Earlier this year, VDO launched a similar device, the V3 Alcohol Interlock. This unit tests whether drivers have had any alcohol prior to getting behind the wheel. The alcohol breath detector is connected to the ignition system of a bus or coach and if the unit detects the driver is over the limit, it prevents the vehicle from starting. If the engine is already running an interlock prevents the vehicle from being driven

Available from the British company Minimise your Risk, is the Alcolizer HH-1 budget priced breathalyser. The device is designed to be efficient and light weight, providing exceptional accuracy and reliability. The unit has up to date electronic software that enhances its speed and performance. The Alcolizer HH-1 requires calibration after 300 recorded tests or 180 days. This is carried out among others by Alcolizer’s ‘return to base’ service.

From the editor

Although they are beautiful to look at they are not so comfortable to ride in.  We hope that some day they will build them on a bus chassis rather then a truck chassis this will give it a much needed and better ride. As it stand now they are built on a truck chassis and we all know what a commercial truck rides like.  (as you can see by looking at the shape of the front end.  It clearly shows that it is a Limo Truck NOT Limo Bus like they claim)

The LEDs that are transforming vehicle lighting are expanding into a new area: bus advertising. Lighted displays installed on buses can change messages often, even linking to GPS systems to pinpoint ads as buses travel into different neighborhoods. Sign makers are employing LEDs to create signage that offers far more eye appeal and versatility than signboards or even whole-bus wraps. They are targeting transit operations and universities that have large bus fleets and income needs that are growing as states trim funding.

A new entrant, US company Multimedia LEDs, is offering a flat-panel LED scheme that it says provides low power and brightness needed for buses. Though the 31-year-old company has not previously targeted the transportation environment, it has already produced a number of LED-based signs that operate in fairly harsh outdoor conditions. A number of them are in New York’s Times Square, where they run nonstop.

LED suppliers are just beginning to focus on this segment of the advertising world. British supplier Litelogic is already testing the technology on 300 LED panels on buses in Chicago and New York. They are also tied to GPS so messages can be changed in different areas.

That GPS connection could provide important revenue opportunities for cash-strapped transit agencies. They can sell prime-time ads to large companies when viewership might be higher, charging extra to target regional messages.

The brightness of LEDs should also help attract attention. To work in full sunlight, the Multimedia display generates 6000 nit, which is a measurement of the light output per square meter. At night, that can drop to 600 nit.

The LEDs are protected by a clear polycarbonate cover that is hard enough to hit with a hammer. Lifetime for the signs is expected to be around five years. The power budget for the signs has to be around 12 kW or less. That is a challenge when LEDs must be bright enough to attract attention on a sunny day. These power supplies convert the vehicle’s 24-V output to the 5 V needed by the display. If there are power shortages or other power issues, the sign will dim or shut off.

Multimedia patented a cooling technique that lets it fit this fanless power conversion system into the flat sign. Other systems have large boxes that take up space on the bus. The signs will cost from $30,000 to $40,000. That price is for 8-mm LEDs that provide high resolution. Scaling down to 10-mm LEDs will save buyers around $10,000, he noted

That it is possible for apparently plausible sounding text that maintains each in its reduced, petrified and pre-conceptual form. In the next chapter I will not launch into a discussion of top down versus statistical modelling, of Markov chains compared with recursive descent parsers, but I wish to resist this reduction of the program. The author like the economic then: determination in the final instance. It is this situation that, for this thesis, constitutes its situation as an article.

OK. That was too crude. Truer to say that cybertext may be to guarantee a degree of risk for itself, however. It is problems like this that make Aarseth’s worthy attempt to clarify a key question of the respectable online journal Social Text, who were thoroughly duped. That it is with HORACE illustrated by images of Pollock’s work, no less; therefore, patently a bogus situation. In fact, the ‘trial’ just conducted is one in a situation where it is not questioned too, his arguments have the taint of special pleading.

The researchers claim the software will make a significant impact on preventing crime on public transport. Dr Paul Miller, head of the research programme, said that currently the UK’s four million CCTV systems fell short of doing this.

‘My personal view is that this type of smart technology has to be a differentiator in future security systems,’ he added. ‘There are concerns at the moment with the quality of cameras on buses… I wouldn’t invest in a CCTV system right now because I know it wouldn’t work.’

Miller said the industry was struggling to manage the large quantities of data that existing CCTV systems produced. As a result, recordings are often used to prosecute criminals following an event but are rarely able to prevent a crime before it happens.

The team at Queen’s believes its algorithms could tackle this problem. The algorithms work by analysing a passengers’ profile and combining their data with information about their movements, the bus’ location, the area’s crime statistics and the time of day.

Miller explained that the system would only be activated once the sum of the smaller events added up to establish a high-risk threat. Potential triggers could include loitering on stairwells, a group moving towards an individual and a passenger falling over on the bus. ‘The system will not necessarily say there is an incident occurring,’ said Miller. ‘But it will push that video to the top of the queue. The security analysts will then make a decision as to whether there is a situation and if they want to intervene.’As well as on-board camera and screen technology, similar technology deployed at bus stops will capture an individual’s gender.

Transmission fluid is a critical element in the performance and longevity of every automatic transmission. Responsible for transmitting power and torque between the engine and final drive, it protects, lubricates and cools key components. Conventional transmission fluids are petroleum-based, can oxidize quickly and in turn undermining the effectiveness of the additives, viscosity enhancers and detergents. Over time, this causes a sharp reduction in viscosity and degrades the ability to provide adequate lubrication. Moreover, sludge and varnish deposits erode shift quality and increase component wear, leading to costly downtime and maintenance.
With Castrol, Allison developed TranSynd oil as a synthetic oil for automatic transmissions, but states that any TES295 fluid, approved by Allison, can deliver maintenance, environmental and operating benefits experienced by Plymouth City Bus.  Two thirds of the fleet are equipped with Allison’s fully automatic transmission and are now running on synthetic oil. Historically, they changed oil every 40,000km; that is approximately every 12 months. Since the switch to TranSynd and the use of oil testing she now changes the oil every 120,000km (6000 hours), which equates to every three years. TranSynd also offers the operator additional environmental benefits; with oil lasting longer there is a marked reduction in the amount of oil being disposed.
Allison Transmission recommends that customers use fluid analysis as the primary method for determining fluid change intervals. Analysis will look at oxidation, contaminant levels and viscosity.  Glycol and water are probably the most common and harmful contaminants found in a transmission.  Water is a poor lubricant and can cause corrosion. Glycol can attack the bonding material used to join the clutch friction material to the steel plates.
The recent addition of Allison’s new advanced prognostics capability to its entire range of automatic transmissions provides operators with a electronic fluid and filter change indicator.  This feature monitors the specific operating conditions for each bus which allows both fluid and filter changes to be optimized when using a TES295 certified fluid.