1.
VDL Bova
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Bova, later rebranded to VDL Bova, was a luxury coachbuilder based in Eindhoven, Netherlands which began building coaches in 1931. In particular, it is known for the Bova Futura, a streamlined coach usually with a DAF engine. The Bova name was discontinued in 2010 and is now known as VDL. The founder, J. D. Bots, later to be known as J. D. Bova first started the company that would come to be known as Bova in 1878 with the creation of a business in Valkenswaard. When J. D. Bots died, he left the business to his eldest son Simon who first introduced the name Bova, in 1931 the company began building coaches, and in 1969 introduced the Benelux, a self-supporting integral coach. The company was purchased by VDL Groep in 2003, who also own Berkhof, VDL Bus Chassis, from 2010 the individual brands have been discontinued. The VDL Futura coach references Bovas best known model, however, Futura Lexio Magiq Synergy X-press Europa Calypso Bova website
2.
Brussels
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Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
3.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
4.
National Express Coaches
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National Express is an intercity coach operator providing services throughout England, Scotland and Wales. It is a subsidiary of the National Express Group, most services are subcontracted to local coach companies. The companys head office is in offices above the Birmingham Coach Station, pursuant to the Transport Act 1968, the National Bus Company was formed as a holding company for the many state-owned local bus companies. Coach services were de-regulated under the Transport Act 1980 and buses by the Transport Act 1985, in March 1988 National Express was privatised in a management buyout. In July 1989 the company bought ATL Holdings with operations in Sheffield and a 50% share in Yelloway Trathen and these were operated under the Caledonian Express brand. In June 1991 National Express was sold to the Drawlane Group, in December 1992 National Express Group plc was floated on the London Stock Exchange. For most of its existence, National Express had little, if any, however, in 2003, Stagecoach introduced Megabus, a no-frills service whose £1 fares sparked a price war with National Express in autumn 2004. The competition intensified in 2007 when Megabus transferred its London terminus from the Green Line Coach Station into the main Victoria Coach Station, in November 2007 National Express announced plans to re-brand all its operations under a new unified National Express identity. As part of this the coach received a slightly different livery, retaining the red white and blue theme. Coaches started appearing in the new livery from December 2007, National Express offers many standard routes to destinations across the country. In addition, shuttle and airport services are operated, although there is no obvious difference to the passenger between a standard, shuttle or airport service with regard to branding. Many National Express coach routes pass through several town centres, which increases journey times for longer journeys considerably, a smaller number of Shuttle services operate at least once an hour over faster direct routes. National Express operates Airport services to a number of different airports, including East Midlands, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, the Airport brand was created in 2003 when the National Express image brand was updated merging the former Airlink, Flightlink, Jetlink and Speedlink brands. In the 2007 re-brand, the Airport branding was dropped, although the Airport coding is used on tickets. Nearly all National Express services are scheduled to use vehicles with a wheelchair lift and these vehicles feature a wider entrance and a completely flat floor throughout the coach to aid mobility for all. A very small number of coaches on the network do not yet contain wheelchair access. All these vehicles are expected to be withdrawn from service by mid-2013. Certain one-day a week journeys and duplicate services are not operated using vehicles featuring the Magic Floor Lift, newer vehicles include reclining leather seats, plug sockets, air conditioning and a large toilet
5.
Ulsterbus
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Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink, which also includes Northern Ireland Railways, Metro Belfast, Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus services in Northern Ireland. It operates twenty-two bus stations and 1,100 buses, Ulsterbus is charged with transporting over 65,000 children per day to school. Every July and August, around 250 vehicles are usually de-taxed and this is because not as many are needed for service due to schools finishing for summer holidays. Ulsterbus is now in the process of modernising its fleet for better accessibility for disabled people, on 26 June 2006, Translink announced that the Leyland Leopard, synonymous with Ulsterbus, will be phased out of service. These are being replaced by the Optare Solo bus, amongst others, Goldline is the name given to the inter-city bus services operated by Ulsterbus. Until the 1990s it Goldline was called Ulsterbus Express and operated many of the same inter-city services as today, Goldline services are operated from Belfast to major destinations in Northern Ireland, plus the Goldline Express Services X1/X2 to Dublin. This service is worked jointly with Bus Éireann service X1, for many years, Derrys internal bus network was operated as Ulsterbuss Derry City Services. It was reorganised in September 2006 into Ulsterbus Foyle, in the same way that Translink Metro was used to modernise routes in Belfast the Ulsterbus Foyle network now offers 13 set routes across the city into the popular suburban areas of the city. Ulsterbus offer a private and contract hire service, with any type of bus in the current fleet available for hire. On a local basis, depots will allocate buses accordingly, duties include Eurolines duties 920,921, &923. The 921 is currently operated by three dedicated Irizar Centurys purchased in 2010, however, these are being replaced in August 2013, the vast majority of these are based in Glengall St, operating out of Great Victoria Street depot. Ulsterbus operate day tours to other parts of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, mainly shopping and to some tourist attractions. They also have a private hire service which is in use by fans of the Scottish Premier League sides Rangers F. C. Translink Ulsterbus NI Bus Irish Transport Trust Ulsterbus Photos Ulsterbus Tours
6.
Baltic states
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The Baltic states cooperate on a regional level in several intergovernmental organizations. While the native populations of Latvia and Lithuania are known as Baltic people, another Baltic identity, Baltic German, began to develop during the Middle Ages after the Livonian Crusade. After the collapse of Livonia, parts of Latvia and Estonia came under influence of the Commonwealth and this lasted until the 18th century, when the lands of all three modern countries were gradually absorbed into the Russian Empire. The Baltic states gained independence after World War I, but were occupied by the Soviet Union during World War II, all three countries are members of the European Union, NATO and the Eurozone. They are classified as high-income economies by the World Bank and maintain high Human Development Index, Estonia and Latvia are also members of the OECD, while Lithuania is a prospective candidate. The term Baltic stems from the name of the Baltic Sea – a hydronym dating back to the 11th century, although there are several theories about its origin, most ultimately trace it to Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, fair. This meaning is retained in modern Baltic languages, where baltas, however the modern names of the region and the sea, that originate from this root, were not used in either of the two languages prior to the 19th century. In English Ost is East, and in fact, the Baltic Sea mostly lies to the east of Germany, Denmark, Norway, in the 13th century pagan Baltic and Finnic peoples in the region became a target of the Northern Crusades. In the aftermath of the Livonian crusade, a crusader state officially named Terra Mariana and it was divided into four autonomous bishoprics and lands of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. After the Brothers of the Sword suffered defeat at the Battle of Saule, Northern Estonia initially became a Danish dominion, but it was purchased by the Teutonic Order in the mid-14th century. The Lithuanians were also targeted by the crusaders, however they were able to resist and it allied with the Kingdom of Poland. After the Union of Krewo in 1385 created a union between the two countries, they became ever more closely integrated and finally merged into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. After victory in the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War, the Polish–Lithuanian union became a political power in the region. In 1558 Livonia was attacked by the Tsardom of Russia and the Livonian war broke out, the rulers of different regions within Livonia sought to ally with foreign powers, which resulted in Polish–Lithuanian, Swedish and Danish involvement. In the aftermath of conflicts of the 17th century, much of the Duchy of Livonia. These newly acquired Swedish territories, as well as Ingria and Kexholm, at the beginning of the 18th century the Swedish Empire was attacked by a coalition of several European powers in the Great Northern War. Among these powers was Russia, seeking to restore its access to the Baltic Sea, during the course of the war it conquered all of the Swedish provinces on the Eastern Baltic coast. This acquisition was legalized by the Treaty of Nystad in which the Baltic Dominions were ceded to Russia, under Russian rule these territories came to be known as Ostsee Governorates
7.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
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Covering an area of 255,804 km², the SFRY was bordered with Italy to the west, Hungary to the north, Bulgaria and Romania to the east and Albania and Greece to the south. In addition, it included two autonomous provinces within Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina, the SFRY traces back to 29 June 1943 when the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was formed during World War II. On 29 November 1945, the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed after the deposal of King Peter II thus ending the monarchy. Following the death of Tito on 4 May 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics. This led to the federation collapsing along the borders, followed by the final downfall and breakup of the federation on 27 April 1992. The term former Yugoslavia is now commonly used retrospectively, the name Yugoslavia, an Anglicised transcription of Jugoslavija, is a composite word made-up of jug and slavija. The Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian word jug means south, while slavija denotes a land of the Slavs, thus, a translation of Jugoslavija would be South-Slavia or Land of the South Slavs. The term is intended to denote the lands occupied by the six South Slavic nations, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Slovenes, the full official name of the federation varied significantly between 1945 and 1992. Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 under the name Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, the name deliberately left the republic-or-kingdom question open. In 1963, amid pervasive liberal constitutional reforms, the name Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was introduced, the state is most commonly referred to by the latter name, which it held for the longest period of all. The most common abbreviation is SFRY, though SFR Yugoslavia was also used in an official capacity, particularly by the media. On 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers led by Nazi Germany, by 17 April 1941, Yugoslav resistance was soon established in two forms, the Royal Yugoslav Army and the Yugoslav Partisans. The Partisan supreme commander was Josip Broz Tito, and under his command the movement soon began establishing liberated territories which attracted the attentions of the occupying forces. The coalition of parties, factions, and prominent individuals behind the movement was the Peoples Liberation Front. The Front formed a political body, the Anti-Fascist Council for the Peoples Liberation of Yugoslavia. The AVNOJ, which met for the first time in Partisan-liberated Bihać on 26 November 1942, during 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans began attracting serious attention from the Germans. In two major operations of Fall Weiss and Fall Schwartz, the Axis attempted to stamp-out the Yugoslav resistance once, on both occasions, despite heavy casualties, the Group succeeded in evading the trap and retreating to safety. The Partisans emerged stronger than before and now occupied a significant portion of Yugoslavia
8.
Lasta Beograd
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Lasta is one of the largest bus companies in Serbia and Southeastern Europe. It is part of the pan-European Eurolines network and operates bus coaches on a network of routes throughout Serbia. The logo of this largest Serbian bus company is either in Cyrillic or in Latin script. On one of the biggest holidays in Serbia Lasta was the company to transport people with 150 buses to Gazimestan. That is the biggest convoy of Lastas buses ever seen, the bus line from Belgrade to Paris is in function over 40 years. In southeastern Europe, Lasta was always the one with the most modern and comfortable buses, starting with Neoplan Cityliner, Daf Smit, Berkh of Axial, Lasta Belgrade is the owner of the Lastra Lazarevac, another big bus transport company which has 100 buses. In her ownership Lasta has 35% of Panonijabus, the company provides public transport within the city of Belgrade, intercity routes to all parts of Serbia, as well as international routes to destinations in Europe. Lasta has a role in public transportation in Serbia. With about 1,000 buses and coaches, Lasta is the carrier of the transport in Belgrade. In suburban transport of Belgrade Lasta takes a part with about 300 buses
9.
Air travel
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Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliding, parachuting, airplanes, jets, or anything else that can sustain flight. Use of air travel has increased in recent decades - worldwide it doubled between the mid-1980s and the year 2000. Air travel can be separated into two classifications, national/domestic and international flights. Flights from one point to another within the country are called domestic flights. Flights from a point in one country to a point within a different country are known as international flights, travelers can use domestic or international flights in either private or public travel. Travel class on an airplane is usually split into a two, three or four class model service, US Domestic flights usually have two classes, Economy Class and a Domestic First Class partitioned into cabins. International flights may have up to four classes, Economy Class, Premium Economy, Business Class or Club Class, most air travel starts and ends at a commercial airport. Modern aircraft consume less fuel per person and mile travelled than cars when fully booked, instead, the scheduled flights are predominant, resulting in a far worse fuel efficiency. According to the ATAG, flights produced 781 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas CO2 in 2015 globally, deep vein thrombosis is the third-most common vascular disease, next to stroke and heart attack. It is estimated that DVT affects one in 5,000 travellers on long flights, risk increases with exposure to more flights within a short time frame and with increasing duration of flights. During flight, the cabin pressure is usually maintained at the equivalent of 6. Most healthy travelers will not notice any effects, however, for travelers with cardiopulmonary diseases, cerebrovascular disease, anemia, or sickle cell disease, conditions in an aircraft can exacerbate underlying medical conditions. Aircraft cabin air is dry, usually 10%–20% humidity, which can cause dryness of the mucous membranes of the eyes. Http, //openflights. org/ a tool that lets you map your flights around the world
