In recent years, as public school districts have struggled to cope with tight budgetary restrictions, administrators have been forced to find new, creative ways to save money wherever possible. In many districts, particularly in the Midwest, schools have begun adopting propane-powered buses to cut the cost of fuel. The Cedar Rapids School District in Iowa, for example, recently purchased seven new propane-powered buses to replace aging diesel models. These buses typically cost about $5,000 more than their diesel counterparts, but school districts can quickly recoup that loss in reduced fuel prices. Other notable districts that have adopted propane-powered school… Read more »
These days, you can find internet access just about everywhere – from the local coffee shop down the street to a base camp on Mt. Everest. Soon, you’ll be able to add school buses in Kanawha County, West Virginia to that list. Over the course of the next year, more than 150 buses in the school district will be retrofitted with Wi-Fi. Many students in the rural area have unusually long bus rides, and school administrators hope that if they provide students with internet access on buses, they’ll take the opportunity to complete homework assignments on their rides to and… Read more »
Commuting in India’s capital city of Mumbai can be a downright harrowing experience. The streets are notoriously crowded, and public transit is famously unreliable. Bus schedules are unpredictable and the buses themselves are often packed to the brim with uncomfortable passengers. Commute times can vary wildly, and it sometimes takes passengers hours to get to work. Jerin Venad is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology who was tired of spending two hours getting to and from his job at Ernst & Young in Mumbai. After kicking around ideas with a few of his former college classmates, Venad… Read more »
Since they were originally released in the 1950’s, Volkswagen’s camper buses have always occupied a special place in the hearts of American drivers. In the 1960’s, they became symbols of the counterculture movement. And then, at the end of the 1970’s, imports to the U.S. ceased as production was outsourced to Brazil. Since then, collectors have done their best to preserve the limited number of VW buses left in the States. Volkswagen has made a few attempts at reviving the line over the years, but each time the new models have looked more like minivans than the beloved road… Read more »
In 2012, the Audi R18 e-tron Quattro won the 24 Hour of Le Mans endurance race with the help of an electric flywheel that converted energy from braking into power for a supplementary electric motor. Called the GKN Hybrid Power Gyrodrive, the flywheel enabled the R18 to conserve fuel throughout the grueling race without sacrificing power. Now, the company that designed the Gyrodrive is selling the technology to a British automotive and aerospace conglomerate that plans to install the devices on 500 buses over the next two years. In preliminary tests, the device was able to cut fuel consumption… Read more »
Since the company was founded over a decade ago by a pair of bold entrepreneurs, Tesla Motors has continually defied expectations and shattered records with their line of electric cars, changing the way we think about the long-term practicality and potential impact of these futuristic vehicles. Now, a former employee of Tesla is working to make a similar impact on the bus market. Proterra is a Greenville, S.C.-based company that was founded in 2004 by bus industry veteran Dale Hill. By the time Ryan Popple of Tesla joined the team, Proterra was poised to do something truly remarkable. Since… Read more »
Last year, Seattle’s Metro Transit system set an all-time ridership record with 120 million people taking trips on the city’s buses. Among these riders was a short, hairy, four-legged and remarkably independent patron who took frequent solo rides to the local dog park. Eclipse, the two-year-old black lab mix who regularly goes on solo adventures on the bus, has become a welcome addition to the city’s thriving transit system. “All the bus drivers know her,” said fellow rider Tiona Rainwater in an interview with local Seattle TV news station KOMO. “She makes everybody happy. How could you not love… Read more »
