Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Worth $1.4 million, the contract includes the option of equipping an additional 14 light rail vehicles in the future.

The project is part of a five-line rail plan that includes the East End, North, Uptown and Southeast Lines. The East End, North, and Southeast lines are under construction, while the Uptown line is in the design phase.

The contract will move forward the designs of the West Loch, Waipahu Transit Center and Leeward Community College stations.

The $1.2 billion, 11-mile extension to the region's light rail system is expected to increase transit ridership by 20,000 boardings a day. The voter-approved project has half of the funds dedicated from the TransNet half-cent sales tax.

Of the money for the loans, $1 million will come from reserves from the Metropolitan Council, which is building the $957 million, 11-mile line.

A referendum on the tax to fund the project will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

In June 2010, when ridership usually slumps as a result of the summer heat, Metro saw a 15 percent increase from 815,566 in 2009 to 942,154 in 2010.

The university is considering closing Campus Drive to all but pedestrians, bicyclists, campus shuttles, emergency vehicles and university service vehicles from June 19 to Aug. 15 as a test of longer-term plans to create a "traffic-free, pedestrian-friendly zone."

Served more than 1,2 million total riders in April 2010, resulting in an average weekday ridership of 44,932, average Saturday ridership of 34,533, and average Sunday and holiday ridership of 20,573.

The Houston Metro bus driver ran a red light, officials say. However, the driver insists that the light appeared to be green.