[binaiks]

Hello all,

Last night, I traveled from Kannur to Bangalore by Ashoka Travels Volvo "Asia Bus" (9100). The ride in itself was no something great. One point struck me during the journey though.

In almost all the "new-age" luxury buses, the seats are of "Harita" make. Harita is a TVS Group company. They make a wide variety of seats, and each bus has its own "grade" of seat.

Volvo uses what a model called as "Harita VFX", while Mercedes uses "Harita Magnum" or "Harita Crystal".

This is Harita Magnum: (Image from the Harita Website)


This is Harita Crystal: (Image from the Harita Website)


The ones used by Volvo are really comfortable, and I hear from some sources that the seat is custom made for Volvo, and they are not available outside.

The Volvo 9100 (Asia Bus) comes with Harita Magnum seats - I felt that those seats were absolutely hopeless - it offered very little thigh support (the particular bus did not have calf rests). I kept sliding off the seat everytime the driver applied brakes - and the seat upholstery was the fake leather kinda material. The seat base was very flat and offered very little support.

I am not a fan of the "Harita Crystal" seats that Mercedes uses either. Those seats offer better thigh support, but I feel them cramped and uncomfortable.

At the end of the journey, I had some questions which members here might be able to answer better -

1. What would be your minimum requirements from the seat for your journey? I mean what kind of supports, cushion thickness would be expected?
2. Is a calf rest essential? Or do you think its a nuisance (I for one cannot travel without calf rests now - could be a psychological thing).

And please do provide any points other than what I've already mentioned above. I am interested in doing a small case study on various seating systems along with their advantages and disadvantages.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by binaiks

1. What would be your minimum requirements from the seat for your journey? I mean what kind of supports, cushion thickness would be expected?

The kind of seats I found best till date, are those in the previous lot of Super Deluxe buses of KSRTC (those Irizar-TVS built, RT series IIRC). Those were really comfy.

Originally Posted by binaiks

2. Is a calf rest essential? Or do you think its a nuisance (I for one cannot travel without calf rests now - could be a psychological thing).

For a day-only journey, I would be happy not to have the Calf-support, as it gives more room to move my legs. For an overnight journey, I would like a seat that has calf support, *and* a good recline angle.

And please do provide any points other than what I've already mentioned above.

A fabric cover on the head-rest portion is a must for me. Faux-leather or rexine covers aren't very comfortable for me.

One more grouse I have with these Harita seats is the position of the recline lever for the window-seats. It's placed at an awkward position.

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by binaiks

The ones used by Volvo are really comfortable

That is absolutely correct. This is one of the few more reasons to choose a Volvo over a Merc.
But MSRTC uses ' Magnum' for their Shivneri volvo's and are pathetic. I once travelled from Bangalore to Pune, and that was a very tormenting experience. Grip and bolstering are minimalistic.
On my personal likes,
Being 5.11 doesn't help in overnight journeys nor does a hefty build. I therefore have no use of the calf support. Only time I use it is when I don't have a co-passenger, and use the calf support on the other seat.

I don't use the seat reclining facility much, I try to sit as straight as possible. I find it very difficult to lay back and keep the foot down.
Also my job ensures that I am on the move frequently, So sitting upright in night journeys improves my digetion to a certain extent


I also experienced that the armrest in 'Magnum' categories have differnt heights for RHS and LHS. I found it uncomfortable.

Cheers,
Abhijeet