1.
AEC Routemaster
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The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968, the layout of the vehicle was traditional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear. The first London bus route to be operated by the Routemaster was route 2, on 8 February 1956, the same bus, with a revised front end, appeared at the Lord Mayors Show in November 1956. Most Routemasters were built for London Transport, although numbers were built for British European Airways. A total of 2,876 Routemasters were built, of which 1,280 are still in existence, in modern UK public transport bus operation, the old-fashioned features of the standard Routemaster were both praised and criticised. Despite the retirement of the version, the Routemaster has retained iconic status. In 2006, the Routemaster was voted one of Britains top 10 design icons which included Concorde, Mini, Supermarine Spitfire, London tube map, World Wide Web, in the late 2000s work began on a New Routemaster bus inspired by the Routemasters traditional design. It entered service in February 2012, the Routemaster was developed between 1947 and 1956 by a team directed by AAM Durrant and Colin Curtis, with vehicle styling by Douglas Scott. The resulting vehicle seated 64 passengers, despite being three-quarters of a ton lighter than buses in the RT family, the first task on delivery to service was to replace Londons trolleybuses, which had themselves replaced trams, and to begin to replace the older types of diesel bus. The Routemaster was designed by London Transport and constructed at Park Royal Vehicles, both companies were owned by Associated Commercial Vehicles, which was taken over by Leyland Motors in 1962. It was a design and used lightweight aluminium along with techniques developed in aircraft production during World War II. As well as a novel, weight-saving integral design, it also introduced for the first time on a bus independent front suspension, power steering, a fully automatic gearbox and power-hydraulic braking. This surprised some early drivers, who found the chassis unexpectedly light and nimble compared with older designs, footage of RM200 undergoing the skid test at Chiswick was included in the 1971 film On the Buses. The Routemaster was a departure from the traditional chassis/body construction method and it was one of the first integral buses, with a combination of an A steel sub-frame and a rear B steel sub-frame, connected by an aluminium body. The gearbox was mounted on the underside of the structure with shafts to the engine. Later pre-war London trolleybuses, however, had previously adopted chassisless construction, London Transport placed four prototype Routemasters in service between 1956 and 1958. The first two were built at the London Transport works at Chiswick, the third by Weymann at Addlestone and the fourth, the third and fourth had Leyland engines
2.
Bus
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A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry many passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers, many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus do not charge a fare, in many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special licence above and beyond a regular drivers licence. Horse-drawn buses were used from the 1820s, followed by steam buses in the 1830s, the first internal combustion engine buses, or motor buses, were used in 1895. Recently, interest has been growing in hybrid electric buses, fuel cell buses, as of the 2010s, bus manufacturing is increasingly globalised, with the same designs appearing around the world. Bus is a form of the Latin word omnibus. The first horse-drawn omnibus service was started by a businessman named Stanislas Baudry in the French city of Nantes in 1823, Nantes citizens soon gave the nickname omnibus to the vehicle. The omnibus in Nantes was a success and Baudry moved to Paris, a similar service was introduced in London in 1829. The first mechanically propelled omnibus appeared on the streets of London on 22 April 1833, in parallel to the development of the bus was the invention of the electric trolleybus, typically fed through trolley poles by overhead wires. The Siemens brothers, William in England and Ernst Werner in Germany, sir William first proposed the idea in an article to the Journal of the Society of Arts in 1881 as an. arrangement by which an ordinary omnibus. The first such vehicle, the Electromote, was made by his brother Dr. Ernst Werner von Siemens and presented to the public in 1882 in Halensee, Germany. Although this experimental vehicle fulfilled all the criteria of a typical trolleybus. Max Schiemann opened a trolleybus in 1901 near Dresden, in Germany. Although this system operated only until 1904, Schiemann had developed what is now the standard trolleybus current collection system, in the early days, a few other methods of current collection were used. Leeds and Bradford became the first cities to put trolleybuses into service in Great Britain on 20 June 1911, in Siegerland, Germany, two passenger bus lines ran briefly, but unprofitably, in 1895 using a six-passenger motor carriage developed from the 1893 Benz Viktoria. Another commercial bus line using the same model Benz omnibuses ran for a time in 1898 in the rural area around Llandudno. Daimler also produced one of the earliest motor-bus models in 1898, the vehicle had a maximum speed of 18 kph and accommodated up to 20 passengers, in an enclosed area below and on an open-air platform above. With the success and popularity of bus, Daimler expanded production, selling more buses to companies in London and, in 1899, to Stockholm
3.
Storey
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A storey is any level part of a building that could be used by people. The plurals are storeys and stories respectively, the terms floor, level, or deck can also be used in this sense, except that one may use ground floor and ground level for the floor closer to what is considered the ground or street level. The words storey and floor also generally exclude levels of the building that have no roof, houses commonly have only one or two floors. Buildings are often classified as low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise according to how many levels they contain, the tallest skyscraper in the world, Burj Khalifa, has 163 floors. As of 2013, the tallest planned skyscraper, Sky City, is planned to have 202 floors, the height of each storey is based on the ceiling height of the rooms plus the thickness of the floors between each pane. Generally this is around 10 feet total, however, it varies widely from just under this figure to well over it, storeys within a building need not be all the same height — often the lobby is more spacious, for example. Additionally, higher levels may be smaller in volume than the ones beneath them, in English, the principal floor or main floor of a house is the floor that contains the chief apartments, it is usually the ground floor, or the floor above. In Italy the main floor of a home is usually above the ground level, the attic or loft is a storey just below the buildings roof, its ceiling is often pitched and/or at a different height than that of other floors. A penthouse is an apartment on the topmost storey of a building. A basement is a storey below the main or ground floor, split-level homes have floors that offset from each other by less than the height of a full storey. A mezzanine, in particular, is typically a floor halfway between the floor and the next higher floor. Homes with a split-level entry have the main floor raised half a storey height above the street entrance level. In Macys Herald Square, there is a one and a floor between the first and second, this can be considered a split level floor. There are also car parks, also known as parking garages. Floor numbering is the scheme used for a buildings floors. There are two major schemes in use across the world, in one system, used in the majority of European countries, the ground floor is the floor literally on the ground and often has no number or is assigned the number 0. Therefore, the floor up is assigned the number 1 and is the first floor. The other system, used primarily in the United States and Canada, counts the bottom floor as the first floor, the existence of two incompatible conventions is a common source of confusion in international communication, sometimes even between communities who speak the same language
4.
Bus conductor
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Bus conductors, were a common feature of many local bus services in larger towns and cities in the UK and Ireland, until the late 1970s and early 1980s. The main reason two-person crews were needed was that most towns, until the 1960s, all double deck vehicles were built with front-mounted engines and a half-cab design, like the familiar AEC Routemaster London bus. This layout totally separated the driver from the passenger saloons, the conductor communicated with the driver using a series of bell codes, such as two bells to start. Many half-cab double-deckers were boarded from a platform at the rear, while others were equipped with a forward entrance and staircase. Each case required a conductor to collect fares and, especially on the rear-entrance design, the hope was to have the benefits of one-person operation without the cost of replacing vehicles that still remaining service life. This idea was scrapped and the buses reverted to conventional conductor operation. In the late 1950s, new double-decker bus designs appeared that provided higher capacity, with the compartment at the rear. From July 1966, UK transport regulations were changed to allow operation of urban double-deck buses by the driver only, some municipal operators adopted rear-engine bus designs and one-person operation quickly, others more slowly. More conservative municipal operators continued to order new half-cab buses through the 1960s and this was accelerated by a UK Government grant that supported the purchase of one person operated vehicles, but was not available for purchase of traditional half-cab buses. By the early 1980s bus conductors were largely obsolete in all cities except London, two-person crews continued to operate a number of bus routes in central London until late 2005, well beyond their demise in the rest of the country. This reprieve for conductors was due to continued use of the famous Routemaster bus, the Routemaster was purpose-built for London conditions and remained well suited to the busiest routes in the most congested parts of central London. This was because of its maneuverability, fast passenger loading/unloading capability, the Routemaster construction was of high quality, the design robust, and mechanical and body parts could be easily rebuilt and refurbished. Importantly, the red bus is also a unique tourism icon for London. Between 2003 and 2005, all of these were converted to modern vehicles. There were also increasingly frequent robberies and attacks on conductors, who could find themselves working in an isolated, the last regular Routemaster-operated service was on route 159 from Marble Arch to Streatham. Conductor operation finally ceased on the 159 on 9 December 2005, there has been a revival in conductor operation on buses in the UK with the development of the FTR routes in York, Leeds and Swansea. Stagecoach Strathtay still uses conductors on service 73 from Arbroath, Carnoustie, quantock Motor Services, Somerset, operates the service 400 Exmoor Explorer using crew-operated vintage open-top buses. Conductors also returned to London in 2012 with the introduction of the New Routemaster, some of the routes served by the New Routemaster will not have conductors, so the service will be driver-only operation controlling three doors of the bus
5.
William Ewart Gladstone
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William Ewart Gladstone, FRS, FSS was a British Liberal and earlier conservative politician. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times, more than any other person, Gladstone was also Britains oldest Prime Minister, he resigned for the final time when he was 84 years old. Gladstone first entered Parliament in 1832, beginning as a High Tory, Gladstone served in the Cabinet of Sir Robert Peel. After the split of the Conservatives Gladstone was a Peelite – in 1859 the Peelites merged with the Whigs, as Chancellor Gladstone became committed to low public spending and to electoral reform, earning him the sobriquet The Peoples William. Gladstones first ministry saw many reforms including the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland, after his electoral defeat in 1874, Gladstone resigned as leader of the Liberal Party, but from 1876 began a comeback based on opposition to Turkeys reaction to the Bulgarian April Uprising. Gladstones Midlothian Campaign of 1879–80 was an example of many modern political campaigning techniques. The government also passed the Third Reform Act, Back in office in early 1886, Gladstone proposed Irish home rule but this was defeated in the House of Commons in July. The resulting split in the Liberal Party helped keep out of office, with one short break. In 1892 Gladstone formed his last government at the age of 82, the Second Home Rule Bill passed the Commons but was defeated in the Lords in 1893. Gladstone resigned in March 1894, in opposition to increased naval expenditure and he left Parliament in 1895 and died three years later aged 88. Gladstone was known affectionately by his supporters as The Peoples William or the G. O. M, Gladstone is consistently ranked as one of Britains greatest Prime Ministers. Born in 1809 in Liverpool, at 62 Rodney Street, William Ewart Gladstone was the son of the slave-owning merchant Sir John Gladstone. Although born and brought up in Liverpool, William Gladstone was of purely Scottish ancestry, in 1814 young Willy visited Scotland for the first time, as he and his brother John travelled with their father to Edinburgh, Biggar and Dingwall to visit their relatives. William and his brother were both made freemen of the burgh of Dingwall, in 1815 Gladstone also travelled to London and Cambridge for the first time with his parents. In London he attended a service of thanksgiving with his family at St Pauls Cathedral following the Battle of Waterloo, William Gladstone was educated from 1816 to 1821 at a preparatory school at the vicarage of St Thomass Church at Seaforth, close to his familys residence, Seaforth House. In December 1831 he achieved the double first-class degree he had long desired, Gladstone served as President of the Oxford Union debating society, where he developed a reputation as an orator, which followed him into the House of Commons. At university Gladstone was a Tory and denounced Whig proposals for parliamentary reform, following the success of his double first, William travelled with his brother John on a Grand Tour of Europe, visiting Belgium, France, Germany and Italy. On his return to England, William was elected to Parliament in 1832 as Tory Member of Parliament for Newark, partly through the influence of the local patron, the Duke of Newcastle
6.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
7.
Horse bus
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A horse-bus or horse-drawn omnibus was a large, enclosed and sprung horse-drawn vehicle used for passenger transport before the introduction of motor vehicles. It was mainly used in the late 19th century in both the United States and Europe, and was one of the most common means of transportation in cities. In a typical arrangement, two wooden benches along the sides of the cabin held several sitting passengers facing each other. The driver sat on a separate, front-facing bench, typically in a position outside the passengers enclosed cabin. In the main age of buses, many of them were double-decker buses. On the upper deck, which was uncovered, the benches were arranged back to back. Similar, if smaller, vehicles were maintained at country houses to convey servants and luggage to. A small open wagon with or without a top, but with an arrangement of the similar to horse-drawn omnibuses, was called a wagonette. Bus is a form of the Latin word omnibus. Omnes Omnibus was a pun on the Latin-sounding name of that hatter Omnès, omnes meaning all, thence, the legend concludes, Nantes citizens gave the nickname of Omnibus to the vehicle. Though it is undisputed that the term arose with Stanislas Baudrys company, in 1892, the son of Baudrys bookkepeer wrote in the Bulletin de la Société archéologique de Nantes that omnibus had a simpler origin. Baudry used to call his horsecars Dames blanches, a name which, critics told him and he then replied, with the Latin word, Then, these are omnibus cars. Other stories about the name quickly spread out. The term omnibus carried over to motor vehicles, the 1914 book Motor Body-building in all its Branches, by Christopher William Terry, described an omnibus as having longitudinal seats in rows with either a rear door or side doors. The first known public bus line was launched by Blaise Pascal in 1662 and was popular until fares were increased. The name was said to come from the station of the first line in Nantes, in front of the store of a hat-maker named Omnes, who had a large sign on his building saying Omnes Omnibus. Following success in Nantes, Baudry moved to Paris and founded the Enterprise des Omnibus on rue de Lancre, in 1827 he commissioned an English coach-maker, George Shillibeer, to design a vehicle that could be stable and carry a large number of passengers. On 28 April,1828, the first Paris omnibus began service, before long, there were one hundred omnibuses in service, with eighteen different itineraries
8.
Arriva
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Arriva is a multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. It was established in 1938 as T Cowie and through a number of mergers and acquisitions was rebranded Arriva in 1997, Arriva operates bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus services in 14 countries across Europe. As at December 2015 it employed 55,000 people and operated 2.2 billion passenger journeys annually and it operates as three divisions, UK Bus, UK Rail and Mainland Europe. The company was founded by TSK Cowie in Sunderland in 1938 as a motorcycle dealer trading as T Cowie Limited. In 1948 the business was re-launched by Tom Cowie, the founders son, T Cowie plc was floated in December 1964, and in 1965 it bought out the first of many car dealerships. In 1972 it formed Cowie Contract Hire, which became the largest contract hire business in the UK, in 1980 T Cowie made its first foray into bus operations, buying the Grey-Green operation in London from the George Ewer Group. In 1984 T Cowie plc acquired the Hanger Group, which included Interleasing, further leasing companies acquired were Marley Leasing, RoyScot Drive and Ringway Leasing. Following the retirement of Tom Cowie, the company was renamed Cowie Group plc in April 1994, as part of the privatisation of London bus services, Cowie Group acquired the Leaside Buses and South London Transport business units in September 1994 and January 1995. Cowie plc bought United Automobile Services and British Bus in July and August 1996, as a result of these transactions, in October 1996 Cowie Group was reclassified on the stock exchange from a motor dealer to a transport group. In November 1997 the company was rebranded as Arriva plc, in that year it also bought Unibus in Denmark, its first venture outside the United Kingdom. In June 1999 Arriva sold its business to General Motors. In February 2000 Arriva purchased MTL Holdings, which included its first UK rail franchises, Merseyrail Electrics, in 2002/03 Arriva sold its motor-retailing businesses and in February 2006 it sold its vehicle-rental business to Northgate. In April 2008 the LNWR train maintenance business in England was acquired, in 2010 it was reported that the government-owned railway companies of France and Germany were considering making takeover bids for the business. SNCF subsidiary Keolis and Arriva entered discussions regarding a merger, the takeover was approved by the European Commission in August 2010, conditional on Deutsche Bahn disposing of some Arriva services in Germany. The takeover took effect on 27 August 2010, and Arriva was delisted from the London Stock Exchange on 31 August 2010, in late 2011 Arriva acquired Grand Central Railway and sold its Arriva Scotland West bus operation. In May 2013 Arriva purchased Veolia Transports Central European business with 3,400 vehicles, in May 2013 Arriva entered the Croatian bus market with the purchase of Veolia Transport Central Europe with 120 buses. Arriva group bought three medium-sized bus transport companies in 2006 and 2007 end established its own transport company Arriva vlaky s. r. o. in 2009. These four companies are owned through Arriva holding Česká republika s. r. o. which is owned by the Dutch company Arriva Coöperatie W. A
9.
Volvo B7TL
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Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian. It was built as the British bus operators seemed hesitant to purchase the B7L double decker with a rear overhang. The B7TL chassis was designed by the Leyland Product Developments consultancy based at the Leyland Technical Centre and it was initially built in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2000, production was transferred to Sweden. In mid-2004, production of MkII version of B7TL was started, like the Olympian, the B7TL features a transversely-mounted rear engine and a shorter rear overhang, but the radiator was mounted on the right side of the engine compartment. It was equipped with Volvo D7C engine and ZF or Voith gearbox, the B7TL was initially available with Alexander ALX400 and Plaxton President bodywork, later followed by East Lancs Vyking and Myllennium Vyking bodies, and also the Wright Eclipse Gemini. The Volvo B7TL was very popular in the United Kingdom, with a number being purchased by most of the major bus groups such as FirstGroup. Also Travel West Midlands purchased over 320 B7TLs with Plaxton President, Alexander ALX400, translink of Northern Ireland also purchased over 150 B7TLs. London Central AVL1 cited to be the first example of a production B7TL and it was also popular in the Republic of Ireland, Dublin Bus acquired 648 B7TLs between 2000 and 2007, all with Alexander/TransBus/Alexander Dennis ALX400 bodywork. Bus Éireann also purchased more than twenty B7TLs, on the other hand, a batch of 150 B7TLs had been delivered to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002 and were fitted with Marcopolo Viale DD bodywork. The Volvo B7TL was superseded by 2-axle version of the Volvo B9TL in late 2006, competitors Dennis Trident 2 Scania OmniDekka VDL DB250 List of buses
10.
UK
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
11.
Volvo Olympian
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The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engined 2-axle and 3-axle double decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo at its Irvine, Scotland factory. The first was built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, the early Volvo Olympians were offered with Cummins L10 or Volvo TD102KF engine, coupled to Voith DIWA or ZF Ecomat gearbox. From late 1996, only the Volvo D10A-245 Euro II engine with electronic control was offered. It was available with Alexander R-type, Northern Counties Palatine and East Lancs E Type/Pyoneer bodywork, the Volvo Olympian is likely to be built as either closed top or open top. The Volvo Olympian remained as popular as the Leyland Olympian in the United Kingdom, large number of Olympians were exported to Hong Kong and Singapore, most of them being air-conditioned. The buses were popular in the United Kingdom, most of the UK versions had two rather than three axles. London United, Metroline, Stagecoach London, London Central, London General, Capital Citybus, MTL London, Harris Bus, because of a low-floor rule that had to be complied with by 2006, these buses were not in service for long. Only two buses from London United survived for rail replacement services, many other operators outside London do receive Volvo Olympians. Dublin Bus had continued their orders with the RA batch being ordered first,150 buses in 1994, in January 1997, Dublin Bus ordered further 315 Volvo Olympians, which is RV. During the period, new liveries had been introduced, of which it is CitySwift, all buses were withdrawn in 2011. Kowloon Motor Bus had ordered 531 Volvo Olympian 11m,338 Volvo Olympian 12m and 30 Volvo Olympian non-aircon buses between 1994 and 1999, long Win sold 10 12-metre Volvo Olympians to KMB in 1999. Due to the modernisation of the fleet, all Volvo Olympians have been withdrawn, Citybus had ordered 10 Volvo Olympian 10. 4m,2 Volvo Olympian 12m,310 Volvo Olympian 12m and 142 Volvo Olympian 11m between 1994 and 1998. Due to the modernisation of the fleet, most of the buses were either withdrawn, china Motor Bus ordered 64 Volvo Olympians between 1996 and 1998. 62 were sold to New World First Bus in 1998 and 5 of them were converted to open-top for Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus, New World First Bus received 2 12-metre Volvo Olympians from HACTL in 1999 and 10 from Citybus in 2014. All buses were withdrawn as they aged 16 –17 years, Singapore Bus Services had ordered 100 Volvo Olympian 2-Axles and 201 Volvo Olympian 3-Axles in 1993. The Volvo Olympian 3-Axles has been delivered between June 1994 and June 1995 and these buses were extended to 2 years in 2011, and some to 6 months/permanent 1 year extension in 2013 -2014. About 7 buses were retired before June 2013,29 buses were extended to 1 year to facilitate retirement of Volvo Olympian 3-Axle as well as to facilitate deployment of Volvo B9TLs on Jurong Industrial services after all the buses were retired. It thus followed by 200 Volvo Olympian 3-Axles again in 1995, in July 2004, only 246 and 251 became non air-con until the Volvo Olympians were transferred over in 2009
12.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
13.
Articulated buses
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An articulated bus is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. Due to their high capacity, articulated buses are often used as part of bus rapid transit schemes. Used almost exclusively on public bus services, articulated buses are approximately 18 metres in length. A less common variant of the bus is the bi-articulated bus. Their capacity is around 200 people, and their length about 25 metres, early examples of the articulated bus appeared in Europe in the 1920s. In Budapest, the first prototype of this bus was in service in 1960 and it was manufactured without the use of blueprints. Later Ikaruss blueprints were drawn up on the basis of existing prototype. There is an exhibition in Budapest at the Museum of Transportation in 2010 with the title The articulated bus is 50 years old. In the mid-1960s, AC Transit in California pioneered the American use of an articulated bus. Articulated buses have also used in Australia and Europe The first modern British bendy buses were built by Leyland-DAB. They were subsequently withdrawn from service because they proved to be expensive to maintain, one disadvantage that is sometimes experienced with some articulated models is the insufficiency of the effective motive power available to them. It is common for articulated buses to use the engine type as non-articulated buses. The extra weight of the bendy bus gives rise to a slower speed, when used in cities built on numerous inclines the vehicle is prone to overheating. This may lead to stalling, or in the worst situations to an outbreak of fire if the bus is powered by a diesel engine. During late 2003 and early 2004, a series of fires on newly delivered Mercedes-Benz Citaros led to Londoners humorously nicknaming the vehicles chariots of fire. Mercedes-Benz quickly addressed the problem, although the vehicles were out of service for a period, however, no overheating or fire-related incidents have ever been recorded in Vancouvers articulated electric trolley buses from a similar cause. Vancouvers articulated trolley buses were specifically chosen for the torque output of their electric motors. In some circumstances of urban operation, articulated buses may also be involved in more accidents than conventional buses
14.
Axle
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An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating them, or fixed to the vehicle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type axle is referred to as a spindle, on cars and trucks, several senses of the word axle occur in casual usage, referring to the shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. Strictly speaking, a shaft which rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, is called an axle or axle shaft, however, in looser usage an entire assembly including the surrounding axle housing is also called an axle. An even broader sense of the word refers to every pair of wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle, regardless of their mechanical connection to each other. Thus, transverse pairs of wheels in an independent suspension may be called an axle in some contexts, axles are an integral component of most practical wheeled vehicles. In a live-axle suspension system, the serve to transmit driving torque to the wheel, as well as to maintain the position of the wheels relative to each other. The axles in this system must also bear the weight of the vehicle plus any cargo. A non-driving axle, such as the front beam axle in heavy duty trucks and some 2-wheel drive light trucks and vans, will have no shaft, conversely, many front wheel drive cars have a solid rear beam axle. In other types of systems, the axles serve only to transmit driving torque to the wheels. This is typical of the independent suspension found on most newer cars and SUVs and these systems still have a differential, but it will not have attached axle housing tubes. It may be attached to the frame or body, or integral in a transaxle. The axle shafts then transmit driving torque to the wheels, like a full floating axle system, the drive shafts in a front wheel drive independent suspension system do not support any vehicle weight. A straight axle is a rigid shaft connecting a wheel on the left side of the vehicle to a wheel on the right side. The axis of rotation fixed by the axle is common to both wheels, such a design can keep the wheel positions steady under heavy stress, and can therefore support heavy loads. Straight axles are used on trains, for the axles of commercial trucks
15.
Articulated bus
–
An articulated bus is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. Due to their high capacity, articulated buses are often used as part of bus rapid transit schemes. Used almost exclusively on public bus services, articulated buses are approximately 18 metres in length. A less common variant of the bus is the bi-articulated bus. Their capacity is around 200 people, and their length about 25 metres, early examples of the articulated bus appeared in Europe in the 1920s. In Budapest, the first prototype of this bus was in service in 1960 and it was manufactured without the use of blueprints. Later Ikaruss blueprints were drawn up on the basis of existing prototype. There is an exhibition in Budapest at the Museum of Transportation in 2010 with the title The articulated bus is 50 years old. In the mid-1960s, AC Transit in California pioneered the American use of an articulated bus. Articulated buses have also used in Australia and Europe The first modern British bendy buses were built by Leyland-DAB. They were subsequently withdrawn from service because they proved to be expensive to maintain, one disadvantage that is sometimes experienced with some articulated models is the insufficiency of the effective motive power available to them. It is common for articulated buses to use the engine type as non-articulated buses. The extra weight of the bendy bus gives rise to a slower speed, when used in cities built on numerous inclines the vehicle is prone to overheating. This may lead to stalling, or in the worst situations to an outbreak of fire if the bus is powered by a diesel engine. During late 2003 and early 2004, a series of fires on newly delivered Mercedes-Benz Citaros led to Londoners humorously nicknaming the vehicles chariots of fire. Mercedes-Benz quickly addressed the problem, although the vehicles were out of service for a period, however, no overheating or fire-related incidents have ever been recorded in Vancouvers articulated electric trolley buses from a similar cause. Vancouvers articulated trolley buses were specifically chosen for the torque output of their electric motors. In some circumstances of urban operation, articulated buses may also be involved in more accidents than conventional buses
16.
Felix Bus Services
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Felix Bus Services was a bus company based in Stanley, Derbyshire. The company operated bus and coach services in Derbyshire between 1921 and 2012, the companys founder Norman Frost bought a Crossley lorry from the War Department in 1921. A second Crossley with charabanc bodywork was purchased the following year, a Dickens bus body was fitted to the chassis of the original vehicle in 1924. Felix settled down to operate the Derby to Ilkeston via Chaddesden, Stanley, at about this time, Frost was asked to name one of his vehicles. He made his choice using a song of the day. The vehicles were based on New Street in Stanley, where Frosts parents lived. In 1937, a house and garage were built on Station Road, Norman Frost owned the company until his death in 1975. It then passed to his nephew, Geoffrey Middup, in early 2009, Felix the Cat Creations Inc. a large United States company, approached Felix and claimed it owned copyright for images of cats used next to the Felix name. While it provided no evidence, Felix decided they couldnt afford to any court case. This transfer took place on 29 January 2012, the bus services operating from Trentbartons Meadow Road garage in Derby. The coach holidays and day excursions are now operated under the Felix name by Swiftsure Coaches of Burton-on-Trent, Felix continued to operate some school journeys into Kirk Hallam until the end of March 2012, when subsidies were withdrawn by Derbyshire County Council. The operators licence expired at the end of April 2012, it was not renewed, between 1926 and 1940 Dennis chassis were purchased, many having bodywork by Willowbrook of Loughborough. After experience of utility Bedford OWB buses during World War II, the fleet was 100% Bedford between 1968 and 1985. During this period the fleet size remained constant at around seven or eight vehicles. Plaxton bodywork was favoured, and most vehicles were coaches along with a few vehicles to dual-purpose specification, the cessation of service 59 saw further fleet reductions, and by mid-2008, the fleet numbered 13. The diversity of the fleet increased with new and secondhand Leylands, Dennises and Volvos. The emphasis has also switched from coaches to service buses, the final fleet contained three coaches, two Irisbuses and a Volvo, and 90% of the service buses were low-floor, easy access types. The main service was operated jointly with Trentbarton as The Black Cat having previously been numbered 12
17.
National symbol
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National symbols intend to unite people by creating visual, verbal, or iconic representations of the national people, values, goals, or history. These symbols are often rallied around as part of celebrations of patriotism or aspiring nationalism and are designed to be inclusive and representative of all the people of the national community, list of national symbols Cultural icon Floral emblem National cockade Religion in national symbols
18.
Transport for London
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Transport for London is a local government body responsible for the transport system in Greater London, England. Its head office is in Windsor House in the City of Westminster, the underlying services are provided by a mixture of wholly owned subsidiary companies, by private sector franchisees and by licensees. In 2015-16, TfL had a budget of £11.5 billion, the rest comes from government funding, borrowing, other income and Crossrail funding. On 21 January 2016, it was announced that the responsibility for franchising all of Londons inner suburban services would be transferred from the DfT to TfL. This transfer will take place as current franchises fall due for renewal, TfL was created in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It gained most of its functions from its predecessor London Regional Transport in 2000, the first Commissioner of TfL was Bob Kiley. The first Chair was then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, and the first Deputy Chair was Dave Wetzel, Livingstone and Wetzel remained in office until the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor in 2008. Johnson took over as Chairman, and in February 2009 fellow-Conservative Daniel Moylan was appointed as his Deputy, TfL did not take over responsibility for the London Underground until 2003, after the controversial Public-private partnership contract for maintenance had been agreed. Management of the Public Carriage Office had previously been a function of the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London Group Archives holds business records for TfL and its predecessor bodies and transport companies. Some early records are held on behalf of TfL Group Archives at the London Metropolitan Archives. After the bombings on the underground and bus systems on 7 July 2005 and they helped survivors out, removed bodies, and got the transport system up and running, to get the millions of commuters back out of London at the end of the work day. Those mentioned include Peter Hendy, who was at the time Head of Surface Transport division, and Tim OToole, head of the Underground division, carrying open containers of alcohol was also banned on public transport operated by TfL. The Mayor of London and TfL announced the ban with the intention of providing a safer, there were Last Round on the Underground parties on the night before the ban came into force. Passengers refusing to observe the ban may be refused travel and asked to leave the premises, the Greater London Authority reported in 2011 that assaults on London Underground staff had fallen by 15% since the introduction of the ban. In an effort to reduce sexual offences and increase reporting, TfL—in conjunction with the British Transport Police, Metropolitan Police Service, TfL is controlled by a board whose members are appointed by the Mayor of London, a position held by Sadiq Khan since May 2016. The Commissioner of Transport for London reports to the Board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities, the body is organised in three main directorates and corporate services, each with responsibility for different aspects and modes of transport. This network is sub-divided into three service units, BCV, Bakerloo, Central, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines. JNP, Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, SSL, Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
19.
London Buses route 15 (Heritage)
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London Buses route 15 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Tower Hill and Trafalgar Square, it is operated by Stagecoach London and it is a short working of the standard route 15 and it is the only preserved AEC Routemaster route. For Transport for London, they aimed to comply earlier as it is a different case with the last buses withdrawn on June 2008 with two exemptions - heritage routes, only one route, 15H remains after the withdrawal of 9H in 2014. An extension to the Oxford Street area was excluded due to severe congestion there, the number of the parallel route 15 was adopted for the AEC Routemasters, despite potential for confusion with the main 15. Ten buses were allocated to the operator,5 for the turnout,3 operational spares and 2 as a strategic reserve. Despite having only a couple of weeks to prepare the vehicles after they left normal service, the first journey was driven by Peter Hendy, managing director of TfL surface transport. In April 2008, one of the buses was painted in a special Indian Red and Silver livery and it was first revealed at the LBPTs Cobham bus rally, and soon after entered regular service. In 2015, the 10 Routemasters are to be refurbished which will include opening windows being refitted
20.
London Buses route 9 (Heritage)
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It was operated by First London and later Tower Transit with AEC Routemasters from November 2005 until July 2014. To counter unfavourable media coverage of the withdrawal of Londons classic AEC Routemaster fleet, after hopes that this would be operated commercially, it eventually materialised as tendered short workings on two existing routes, 9H and 15H. The route was operated by First London from Aldwych to the Royal Albert Hall. The route was criticised by the Liberal Democrats for missing out important tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and this approach ensured passengers with other mobility problems would have alternatives to the Routemasters. The two heritage routes began operation on 14 November 2005, the Routemasters selected had been rebuilt in the early 2000s by Marshall Bus with new engines, windows and lighting. On 13 November 2010, route 9H was extended westward from the Royal Albert Hall to Kensington High Street, the extension was at the urging of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which wanted to boost the number of visitors to Kensington High Street. On 22 June 2013, route 9H was included in the sale of First Londons Westbourne Park garage to Tower Transit, route 9H ceased operating on 25 July 2014 because the arrival of New Routemasters on route 9 reduced the patronage of route 9H. This money will be re-invested in London’s bus network
21.
Hybrid bus
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This article deals with hybrid combustion / battery hybrid buses. For alternately powered buses, see dual-mode bus, for fuel cell hybrids see fuel cell bus, for all-electric buses, a hybrid electric bus combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These type of buses normally use a Diesel-electric powertrain and are known as hybrid Diesel-electric buses. The introduction of electric vehicles and other green vehicles for purposes of public transport forms a part of sustainable transport schemes. A hybrid electric bus may have either a parallel powertrain or a series powertrain, the project aims to deploy 60 vehicles for a three-year period in school bus fleets across the nation. The vehicles will be capable of running in either electric-only or hybrid modes, because electricity will be their primary fuel, they will consume less petroleum than standard vehicles. Travel beyond the 40-mile range will be facilitated by a clean Diesel engine capable of running on renewable fuels, the DOE funding will cover up to half of the projects cost and will be provided over three years, subject to annual appropriations. Tribrid buses have developed by the University of Glamorgan, Wales. They are powered by hydrogen fuel or solar cells, batteries, a report prepared by Purdue University suggests introducing more hybrid Diesel-electric buses and a fuel containing 20% biodiesel would further reduce greenhouse emissions and petroleum consumption. In 2006, Nova Bus, which had marketed the RTS hybrid before that model was discontinued, added a Diesel-electric hybrid option for its LFS series. The Wright Pulsar Gemini HEV bus uses a small Diesel engine with electric storage through a lithium ion battery pack. The use of a 1. 9-litre Diesel instead of the typical 7. 0-litre engine in a traditional bus demonstrates the advantages of serial hybrids in extremely traffic-dense environments. Based on a London test cycle, a reduction in CO2 emissions of 31%, also in 2005 General Electric introduced its hybrid electric gear shifters on the market. Toyota claims to have started with the Coaster Hybrid Bus in 1997 on the Japanese market, in May 2003 General Motors started to tour with hybrid electric buses developed together with Allison. Several hundreds of buses have entered into daily operation in the U. S. The Blue Ribbon City Hybrid bus was presented by Hino, a Toyota affiliate, mitsubishi Fuso have developed a Diesel engine hybrid bus using lithium batteries in 2002, and this model has since seen limited service in several Japanese cities. The first model went into service in Christchurch since 1999, and later models were sold for daily service in Tokyo, Auckland, Hong Kong. New Flyer, Gillig, North American Bus Industries, and Nova Bus produce hybrid buses using either BAE Systems HybriDrive
22.
New Routemaster
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The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London, is a hybrid diesel-electric double-decker bus operated in London. The first bus entered service on 27 February 2012, the original AEC Routemaster was a standard London bus type, with a rear open platform and crewed by both a driver and conductor. As a result, the bus is also known as the Boris Bus or Borismaster - a portmanteau of Boris Johnson. Following an open competition in 2008, Wrightbus was awarded the contract to build the bus at the end of 2009. The design for the new double-decker bus is inspired by the original AEC Routemaster, the layout of the new bus allows it to be operated by one person at off-peak times. The cost of each bus is £355,000 over the four year procurement period, the New Routemasters were popular with many bus operators and are now a common sight in central London. In late 2016 it was announced no more would be ordered. The final design has doors at the front, centre and rear, the front and rear doors lead to staircases to the upper deck. The rear entrance has a platform and pole similar to the original Routemaster, there is a new pattern of moquette for the seating, manufactured by Camira Fabrics. The internal lighting is provided by LED clusters, and there is a ventilation system. The bus is a hybrid diesel-electric driven by an electric motor, charged by a diesel fueled generator. Older buses were allowed to remain in London until 23 October 2009, through the TfL contract renewal process, after 2000, the Routemaster began to be identified as the most common example of a non-wheelchair-accessible bus type used on TfL routes. The first Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, supported the Routemaster during his first term, Livingstone said that the Routemasters were too dangerous, with approximately twelve people per year dying after falling from them during his mayoralty. The last examples were withdrawn from regular London passenger service in December 2005, the Routemaster continued in operation on heritage routes 9 and 15, with the former discontinued in July 2014. An attempt to design a rear-engined front-entrance version of the Routemaster in 1964/65 led to the construction of the FRM1 in 1966, the prototype shared approximately 60% of its components with a standard Routemaster and was the first integrally-constructed rear-engined double-decker built in Britain. Because of its door and continued mechanical problems associated with its unique design. In 1968, London Transport went back to the board for another replacement of the Routemaster. The initial result was a four-axle low-floor design that would have been suitable for automatic fare collection, by 1975, the project was well in hand and had been named XRM
23.
2012 Summer Olympics
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It took place in London and to a lesser extent across the United Kingdom from 25 July to 12 August 2012. The first event, the stage in womens football began on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. 10,768 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees participated, London is the first and only city thus far to host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948. Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment, with an emphasis on sustainability, the main focus was a new 200-hectare Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford, East London. The Games also made use of venues that already existed before the bid, the Games received widespread acclaim for their organisation, with the volunteers, the British military and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly. During the Games, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time, so that every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games. Womens boxing was included for the first time, thus the Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors and these were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Jacques Rogge. The final medal tally was led by the United States, followed by China, several world and Olympic records were set at the games. Furthermore, the focus on sporting legacy and post-games venue sustainability was seen as a blueprint for future Olympics. On 18 May 2004, as a result of a technical evaluation. All five submitted their candidate files by 19 November 2004 and were visited by the IOC inspection team during February, throughout the process, Paris was widely seen as the favourite, particularly as this was its third bid in recent years. London was initially seen as lagging behind Paris by a considerable margin and its position began to improve after the appointment of Lord Coe as the new head of London 2012 on 19 May 2004. In late August 2004, reports predicted a tie between London and Paris, on 6 June 2005, the IOC released its evaluation reports for the five candidate cities. They did not contain any scores or rankings, but the report for Paris was considered the most positive, London was close behind, having closed most of the gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004. New York and Madrid also received positive evaluations. On 1 July 2005, when asked who would win, Jacques Rogge said, but my gut feeling tells me that it will be very close. Perhaps it will come down to a difference of say ten votes, on 6 July 2005, the final selection was announced at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. Moscow was the first city to be eliminated, followed by New York, the final two contenders were London and Paris
24.
Bus Vannin
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Bus Vannin - styled as bus vannin - is the government-owned and operated bus service on the Isle of Man. The name was adopted in June 2009 to replace Isle of Man Transport, the company was founded on 1 October 1976, as the National Transport, which was an amalgamation of two other operating companies. The first omnibus services on the island were provided by the Manxland Bus Co Limited, primary means of long-distance travel was by way of either the Isle of Man Railway to the west, south and north or Manx Electric Railway on the east coast. When bus competition became a threat to the Isle of Man Railway, it out the bus company. In addition to the island-wide services Douglas Corporation also operated a fleet of buses around the capital, the vehicles of Road Services carried an allover red livery with two off-white bands and the Railway Company crest was modified to include a facsimile of a bus instead of a railway locomotive. The buses of Douglas Corporation which only operated within the borough, both operators used the bus station on Lord Street in Douglas as their base although today this site has been given over to car park whilst buses use roadside lay-bys on Lord Street itself. By 1987 the white banding had become cream in colour, during the period up to 1997 advertising panels were carried on the sides of some vehicles, and, in certain cases, all-over advertising was used. There are three bus depots on the island which provide facilities and storage areas for off-duty buses. With the exception of Douglas, these are located at one position, with the Douglas storage area at Banks Circus being a workshop, the passenger facilities provided at all the main stations are limited, and some facilities are only open during certain times of the day. A depot in Peel closed in 2010, the garage and facilities in Ramsey were taken over from the original Manxland Omnibus Company, and have remained in bus company ownership ever since. Douglas Port Erin Ramsey A wide range of routes are operated by Bus Vannin, many of them are operated on a regular daily such as routes from Douglas to other large towns on the island and also local services around Douglas. There are some routes however which are operated on a frequent basis on certain days of the week to smaller towns. From September 2009 night bus services were introduced to Port Erin and Port St Mary, Ramsey and these services are operated on Fridays and Saturdays only. The most recent timetable change came into effect in March 2015, the ticket prices are based on the zones all over the island, and multi-journey tickets vary in cost and colour depending zones you pass through when you use one. The standard fares vary from 50p to £1.40 for children and 90p to £3.10 for adults, the latest timetable update was released in May 2014. Since the update of the timetable in September 2010, there are several different new kinds of tickets available, the Short Hop fare is for passengers that are travelling up to 3 stops in towns. These cost 60 pence per ticket, and are bought on the vehicle, the multi journey Manx Rider ticket, which is valid for twelve single journeys offers discounts averaging 25%. The price and discount are based on the bus fare for the journey rather than zones
25.
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
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Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish builder of bus and coach bodywork based in Falkirk. The company was formed in 1947 to continue the activities of W. Alexander & Sons when their bus service operation was nationalised. After several mergers and changes of ownership it now part of Alexander Dennis. In 1913, Walter Alexander founded Alexanders Motor Service to expand upon the Falkirk & District Tramways Companys route into previously unserved Grangemouth, in 1924, believing in the future of the omnibus, Alexander established W. Alexander & Sons Limited, to run and manufacture them. In 1928, several of the major British railway companies bought into the Scottish Motor Traction Company, Walter Alexander decided to sell his business to the SMT group in 1929, and through this action, received access to a vast supply of resources and services. The coachbuilding business continued to flourish and expansion was rapid, in 1969, the company bought out Potters, a bodybuilder in Northern Ireland, and set up a subsidiary Walter Alexander & Co Limited, and within six years started selling buses to the Far East. In 1981 the company was awarded the Queens Award for Export, by 1983, the company was the largest supplier of double-deck bus bodies in the world, and a year later it won a British Rail contract to construct 25 Class 143 carriages. In 1987, Walter Alexander became a listed company, having previously been a private firm run by the Alexander family. In 2001, it was incorporated into TransBus International and it is now part of Alexander Dennis. Walter Alexander built many different types of bodywork over 50 years, with the most famous being the Y-Type single decker
26.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%
27.
Greater Dublin
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The Greater Dublin Area, or simply Greater Dublin is the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. The National Transport Authority has defined the Greater Dublin Area as including the counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare, however, this area does not comprise a formal political unit. The term can apply more narrowly to the Dublin urban area. The urban part of Dublin and surrounding areas has been defined by statutory instruments, mainly those referring to the Garda Síochána. However, since 2009, the Garda Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Area no longer overlaps, if it ever did, with the Greater Dublin Area, the office was purely advisory and had no executive powers. The term was defined in section 3 of the Dublin Transportation Authority Bill,2008. On 1 December 2009 the DTO was dissolved so this term, if it ever had legal significance and this jurisdiction covered parts of the old County Dublin as well as the County Kildare town of Leixlip and the County Wicklow towns of Bray, Greystones and Enniskerry. Swords was covered by the Meath Garda Division, in this way, it differed from the usual definition of County Dublin and did not even conform to the looser definition of the Greater Dublin Area. The definition no longer applies as during 2008 the Garda Divisions were realigned along Regional, as of 2009, the Dublin Metropolitan Region is co-extensive with the Dublin Region. Leixlip was moved to the County Kildare Division and became the headquarters for the new Leixlip District. Bray moved into the new County Wicklow Division and became headquarters for the Bray District. The term originated from the Police Forces Amalgamation Act,1925, the Regional Planning Guidelines refer to the Greater Dublin Area. In this context, the area of Dublin and its environs is to be consolidated as a suburban and metropolitan district and it differentiates between which towns are considered suburbs, and which are considered commuter towns. The area is considered as being from Swords and Malahide in Fingal to Greystones in County Wicklow in the south and this differs from the Garda designation in that it stretches some 20 km further west. The population of the Dublin City, suburbs and Outer Greater Dublin as of Census 2016 was 1,904,806 persons and this equates to 40. 03% of Irelands population. Estimates published by the Central Statistics Office suggest that the population will reach 2.1 million by 2021, the figures are based on a regional breakdown of previously published national population projections and assume that current demographic trends will continue. The CSO also uses the definition which comprises Dublin City. The boundaries for suburbs are not legally defined, but drawn and revised by the CSO in accordance with United Nations recommendations
28.
Dublin Bus
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Dublin Bus is a bus operator providing services in Dublin. It is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann, Dublin Bus was established on 2 February 1987 when it was split out from the Córas Iompair Éireann. Dublin Bus operates a network of 110 radial, cross-city and peripheral routes and 18 night routes in the city of Dublin. The company carries around 325,000 people each day, the main radial routes are focused upon Dublins sixteen Quality Bus Corridors which provide buses with daytime access to the city centre. Express buses operate on routes, but have a limited number of stops. These services run Monday to Friday at peak times and do not operate on public holidays, due to cutbacks necessitated by the economic downturn in Ireland, the midweek schedule was scrapped causing consternation with commuters. Special fares apply on Nitelink buses, Dublin Bus also runs a Ghost Bus Tour through some of the supposedly haunted places in the city including St Kevins Church and St Audoens Church. The tour usually runs in the time and includes two stops where passengers leave the bus behind and visit locations where ghosts have allegedly been seen. In April 2010, Dublin Bus announced it would be simplifying many of its routes around the city in order to better efficiency. This programme is called Network Direct, however, as part of these measures, the company also announced that 150 jobs would be lost. In 2016, the company carried 125 million passengers, which is a reduction of 14% compared to 2005 numbers, uniquely for a capital citys primary transit network, no full system-wide street map is available online. Dublin Bus cites high licensing fees from state owned company, Ordnance Survey Ireland. However, the latest edition, published June 2011 omits these for the first time, Dublin Bus fares are generally calculated on a stage system based on distance travelled. There are several different levels of fares, which apply on most services, certain routes use a different fare system. Dublin Bus operate an exact fare policy, passengers place the exact fare in coins in the fare box before the ticket is issued. In the case of payment, a change ticket is issued which can be exchanged at the companys head office on OConnell Street. Routes 747 and 757, the routes to and from Dublin Airport have a minimum fare of €6, banknotes are accepted. Leap card, a smartcard which can be used for pay as you go travel in the Dublin area
29.
Dundalk
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Dundalk is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. It is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay and it has associations with the mythical warrior hero Cú Chulainn. The Dundalk area has been inhabited since at least 3500 BC, a tangible reminder of their presence can still be seen in the form of the Proleek Dolmen, the eroded remains of a megalithic tomb located in the Ballymascanlon area to the north of Dundalk. Celtic culture arrived in Ireland around 500 BC and their land now forms upper and lower Dundalk. Dundalk had been developed as an unwalled Sráid Bhaile. The streets passed along a ridge which runs from the present day Bridge Street in the North, through Church Street to Clanbrassil Street to Earl Street. In 1169 the Normans arrived in Ireland and set about conquering large areas, by 1185 a Norman nobleman named Bertram de Verdun erected a manor house at Castletown Mount and subsequently obtained the towns charter in 1189. Another Norman family, the De Courcys, led by John de Courcy, settled in the Seatown area of Dundalk, both families assisted in the fortification of the town, building walls and other fortification in the style of a Norman fortress. The town of Dundalk was developed as it lay close to a bridging point over the Castletown River and as a frontier town. In 1236 Bertrams granddaughter, Rohesia commissioned Castle Roche to fortify the region, the town was sacked in 1315, during the Bruce campaign. Dundalk had been under Royalist control for centuries, until 1647 when it occupied by The Northern Parliamentary Army of Colonel George Monck. The modern town of Dundalk largely owes its form to Lord Limerick in the 17th century and he commissioned the construction of streets leading to the town centre, his ideas came from many visits to Europe. In addition to the demolition of the old walls and castles, in the 19th century the town grew in importance and many industries were set up in the local area, including a large distillery. This development was helped considerably by the opening of railways, the expansion of the area or Quay. The partition of Ireland in May 1921 turned Dundalk into a border town, the Irish Free State opened customs and immigration facilities at Dundalk to check goods and passengers crossing the border by train. The Irish Civil War of 1922–23 saw a number of confrontations in Dundalk, Aiken did not try to hold the town, however, and before withdrawing he called for a truce in a meeting in the centre of Dundalk. The 49 Infantry Battalion and 58 Infantry Battalion of the National Army were based in Dundalk along with No.8 armoured locomotive and two fully armoured cars of their Railway Protection Corps. For several decades after the end of the Civil War, Dundalk continued to function as a town, a regional centre
30.
Cork (city)
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Cork is a city in Ireland, located in the South-West Region, in the province of Munster. It has a population of 125,622 and is the second largest city in the state, the greater Metropolitan Cork area has a population exceeding 300,000. In 2005, the city was selected as the European Capital of Culture, the city is built on the River Lee which splits into two channels at the western end of the city, the city centre is divided by these channels. They reconverge at the end where the quays and docks along the river banks lead outwards towards Lough Mahon and Cork Harbour. The citys cognomen of the city originates in its support for the Yorkist cause during the English 15th century Wars of the Roses. Corkonians often refer to the city as the capital in reference to the citys role as the centre of anti-treaty forces during the Irish Civil War. Cork was originally a settlement, reputedly founded by Saint Finbarr in the 6th century. Cork achieved an urban character at some point between 915 and 922 when Norseman settlers founded a trading port and it has been proposed that, like Dublin, Cork was an important trading centre in the global Scandinavian trade network. The citys charter was granted by Prince John, as Lord of Ireland, the city was once fully walled, and some wall sections and gates remain today. Neighbouring Gaelic and Hiberno-Norman lords extorted Black Rent from the citizens to them from attacking the city. The present extent of the city has exceeded the boundaries of the Barony of Cork City. Together, these baronies are located between the Barony of Barrymore to the east, Muskerry East to the west and Kerrycurrihy to the south, the medieval population of Cork was about 2,100 people. It suffered a blow in 1349 when almost half the townspeople died of plague when the Black Death arrived in the town. The then mayor of Cork and several important citizens went with Warbeck to England, oBrien published a third local newspaper, the Cork Free Press. In the War of Independence, the centre of Cork was burnt down by the British Black and Tans, during the Irish Civil War, Cork was for a time held by anti-Treaty forces, until it was retaken by the pro-Treaty National Army in an attack from the sea. The climate of Cork, like the rest of Ireland, is mild oceanic and changeable with abundant rainfall, Cork lies in plant Hardiness zone 9b. Met Éireann maintains a weather station at Cork Airport, a few kilometres south of the city. It should be noted that the airport is at an altitude of 151 metres and temperatures can often differ by a few degrees between the airport and the city itself, there are also smaller synoptic weather stations at UCC and Clover Hill
31.
Copenhagen
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Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
32.
Leyland Motors
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Leyland Motors Limited was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. It gave its name to the British Leyland Motor Corporation formed when it merged with British Motor Holdings, British Leyland later changed its name to simply BL, then in 1986 to Rover Group. Leyland Motors has a history dating from 1896, when the Sumner and Spurrier families founded the Lancashire Steam Motor Company in the town of Leyland in North West England. Their first products included steam lawn mowers, the companys first vehicle was a 1. 5-ton-capacity steam powered van. This was followed by a number of steam wagons using a vertical fire-tube boiler. By 1905 they had begun to build petrol-engined wagons. The Lancashire Steam Motor Company was renamed Leyland Motors in 1907 when they took over Coulthards of Preston and they also built a second factory in the neighbouring town of Chorley which still remains today as the headquarters of the LEX leasing and parts company. In 1920, Leyland Motors produced the Leyland 8 luxury touring car, parry-Thomas was later killed in an attempt on the land speed record when the car overturned. Rumours that a chain drive broke were found to be incorrect when the car was disinterred late in the 20th century as the chains were intact, at the other extreme, they also produced the Trojan Utility Car in the Kingston upon Thames factory at Ham from 1922 to 1928. Three generations of Spurriers controlled Leyland Motors from its foundation until the retirement of Sir Henry Spurrier in 1964, Sir Henry inherited control of Leyland Motors from his father in 1942, and successfully guided its growth during the postwar years. Whilst the Spurrier family were in control the company enjoyed excellent labour relations—reputedly never losing a days production through industrial action, during the war, Leyland Motors along with most vehicle manufacturers was involved in war production. Leyland built the Cromwell tank at its works from 1943 as well as medium/large trucks such as the Leyland Hippo, after the war, Leyland Motors continued military manufacture with the Centurion tank. In 1946, AEC and Leyland Motors worked to form the British United Traction Ltd, in 1955, through an equity agreement, manufacture of commercial vehicles under licence from Leyland Motors commenced in Madras, India at the new Ashok factory. The products were branded as Ashok Leyland, donald Stokes, previously Sales Director, was appointed managing director of Leyland Motors Limited in September 1962 originally a Leyland student apprentice he had grown up with the company. In 1968 Leyland Motor Corporation Limited merged with British Motor Holdings to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation, BMH brought with it into the new organisation more famous British goods vehicle and bus and coach marques, including Daimler, Guy, BMC, Austin and Morris. The Leyland diesel engines were used in Finnish Sisu and Vanaja lorries and buses in 1960s, the BLMC group was difficult to manage because of the many companies under its control, often making similar products. This, and other reasons, led to difficulties and in December 1974 British Leyland had to receive a guarantee from the British government. This division was split into Leyland Bus and Leyland Trucks in 1981, Leyland Trucks depended on British sales as well as export markets, mainly commonwealth and ex-commonwealth markets
33.
MAN SE
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MAN SE, formerly MAN AG, is a German mechanical engineering company and parent company of the MAN Group. MAN SE is based in Munich and its primary output is for the automotive industry, particularly heavy trucks. Further activities include the production of engines for various applications, like marine propulsion. MAN supplies trucks, buses, diesel engines and turbomachinery, until September 2012 MAN SE was one of the top 30 companies listed on the German stock exchange. The company celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2008, in 2008, its 51,300 employees generated annual sales of around €15 billion in 120 different countries. The MAN Group currently operates its production output through three main subsidiaries, with each subsidiarys output destined for different locations, MAN Truck & Bus is one of Europes leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. MAN Diesel & Turbo is a leader in large diesel ship engines, stationary engines. MAN Latin America has a position in heavy trucks in Brazil. MAN traces its origins back to 1758, when the St. Antony ironworks commenced operation in Oberhausen, as the first heavy-industry enterprise in the Ruhr region. In 1808, the three ironworks St. Antony, Gute Hoffnung, and Neue Essen merged, to form the Hüttengewerkschaft und Handlung Jacobi, Oberhausen, which was later renamed Gute Hoffnungshütte. In 1840, the German engineer Ludwig Sander founded in Augsburg the first predecessing enterprise of MAN in Southern Germany, reichenbachsche Maschinenfabrik, which was named after the pioneer of printing machines Carl August Reichenbach, and later on the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg. The branch Süddeutsche Brückenbau A. G. was founded when the company in 1859 was awarded the contract for the construction of the bridge over the Rhine at Mainz. In 1898, the companies Maschinenbau-AG Nürnberg and Maschinenfabrik Augsburg AG merged to form Vereinigte Maschinenfabrik Augsburg und Maschinenbaugesellschaft Nürnberg A. G. Augsburg, in 1908, the company was renamed Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg AG, or in short, M·A·N. While the focus remained on ore mining and iron production in the Ruhr region. Under the direction of Heinrich von Buz, Maschinenfabrik Augsburg grew from a business of 400 employees into a major enterprise with a workforce of 12,000 by the year 1913. Locomotion, propulsion and steel building were the big topics of this phase, the early predecessors of MAN were responsible for numerous technological innovations. The success of the early MAN entrepreneurs and engineers like Heinrich Gottfried Gerber, was based on a great openness towards new technologies. They constructed the Wuppertal monorail and the first spectacular steel bridges like the Großhesseloher Brücke in Munich in 1857, during 1921, the majority of M. A. N. was taken over by the Gutehoffnungshütte Actienverein für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb, Sterkrade
34.
Volvo
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The Volvo Group is a Swedish multinational manufacturing company headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of trucks, buses and construction equipment, Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, the companies still share the Volvo logo and co-operate in running the Volvo Museum. Volvo means I roll in Latin, conjugated from volvere, in reference to ball bearings, the brand name Volvo was originally registered as a trademark in May 1911 with the intention to be used for a new series of SKF ball bearings. This idea was used for a short period and SKF decided to simply use SKF as the trademark for all its bearing products. In 1924, Assar Gabrielsson, an SKF sales manager, and a KTH Royal Institute of Technology educated engineer Gustav Larson and their vision was to build cars that could withstand the rigors of the countrys rough roads and cold temperatures. AB Volvo began activities on 10 August 1926, after one year of preparations involving the production of ten prototypes the firm was ready to commence the car-manufacturing business within the SKF group. AB Volvo was introduced at the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1935, Volvo was delisted from NASDAQ in June 2007, but remains listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The Volvo Group has its origin in 1927, when the first Volvo car rolled off the line at the factory in Gothenburg. Only 280 cars were built that year, the first truck, the Series 1, debuted in January 1928, as an immediate success and attracted attention outside the country. In 1930, Volvo sold 639 cars, and the export of trucks to Europe started soon after, pentaverken, who had manufactured engines for Volvo, was acquired in 1935, providing a secure supply of engines and entry into the marine engine market. The first bus, named B1, was launched in 1934, in 1963, Volvo opened the Volvo Halifax Assembly plant, the first assembly plant in the companys history outside of Sweden in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1991, Volvo Group participated in joint venture with Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors, the operation, branded NedCar, began producing the first generation Mitsubishi Carisma alongside the Volvo S40/V40 in 1996. In 1999, the European Union blocked a merger with Scania AB, in January of that same year, Volvo Group sold its car division Volvo Car Corporation to Ford Motor Company for $6.45 billion. The division was placed within Fords Premier Automotive Group alongside Jaguar, Land Rover, the Volvo T5 petrol engine was used in the Ford Focus ST and RS performance models, and Volvos satellite navigation system was used on certain Aston Martin Vanquish, DB9 and V8 Vantage models. In November 1999, Volvo Group purchased a 5% stake in Mitsubishi Motors, Ford sold the Volvo Car Corporation in 2010 to Geely Automobile of China for $1.8 billion. The move followed Fords 2007 sale of Aston Martin, and 2008 sale of Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Group sold its stake in Mitsubishi Motors back to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2001. Renault Véhicules Industriels was sold to Volvo during January 2001, Renault became AB Volvos biggest shareholder with a 19. 9% stake as part of the deal. Renault increased its shareholding to 21. 7% by 2010, AB Volvo acquired 13% of the shares in the Japanese truck manufacturer UD Trucks from Nissan Motor Co Ltd during 2006, becoming a major shareholder
35.
Place Charles de Gaulle
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The Place Charles de Gaulle, historically known as the Place de lÉtoile, is a large road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues including the Champs-Élysées. It was renamed in 1970 following the death of General and President Charles de Gaulle and it is still often referred to by its original name, and the nearby metro station retains the designation Charles de Gaulle – Étoile. Paris Axe historique cuts through the Arc de Triomphe, which stands at the centre of the Place de lÉtoile, the original name of the area was the Butte Chaillot. At the time it was the point of convergence of several hunting trails, the Marquis de Marigny constructed monumental roadworks, completed in 1777, on the mound when he was establishing the plantations along the Champs Élysées. This work included paving of the road in the form of a star, the junction became known as the Place de lÉtoile. Pedestrian access to the Arc de Triomphe itself is via pedestrian underpass, in 1787, during the construction of the Farmers-General Wall, la Barrière de lÉtoile was built to the design of Claude Nicolas Ledoux for the collection of the octroi tax at the entrance to Paris. The wall and the two built on either side of the Place de lÉtoile were demolished in the nineteenth century. The modern Place de lÉtoile and the avenues radiating from it were created during the Second Empire of Napoleon III as part of Haussmanns renovation of Paris, la Place de létoile is the title of a novel by French writer Patrick Modiano. Media related to Place Charles-de-Gaulle at Wikimedia Commons Satellite image from Google Maps http, //www. 2m40. com/ http, //www. 2m40. com/2010/02/
36.
Berliet
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Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. The Berliet marque was phased out by 1980, Marius Berliet started his experiments with automobiles in 1894. Some single-cylinder cars were followed in 1900 by a twin-cylinder model, in 1902, Berliet took over the plant of Audibert & Lavirotte in Lyon. Berliet started to build four-cylinder automobiles featured by a honeycomb radiator, the next year, a model was launched that was similar to contemporary Mercedes. In 1906, Berliet sold the licence for manufacturing his model to the American Locomotive Company, before World War I, Berliet offered a range of models from 8 CV to 60 CV. The main models had four-cylinder engines, and there was a model of 9500 cc. A1539 cc model was produced between 1910 and 1912, from 1912, six-cylinder models were made upon individual orders only. The First World War led to a increase in demand. Berliet, like Renault and Latil, produced trucks for the French army, the military orders placed major demands on the factorys capacity, necessitating major investment in production plant and factory space. In 1915 a 400 hectare site was purchased between Vénissieux et Saint-Priest in order to build a new principal factory, the Berliet CBA became the iconic truck on the Voie Sacrée, supplying the battle front at Verdun during 1916. 25,000 of these 4/5 ton Berliet trucks, originally launched in 1914, were ordered by the French army, during 191640 of them were leaving the plant each day. Under license from Renault, Berliet were also producing shells and battle tanks at this time, the number of workers employed increased to 3,150. By 1917 the value of annual turnover had multiplied fourfold since the start of the war, the company became the Société anonyme des Automobiles Marius Berliet. Marius Berliet responded to the outbreak of peace by deciding to produce just a type of truck and a single type of car. The single truck on which Berliet focused was the 5 ton CBA that had served the nation so well during the war. The passenger car to be produced, exhibited on the Berliet stand at the 15th Paris Motor Show in October 1919, was the 3296cc Torpedo bodied Berliet Type VB of modern appearance. Marius Berliet was not one to miss a trick, rather than time and engineering talent to developing a new car for the new decade. The Dodge was famously robust, and the Berliet copy was received in March 1919 when it had its first public outing, locally
37.
Calais
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Calais is a town and major ferry port in northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the area at the 2010 census was 126,395. Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km wide here, the White Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. Calais is a port for ferries between France and England, and since 1994, the Channel Tunnel has linked nearby Coquelles to Folkestone by rail. Due to its position, Calais since the Middle Ages has been a major port and it was annexed by Edward III of England in 1347 and grew into a thriving centre for wool production. The town came to be called the brightest jewel in the English crown owing to its importance as the gateway for the tin, lead, lace. Calais was a possession of England until its capture by France in 1558. In 1805 it was an area for Napoleons troops for several months during his planned invasion of the United Kingdom. The town was razed to the ground during World War II. During World War II, the Germans built massive bunkers along the coast in preparation for launching missiles on England, the old part of the town, Calais proper, is situated on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbours. The modern part of the town, St-Pierre, lies to the south, south east of the Place is the church of Notre-Dame, built during the English occupancy of Calais. It is arguably the only built in the English perpendicular style in all of France. In this church former French President Charles de Gaulle married his wife Yvonne Vendroux, south of the Place and opposite the Parc St Pierre is the Hôtel-de-ville, and the belfry from the 16th and early 17th centuries. Today, Calais is visited by more than 10 million annually, although the early history of habitation in the area is limited, the Romans called the settlement Caletum. Julius Caesar mustered 800 to 1,000 sailing boats, five legions, as the pebble and sand ridge extended eastward from Calais, the haven behind it developed into fen, as the estuary progressively filled with silt and peat. Calais was improved by the Count of Flanders in 997 and fortified by the Count of Boulogne in 1224, in 1189, Richard the Lionheart is documented to have landed at Calais on his journey to the Third Crusade. Angered, the English king demanded reprisals against the citizens for holding out for so long
38.
Sangatte
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Sangatte is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. Like many place names in French Flanders, the name is of Flemish origin, Sangatte became internationally famous because of the works for the Channel Tunnel and is the location for the tunnels French cooling station, its British counterpart being at Samphire Hoe. In addition, it is the French end-point for the HVDC Cross-Channel, blériot-Plage is named to commemorate Louis Blériot who, on the July 25,1909, was the first person to fly across the English Channel. He flew from the beach at Sangatte to the White Cliffs of Dover, the crossing took 37 minutes in his aeroplane, Blériot XI, built in collaboration with Raymond Saulnier. It was powered by a 3-cylinder 25 horsepower engine, at the western end of the beach, a statue of the French aviator Hubert Latham overlooks the sea. Latham was another pioneering cross-channel pilot whose earlier attempt on July 19 had failed, Sangatte also achieved notoriety as the location of a controversial refugee camp, colloquially dubbed Sans-gate. Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, ordered its closure, there were riots in 2001 and 2002, the year the camp closed
39.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
40.
Bus transport in Berlin
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Bus transport is the oldest public transport service in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, having been introduced in 1846. Since 1929, services have operated by BVG, although during the Cold War-era division of the city they operated in West Berlin only. BVGs fleet consists of 1,300 vehicles, which cover 300,000 kilometres per day,30 October 1846 saw the first bus services from the Concessionierte Berliner Omnibus-Compagnie. In 1868, a new company was created, the ABOAG which on 1 January 1929 merged with other Berlin public transport companies to create the BVG. After the opening of Berlin Wall, the companies were no longer able to cope up with the traffic. The 3-digit numbering system was unified and implemented on June 2,1991, normal bus routes make up most of the network and consist of around 300 lines, numbered from 100 to 399. The most famous line is the 100, which serves the tourist route from Alexanderplatz to the Zoological Garden passing many of Berlins sights, the suburban buses, operating outside Berlin and not managed by BVG, are included in the tariff area of Berlin public transport. Each bus line has a 3-digit number, unlike the other bus lines, they are shown on many tramway maps and on some railway maps of the city. The express buses are 13 rapid lines, mainly used to reach the airports or linking the suburbs to the city centre, the night buses, consisting of 45 lines, substitute the U-Bahn. The other lines serve suburban neighbourhoods not served by any public service running in daytime, apart from the service buses managed by BVG and other local companies, in the city there are hundreds of private tourist coaches. For national and international routes an important company based in the city is the Berlin Linien Bus, the main bus station of Berlin is the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin, also known as ZOB. It is located in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and linked to the stations of Kaiserdamm, on 18 February 2011 MR Software released OMSI - The Bus Simulator for Windows. It is a bus simulator set in the late 1980s in West Berlin that features the MAN SD200 and MAN SD202 double-decker buses with a set of functions. The player operates these buses along line 92 that served the Staaken, Wilhelmstadt, Altstadt, as of 2015, the BVG bus fleet consisted of 1300 buses. Single Decker Long Bus Bendy Bus Double Decker Dieter Gammrath, Hein Jung, alba, Düsseldorf 1988, ISBN 3-87094-334-3 Gammrath, Jung, Schmiedeke, Berliner Omnibusse. Alba, Düsseldorf 1999, ISBN 3-87094-359-9 Media related to Bus transport in Berlin at Wikimedia Commons Route planner by WikiRoutes. info BVG official website Bus transport page on BVG website
41.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
42.
Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
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The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the citys U-Bahn underground railway, tram, bus, replacement services and ferry networks, the generally used abbreviation, BVG, has been retained from the companys original name, Berliner Verkehrs Aktiengesellschaft. Subsequently, the company was renamed Berliner Verkehrs-Betriebe, during the division of Berlin, the BVG was split between BVG and BVB, also known as the Volkseigenes Kombinat Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe. After reunification, the current formal name was adopted, on 1 January 1938, the company was renamed Berliner Verkehrs-Betriebe, but the acronym BVG was retained. From 1 August 1949, the BVG networks in West Berlin, the two operators were originally known as BVG and BVG, but from 1 January 1969 the eastern operator was renamed as the Kombinat Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe or BVB. After the reunification of Berlin, the two operators were recombined into the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe on 1 January 1992. Prior to the division of Berlin, tram lines existed throughout the city, however BVG retained its tram lines, and on the reunification of Berlin the BVG inherited a considerable network of routes in the eastern half of Berlin. On 9 January 1984, BVG took over the responsibility for operation of the S-Bahn services in West Berlin, with the reunification of Berlin, responsibility for the S-Bahn reverted to Deutsche Bahn AG, the state rail operator of Germany. The S-Bahn is currently managed by the S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, a company of DBAG. BVG also took part in the Berlin M-Bahn project, a maglev system. The project used a section of the U-Bahn right of way that was out of due to the building of the Berlin Wall. The BVG launched the MetroNetz on 12 December 2004 which remodeled the tram and bus network to create 24 tram, BVG operates the U-Bahn, an urban rapid transit rail system. The U-Bahn now comprises nine lines with 173 stations and a length of 147 kilometres. Trains run every two to five minutes during peak hours, every five minutes for the rest of the day and every ten minutes in the evening and on Sunday. U-Bahn service is provided by 1266 carriages, of which 500 are used on the earlier small-profile lines and 766 are used on the later large-profile lines and these cars travel 132 million km, carrying 400 million passengers, over the year. BVG operates a network comprising 22 tram lines with 377 stops. Of these, nine are designated as part of the MetroNetz and these MetroTram tram lines are recognisable by an M prefix to their route number, and are the only tram routes to operate 24 hours a day. Tram service is provided by 391 carriages, of which 154 are modern low floor carriages and 237 are older carriages
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Neoman Bus
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Neoman Bus GmbH, also known as Neoman Bus Group, was a former bus, trolleybus and coach manufacturer in Germany, created when MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG acquired Neoplan Bus GmbH in 2001. While the parent company also makes trucks and other vehicles, Neoman was focused on bus, electric trolleybuses built by Neoman, at its Pilsting factory, were sold under the Neoplan brand name. Parent company MAN Nutzfahrzeuge later referred to Neoman as its Bus Division, on 1 February 2008, the Neoman name ceased to exist, its operations being fully taken over by the parent company, with operations continuing under the Neoplan and MAN brands. The former-Neoplan factory in Pilsting was taken over by Viseon Bus GmbH in April 2009, MANAŞ Ankara, Turkey Büssing Internet archive of Neoman website
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Liemobil
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Liechtenstein Bus is a bus company based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The company operates a total of 19 petrol-powered buses and 27 diesel buses on a network of 13 routes throughout Liechtenstein, many services operated by Liechtenstein Bus venture over the borders into Switzerland and Austria. At Schaan-Vaduz bus station, all arrive at the same time. At the touristic center at Schaan-Vaduz bus station, passengers can get information about public transport in Liechtenstein. Owner of a Swiss Pass can travel for free on Liechtenstein’s buses
45.
Sargans
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Sargans is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Sargans is known for its castle, which dates from before the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291, Sargans was also a County of the Holy Roman Empire, see County of Sargans. There are traces of Neolithic settlement in the area, a significant Roman-era estate was destroyed by an Alamannic incursion in c. Sargans remained part of Lower Raetia in the medieval period. A church dedicated to Saint Cassian is mentioned in the 9th century, Sargans was part of the territory of the county of Werdenberg from the 12th century, with a separate line of Werdenberg-Sargans established in the later 13th century. The castle was presumably first built in the 12th century and is first mentioned in 1282, the town of Sargans grew around the castle in the 13th century. Sargans is mentioned as Senegaunis in the 11th century, an earlier mention as de Senegaune, ostensibly dated to 765, survives in a 16th-century copy. In 1248 it was mentioned as Sanegans, in 1264 as Sangans, the modern spelling dates to the 16th century. The etymology of the name is unknown, San- seems to have changed to Sar- under the influence of the hydronym Saar, a popular etymology connecting the name Sargans to goose may date to as early as the 15th century. From 1406, a fortification of the town and the castle was built. In 1445, the town, but not the castle, was captured and burned by the Swiss Confederacy, the town was given limited rights of self-government in 1456 when the count agreed to select a Schultheiss out of a list of three candidates to be submitted by the burghers. In 1483, count Jürg of Werdenberg-Sargans was forced to sell the county to the Swiss Confederacy for 15,000 Rhenish guilder, from this time until 1798, the castle was the seat of the Swiss reeves. The town burned down again in 1490, in 1501, the Swiss Confederac confirmed the city rights of Sargans and granted the right for a weekly market. The municipal coat of arms goes back to the 15th century and it is canting, showing a goose based on the folk etymoloy for the name Sargans. The historical coat of arms of the county of Sargans was azure three mullets or, in 1798, Sargans became part of the Mels district of the Canton of Linth in the Helvetic Republic. It was incorporated into the Canton of St. Gallen in 1803, most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1811. Sargans is at the juncture of the lines connecting Chur with Zürich and with Lake Constance. The line to Vienna was added in 1884, the Saar was first canalised in 1858 for the construction of the railway station and again in 1978 for the construction of the A3-A13 motorway junction
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Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
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Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
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Feldkirch is a medieval city in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg on the border with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is the center of the district Feldkirch. After Dornbirn, it is the second largest town in Vorarlberg in terms of population, the westernmost point in Austria lies in Feldkirch on the River Rhine, at the tripoint border of Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Other sights in the include the cathedral of St. Nikolaus from the late Gothic period. Feldkirch was the birthplace of Rheticus, and is currently the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Feldkirch, from 1651–1773 and from 1856–1979, Feldkirch was the home of the Jesuit school Stella Matutina. March 1799 saw two clashes between the forces of the First French Republic and Habsburg Austria, on the 7th, Nicolas Oudinot with 9,000 French soldiers defeated Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze with 6,000 Austrians. The Battle of Feldkirch occurred on 23 March when André Masséna and 12,000 Frenchmen were beaten by Franz Jellacic and 5,500 Austrians, the bus system works together with Vorarlbergs bus system which provides several supra-regional lines starting and ending in Feldkirch. Theres an additional line called nightline which connects different bars and discos all around Feldkirch, the nightline plies till about 4 oclock am on weekends. Feldkirch railway station lies on the railway line through the Vorarlberg. Wiltrud Drexel, ski racer Günther Freitag, novelist Herbert Bösch, politician and MEP Natalie Uher, Playmate and actress Hans Weingartner, author, director, Feldkirch is the home of an annual Summer Festival, founded in 2002 by Thomas Hengelbrock and directed since 2007 by Philippe Arlaud
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Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
49.
Skopje
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Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the political, cultural, economic, and academic center. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi, the territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC, remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans, when the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992. From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire, in 1392, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks who called the town Üsküp. The town stayed under Turkish control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of pashasanjak of Üsküb, at that time the city was famous for its oriental architecture. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars and after the First World War the city part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats. In the Second World War the city was conquered by the Bulgarian Army, in 1944, it became the capital city of Democratic Macedonia, which was a federal state, part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake, in 1991, it became the capital city of an independent Macedonia. Skopje is located on the course of the Vardar River. It is a center for metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, industrial development of the city has been accompanied by development of the trade, logistics, and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of transportation, culture and sport. Skopje is located in the north of the Republic of Macedonia, in the center of the Balkan peninsula, the city is built in the Skopje valley, oriented on a west-east axis, along the course of the Vardar river, which flows into the Aegean Sea in Greece. The valley is approximately 20 kilometres wide and it is limited by several mountain ranges to the North and South and these ranges limit the urban expansion of Skopje, which spreads along the Vardar and the Serava, a small river which comes from the North. In its administrative boundaries, the City of Skopje stretches for more than 33 kilometres, Skopje is approximately 245m above sea level and covers 571.46 km2. The urbanised area only covers 337 km2, with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare, Skopje, in its administrative limits, encompasses many villages and other settlements, including Dračevo, Gorno Nerezi and Bardovci. According to the 2002 census, the City of Skopje comprised 506,926 inhabitants, the City of Skopje reaches the Kosovo border to the North-East. Clockwise, it is bordered by the Macedonian municipalities of Čučer-Sandevo, Lipkovo, Aračinovo, Ilinden, Studeničani, Sopište, Želino
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Public transport
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Public transport modes include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail, high-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world. Most public transport runs to a timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway. Share taxis offer services in many parts of the world. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service, there are distinct differences in urban public transit between Asia, North America, and Europe. In Asia, mass transit operations are run by profit-driven privately owned and publicly traded mass transit. In North America, mass transit operations are run by municipal transit authorities. In Europe, mass transit operations are run by both state-owned and private companies. Public transport services can be profit-driven by use of pay-by-the-distance fares or funded by government subsidies in which flat rate fares are charged to each passenger. Services can be profitable through high ridership numbers and high farebox recovery ratios, or can be regulated. Fully subsidized, zero-fare services operate in some towns and cities, for geographical, historical and economic reasons, there are differences internationally regarding use and extent of public transport. It has 3,400 members from 92 countries, conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferries, and the earliest public transport was water transport, on land people walked or rode an animal. Ferries appear in Greek mythology—corpses in ancient Greece were buried with a coin underneath their tongue to pay the ferryman Charon to take them to Hades, the omnibus was introduced to London in July 1829. The first passenger railway opened in 1806, it ran between Swansea and Mumbles in southwest Wales in the United Kingdom. In 1825 George Stephenson built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in northeast England, the usability of different types of public transport, and its overall appeal, can be measured by seven criteria, although they overlap somewhat. These are speed, comfort, safety, cost, proximity, speed is calculated from total journey time including transfers. Proximity means how far passengers have to walk or otherwise travel before they can begin the public transport leg of their journey, timeliness is how long they have to wait for the vehicle. Directness records how far a journey using public transport deviates from the shortest route, an airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports
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