[nbr]

I guess only in India, u find different kinds of buses with diffrent kinds of styles,as per their region & language.









Moderators,sorry i couldnt help it ,it was tempting for me to post so many pictures. VIBRANT INDIA.Cheers!!!

[1100D]

Originally Posted by Jomz

As for longterm dependeblity I can't comment. The direct linkages last long.. really long......... ding dong.Dunno about the Direct linkage.

Which last long the direct linkage or the Indirect one (cant guess where the typo is) - I guess the direct linkage lasts long. One more thing, why on direct linkages the driver has to reach bahind for gearshift, why cant the gear lever be extended to reach near his thigh area? Side space issue I guess (Fowling with the Cowl!!)

On the commercial vehicles, is the power steering mandated to be of variable assist. I remember taking a bus ride around 1999 from Madurai to Chennai and was seeing the driver haplessly turning the wheel from left to right and vice versa (I guessed it was a manual steering with a high velocity/turns ratio for mechanical advantage). The Bus was AL.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by directinjection

That Leyland CVs are heavier and more powerful than Tata CVs was true once upon a time, when Tata mostly sold the 1210 while Leyland mostly sold the Comet and Viking. 1210 had a 4.7 litre engine whereas the AL products came fitted with a 6.4 litre engine;

Per my recollection, Tata 1210 engine was close to 6 liters. 4.7 sounds too low.

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by nbr

I know this out of India,but A L has got these kind of buses in Bangalore,The only diffrence is this bus was just launched in dubai on July1st,its a mercedes bus.


Ride is awesome .

Yes!!! these kind coaches were launched in Dubai recently.. they all are mercedes benz.. but looks bit different though.. it has MB badges on it..

[AMATMO]

2008 will be a milestone in india's commercial market with the launch of TATA novus all over the country,with the launch of force-MAN trucks and also AMW,its from 2008 onwards we will see them in greater numbers changing the face of india truckers,these three brands will contribute most to india's commercial market.as far as volvo and benz are concerned it will never sell in very high numbers.and might create a segment of its own rather than replacing present ordinary trucks we have already
volvo and mercedes will have more impact on the bus market in india

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by AMATMO

volvo and mercedes will have more impact on the bus market in india

Public transport in India appears to have been completely hijacked from cheap, affordable transport to capital-intensive, luxury buses (and the usual fascination for anything foreign). When basic transport is not available in most part sof India, resources and eye***** are shifting to super-expensive, foreign buses that only add to politicians' purses, add to mounting losses of STCs and city transport corporations. I thought it more financially prudent to make your limited resources go a longer way and increase the density of buses. It is indeed a paradox when the bus companies can't afford a Maruti 800, they chose to buy the S Class Merc - all of us here in this forum can afford the luxurious Volvos, but what about the poor in this country, how do they go when even STUs seem to be wasting more money buying super-expensive Volvos instead of making more cheaper buses available? This is simply a case of misplaced priorities and inefficient use of public money. I am surely not talking of the private sector, but when PSU STCs and city bus corporations run by government also do the same, time has come to examine whether transport policy objectives are being fulfilled in a larger context.
Indian STUs are already sick like the power sector - squandering away of money and unremunerative tariffs.

[nitrous]

hv, Ur looking at the Bus scene in that POV.
But some of the commuters don't mind paying extra to travel in a modern,safer,less crowded buses.
What STUs should do is, cater to all the segments.

[AMATMO]

yes, this country does not only belong to poor people,we need good transport too ,besides we are ready to pay the price for it.
And let me tell you that if volvo wasnt there i would have never bothered to opt for a bus travel,and i repersent a good number of people when i say this.even today we switch over to trains if volvo is not available in that region.
but in my earlier post i mentioned about the significance of volvo or benz bus in overall indian market, even if govt doesnt buy these the private players can take the advantage,besides this concept of expensive bus travel was first started by private companies,govt opted for it only seeing the results of their private counterparts. in fact it turned out to be a very lucrative business.and a lucrative business is a gain to the entire country,doesnt matter is buses have to be imported

[AMATMO]

hvKumar, you are partially right.but even the business of cheaper need not be lucrative,govt is capable of messing that too.

[1100D]

There is also a shestring effect, what is new and exclusive today, will percolate down to the masses tomorrow, so steps in the right direction are alas being taken.

[Ram]

If one was the CEO of a public sector state transport corporation, wouldn't one be motivated to justify one's salary by getting the best return on investment?

Yes. you can buy a lot of truck chassis and get the tin-on-steel-angle bus bodies constructed and charge Rs. 1 per km. But then your PSU would get financially more sick and people would blame you anyway.

The paradox is, only a cash rich PSU can invest in hordes of the tin box trucks for the traveler who would travel ticketless if he could. I have personally seen mobs of people travel ticketless in buses in the Kolkata area.

Haven't the "super-expensive, foreign buses" have changed the paradigm of mass transportation in India?

[hvkumar]

I have nothing against luxury bus travel - the Volvos have transformed the way Indians in (mainly) West and South India look to travel.

The point I am making is about the role PSUs or STUs or city bus corpns should play - whose main purpose is to provide basic transport, a atask they have failed to do in most parts of India. They are remanants of socialist India, despite that private entrepreneurship is so strong in running bus services all over India, the State intervened and has failed for most part - inefficiency, corruption, unviable tariffs and consequential losses. And let me add that the city bus corporations make even larger losses than the STUs who ply outside the larger cities. There is a strong case for liberalisation in the STU industry, it would be best if the entire bus transport industry be entirely privatised, there is enough money and compettive spirit to run buses anywhere in India. Time has come to "de-nationalise" bus routes. But....the big ssue is regulation - how to ensure that private bus operators fulfil social ends - like, say, reaching interior areas, and not just concentrate on only high-density areas where they make more money.

To sum up, I believe the way STUs and city bus corpns are run today, they are not going to make any better money running Volvos or King Longs - on the other hand, they will bleed further being unable to service the huge loans that are taken to buy these expensive buses, which will nullify the lower operating costs (maybe, the jury is still out on that one, don't think Volvos are cheap to maintain). Maybe someone can explain here why Volvo is a total failure in the HCV market - the government-owned companies are softer targets (read: corruption, lure of foreign trips, etc) than hard-nosed private operators.

And I don't think ticketless travelling is going to come down just because a STU replaced a "tin box truck" with a Volvo. And one should stop parriting the "true bus chassis" dialogue which the foreign companies use to maximise their competitiveness and sell more of their expensive products. IF anyone is talking of bus accidents, that is not going to change because more "true bus chassis" buses are on the road, that is a function of road conditions and driver skill and temparament and is not just a result of tin-on-angle bus bodies.

I also would like to drive around in a Maybach - most comfortable - but I can do what I can afford. That is what is the motto for a STU or a city bus corpn - first ensure that the basic transport needs are catered to at the cheapest possible costs and most cost-effective investments - before we move into higher gear. At least we can be proud that we have great home-grown companies like Tata Motors, AL or Eicher and are not just a dumping-ground for foreign companies. And let us also take a long look at the needs of the main stakeholders who the STUs and city bus corporations - yes, everyone would like to have teh most comfortable bus, but can they afford to pay for it? I don't see any reason why the State should steal taxes from me, pay for expensive buses and run it virtually free.

[Ram]

You make a lot of valid points, hvkumar -- the need for privatization and then regulation, which one would agree whole-heartedly.

Why Volvo is a total failure (if it indeed is?) in the HCV market would be an interesting subject for an entire thread with the opinions and perspectives that would come forth.

My point was (and continues to be) that ticketless travelling and India's neo-independence socialist leaning will ensure that the (state) operator will always run at a loss. That IMHO is the raison d'être for tin box buses.

On the other hand, private operators on the rural south-west coast from Belgaum, Goa, Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Coondapur, Udupi, Karkal, Mudabidri, Mangalore and most parts of Kerala run buses quite efficiently and are a good example of how public transport can be cheap yet profitable.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ram

On the other hand, private operators on the rural south-west coast from Belgaum, Goa, Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Coondapur, Udupi, Karkal, Mudabidri, Mangalore and most parts of Kerala run buses quite efficiently and are a good example of how public transport can be cheap yet profitable.

In Kerala, despite bus route "nationalisation", in several districts private transport has retained its strength except in some districts such as Trivandrum.

I will add that in Tamil Nadu, in many places, private sector and STU compete fiercely on most routes (running regular mofussil and inter-city buses) and both are doing well - buses are good, frequencies excellent and prompt, tariffs low but all make good profits - and this is an excellent model to emulate.

But did you notice that all the private buses stop at Baindur, border of Udupi District and there are totally absent in Uttar Kannad District. I think this is because in the UK District bus routes were "nationalised" unlike Dakshin Kannad and Udupi Districts which always had private transport and escaped the PSU axe. If you travel north of KUndapur, bus services are awful all the way to Karwar.

In Maharashtra, we have no private bus transport - bus services are awful and most depend on jeep-taxis in rural areas. Please try going on any highway in Maharashtra - you will find hordes of people thumbing you for lifts or clambering onto lorries - the MSRTC buses (except in some privileged districts in Western Maharashtra) are virtually non-existent.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Which last long the direct linkage or the Indirect one (cant guess where the typo is) - I guess the direct linkage lasts long. One more thing, why on direct linkages the driver has to reach bahind for gearshift, why cant the gear lever be extended to reach near his thigh area? Side space issue I guess (Fowling with the Cowl!!)

On the commercial vehicles, is the power steering mandated to be of variable assist. I remember taking a bus ride around 1999 from Madurai to Chennai and was seeing the driver haplessly turning the wheel from left to right and vice versa (I guessed it was a manual steering with a high velocity/turns ratio for mechanical advantage). The Bus was AL.

I meant I dunno about indirect linkage.. Sorry..

THe longer the length of the linkage I think the larger its Throw is.. So if it reaches his thigh.. When he puts into 2nd it'll be like too much of lever movement

there are no issus with the cowl... after al we can chaage the cowl easily.if need arises

variable assist?? wrt speed or wrt position?? I think there is more assisst at extremes than for small turns, Not sure..