[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by Zappo

scorpiobharath says even a Volvo and Merc are two separate things and he would not like one to replace another. So what he is proposing is that every vehicle has to have it's own ticket based on the make.

This is possible and in existence. PLease check KSRTC karnataka online booking site. Just check Chennai - Bangalore route. It offers you options of choosing Mercedes OR volvo or just a plain AC Airbus.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

scopriobharath, do you think this is behaviour that has been imparted to the drivers/ cleaners by Neeta Volvo or its just imbibed by them as a commonly used interchangeable term as against a brand?

Internally they know in a crystal clear fashion on what a Cerita is and What a Volvo B7R is. They just want to fool public to take money. As bhpian carwatcher pointed out, if volvo is same as Cerita why dont they sell the bus ticket as Cerita / Hino. They very well know people will not buy the ticket.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

... Bharathi has put Veera buses in place of Volvo sleeper and poor Hyderabadis have had to travel in sub-standard buses even after paying for Volvo..

There is nothing like Veera bus and its a Ashok Leyland bus.

Also as we speak more of brand how many of us are interested to speak/differentiate specifically on Tata and Ashok Leyland buses.
We simply call them as sleeper buses.
If our rate of literacy(the so called informed crowd) then how can we expect a general public to differentiate between Volvo and Mercs/Hino. So they use a common terminogy to call all Luxury buses as Volvo.
Infact for many in real world all rear engine buses are Volvo.

Other soft form of telling this is, we are not interested to differentiate between Tata and Ashok Leyland, the same is to other public.

Also here some of forumers even pointed of these brands as Mediocre ones as aganist Volvo.This is as good as comparing Maruti/Hyundai to BMW/Audi. If we claim we are different from others then we should stick to brand limits and not to criticise based on what we see.
For record purpose, the number of Volvo's sold since inception including City/Intercity buses are close to what Ashok Leyland / Tata does in one month sale. If Ashok Leyland alone to be compared it will be 2 months sale (assuming AL has ~65% MS).

Hope I am not hurting anyone's feeling.

[nozzlering]

I agree with sbharath's stand to get what he has paid for. Totally.

But the arguments given to support the stand are childish to me.
A bus is in good condition, interiors good, seats comfortable and spacious. Nice ac. Roads are good. Now only difference thats gonna make is the driver. Driver is good, ride will be good. But this one is not in our control. IMO, if above conditions are met, all super luxury buses (any make) would be good. You'll feel the difference only if you're driving it. I am afraid how you're going to travel in a smaller city, as you travel on nothing but B7R or B9R.
I remember my school days, when I used to go to school by bus. Our school had all the buses in different colours. Ours, green one was newest and most comfortable. While the blue one,an old bus was driven by Michael S!! We always wanted to defeat blue bus. We used to cheer our driver, but he lent us a deaf ear. Blue bus always came first. Whenever we went on picnic, we wanted to go on blue bus. Childish. Isn't it?
Any of the available buses (with rear engine) + superior suspension + good ac + nice interior + spacious and comfortable seats (most of the seats on Indian super luxury buses are 'Harita', Bangalore made----correct me if I am wrong) + good roads would be same. If one is blind folded and made to travel on any of these buses, it would be hard to point out the make of bus.
I feel this discussion is going nowhere.

[supremeBaleno]

OP has a valid point. Especially when there exist operators that charge differential pricing based on the bus type. Recently returned from Blore via the KSRTC Volvo and their online booking site had various options - Volvo, Benz etc with each priced differently. I booked a Volvo and I would expect to travel in that instead of a Benz. Pretty normal I think.

So, if he books a Volvo and pays for it as specified by the operator, it should be a Volvo. Not sure why it is so tough to understand.

[Abhi_abarth]

We have the same issue here in A.P. Passengers get to travel in non-volvo buses like Isuzu, Mercedes while buying tickets for a volvo. I had a similar experience last month while travelling to Bangalore. Booked APSRTC tickets and checked with the booking clerk if it was a Volvo or some other a/c bus. The guy assertively confirmed it was a Volvo, but was disappointed when it was a ISUZU bus. For them Volvo means just any other A/c bus. This is practiced with other private operators too.

Didn't face the problem with KSRTC during my return though. I got what I paid for. A volvo semi-sleeper double axle (Airavat) bus service which was clearly mentioned in the ticket as well.

[scopriobharath]

Let me again add to the confusion here.

The Scenario was like this. The Neeta bus had started from somewhere in Pune (Swargate or Station does not matter) and came to Aundh stop. At Aundh stop, the Conductor, ticket agent and helper(probably) were all shouting "volvo to Dadar" "Volvo to Dadar". For those naive people who think any rear engine bus is a volvo, I dont think Volvo or AC Airbus would make any difference at all. There are a good number of Bus enthusiasts in Pune who even know what the difference between a B7, B9 and B12R bus is.

Even in the "pay and board" mode, Inspite of it clearly being written on the body as a HINO, the staff were trying to cheat telling its a Volvo. I would have appreciated if they said its a Luxury AC Airbus thats it. Nothing more nothing less.

there is an equal amount of people who still travel by Non Volvo Luxury AC Air Bus and i honestly feel there is nothing bad or nothing to be ashamed of to call a Hino as a luxury AC Airbus

[dhandapanik]

Originally Posted by Abhi_abarth

We have the same issue here in A.P. Passengers get to travel in non-volvo buses like Isuzu, Mercedes while buying tickets for a volvo. I had a similar experience last month while travelling to Bangalore. Booked APSRTC tickets and checked with the booking clerk if it was a Volvo r some other a/c bus. The guy assertively confirmed it was a Volvo, but was disappointed when it was a ISUZU bus. For them Volvo means just any other A/c bus. This is practiced with other private operators too.

APSRTC uses Garuda brand name for volvo, Isuzu seater. I think they used the same name for their luxura also.

Now they have branded their AL 12m ac Buses as Indra, Isuzu sleepers as vennela, multi-axle Volvo and mercs are branded as Garuda plus. So some differentiation is there now.

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Do you really complain if a Xerox is taken from a Canon photocopier? Extend the same analogy here, your problem gets solved.

Some brands so completely dominate a field that they become synonymous with their product/ service.

+1 to that. It's a clear case of a particular manufacturer's name being used to generalise such things. This happened in India in many cases and here are a few of the examples:

Photocopiers of different brands being called a Xerox machine
Excavators used to be called as Hitachis earlier. They're now called JCBs.

Further, I don't think there is a huge price difference between a Volvo multi-axle or a Mercedes multi-axle.

I can understand if you are complaining if you are made to travel in a non-pneumatic suspension vehicle and made to pay the ticket price of a volvo.
Honestly, I would not be complaining if I paid for a volvo and travel in a Mercedes or an Isuzu.

[rajeev k]

Let me try to clear the confusion here.

a Neeta bus pulled over. The Driver, Conductor, cleaner, helper, attender & even the ticket - agent started calling passengers to his bus shouting "Volvo to Dadar"

Look at the context mentioned in this thread starter post. The bus crew was calling for possible passengers, like a returning taxi-wallah, those who are going to Dadar on any mode of transport and not calling passengers who have booked a seat in a Volvo bus.
So it is quite clear that it is only a clear case of a generalized usage of brands.
Further we are not aware of the fare collected in this particular instance from those passengers who have boarded this bus.

[Zed]

Originally Posted by Driving_Nomad

+1 to that. It's a clear case of a particular manufacturer's name being used to generalise such things. This happened in India in many cases and here are a few of the examples:

Photocopiers of different brands being called a Xerox machine
Excavators used to be called as Hitachis earlier. They're now called JCBs.

Oh absolutely - add Frigidaire, Scissors (cigarettes), Escalator and so on and it becomes apparent that the phenomenon of brand names turning into generic terms cuts across the consumer products landscape. Whats important is that in most cases (dont know if Scissors fits that bill!) the brand is usually the first entrant or the definitive product in the category. I guess Volvo qualifies on both counts in India.

Originally Posted by Ashley2

There is nothing like Veera bus and its a Ashok Leyland bus.

Also as we speak more of brand how many of us are interested to speak/differentiate specifically on Tata and Ashok Leyland buses.
We simply call them as sleeper buses.
If our rate of literacy(the so called informed crowd) then how can we expect a general public to differentiate between Volvo and Mercs/Hino. So they use a common terminogy to call all Luxury buses as Volvo.
Infact for many in real world all rear engine buses are Volvo.

Other soft form of telling this is, we are not interested to differentiate between Tata and Ashok Leyland, the same is to other public.

What differentiates a Tata from a Leyland bus in a given category, from a passengers perspective, anyways? Are folks not interested in the difference or are they unable to register any tangible difference? And by folks I mean both the literate & illiterate travelling public.

[Archish]

I think there is no need to read into this too much. It is simple. Pls dont hit me like a for bringing up Xerox again. But if I tell me office assistant to get me a 'Photocopy', he would not understand - Get a xerox of this would do it.

Same way if I ask my house cleaner to get 'Liquid Floor Disinfectant', she would not understand - buy some phynoil.

I m shifting my house, ask my friend to hire a 'Lightweight Commercial Vehicle', he blinks, I tell me get a Tempo and he runs off.

These are common terms used in our country. If the cleaner shouts ''Hino to Dadar'' , ''Hino to Dadar'' - I am sure that he would have no passenger. In our country a 'luxury' - 'air suspension' - 'air conditioned' - 'rear engined' bus is a Volvo.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

So it is quite clear that it is only a clear case of a generalized usage of brands.
Further we are not aware of the fare collected in this particular instance from those passengers who have boarded this bus.

Originally Posted by Zed

the brand is usually the first entrant or the definitive product in the category. I guess Volvo qualifies on both counts in India.
What differentiates a Tata from a Leyland bus in a given category

Well, For me and the informed public, I feel that i am being taken for a ride If its canvassed as a Volvo and am seated in a Hino/sutlej. If Hinos and Sutlejs were as Fast and comfortable, it would not matter to me.

Hino does NOT match Volvo in speed and comfort. In a BLR - Chennai travel of 350 kms, Volvos and mercedes takes 6 hours but Hinos, Sutlej et all take 7-7.5 hours. I personally have felt more comfortable in Volvos than non-volvos.

Originally Posted by Archish

If the cleaner shouts ''Hino to Dadar'' , ''Hino to Dadar'' - I am sure that he would have no passenger. In our country a 'luxury' - 'air suspension' - 'air conditioned' - 'rear engined' bus is a Volvo.

whats the harm in telling "AC Airbus to Dadar". Informed segment would want a Volvo than a Hino

[Selective]

I agree with what Bharath said.

I generally pick my bus, first preference being Volvo and next Benz, even though they are comparable. I don't like the side a/c vents in Benz which cannot be controlled manually like the a/c vents above your head. If I book Volvo and operator asks me to board Benz, I would protest as this was not informed. If operator has a genuine reason, then I might accept it. And I generally go with trusted travel companies like KSRTC or VRL. Generally this issue is not observed in Bangalore or Karnataka.

But, if I book Volvo and some HINO or other bus comes, I will fume and will shout from top of the roof for sure. And will never trust and go with that operator again!

Volvo and Benz being in the same category, similar pricing can be justified. For all other AC buses, the ticket price should be less.

My 2 cents...

-Selective

[Zed]

@ Scorpiobharat - my comments were related to the topic of of brands turning generic.

I mean unlike a photocopier or an escalator - where you would have found it difficult to differentiate competing products - if the HINO bus did not match the Volvo in terms of comfort and speed, you are certainly justified to feel cheated.
And since we are on the subject - is there much to differentiate between a Tata & Leyland 'luxury bus' - based on your recent travelling experiences ?

[nitinbose]

When they mention "Volvo", they are referring it to the particular "class of service" offering certain level of conveniences/comfort. The bus can be of any make but offering similar conveniences/comfort, such as A/C, multi-axle, wider push back seats etc.

I wouldnt say the team was cheating as long as the services are in par.