[Jimmyjosek]

Hello friends;

Its a fact that Kerala SRTC is preparing to buy Volvo Multi Axle buses without following any rules. The Corporation floats tender for purchasing each and every small things. But to buy multi axle buses, no tender was floated and purchase order was issued to Volvo without any competitive bid.

Here is a news reported by Times of India:

KSRTC should be asked to reconsider its decision to purchase 12 multi-axle Volvo buses for Kerala-Bangalore services in view of repeated accidents, demands a petition filed before the Kerala high court.


The petition was filed by Chittur-based (Palakkad) bus passengers’ association secretary M Abdul Kareem, through advocate G Hariharan.


Two recent accidents involving Volvo buses –– one at Haveri in Karnataka and the other at Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh –– have been highlighted in the petition. The accident at Haveri resulted in the death of seven passengers and injuries to 33. In the Mahbubnagar accident, 45 passengers were charred to death. In both the accidents, rupturing of diesel tank was the cause of the fire, the petitioner has alleged.


Further, KSRTC’s proposal to buy Volvo buses at Rs 98 lakh each is without inviting any competitive tenders from bus manufacturers such as Scania, Corona, and Mercedes Benz, the petition said.


Most of the 60 buses, purchased by KSRTC under the JNNURM scheme, are already in the garage for want of proper maintenance. The KSRTC’s Ernakulam depot had to spend Rs 14 lakh on maintenance of these low-floor buses in October while earning Rs 4.5 lakh, it is alleged.


The road conditions in Kerala is not suitable for multi-axle buses in view of the limited road width even on national highways. Therefore, spending Rs 12 crore would be a waste, the petition stated.




Times of India

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

Its a fact that Kerala SRTC is preparing to buy Volvo Multi Axle buses without following any rules. The Corporation floats tender for purchasing each and every small things. But to buy multi axle buses, no tender was floated and purchase order was issued to Volvo without any competitive bid.

AFAIK, tendering is not required for purchases like these. Karnataka RTC routinely does it without tendering. These buses are purchased based on trials and requirements than simply buying the cheapest one.

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

KSRTC should be asked to reconsider its decision to purchase 12 multi-axle Volvo buses for Kerala-Bangalore services in view of repeated accidents, demands a petition filed before the Kerala high court.

The worst news in the recent times. These buses were seen as a relief for thousands of passengers who travel long distances - a big relief from private operators who charge a bomb and with the recent announcement of a tax hike in Kerala, the fare is only set to go even higher. IMHO, vested interests should be suspected behind this motive.

Last time KeSRTC's Volvos were stoned when they started eating into private operator's pie - this time they decided to pre-empt the move.

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

In both the accidents, rupturing of diesel tank was the cause of the fire, the petitioner has alleged.

So, shouldn't we actually ban motor vehicles? All of them have fuel tanks, and they could burst. So we should instead ask the court to ban vehicles and return back to the bullock cart era.

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

The road conditions in Kerala is not suitable for multi-axle buses in view of the limited road width even on national highways. Therefore, spending Rs 12 crore would be a waste, the petition stated.

Excellent. Would this stay/ban also apply to the umpteen private buses also? What about Karnataka RTC buses? Don't then run through the same routes?

I hope the court quashes this petition, and possibly levy a penalty on the petitioner for wasting the court's time.

[speedsatya]

Losers ! Multiaxle buses are running without any problems on the regular 2 lane highways in all other states. What's so different about KL roads that these idiots notice?

Yeah let's get bullock carts instead of buses. The risk of fuel tanks igniting just wouldn't exist.


Sent from my mobile phone , please excuse typos

[Jimmyjosek]

Originally Posted by binaiks

AFAIK, tendering is not required for purchases like these. Karnataka RTC routinely does it without tendering. These buses are purchased based on trials and requirements than simply buying the cheapest one.

Binai, Multi axle volvos were never tried on Kerala roads by KSRTC. Then how can they buy without trials?

KaSRTC does regular trials before buying. KeSRTC has never tried any multi axle on Kerala Roads. Then how can they simply go for Volvo when alternatives with better specs and technology, and better financials are available?

All government purchases need tendering. Tendering is not purely evaluating the cost. It means complete study

[rajeev k]

This is what is hampering the progress of Kerala in every sphere. Initially computers were taboo, later earth working and moving equipment followed suit. Kerala thinks that if roads are good then all vehicles would indiscriminately over-speed resulting in accidents and fatalities. Take the case of the brouhaha created on the subject of the Highway width. It is said by all that the State itself is narrow and therefore wider roads are not required here. This is Gods own country and Gods travel in multi-axle chariots and not Volvos. The fun never ends.

Jokes apart, the claim as to why only Volvos and not Scania or Mercedes Benz iis to be looked in another angle. Competitive bidding is not a necessity. If properly justified proprietary procurement can be resorted to. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has stipulated clear-cut guidelines in this regard.

Further, KSRTC’s proposal to buy Volvo buses at Rs 98 lakh each is without inviting any competitive tenders from bus manufacturers such as Scania, Corona, and Mercedes Benz, the petition said.

Why the petitioner is not questioning the procurement of only Ashok Leyland and TATA Buses and not Eicher, Isuzu etc,in large numbers is also to be viewed likewise. This procurement is through a limited tendering procedure, stipulating a certain Pre Qualification (PQ) criteria.

The KSRTC’s Ernakulam depot had to spend Rs 14 lakh on maintenance of these low-floor buses in October while earning Rs 4.5 lakh, it is alleged.

The lesser earning in Volvo buses is attributable to improper deployment. Most of these bused are run on routes where passenger intensity is very less.
Many of these Buses are idling in the Ernakulam Central Bus station and is inconveniencing the parking of normal buses in the congested Bus station. I have personally seen this. Citing technical reasons long distance trips except the Trivandrum - Ernakulam route are cancelled for sometime now. Only one bus is running in the Trivandrum - Ernakulam sector and this bus is always packed and even passengers prefer standing and traveling.

[harikr]

This is exactly the reason why Kerala sees no development. All the private Volvos and KeSRTC volvos are also running on the same road. They are making huge profits. I have travelled on much narrower roads on volvos. The Chennai - Kollam B9R service by Kallada is travelling through some of the narrowest highways in India via Madurai - Tenkasi - Rajapalayam - Tenmala. Its having extremely tight turns which the volvos manure with ease. Similar is the case of Coimbatore Mysore KaSRTC multi axle volvo going via Ooty and the Mysore - Tvpm Multi axle volvo going via satyamangalam - Wayanad. So drivability of volvos in these roads are not a problem. There could be some vested interest in the litigation filed. Defenitely this is going to help the private bus operators. KaSRTC is not at much gain here as there is a restriction of number of buses that are allowed to kerala. But there is no such restrictions for private bus operators.

Why not Merc or Scania is a different question. Volvo buses are much better than Merc in case of maintenance as well as servicability. Scania can be considered before placing the final order as the buses seems to be better than the Volvos ( I have not personally travelled in a Scania).

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

Binai, Multi axle volvos were never tried on Kerala roads by KSRTC. Then how can they buy without trials?

Volvo had given one bus to KeSRTC for trials - KeSRTC does not conduct passenger trials normally. This bus was in TVM for a few days and the purchase discussions happened after that.

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

KaSRTC does regular trials before buying. KeSRTC has never tried any multi axle on Kerala Roads. Then how can they simply go for Volvo when alternatives with better specs and technology, and better financials are available?

KeSRTC need not perform road trials - other ASRTU members have experience operating these buses, and STUs can use such evaluation before purchases. It is an approved methodology. Who is the manufacturer with better specs/tech/financials proven in the market?

Mercedes Benz is one competitor - but the service feedback about them is not great from the present STU operators. None of them went for a repeat order with Mercedes after the initial purchase. Service support is very poor from the manufacturer.

Scania is another competitor - but they do not have a product that meet the requirement of the purchaser. KeSRTC wants a 13.7m variant, while the Scania presently offers only the 14.5M variant. The 13.7M variant is still not production ready and Scania does not have production facilities in the country at the moment. It is an unproven product yet. Till date only 2 buses are in operation commercially. The litigation says that the roads cannot accomodate a 13.7M bus, and hence it surely cannot accommodate a 14.5M bus. So Scania stands out of competition. Now tell me, which other manufacturer has a multi-axle bus in India?

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

All government purchases need tendering. Tendering is not purely evaluating the cost. It means complete study

There are exemptions permitted by the CVC for specific purchases in small quantities. This purchase falls in the ambit of those, IMHO.

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Many of these Buses are idling in the Ernakulam Central Bus station and is inconveniencing the parking of normal buses in the congested Bus station. I have personally seen this. Citing technical reasons long distance trips except the Trivandrum - Ernakulam route are cancelled for sometime now. Only one bus is running in the Trivandrum - Ernakulam sector and this bus is always packed and even passengers prefer standing and traveling.

The long trips were cancelled following a High Court order restraining KSRTC from operating JnNURM funded buses on long routes. The buses were funded with the caveat that they should be operated exclusively within the notified Urban Agglomeration. The order was following a case filed by a consumer group in Kochi and hence KeSRTC took it for granted that the order is valid only for Kochi's buses. Hence a single bus from Trivandrum is operated on the route.

The crowd and earnings from those buses prove beyond doubt that there is good scope for a premium intra-state service. According to newspaper reports, KeSRTC plans to introduce non-AC Super Deluxe services on certain major routes when it purchases the next lot of Super Deluxe buses (Chassis to build them).

Originally Posted by harikr

Similar is the case of Coimbatore Mysore KaSRTC multi axle volvo going via Ooty and the Mysore - Tvpm Multi axle volvo going via satyamangalam - Wayanad.

OT: But no services exist in the routes you mentioned. Coimbatore-Mysore KaSRTC Volvo (not a multi-axle) goes via Sathy-Chamrajnagar. It doesn't touch Ooty. The road to Ooty cannot accomodate a Multi-Axle.

The Mysore-TVM Multi-axle service is via Muthanga-Bathery-Kozhikode. Sathyamangalam and Wayanad aren't in the same route. The Sathyamangalam route also cannot accomodate a Multi-axle. Three out of the 27 hairpins in the route are too tight even for a regular 12M Volvo.

Originally Posted by harikr

Defenitely this is going to help the private bus operators. KaSRTC is not at much gain here as there is a restriction of number of buses that are allowed to kerala. But there is no such restrictions for private bus operators

Certainly. This litigation is solely with the intention of helping the private bus "lobby". The advocate who is handling the case is a well-known pro-private lobby lawyer, who has handled a lot of cases for them against KeSRTC.

For KaSRTC - actually they had proposed a free operations agreement with KeSRTC (solely for premium services) - but KeSRTC declined due to its inability to scale up to meet KaSRTC's services. But still Kerala stands at the second position in KaSRTC's list of profitable interstate destinations. (The first place is held by Maharashtra).

[harikr]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Volvo had given one bus to KeSRTC for trials - KeSRTC does not conduct passenger trials normally. This bus was in TVM for a few days and the purchase discussions happened after that.



KeSRTC need not perform road trials - other ASRTU members have experience operating these buses, and STUs can use such evaluation before purchases. It is an approved methodology. Who is the manufacturer with better specs/tech/financials proven in the market?

Mercedes Benz is one competitor - but the service feedback about them is not great from the present STU operators. None of them went for a repeat order with Mercedes after the initial purchase. Service support is very poor from the manufacturer.

Scania is another competitor - but they do not have a product that meet the requirement of the purchaser. KeSRTC wants a 13.7m variant, while the Scania presently offers only the 14.5M variant. The 13.7M variant is still not production ready and Scania does not have production facilities in the country at the moment. It is an unproven product yet. Till date only 2 buses are in operation commercially. The litigation says that the roads cannot accomodate a 13.7M bus, and hence it surely cannot accommodate a 14.5M bus. So Scania stands out of competition. Now tell me, which other manufacturer has a multi-axle bus in India?



There are exemptions permitted by the CVC for specific purchases in small quantities. This purchase falls in the ambit of those, IMHO.



The long trips were cancelled following a High Court order restraining KSRTC from operating JnNURM funded buses on long routes. The buses were funded with the caveat that they should be operated exclusively within the notified Urban Agglomeration. The order was following a case filed by a consumer group in Kochi and hence KeSRTC took it for granted that the order is valid only for Kochi's buses. Hence a single bus from Trivandrum is operated on the route.

The crowd and earnings from those buses prove beyond doubt that there is good scope for a premium intra-state service. According to newspaper reports, KeSRTC plans to introduce non-AC Super Deluxe services on certain major routes when it purchases the next lot of Super Deluxe buses (Chassis to build them).



OT: But no services exist in the routes you mentioned. Coimbatore-Mysore KaSRTC Volvo (not a multi-axle) goes via Sathy-Chamrajnagar. It doesn't touch Ooty. The road to Ooty cannot accomodate a Multi-Axle.

The Mysore-TVM Multi-axle service is via Muthanga-Bathery-Kozhikode. Sathyamangalam and Wayanad aren't in the same route. The Sathyamangalam route also cannot accomodate a Multi-axle. Three out of the 27 hairpins in the route are too tight even for a regular 12M Volvo.




Certainly. This litigation is solely with the intention of helping the private bus "lobby". The advocate who is handling the case is a well-known pro-private lobby lawyer, who has handled a lot of cases for them against KeSRTC.

For KaSRTC - actually they had proposed a free operations agreement with KeSRTC (solely for premium services) - but KeSRTC declined due to its inability to scale up to meet KaSRTC's services. But still Kerala stands at the second position in KaSRTC's list of profitable interstate destinations. (The first place is held by Maharashtra).

Yea, I am sorry for that, Satyamangalam and Wayanad don't fall in the same route. But the multi axle goes via Wayanad, I think. I have seen it near the 6th or 7th Hairpin on the Wayanad ghat while I was travelling on that route. It was on the initial days after they announced multi axle on that route. There is a Kallada multi axle in the Wayanad route for sure, I have seen it 2-3 times on the ghat section and also had a near miss accident with it while he overtook a truck and came head on to me.And about the Ooty route, the information was given by my friend, so sorry for that.

So these routes are possible for Multi-axle volvos. The TVM-MYS multiaxle volvo is full on almost all the weekends, thanks to the Infosys and other industries in mysore. And all the buses to Chennai and Bangalore gets full on weekends, so is definitely profitable.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Jimmyjosek

The road conditions in Kerala is not suitable for multi-axle buses in view of the limited road width even on national highways. Therefore, spending Rs 12 crore would be a waste, the petition stated.

Times of India

Why is the road width limited? Again because the "conditions in Kerala" argument was used to limit the width of highways to 30m in KL as opposed to 45m elsewhere. And besides, how can KSRTC run multi-axle buses when the private operators are the only ones with the skills to run such vehicles on such roads?

Yeah, right - Kerala is on another planet. It is after all God's own country, populated by the Devil's own people.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Excellent. Would this stay/ban also apply to the umpteen private buses also? What about Karnataka RTC buses? Don't then run through the same routes?

Binai, I wanted to make the same comments when I read through the article. The fact is, Kerala SRTC does not deserve those buses. Karnataka SRTC multi axle Volvos ply the Banglaore-Mysore-Bathery-Kalpetta-Kozhikkode route without any problem. Or maybe they fly down the ghat section . If anything, people should file complaints against the way the RTC is managed. I seriously don't understand the philosophy here. All the neighbouring state RTCs are sending all kinds of buses to most of the cities and towns of Kerala and there is a bulk of private carriers also plying to remote towns, with their multi axle Volvos. And some XYZ is telling that the roads are not suitable for the big buses. It clearly seems to be an initiative by the private carriers' lobby which is pretty strong. I hope to see some sensible decision from the court.

[unni246]

With Respect to Trials, the KeSRTC would not need any as KaSRTC is already proving it right in front of our Eyes covering almost all parts of Kerala. The MultiAxles also seems to be a huge profit for KaSRTC in the Kerala route as we could see a lot new buses being introduced in this Route often.
Off late there are rumors that the BLISS & SUPERIA versions could be introduce as well in the Kerala Routes.
However I do have the opinion that the KeSRTC are quite bad in the Management & Maintenance area that they would need a completely new & dedicated crew for the maintenance of these ultra modern luxury vehicles and ofcourse a dedicated service center by the Vehicle Brands. Else the sinking ship KeSRTC would go down even faster.

[srishiva]

Not sure if they can outsource their bus needs to neighbouring state corporations. Will leak less money

[DragonHawk]

For me it looks like a private lobby to avoid KeSRTC eating into their daily bread and butter. Otherwise I don`t see any point in challenging the RTC`s decision to buy Volvo`s.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

For me it looks like a private lobby to avoid KeSRTC eating into their daily bread and butter. Otherwise I don`t see any point in challenging the RTC`s decision to buy Volvo`s.

It's a known fact that the lawyer that has made the appeal in the hon'ble High Court of Kerala, has appeared for the private bus operators in many cases earlier. Being from the same district, I'm aware of many Bus Passenger Associations formed in earlier days, to pressurise the KSRTC to run buses in certain routes infested with private buses that care two hoots for passengers - punctuality, safety and efficiency in their services. Never before has this particular association come up, ever.

I earnestly hope the HC turns down this appeal and lets the corporation go ahead with its purchase of multi-axle Volvo buses.

[Joe M]

It is a valid point that the corporation had to consider other manufacturers like Mercedes, Scania, Isuzu etc and analyse everything in detail before placing the order, and document the reason why Volvo was chosen - for the sake of anyone who wishes to know the reasons. That, if they haven't done at all - is a mistake.

Calling a Volvo 'unsafe' is nothing short of a blunder. We don't know the exact reason why so many people died in the Volvo accident near Hyd.

Since the corporation is having many Volvos, the service and maintenance should come cheaper for Volvo compared to a different manufacturer - this is my guess. Others may be equally or even more ready to provide full on-site support.

Expanding Kerala roads is a subject even Stephen Hawking would feel confused about. If someone has to lose his 10 cents plot near the road when the road is being widened, the average Keralite's first and the ultimate decision would be to find a group of others in similar situation and do the necessary 'influence' to put a stay on the road project. So we can rule out possibilities of wider roads in Kerala any time soon.

The best way to reduce traffic congestion is to improve public transport. Assume the 45-50 passengers deciding to travel to Kerala by car because of the lack of comfortable public transport!