[dkamath]

Originally Posted by dkamath

Has anybody got a chance to get into the new BMTC buses from AL? They are painted sky blue all round. The front looks similar to the Suvarna's or Suvarna Pushpak's, with multiple round tail lamps, but have larger window panes than these Suvarna's.

Somehow, the chassis looks lower than the semi-low floor ones, or maybe it's just a feel thing.

Got a chance ride on this bus, over the weekend. Here are the pics. The driver's floorboard is higher than the seating floor area, with a smaller engine hood. It's got a weird looking long handle at the centre for removal and refitting. The bus has got only 2 steps to get in, and not sure if the Suvarna series is built similarly. Wen asked, the driver said this bus is no different from the others, but the 2 stepped entrance and the large wheel wells inside, surely give it a "low floor" feel.

Also notice that BMTC must have realized that the "F" series registrations are still available, and have reverted back to using them on the new ones.

excellent explaination binai regarding the front over hang

Originally Posted by dkamath

Got a chance ride on this bus, over the weekend. Here are the pics. The driver's floorboard is higher than the seating floor area, with a smaller engine hood. It's got a weird looking long handle at the centre for removal and refitting. The bus has got only 2 steps to get in, and not sure if the Suvarna series is built similarly. Wen asked, the driver said this bus is no different from the others, but the 2 stepped entrance and the large wheel wells inside, surely give it a "low floor" feel.

Also notice that BMTC must have realized that the "F" series registrations are still available, and have reverted back to using them on the new ones.

the floor looks tacky can we get a pic of the cockpit hw it looks.....

[fx45]

The long handle on the engine hood seems similar to what BEST MUTP buses have in Mumbai. that is based on AL SLF Chasis. Semi Low Floor.

According to me, the best looking public transport bus on the streets of MUmbai is not from Mumbai, the NMMT JNNRUM VOlvos which ply from Bandra to Vashi or Belapur. Lookswise its light years ahead from BEST's KL buses.

[deepclutch]

The bus looks similar in seating to Coimbatore's new semi-low floor city buses. was 4-5 months back.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by vharihar

Indeed, the ACGL PMPML bus looks horrendous to me. I have seen somewhat similarly built ACGL buses that TMT (of Thane) purchased 10 years ago. These buses age very badly. The stupidest design in those TMT buses (and also in the pictured PMPML bus, I think) was the lack of a window for the rearmost seats (ie. seats located behind the rear entrance). Gosh, how suffocating those seats would be in the summer in a crowded bus.

A trend that I observed from ACGL body, is that the window is usually placed very high, in relation to the seat. Often, the window would be at the height of a seated persons' ear/neck level. I somehow find this design really odd. (The same is the case with Globus buses based on LPO1616 Chassis as well).

In some TMT buses, a small "ventilator" kind of thing was added for the last row. However, they were never effective. I used to be a regular traveller on such buses for about 4 years (during graduation). Another problem with these design was the huge windows. The sheer length of the window glass meant that one seat would surely have no access to air circulation.

Look at the image attached below, to understand some 'defects' of the TMT bus:

[fx45]

Those ACGL TMTs' are there now since ages. I bet they are either 1210 or early 1510 models. BEST's buses even while going for scrap are in better condition than those

Yes you are right the NMMT volvos are miles ahead of BEST no doubts on that front managed to get a pic

[hanmust]

Saw these Volvos from Bangalore-Mysore highway. The FH12 seems to be carrying some pretty heavy stuff as it was very slow.

The FM9 looks like its converted from tipper to container carrier.

Volvo B9R, B7R along with other indian luxuy coaches were spotted in a petrol pump @ Madivala where almost all the tranporters of South start their service.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by santoshnair

Yes you are right the NMMT volvos are miles ahead of BEST no doubts on that front managed to get a pic

I do not understand what you are trying to say. When BEST doesn't have any Volvos, where does the question of NMMT's Volvos being better than BEST arise?

If you are saying that NMMT's Volvos are better than BEST's Kinglongs, you should have just said that Volvos are better than the CNG Kinglong. It is not BEST's fault that Volvos are better than Kinglongs. The owner of the said buses does not have any connection with one being better than the other.

Originally Posted by AkMar

I do not understand what you are trying to say. When BEST doesn't have any Volvos, where does the question of NMMT's Volvos being better than BEST arise?

If you are saying that NMMT's Volvos are better than BEST's Kinglongs, you should have just said that Volvos are better than the CNG Kinglong. It is not BEST's fault that Volvos are better than Kinglongs. The owner of the said buses does not have any connection with one being better than the other.

Akmar am BEST fan personally dont get so disturbed by what i have saidthe owners of both the said buses have decided what to purchase, even in the JNNURM scheme BEST is still going for CNG KingLOngs instead of Volvos or the Marcopolos or the Leylands for the AC ULF buses.

[Transsenger]

Originally Posted by vharihar

I am not an automobile engr, but intuition tells me that the bus will be better balanced and will give better ride/handling if it has a larger front overhang. Moreover, buses look way much better when they have a large front overhang.

Indeed, the ACGL PMPML bus looks horrendous to me. I have seen somewhat similarly built ACGL buses that TMT (of Thane) purchased 10 years ago. These buses age very badly. The stupidest design in those TMT buses (and also in the pictured PMPML bus, I think) was the lack of a window for the rearmost seats (ie. seats located behind the rear entrance). Gosh, how suffocating those seats would be in the summer in a crowded bus.

Also, for some reason Tata doesnt seem to get its large-front-overhang (LPO) bus-on-truck chassis right. They dont look as elegant as the AL buses. I'm not able to put my finger on exactly why, but something about the Tata large-front overhang buses (eg. the Tata CNG buses in BEST fleet) makes them look wierdly built. Perhaps it is bcoz AL buses slope forward when unloaded (which makes them look elegant, and is the way buses are sloped in developed countries), whereas Tata buses slope slightly backwards or are more or less horizontal when unloaded?

Some STU preferes buses with front overhang whereas others do not. For example KeralaSRTC has AL buses with front overhang (Viking model) whereas Tata buses without overhang (1510LP, 1512LP). Same is the case with TNSTC. But Karnataka & AP RTC has both AL / Tata buses with front overhang. I feel it depends on the application, seating arrangement, competeitive offer by the manufacturer during procurement etc.
A bus with front overhang has better space utilization as the door is positioned in front of the wheel, more travelling comfort etc.

An intresting point to note here is that almost 97% of the luxury/tourist buses in south india are build on chassis with FToverhang; whereas in north we find mostly TataLP type chassis used.

A detailed inspection would revel that the Tata models slop forward in unladen condition whereas AL is comparitively horizontal (with OE suspension). This can be easily noticed if we compare any Tata LPO model(with front overhang) and AL Viking models. Always a bus with rear lifted is not at all elegant. Imagine a Volvo B7R with its rear higher and sloping towards front.!!
This difference is due to the suspension (leaf spring). Any bus with slant towards front (rear raised) would offer bumby ride for the passengers at the rear.("airbus" pls excuse).

[Transsenger]

APSRTC's Semi Low Floor A/c bus named "Sethala Hamsa". Seems to be built on an Ashok Leyland "Viking SLF" chassis and the body by HMM coaches. Nice alternative to expensive Volvo LE buses.
(picture - apsrtc.gov.in)

Ashok Leyland has struck the right note by developing "Viking SLF". This bus chassis with front engine and a lowered floor height with 2 step entry & rear air suspension, it can be voted - the best application specific designs by any manufacturer in bus segment. Because, taking into consideration the indian operating conditions, ultra low entry buses or Low floor buses with rear engine could be expensive in to maintain in the long run. It seems even under Jnnurm project many STU has opted for Viking SLF.

[Gandhi]

Not sure if this is the right thread for this post.

Source: Ahmedabad gets BRTS joyride

Ahmedabad: Amdavadis were taken on a ride and that too free of cost this Wednesday.

They got to travel in style in the BRTS bus, as the Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited began its first full day trial run.

It took 2.5 minutes for a BRTS bus to cover a 1 km distance during is trial run which covered 16 stations. The bus took 29 minutes to cover a stretch of 12 km from Ranip to Chandranagar.The bus plied on the city roads from 6.00 am to 10 pm and was a great crowd puller as passengers were offered a free ride.

As part of the final stages of feasibility checking, some 14 BRTS buses will be seen plying on the roads for a week. Meanwhile, on Wednesday many curious Amdavadis boarded the swanky BRTS bus to get a first-hand experience of travelling in these buses.

Housewives, school kids and senior citizens who boarded the bus were keen on discussing the merits and demerits of the BRTS buses. An elderly lady got so excited that she started singing bhajans and others too chipped in. Others found the service to be a much better option that using AMTS buses.

"I stay at Dharnidhar and have to go to Nehrunagar bus station for my tuitions. The bus is good and it will be useful for people like me who have to commute short distances," said Meet Rawal, a class 11 student. "A trip from Dharnidhar to Nehrunagar would usually cost me Rs7, if I travel by an auto. But if I use public transport it may come down to Rs3," said Rawal.
The Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) team was overseeing the trial run to know the accuracy of drivers' skill, commuter's response, and safety aspects when passengers' alight and board the bus.
The CEPT team said one complaint that they often received was running swanky but non AC buses.Out of 10 commuters travelling in the bus at least 8 people said they preferred to travel in AC buses and it would be better for Ahmedabad's transport system, said a member of the CEPT team.

Another member said the public's response was very good. "The only thing is that the crowd needs a little discipline. We believe discipline will gradually come when people start using the bus service. Also, once all signals and ITES systems are ready we hope the travelling time will also come down further," said of the members.


Here is a pic of the bus:

[sajo]

Originally Posted by tushky

This is the New PMPML bus in pune.

Thanks for the pics Tushar.

I think there are two separate Tata models built by ACGL which have been inducted into PMPL.
The one posted by tushky is a slightly smaller variant, with very less front overhang as pointed out by team members.

There is another one, which has a larger front overhang than this one, as also a non-split windscreen.

Spotted today on my way to work:
- Mahindra Navistar tractor paired to a three-axled trailer.
- Tata's replacement to the 1109/909 .

AMW seems to completely dominate the 49 tonne market, with atleast 2-3 spottings per day on my daily commute.