[abhilashvk]

I have travelled in buses in Europe where there is a combination of sleeper and seating... Usually on long routes, the sleeper is used by the same passengers who are seated during the day...these buses are generally used where the travel time is long - more than a day.....Well I did not get the previlege the travel long distance in the bus, however i had taken a couple of drops to the down town from where i was staying....And these buses come with toilets like in an aircraft...

[Ram]

Originally Posted by binz

Yup this is not a taller version. Actually Paulo tours uses this bus on the bangalore-goa Route.

I've been in one,..its the same size.

Then my humble deposition is that Paulo's Volvo (I haven't seen it) may have sleeper furniture & upholstery shoehorned into a regular height body.

But brother, does it amaze me, how you guys would glibly throw a hard to substantiate statement!

Trust me, when sketching motor vehicles is a passion since childhood, refining the skill as one goes along, one develops an intuitive sense of perspective and dimension. Rightly or wrongly, that gave me a sense of the height of this bus when I first saw it at Khalapur-Sajgaon.

This one was at least a foot or so taller than normal. We could actually measure it convinces.

Here's some effort to give you an idea of how a regular size B7R would compare with this tallman. Compare with the roof of the HP petrol pump.

[rahul_intlad]

Yes the roof appears slightly higher than than we normally see in the other B7R's. I am talking keeping the mirrors as reference.However I do not feel this was done by Volvo india's bus building unit and looks like it was done by somebody else.

Regarding seatbelts,some B7R's have seatbelts for all seats,some have for a few and some dont have them at all.Since the belts go between the two seats sometimes it may go unnoticed as well,they are so full of dust is proof enough that they are hardly used.

With volvo's becoming an intricate part of our highways sleepers were just a matter of time.There seems to be a metal rod to protect the passenger from banging into the glass,still safety is definitely compromised here.

But what happens to the emergency exit in this case,has it been blocked by these sleepers,then not only is this dangerous it is also illegal.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by binz

No they dont .. ..

binz

Binz,

I've seen seat belts on Volvos that I've travelled in from BLR <--> Chennai, Pune <--> Aurangabad, Ahmedabad --> Rajkot and Rajkot --> Mumbai. The Karnataka Volvos were from KSRTC, the MH Volvos were Khurana and the GJ Volvos from Patel Transports.

Whether these organizations had them fitted as an optional accessory is the only area of clarification that can be debated.

[kpbhatt]

I have seen the bus mentioned in the pics above -- it runs on the Pune -Baroda -Ahmedabad route and its a hit with the passengers since its an overnight journey from Pune to Ahmedabad

[benbsb29]

Binz, I have noticed seatbelts on the APSRTC Volvos too.
I do not think they were an aftermarket fitment.

[salilpawar1]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Binz, I have noticed seatbelts on the APSRTC Volvos too.
I do not think they were an aftermarket fitment.

Let me settle the argument about seatbelts once and for all.

Every Volvo has seatbelts as standard fitment for the driver, co-driver (i.e, the foldable seat near the entry/exit door), passenger seats of the first row and the middle seat of the very last row.

Fitting seatbelts for other seats is optional.

[amtak]

Dear Salil,

Thanks for sharing what I wanted to share... Also, it is a HIGH roof bus as compared to other B7R's as they do not have the curve that we can see in this bus above the biggg windshield. It is more than the normal B7R

[Ram]

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad

I do not feel this was done by Volvo india's bus building unit and looks like it was done by somebody else.

Most of the Volvo buses we see in Mumbai-Pune area: Neeta, Metrolink, Konduskar, Khurana, Shivneri, ...
are bodies built by Jaico Automobiles (Azad Group) of Bangalore.

Engines and Chassis come from Volvo. Volvo India does not build complete buses.

[rahul_intlad]

After the complaints by all the private bus operators Volvo India itself has taken up the task,though am not sure if it is functional just yet.But yes I had had meant Jaico in my earlier post.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...karnataka.html

Ps:

The link in the old thread has become outdated here's a new link:

http://www.ibef.org/artdisplay.aspx?...0&art_id=15058

[cheap_deal]

Originally Posted by chanapli

I guess seat belts are not present in buses abroad also. I dont remember noticing seat belts in those Greyhonds and national expresses.

your right, no seatbelts. i have always wondered why? crashing into the seat in front can be painful as its not padded on the rear.

[1100D]

There is a lot that is different other than the height in this bus from a Regular Volvo (The Windows, the front end treatment etc). Question is why is it being assumed to be a Volvo in the first place? Because of the Volvo logo? A few months back in a separate thread (if I recall about the KL bus) I was enlightened that anybus with a VOLVO sticker is not a Volvo (As Volvos are exclusively manufactured by Azad).

Actually its also the Volvo wheels that misguide.

There is also a possibility that this is a 2nd hand Volvo which may have been customized to the 2nd hand users requirements. Much the same way as some cars get stretched but then after the stretch they cant claim to be from the stable of the original manufacturer. (Unless offcourse the customiser is Manufacturer authorised)

[Ram]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Question is why is it being assumed to be a Volvo in the first place? Because of the Volvo logo? A few months back in a separate thread (if I recall about the KL bus) I was enlightened that anybus with a VOLVO sticker is not a Volvo (As Volvos are exclusively manufactured by Azad).

Actually its also the Volvo wheels that misguide.

I am the one that saw the bus, walked around it and photographed it. I saw the Volvo rear engine, exhaust, the Volvo dash and steering wheel, the sound of the engine, the wheels with radial tires. I even entered the bus but didn't take photographs of the interior as there were people resting.

Many of us in Team-BHP are more knowledgeable than to recognize a vehicle by stickers or badges.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by ram

I am the one that saw the bus, walked around it and photographed it. I saw the Volvo rear engine, exhaust, the Volvo dash and steering wheel, the sound of the engine, the wheels with radial tires. I even entered the bus but didn't take photographs of the interior as there were people resting.

Many of us in Team-BHP are more knowledgeable than to recognize a vehicle by stickers or badges.

Then it is offcourse a customization done by the owner at some body builder using the Volvo running gear.

Now it is a matter of debate whether the tinkered stuff would still be legal to be called a volvo. Say for example there are a lot of stretch Limo's based on Mercedes cars, would it be right to call the result a Mercedes? Unless offcourse the stretch has been done by a stuttgart authorised coachbuilder.

BTW OT but Volvo busses have a spaceframe chasiss (instead of the indian conventional Body on ladder frame job) isn't it?

[Ram]

Originally Posted by cheap_deal

your right, no seatbelts. i have always wondered why? crashing into the seat in front can be painful as its not padded on the rear.

You're absolutely right.

In fact, three weeks ago, in Brampton a suburb of Toronto, Canada,
a 10-year old 4th standard boy was killed inside his school bus when it brushed the rear wheels of a trailerless-truck at 100 km/h.

The kid was thrown inside the bus and got head-injuries from the window-sill and seat frames. He could have been saved if the bus had seat-belts.

The schoolbus with 27 children and 4 adults clipped the rear wheels of a tractor trailer at 100 km/h on Highway 410 (near Toronto's Pearson airport) skidded through the grassy centre median before stopping short of oncoming traffic in the opposite lanes.

Shouldn't buses driven above 60 km/h, as in, on the expressways, have seat belts?

TheStar.com - News - Hope 'lost' for bus crash victim