly highway expansions and improvements rather than public transportation, and the reason is simple; wealthy donors don’t use public transit.

Studies have consistently shown that Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce traffic congestion, pollution, and improve downtown metro areas. Mexico City is one of the many places that have improved quality of life thanks to innovative public transit systems, but in America many of these systems meet with arduous resistance, if they even get proposed at all.

The problem, writes Salon’s Alex Pareene, is that American politicians don’t know anyone who uses public transit. While that may be a bit of a stretch (Vice President Joe Biden, as a senator, was known to take the train from Delaware to D.C. every day), the point is that such projects don’t benefit the wealthy donors that fund most political machines. Public transit largely benefits lower and middle-income people, especially in America, and America’s ruling class all fall into the vaunted “1%” of wealthiest Americans. Most of these people have never even stepped foot onto a bus.

Unfortunately, most municipalities are cutting back on public transit expenditures even as usage climbs to all-time highs. Even in places like New York City, where public transit is used by more people than anyplace else in the country, there isn’t enough political support for the taxes and surcharges needed to upgrade the century-old subway system. While New York has made great strides to promote bicycle lanes and bike sharing programs, its mass transit systems are in desperate need of improvement.

While the author laments the failures of places like New York and Minneapolis, other places, like Hartford, CT, and Charlotte, North Carolina are finally moving forward with long-delayed plans. Hartford is building a BRT system along the busy I-84 corridor, while Charlotte is expanding its successful LYNX light rail system. Meanwhile cities like Portland have successfully integrated multiple forms of mass transit resulting in one of the best systems in the country. Then again,Republicans across the nation helped bury President Obama’s plans for a national network of high-speed trains, ending the potential for millions of temporary and permanent jobs.

Public transit in America stands on a precipice, and as far as I’m concerned it could go either way. But as long as people keep moving back to cities, the pressure to build bigger and better transit systems will only grow, and eventually even the densest politicians won’t be able to ignore it.

 Source: Salon

American Public Transportation Association Predicts Significant Ridership Increases With Gasoline Above $5 per Gallon

A study released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) predicts that as gasoline prices continue increasing, Americans will turn to public transportation in record numbers. APTA is calling on Congress to address this impending demand by providing a greater long-term investment in public transportation.

The APTA analysis finds that if regular gas prices reach $4 a gallon across the nation, an additional 670 million passenger trips could be expected, resulting in more than 10.8 billion trips per year. If pump prices jump to $5 a gallon, the report predicts an additional 1.5 billion passenger trips can be expected, resulting in more than 11.6 billion trips per year. If prices were to soar to $6 a gallon, expectations go as high as an additional 2.7 billion passenger trips, resulting in more than 12.9 billion trips per year.

We must make significant, long-term investments in public transportation or we will leave our fellow Americans with limited travel options, or in many cases stranded without travel options. Public transit is the quickest way for people to beat high gas prices if it is available.

—APTA President William Millar

Many of the public transit systems across the country are already seeing large ridership increases, some reaching double digits in the month of February as compared to the previous year. As examples, APTA cites: the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority in Pompano Beach, FL increased by 10.6%; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority of Philadelphia, PA increased by 10%; and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority of Oakland, CA increased by 14%.

The projected estimates use the 2010 APTA Public Transportation Ridership Report as a baseline. The ridership is then increased by the reported elasticity multiplied by the projected price change to show ridership growth at a given increase above the average price for regular gasoline as reported in the last 2010 report by the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy.

Source: Green Car Congress