[Transsenger]

KeSRTC has taken delivery of the first 8 Volvo LE buses. The first 15 buses under Jnnurm is expected to start running at Trivandrum from 1st Nov.

[fx45]

I seriously dont get it, almost every Bus Operator of cities are buying Volvos, then why did BEST of Mumbai go with Kinglongs, can anyone give me a valid reason? :(

one of the pics i got from a site of the alwar plant

[Spitfire]

Pardon my ignorance, i have only been once to Trivandrum. And during that visit, i noticed that the city has lot of roads which are not level, as in there are lot of hills and ups and downs around the city. Will the Volvos be a bit of an hindrance due to this, with low ground clearance.

[benbsb29]

Its nice to see the KSRTC Volvos. Are these meant for city commutes, or are these inter city vehicles?

[amtak]

Originally Posted by fx45

I seriously dont get it, almost every Bus Operator of cities are buying Volvos, then why did BEST of Mumbai go with Kinglongs, can anyone give me a valid reason? :(

+1 Why BEST why? May be because they are cheaper (and non-reliable)? or BEST didn't want to look like a subsidiary of NEETA Travels!

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by fx45

I seriously dont get it, almost every Bus Operator of cities are buying Volvos, then why did BEST of Mumbai go with Kinglongs, can anyone give me a valid reason? :(

even i felt the same. but frankly i dont care as what matters more than brand name is their service. and i can confidently say that BEST offers the best service in the country. king longs serve the purpose of transporting customers in AC comfort, thats what matters. anyways, i heard BEST is going in loss so we cant expect volvos soon!

[raj_5004]

Saw this tata bus in sion, mumbai. looked good from rear but pathetic from front. sorry, could not click pics from front as i was driving. anybody here identifies this?

[condor]

Guys, since there is so much reference to 'KSRTC', let's use KaSRTC / KeSRTC to differentiate the two.

@fx45, Kinglong's are cheaper for a start. There is no obligation for any organization to stick to a specific brand. Even KaSRTC has started rying out other makes, including Tata/MarcoPolo, Corona etc. Beyond a certain point, the make of the vehicle will not matter as much as service will. Let's hope MSRTC / BEST makes a good example of the Kinglongs. In the end, the commuter will win.

[Trapezio]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Saw this tata bus in sion, mumbai. looked good from rear but pathetic from front. sorry, could not click pics from front as i was driving. anybody here identifies this?

This is the Tata Hispano Globus LPO 1623. This is Tata's competitor against the Volvo. I understand it retails at around 50 lakhs. The bus is still not launched nationwide.

[Nerosap]

Going with Kinglongs must have been one of BEST's few (but the worst) mistakes. In the early days, they went around the town tomtomming the virtues of their brilliant decision in going with Kinglongs ... now they seem stuck with their foolhardiness ... They know they have had a bad deal, but can't go back on their decision.

The first generation of the Mumbai Kinglongs were pathetic to say the least. This when , Bangalore was already successfully running a fleet of low floor volvos since 2005-06. The quality of the kinglongs were no match to the volvos.

Yes , they were comparatively cheap, but cheapness has a price .. BEST has already lost two Kinglongs to engine fires

The second generation (auto T ones) showed some promise, but still the fit and finish was way below expectation. Some buses had leaking windows, some had faulty suspensions resulting in a bone-jarring thud everytime they went over a pothole. Anyone heard about Quality Control?

So now comes the third generation .... they are ugly ... especially the side profile, but i guess the LED indicator displays are a bit better now.

I've been a great admirer of BEST... Their services are unmatched anywhere in India. Truly a city like Mumbai, deserves a transport service like BEST. But they have goofed up on their airconditioned offering. The demand for such services are great.. just look at the peak hour rush in these buses. People are ready to pay extra for that little bit of comfort. BEST should not cut corners here.. and should go with best ... and we all know who's the best.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by Nerosap

Going with Kinglongs must have been one of BEST's few (but the worst) mistakes.

+1 to that!

Originally Posted by Nerosap

The first generation of the Mumbai Kinglongs were pathetic to say the least.

Again agreed. The first one is the worst type, though I now feel that the fit and finish of type 1 is relatively better. But the engines left me speechless. Anything and everything on roads can overtake those buses. Even Tata CNG buses of BEST can overtake them.

Originally Posted by Nerosap

Yes , they were comparatively cheap, but cheapness has a price .. BEST has already lost two Kinglongs to engine fires

For the record, both these buses are back in the fleet after getting rebuilt.

@raj_5004: I agree that in the end what matters is transporting people in AC comfort. But still that does not make KLs good. They have a very high rate of failures. Even the drivers admit that. Whenever I travel on WE highway, I see a failed Kinglong at least once in 2 journeys. Then there is the maintenance. Type one Kinglongs require a lot of maintenance. I stay near one of the two (unlucky) depots who have type 1 Kinglongs. The depot has nine such buses. Of these nine, 2 are in maintenance pits at any given time.

EDIT: Can anyone please tell me the possible route by which the Kinglongs are delivered to Mumbai from Jalandhar without running out of CNG?

Reason for BEST not buying Volvos, in my opinion, is that Volvos are powered by diesel. Still, there was a better option in the form of Tata Marcopolo.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by AkMar

@raj_5004: I agree that in the end what matters is transporting people in AC comfort. But still that does not make KLs good. They have a very high rate of failures. Even the drivers admit that. Whenever I travel on WE highway, I see a failed Kinglong at least once in 2 journeys. Then there is the maintenance. Type one Kinglongs require a lot of maintenance. I stay near one of the two (unlucky) depots who have type 1 Kinglongs. The depot has nine such buses. Of these nine, 2 are in maintenance pits at any given time.

Oh, i was not aware about the maintainence part.
i do see that these buses are very low on power, they struggle to climb up normal flyovers, culprit maybe the AC coupled with CNG power.

Reason for BEST not buying Volvos, in my opinion, is that Volvos are powered by diesel. Still, there was a better option in the form of Tata Marcopolo.

cant volvo diesels be converted to CNG?

[fx45]

well if volvo's can be converted to CNG, that would be an excellent option. Volvo must have a CNG powered bus in their portfolio for INdia

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by fx45

well if volvo's can be converted to CNG, that would be an excellent option. Volvo must have a CNG powered bus in their portfolio for INdia

Volvo sells CNG buses in other parts of the world (Norway, Sweden etc). But decided not to bring the same to India, do not know why. May be CNG buses are more expensive than Diesel ones?