[girishglg]

On the way to office we come across numerous contract carriages especially in the IT zone be it in Bangalore along the ORR / E City hub or in Chennai along the OMR ferrying hoardes of IT staff. Also there are other buses that are designated Tourist vehicles who provide casual contract or conducted tours. Many of these new coaches seen recently are being build by builders such as REC, Veera etc seen in Bangalore. Most of them seem to be built on AL chassis and some on TATA ones (spotting from front wheel nut marking) but are not branded with the manufacturer name generally. Also some of these buses are refurbished intercity buses that have been decomissioned from their regular runs and converted internally with non pushback seats etc.
Recently spotted a brand new bus ferrying IT employees and was from SAM tourists built by REC. Unfortunately couldn't take a pic in high speed. Also another specimen from Greenline tours who run a/c coaches to Tirupati darshan tours etc is build by a seemingly small time builder but has different lines compared to the normal buses.

So any information or pictures of contract carriages / tourist buses is welcome since they are alltogether different breed (at least in purpose of usage) compared to the city and intercity transport buses.

[Ashley2]

This was in my mind for long time. A dedicated thread for these buses - Staff transportation .
Let us post images of various staff transportation buses in respective cities.

[LPT2625]

IT firms are very wary (and naturally so) when it comes to the security of their facilities and of their staff. Post 26/11, most IT cos. have stopped displaying their corporate identities on their buses. So please exercise due caution when displaying photographs of company buses. Blank out the registration number/company name and logo/route number before uploading photographs. I think a tight shot of the bus along with a close-up shot (if possible) of the body builder's name/logo would be sufficient. Also blank out the identities of the passengers who happen to be in the frame. Pardon me for ringing the alarm bell.

[dhandapanik]

Southern Roadways(part of TVS group) which started its bus service in 1912 in Madurai was known for its service and punctuality. People used to say that, you could set your watch with the arrival/departure of these buses citing the schedule adherence standards of these buses. In 1972, operations of Southern Roadways bus service came to an end with nationalization of bus services. This bus which is one of the relics from that era is still doing duty as a staff bus for Southern Roadways (Parcel service) in Madurai

[dhandapanik]

Contract Carriage buses from ABT Group. ABT group operates many city buses in Coimbatore city with different names. Some of the names are AE(Anaimalai's Engineering), NIA(Nachimuthu Industrial Association), ARC(Anaimalai's Retreading Co - Different one than ARC Omni bus group), GC(Gounder and Co), NMC(N.Mahalinga and Co), SA(Sakthi Automobiles). ABT group still runs buses under ABT brand name in their native town Pollachi.

ARC CC bus which is on a trip to Ka. Copyright: R.Subramanian


Buses branded as ARC, NMC in their depot.


ARC along with SA and GC is standing behind SA.

[gold class]

SAM Tours And Travels

[rajeev k]

Saw this one in Trivandrum. Was holding up traffic as this crossed slowly.

[Ashley2]

Got this from Hyderabad.
Unfortunate that I was not ablt to get front view or even the name of school.
Shocking to see such a costly bus used as a School bus with many of the features being useless or aganist the children use.
But for AC, I found this as a unusual Combo!
This is taken in Kodapur.

[girishglg]

Many of the so called International schools or even some upmarket schools have a/c buses in their fleet. Have spotted many such buses in Bangalore mostly on SML or other 35 seater guise. Guess they not only charge a bomb inside their schools premises but blow a hole of the pockets of parents even while transporting their kids to school. IMO school transport should have vehicles that are not over crowded, comfortable enough and with good and safe drivers.

Talking about a/c fleet to transport staff, many companies employ entire fleet of a/c buses with example of certain companies in the ORR. Do not have the pic though of a particular one which is wide enough as a full sized bus but not long enough, will take the next time it passes by. Not sure which chassis they are built off.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by girishglg

....
Talking about a/c fleet to transport staff, many companies employ entire fleet of a/c buses with example of certain companies in the ORR. Do not have the pic though of a particular one which is wide enough as a full sized bus but not long enough, will take the next time it passes by. Not sure which chassis they are built off.

I have seen AC buses from Marg Properties -222" Viking, Crompton Greaves Starbus 912.
From your post I can identify its a Lynx( Correct me If I am wrong)

[dhandapanik]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Many of the so called International schools or even some upmarket schools have a/c buses in their fleet. Have spotted many such buses in Bangalore mostly on SML or other 35 seater guise. Guess they not only charge a bomb inside their schools premises but blow a hole of the pockets of parents even while transporting their kids to school. IMO school transport should have vehicles that are not over crowded, comfortable enough and with good and safe drivers.

Spotted this AC school bus on SML Platform in Madurai. Built by JCBL.

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

I have seen AC buses from Marg Properties -222" Viking, Crompton Greaves Starbus 912.
From your post I can identify its a Lynx( Correct me If I am wrong)

The one I am referring to is a grey shaded one I guess of Cisco. Even I thought it to be a Lynx first but not sure since the telltale signs like lights or the name 'Lynx' was missing. However one thing very noticiable was it had great legroom and everyone were streched out and drowsing off!