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Brooklyn Airport Service

posted by steve
August, 1st, 2016
Events Photography

Brooklyn was an independent incorporated city and previously an authorized village and town within the provisions of the New York State Constitution

New York Airport Service is a private bus company that provides transportation between New York metropolitan area airports and Manhattan. The service is meant to provide a middle ground between the cheaper, but slower forms of government-owned public transportation (MTA Regional Bus Operations, New York City Subway, or Long Island Rail Road) and the quick but expensive taxicabs

  • New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn (11201)
  • Aloft New York, Brooklyn (11201)
  • McCarren Hotel & Pool, Brooklyn (11249)
  • Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel, Brooklyn (11201)

Scheduled stops are at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, New York Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Various Manhattan hotels are also served through reservations. New York Airport Service held a permit with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the operator of the airports, until January 2011 allowing it to operate express motorcoaches between the airports and Manhattan.

The most populous county in the U.S. state of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, after the county of New York

It no longer holds that permit, but continues to operate service to and from the airports through sister company GO Airlink Shuttle using vans.

New Shuttle Train Service

posted by steve
July, 31st, 2016
Events

A new shuttle train service between Singapore and Johor Bahru kicked off on Wednesday. The service, called Shuttle Tebrau, is operated by Malaysia’s Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and ferries commuters between the Woodlands Checkpoint and JB Sentral in just five minutes.

The service was popular with Malaysians, who took advantage of the quicker border crossing to get to work and school here.

Tickets for the first two train services leaving JB Sentral on Wednesday morning – at 5.30am and 7am – were sold out. There are a total of seven trips from Johor and another seven from Woodlands every day. Each trip can carry about 320 passengers.

Secondary 4 student Hew Sin Hui, a Malaysian who studies here, was one of those who took the 5.30am shuttle.

 “Usually I would take the bus, and sometimes there’s a (traffic) jam (on the Causeway). There’s no guarantee I get to school on time,” said the 16-year-old.

Commuters said the shuttle – which costs RM5 (S$1.79) from JB and S$5 from Woodlands – was more efficient than taking the bus, which could take between 45 minutes to over two hours if there was a jam. Shuttle trains leaving from Singapore yesterday morning, however, were relatively empty. On the 6.30am train which The Straits Times took from Woodlands, there were less than 10 passengers onboard.

One of them, freelance photographer Bobby Teh, 68, said: “The train timings are not so good. They only run during the morning and evening peak hours.”

The departure times from Woodlands station are 6.30am, 8am, 9.30am, 5pm, 6.30pm, 8pm and 11pm. From JB Sentral, the trains leave at 5.30am, 7am, 8.30am, 4pm, 5.30pm, 7pm and 10pm.

Mr Teh said the price of $5 was also steep, as he could take a bus for just $2.

Retiree Lee Chee Hua, 64, however, said that taking the train was hassle-free because he could clear both the Singapore and Malaysia immigration counters at Woodlands itself. “There’s also no fear of a traffic jam,” he said.

With the new shuttle service, trains to and from KL Sentral, Butterworth and Gemas – which previously terminated at Woodlands station – will now end at JB Sentral.

Commuters will have to use the Shuttle Tebrau to travel between JB and Singapore.

A 62-year-old Malaysian, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee, said he took the train from KL at 11pm on Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive at JB Sentral at 6.45am on Wednesday. This would allow him to take the 7am train to Singapore.

But due to a delay, he only arrived at 7.10am, and he had to wait almost 1 1/2 hours to catch the 8.30am service. “KTM must look into the timings, and allow for more time to pick up the passengers on the overnight train,” he added.

BMW Blog Romania Testing

posted by steve
July, 30th, 2016
Photography

The 2 Series Convertible seems less impressive value compared with the A3 Cabriolet, however, since the Audi’s flagship grade costs the same price as the entry level BMW.

Look closer, and the 135kW of power and 270Nm of torque made in the 220i Convertible helps it achieve a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 7.6 seconds – identical to the A3 Cabriolet 1.8 TFSI quattro flagship that produces 132kW/288Nm but is also heavier. The BMW also claims combined cycle fuel consumption of 6.4 litres per 100 kilometres, 0.2L/100km better than that Audi.

  • The 228i has the same consumption as the top A3 Cabriolet
  • Its tuned-up turbo engine produces 180kW/350Nm
  • The 228i is only $400 cheaper than an S3 Cabriolet
  • Audi makes 210kW, 380Nm and claims 5.5sec 0-100km/h.

Compared with the 1 Series Convertible, the 2 Series Convertible is 72mm longer (measuring 4432mm) with a wheelbase extended by 30mm (to 2690mm). Despite being only 26mm wider than before (at 1774mm), the tracks have been pushed out by 41mm at the front and 43mm for the rear wheels.

The question now is, of course, whether the 2 Series Convertible can go beyond facts and figures to prove itself a properly premium and genuinely good drop top. Curiously, however, each car on test also had an option within the sport setting to change chassis settings, which is usually a feature BMW admits is only reserved for cars with adaptive suspension; yet it insists none at the launch had adjustable dampers.

All of those cars were once just a dream in somebody’s head. The cars we drive say a lot about us.

It may come as a surprise to some that the BMW 2 Series Convertible has reasonably large shoes to fill in our market. The roof mechanism itself is now a five-layer fabric, up from four layers before, and this contributes to top-up quietness that BMW claims mirrors the coupe all the way up to 150km/h. When you want to whip it off, that fully electric process will take 20 seconds at speeds of up to 50km/h.

Advice On Buying Convertibles

posted by steve
July, 29th, 2016
Web Design

Should I buy a convertible? It’s the ultimate personal decision, but let’s take a look at the practicalities and bust a few myths along the way.

People buy convertibles for one of three reasons: they like the idea of open-top motoring; or they like the idea of other people thinking they like the idea of open top motoring; or because the car they really want is only available as a convertible.  Either way, you’ve got to figure out if convertibles are for you, and that starts with deciphering a bit of jargon.

  • What’s in a name?
  • What you could buy and what you should buy?
  • Are all convertibles sport cars?
  • Converting a convertible to a tin-top
  • Converting a tin-top to a convertible

If your dream car is only available as a convertible, but you really don’t like the idea of a convertible then for popular models there are aftermarket hardtops available which pretty much semi-permanently turn a convertible into a hardtop.  Two common examples are the MX-5 and Boxster.

Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.

It is also worth scouting around to see if there is in fact a hardtop version available from the manufacturer, and the Boxster is again a case in point as it was followed into production later by the Cayman – same car, different name. A Lotus Exige is a hardtop version of the roadster Elise, although in that case the Exige is more track-focused than its sister car.

Service Quality Checklist

posted by steve
July, 15th, 2016
Events Web Design

Good service is vital to the success of any tourism business, and the first step to improving service quality is to make it a priority. Incorporating service quality into every part of your business – from your overall vision and strategy, to practical aspects like staff training, customer service and workplace systems and procedures – will keep your business competitive and help it to grow.

A business with high service quality will meet customer needs whilst remaining economically competitive. Improved service quality may increase economic competitiveness. This aim may be achieved by understanding and improving operational processes; identifying problems quickly and systematically; establishing valid and reliable service performance measures and measuring customer satisfaction and other performance outcomes.

  • Service quality(SQ) is a comparison of expectations (E) about a service with performance (P)
  • Service quality is an achievement in customer service
  • It reflects at each service encounter

For example, in the case of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, wherein TAJ remaining the old world, luxury brand in the five-star category, the umbrella branding was diluting the image of the TAJ brand because although the different hotels such as Vivanta by Taj- the four star category, Gateway in the three star category and Ginger the two star economy brand, were positioned and categorised differently, customers still expected high quality of Taj.

The measurement of subjective aspects of customer service depends on the conformity of the expected benefit with the perceived result

While there are general principles of good customer service, tourism businesses can serve a diverse range of customers from all over the world whose needs may vary. Having a detailed understanding of who your customers are will help you identify their needs and develop ways to improve customer service standards for your business.

Nissan Debuts Auto Tech

posted by steve
July, 5th, 2016
Events Online Marketing Photography

In late August this year, the Nissan Serena will become the first Japanese car to come with autonomous, self-driving technology. The company says that while this is initially only going to be available on Japanese-market cars, it will be launched on the Nissan Qashqai in 2017.

Much like the already-available adaptive cruise control found in many other cars, the ProPILOT system (activated by a switch in the car) keeps a set distance from the car in front at speeds of 30-100kph (19-62mph). It also keeps the car in the middle of your chosen lane and can navigate curves.

  • Single camera up front
  • Image processing technology (that enables it to understand road signs)
  • Combined steering, acceleration and braking systems (to make a car fully autonomous)

As well as making life easier for drivers, the ProPILOT technology is also about improving safety, with Nissan intent that its cars will eventually cause zero fatalities. For Europe and the UK, this technology will appear on the Qashqai in 2017, with China and the US likely to follow shortly afterwards. There are already plans for the release of an improved system that’ll allow the car to change lanes by itself, too.

Nissan says it will offer lane-change capabilities, much as Tesla has now, in 2018. That requires blind spot.

For the US market, the adaptive cruise control portion would need to work at higher speeds for expressway commuters, where speeds at rush hour could go down to zero, or up to 75 mph when traffic clears for a mile or two.

You customer doesn't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Staffing Trends For 2017

posted by steve
June, 1st, 2016
Events Web Design

The following staffing industry trends stem from the performance, strategies, and expectations of 1,256 agency recruiting professionals throughout 2015. Based on our survey results, firms of all sizes will be lending their focus to three key factors in the coming year.

Reliance on repeat customers is becoming a resounding wake-up call for staffing firms. They need new clients and need to reach more candidates, but in order to do so, these firms first need to get their brands out there. Social media and online professional networks like LinkedIn will continue to be popular channels for promoting business, but staffing firms will need to up the ante if they want to rise above their competition.

  • Many staffing firms today rely on a recruitment CRM to effectively manage
  • Many staffing firms also use integrated systems like applicant tracking software
  • An ATS tracks applicant activity to ensure placement quantity

Most staffing firms today are not utilizing recruiter software to its utmost advantage, but that just makes this technology an even greater opportunity in 2016. The introduction of recruitment analytics software can provide great business insights for staffing agencies.

With reporting on placement activity, job orders, candidate touches, and sourcing effectiveness, staffing firms can better manage.

According to survey results, 80 percent of staffing agencies reported that they could not perform their work efficiently without CRM software or an applicant tracking system in place.