[nbr]

Originally Posted by sudev

Saw this chassis being driven on road recently. The interesting point was use of air-bladder suspension element instead of usual leaf spring. AFAIK this is first time I am seeing this being adopted in India. I could not make out make of chassis.
Attachment 78228

This sort of suspension would have major benefits in terms of control of over loading and better vehicle control by driver while on road. It was quite surprising that this has not been pushed by automotive bodies for adoption in Inda so far.
Attachment 78227

Iam not sure whether its a Tata or AL.But its commonly found in AL buses.Tata had tried but it bombed big time in Mangalore-Bangalore route.Now almost all AL buses have this air suspension .You will find them BMTC buses in Bangalore

[sudev]

I have seen these suspension initially in Euroope and thought probably due to colder climates this was limited in use. But then I have seen these suspensions used all over including UAE/KSA/Egypt/Iran. So I wondered why not India unless it is our penchant for huge overloading.

Why would buses having these suspension bomb big time? Any clue?

[binaiks]

I got better pics of the Marcopolo on Wednesday... the bus was working a pretty 'delayed' schedule to Hoskote. The bus was at the bus station, at 1630, for a 1450 departure

The bus was KA-05-TRA-2777.

Call it super quality, the bus broke down even before it picked up passengers

Here are the pics:

[Glifford]

Great pics!

Originally Posted by binaiks

Call it super quality, the bus broke down even before it picked up passengers

That's ouch!

Infact the bus looks nice from upfront. But the side profile looks really bad. Those rubber beading fitted glass panes looks really outdated to the adhesive bonded ones on the Volvos.

All comments are in comparison with the Volvos. Any idea how much they (Marcopolos) cost in comparison?

All said and done, I would love to see a good Indian product giving Volvo a run for its money!

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by binaiks

I got better pics of the Marcopolo on Wednesday... the bus was working a pretty 'delayed' schedule to Hoskote. The bus was at the bus station, at 1630, for a 1450 departure

The bus was KA-05-TRA-2777.

Call it super quality, the bus broke down even before it picked up passengers

Here are the pics:

great bus, we have these in mumbai BEST too.

quality and TATA... cmon, dont expect too much!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Glifford

Great pics!
...
All comments are in comparison with the Volvos. Any idea how much they (Marcopolos) cost in comparison?

I guess its 55 lakhs for a Marco, compared with close to 1 crore for a Volvo

Originally Posted by raj_5004

quality and TATA... cmon, dont expect too much!

I loved the statement....

[safari_lover]

The bus looks really nice upfront. Side profile could have been better.
It should be very comfortable for intra city rides. Read somewhere that the ticket prices on these are less compared to the Volvo.

[Glifford]

Originally Posted by binaiks

I guess its 55 lakhs for a Marco, compared with close to 1 crore for a Volvo



I loved the statement....

That is a HUGE difference. With that many many things are forgivable!

It is like comparing a Swift D'zire with a Corolla Altis!

[TomRider]

I am a newbie in this section. Last weekend I saw a couple of LHD Ashok Leyland buses on Salem -> Bangalore road, driving towards Bangalore. It was written "EXPORT-Left Hand Drive" (or something like that - could not read it properly) on the rear windshield. All were white in color. I am quite sure that they are meant for exporting. Can anyone shed some light on this? Is this topic discussed earlier in this thread?

[deepclutch]

I saw some low floor buses(tata as well as leyland) in coimbatore.I got some snaps?some buses comes with 3-4 TV's too. Sarkar Owned Low floor buses too are there.

[AMATMO]

the seats look ordinary, do you have any pics of the outer view of the bus?

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by TomRider

I am a newbie in this section. Last weekend I saw a couple of LHD Ashok Leyland buses on Salem -> Bangalore road, driving towards Bangalore. It was written "EXPORT-Left Hand Drive" (or something like that - could not read it properly) on the rear windshield. All were white in color. I am quite sure that they are meant for exporting. Can anyone shed some light on this? Is this topic discussed earlier in this thread?

Those buses are for export, mainly for the middle east market, as there is a good demand for our buses mainly used for ferrying labors and the A/C version is used by schools (both AL and TATA)

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I saw some low floor buses(tata as well as leyland) in coimbatore.I got some snaps?some buses comes with 3-4 TV's too. Sarkar Owned Low floor buses too are there.

Low floor air buses are recently introduced in Coimbatore and their number increases every day, bus body built by private companies(like Shakti, Maaruti,Atal etc)looks quiet good especially the white&blue combination. Have not seen any TATA low floor air buses(until last month).

[Anthym]

Originally Posted by binaiks

I guess its 55 lakhs for a Marco, compared with close to 1 crore for a Volvo



I loved the statement....

I doubt a one crore price tag for Volvo BRLE (city buses). With that price tag, wouldnt it be difficult for BMTC to break even ? Or could it be the case that BMTC got them at a much cheaper rate since Volvo is based in Karnataka and BMTC were the launch customers ?
The price differential between the BRLEs and the BEST run Kinglongs could be substantial considering everything and the fact that BRLEs have automatic transmission.
When I was in Mumbai, sometimes I used to take the BRTS (BEST Kinglong route) from Kandivali to Prabhadevi.
Now in Bangalore, got an opportunity to take the BMTC Volvo buses to Whitefield.
I found the level of comfort and quality of the interiors to be on par between the Volvo and the Kinglong. But if you are outside the bus, you will hear a loud grunt everytime a Kinglong accelerates, its pathetic. Volvos are much smoother in comparision.

@binaiks: Did the Marcopolo buses have auto transmissions ?

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I saw some low floor buses(tata as well as leyland) in coimbatore.I got some snaps?some buses comes with 3-4 TV's too. Sarkar Owned Low floor buses too are there.

Strictly speaking, they are NOT low-floors, but "Semi-Low Floors".

I had a short experience on them - I found the design is far-outdated.

The images attached are not 'exactly' of the same bus, but similar designs which were introduced early this year and last year.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Anthym

I doubt a one crore price tag for Volvo BRLE (city buses). With that price tag, wouldnt it be difficult for BMTC to break even ? Or could it be the case that BMTC got them at a much cheaper rate since Volvo is based in Karnataka and BMTC were the launch customers ?

The "ex-showroom" price is around 75 Lakhs. It works out to approximately 1 crore on the road. Perhaps, BMTC gets concessions on road taxes.

Originally Posted by Anthym

The price differential between the BRLEs and the BEST run Kinglongs could be substantial considering everything and the fact that BRLEs have automatic transmission.

The KingLongs have a CNG engine, while Volvo is a Diesel engine. The former has a 230hp powerpack and the latter has a 290hp pack.

Originally Posted by Anthym

I found the level of comfort and quality of the interiors to be on par between the Volvo and the Kinglong. But if you are outside the bus, you will hear a loud grunt everytime a Kinglong accelerates, its pathetic. Volvos are much smoother in comparision.

I second your opinion. The grunt of the KL is, perhaps, due to the CNG engine. But there are many people who argue KL are the worst. I had only one ride, and I felt them really comfortable.

Originally Posted by Anthym

@binaiks: Did the Marcopolo buses have auto transmissions ?

Nope. The driver said that the second bus has an Auto box. Both buses are on trial, and perhaps BMTC wants to decide which is the best.