[girishglg]

BMTC was the first to introduce Volvo city buses (8700) under the Vajra branding way back in 2006 and lo city bus travel has never looked the same again. As with any new introduction, the initial charges were high with few takers. There have been a lot of rationalizing and revision of routes over the period of time and now these red beauties (in Bangalore) cut across the city loaded to the brim these days.

Introduction of various initiatives such as bus days and monthly passes for Volvo buses has taken the popularity to new heights. These buses have brought hordes of people off personal transport and got them travelling in public transport. These folks would earlier not even consider this option due to the general condition of the normal buses in our cities. Discussions on topics and experiences related to Volvo intra city busses, its routes and operations in various cities (Blr, Chennai, Kochi that I know of) where these are in service and its competitors in this space can be of interest.

(There are other threads for inter city bus travel alltogether hence we can limit the scope mainly around city buses)

[volkman10]

Similar thread exists.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...us-travel.html

Cheers!

[sa_kiran]

BMTC has been good in many initiatives. Ages ago, they started Pushpak, which was luxurious in those days. The human and vehicle population growth have made B'luru roads a hell. I have spoken to a few friends who used BMTC service instead of their company buses; take 200/- pass for a month, get into Volvo bus and pay additional 20/- for ticket. A far more comfortable ride than broken company buses; this was a few years ago.

I wish every city follows BMTC example; starting with Pune. Public transport is non-existent in Pune.

[girishglg]

The Volvo bus daily pass now costs Rs.90/- which is quite a bit but it entitles one to travel in all other lower types of buses as well and you can buy a monthly pass for Rs.1500/- from the bus conductor himself, reducing the hassle and saving time from visiting a ticketing office.

There are now over 470 volvo buses.That is by far the most number of city Volvos higher than all other city services added together. The Volvos offer the best rides even compared to private cars and in some of the grid locked routes to IT hubs it is a welcome alternative to self driven transport be it a car or a bike.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by girishglg

BMTC was the first to introduce Volvo city buses (8700) under the Vajra branding way back in 2006 and lo city bus travel has never looked the same again.

The Volvo City buses are 8400s, not 8700s. The initial buses were called B7RLE, and not 8400 - the 8400 branding came only in 2009.

Yes, Volvo City buses have certainly re-defined city rides in the cities they operate in. In Kochi, the buses made a humble beginning with 7 buses - the number has reached 42 as on date. 8 more should be joining soon.

Volvo City buses operate in the following cities, IIRC:
1. Bangalore
2. Mysore
3. Mangalore (not exactly city routes - but operate Mangalore-Manipal and Mangalore-Kasargod)
4. Chennai
5. Kochi
6. Thiruvananthapuram
7. Navi Mumbai
8. Mumbai
9. Kolkata
10. Pune
11. Gurgaon (??)
12. Delhi (a CNG bus was given on Trial - not sure if it is still running)

[DWind]

You can also add Intercity routes in TN run by TNSTC. :-)

[srimath]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Volvo City buses operate in the following cities, IIRC:
1. Bangalore
2. Mysore
3. Mangalore (not exactly city routes - but operate Mangalore-Manipal and Mangalore-Kasargod)
4. Chennai
5. Kochi
6. Thiruvananthapuram
7. Navi Mumbai
8. Mumbai
9. Kolkata
10. Pune
11. Gurgaon (??)
12. Delhi (a CNG bus was given on Trial - not sure if it is still running)

In addition to the above mentioned cities, they also ply in Hyderabad

[tsk13]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Volvo City buses operate in the following cities, IIRC:
1. Bangalore
2. Mysore
3. Mangalore (not exactly city routes - but operate Mangalore-Manipal and Mangalore-Kasargod)
4. Chennai
5. Kochi
6. Thiruvananthapuram
7. Navi Mumbai
8. Mumbai
9. Kolkata
10. Pune
11. Gurgaon (??)
12. Delhi (a CNG bus was given on Trial - not sure if it is still running)

Binaiks, the Trial Bus is very much active on one of the Ring Road Routes aka Mudrika.

Further, Haryana Roadways has Volvos on Delhi (Kashmere Gate ISBT) - Ballabgarh (Near Faridabad, Delhi NCR) route for quite sometime now. Not sure about Gurgaon, the city got no proper mode of Organized Public Transport other than Metro.

[C300]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Volvo City buses operate in the following cities, IIRC:

10. Pune

Are you sure about Pune? Never seen a Volvo city bus in Pune. It must be on a trial run on selected routes.

[phamilyman]

What some of my BLR friends joke about is that BMTC volvo is SO successful with the IT folks that they'd rather go stuffed as sardines in a volvo than take a simpler non-volvo. Sounds hilarious, if it happens that ways all the time. Others' observations?

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by C300

Are you sure about Pune? Never seen a Volvo city bus in Pune. It must be on a trial run on selected routes.

Yes. I am very sure. Pune was the first city in Maharashtra to get a Volvo City bus and IIRC, it was the second city in India to get a Volvo after Bangalore.

The bus runs on the BRTS route - Hadapsar-Katraj.

Here are some pics (All the images were taken from the internet - None of them are mine). The last image is a screenshot from the website of PMPML.

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Yes. I am very sure. Pune was the first city in Maharashtra to get a Volvo City bus and IIRC, it was the second city in India to get a Volvo after Bangalore.

The bus runs on the BRTS route - Hadapsar-Katraj.

Here are some pics (All the images were taken from the internet - None of them are mine). The last image is a screenshot from the website of PMPML.

Interesting, I am in Pune for about 5 years now, never seen even a single Volvo city bus!!

[HammerHead]

I have seen these Volvo low floor buses only at/around Katraj Depo.
@ Anilisanil, you need to be at katraj depo. to get a glimpse.

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

I have seen these Volvo low floor buses only at/around Katraj Depo.
@ Anilisanil, you need to be at katraj depo. to get a glimpse.

Ah! they are preserving them in the depot, is it?

I wonder why use them only in certain routes. anyway public transport in Pune has got nothing to write home about!

[Cooltronics]

Nice thread Girish .. I remember Volvo starting Vajra buses initially in 2006 and in a short span it got immensely popular with techies and you could see stuffed buses going towards ITPL and E-City during rush hours. Getting a seat was impossible, you would be lucky & blessed if you can move your hands and legs . I have been stuffed a lot of times following which I started taking my own vehicle. These days the frequencies have increased, I see buses plying every 5-10 mins towards ITPL every morning but unfortunately same state of affairs exist