Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Will provide $4 million for an agriculture preservation fund to resolve claims that part of its project could violate state environment law. Will also pay about $1 million in attorneys’ fees to county farm bureaus and other groups that sued.

Follows a coach crash last December that killed nine and injured 38. Claims of ODOT’s negligence include failure to equip the stretch of Interstate 84 with barriers strong enough to prevent the bus from leaving the roadway and not adequately plowing and sanding the freeway.

A Sacramento County judge upheld the California High-Speed Rail Authority's environmental-review process for the controversial rail project in spite of an effort by Peninsula-area cities to stop it.

The rail authority agreed to consider the city's concerns about the route options in and around the city and cover up to $300,000 of the city's legal fees associated with the lawsuit. The settlement removes one hurdle from construction plans this year on the first segment in Madera and Fresno counties.

Agency alleged that United Airlines and American Airlines operate rarely-occupied offices in Sycamore, Ill. that they use to avoid paying higher taxes from their actual offices in Chicago, and that these operations have deprived Chicago and Cook County taxpayers, as well as public transportation agencies, of nearly $300 million over the last seven years.

The passengers, exchange students from South Korea, allege that the driver was tired, drove too fast on a road with patches of snow and ice, and ignored warnings from riders.

Train manufacturer claims it does not have to deliver two new train sets. The point of contention goes back to last year, when the state didn’t pay the $4.6 million Talgo claimed it was owed for ongoing work on the trains. The parties disagreed on who would pay to test the trains.

N.Y. MTA will allow Sikh and Muslim employees to wear religious head coverings while operating buses and railcars, reversing a policy enforced by the transit system following 9/11.

The same law firm led a class-action lawsuit against Via Rail and CN after a derailment in 1999 that killed two crew members and sent 77 passengers and crew to the hospital.

Crenshaw Subway Coalition is alleging that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Crenshaw Line rail project violated environmental and civil rights provisions.