[gold class]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Thanks for correcting me.
But now I am puzzled what service brake, EBS,retarder and ABS do all together.
Is then MB's are the safest bus on road

Service brake- Its the normal pedal brake.(can be drum or disc)

Retarder- The purpose of retarder is to reduce the speed of the vehicle.This is not exactly a brake. What this does is, it reduces the engine power which in turn reduces speed of vehicle. The rate at which the power should be reduced can be adjusted .This can be seen near the steering on Volvo B9R buses indicated with a + and -.

ABS- It is a kind of sensor attached to each wheel which communicates regularly with the ECU circuit board which helps in adjusting brake on different road conditions. Mainly used on slippery roads and when multi wheel is on use.

EBS-It is the brake that cuts the supply of compressed air to exhaust pipe.This is done by a valve.So when there is no way out for the air it creates pressure inside cylinder,which slows down the piston which in turn slows engine speed . This is an old technology. But these days it is attached with the Turbocharger.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by gold class

Service brake- Its the normal pedal brake.(can be drum or disc)

Retarder- The purpose of retarder is to reduce the speed of the vehicle.This is not exactly a brake. What this does is, it reduces the engine power which in turn reduces speed of vehicle. The rate at which the power should be reduced can be adjusted .This can be seen near the steering on Volvo B9R buses indicated with a + and -.

Addition to what you have said,electronic/electromagnetic retarders in specific work in the following way,

The electric retarder uses electromagnetic induction to provide a retardation force. An electric retardation unit can be placed on an axle, transmission, or driveline and consists of a rotor attached to the axle, transmission, or driveline - and a stator securely attached to the vehicle chassis. There are no contact surfaces between the rotor and stator, and no working fluid. When retardation is required, the electrical windings in the stator receive power from the vehicle battery, producing magnetic fields alternating in polarity for the rotor to move in. This induces eddy currents in the rotor, which slows the rotor, and hence the axle, transmission or driveshaft to which it is attached. The rotor is engineered to provide its own air cooling, so no load is placed on the vehicle's engine cooling system, and the operation of the system is extremely quiet.
A hybrid vehicle drivetrain uses electrical retardation to assist the mechanical brakes, while recycling the energy. The electric traction motor acts as a generator to charge the battery. The power stored in the battery is available to help the vehicle accelerate.

source: Wiki

@ashley sir, MB and volvo have similar safety systems and I feel volvos have a better bite as their front and dead axle(in a multi config) are equipped with disks. Here the original Mercs in germany are equipped with disks all around(except for the powered axle).

[Transsenger]

Volvo B7RM3 & B9R (4x2 & 6x2), all have disc brakes on all wheels. The entire braking syatem is controlled by EBS (Electronic braking system)..an ECU!. It is also clubbed with functions like retarder, ABS etc.

[libranof1987]

I just did a Bangalore-Manipal-Bangalore this weekend by Airavat.

On the way to Manipal, I was in the newer gen. Volvo B7R. Any idea if speed limiters have been installed on Volvo?

I found the engine whining at the cruising speed and that speed itself was hardly that high - must be ~80km/hr. It seemed like the bus wouldn't/couldn't go faster.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Easy way!! just curious to understand if it works on Blackberry phones?

It works on BB too. Open your native browser and visit google.com/latitude. Download and install the Google Maps software app. Sign in using your Google account and you're good to go.

[GS300]

Read a magazine article about an intercity service called Olivea (www.olivea.in). Apparently this is started by the Nilgiris retail group.

The coach specs looks very impressive from the website - designed by DC etc.

Has anyone traveled by this?

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by GS300

Read a magazine article about an intercity service called Olivea (www.olivea.in). Apparently this is started by the Nilgiris retail group.

The coach specs looks very impressive from the website - designed by DC etc.

Has anyone traveled by this?

This was earlier launched as "Luxury/Luxuria" and the names were changed due to a case filed by Ashok leyland. These are same buses now renamed as olivea.

[sandeep959]

How good is the Patronage to Luxuria/Olivea????

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

This was earlier launched as "Luxury/Luxuria" and the names were changed due to a case filed by Ashok leyland. These are same buses now renamed as olivea.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by sandeep959

How good is the Patronage to Luxuria/Olivea????

seems to be going good so far! they have increased the number of services between chennai and bangalore and are planning coimbatore route, I guess. Their website says, a tirupathi route on the cards and hyderabad route too. Surely they are not incurring any losses!!

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

seems to be going good so far! they have increased the number of services between chennai and bangalore and are planning coimbatore route, I guess. Their website says, a tirupathi route on the cards and hyderabad route too. Surely they are not incurring any losses!!

They should be paying little tax as the number of seats are less. One of my friend travelled in this few months back confirmed that the seats are much confortable. But the fare, considering air fares of as low as Rs. 1200-1400 between Bangalore-Chennai sector, is slightly on the higher side.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

They should be paying little tax as the number of seats are less. One of my friend travelled in this few months back confirmed that the seats are much confortable. But the fare, considering air fares of as low as Rs. 1200-1400 between Bangalore-Chennai sector, is slightly on the higher side.

Now they have incresed the price to 1900/ seat for Che-Blore!

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

They should be paying little tax as the number of seats are less. One of my friend travelled in this few months back confirmed that the seats are much confortable. But the fare, considering air fares of as low as Rs. 1200-1400 between Bangalore-Chennai sector, is slightly on the higher side.

Given a choice between a similarly priced airline and this bus, I would pick the bus to travel from Bangalore to Chennai. Why?
1. I am a gearhead, rather than an airhead, so I prefer roads to the sky [Okay, this is personal]
2. Unless I am in the vicinity of the airport, it'll take me quite some time to get to BIAL - cab/auto/BIAS bus. The bus -same thing to the boarding point, which is, but I don't think it'll be as far - Whitefield or HSR Layout
3. The comfortable seats of the bus, compared to the cramped Economy class seats in the aircraft (who would give Business class for this kind of money?)
4. I can use my phone, work on a laptop, connect to the internet - unlike the aircraft
5. I'll have to reach the airport at least 1 hour before the departure time of the plane, this is a very optimistic estimate - security check, baggage check etc will take quite some time and I try to reach the airport at least 2 hours before scheduled departure time. Bus - even 15 minutes before departure time is good enough
6. Once I land in Chennai airport, I have to wait for my baggage to arrive, and have to push it till the cab/car/auto at the gate. With the bus, I won't have to wait that long, and push my bags that far.
7. Travel time? I can sit comfortably in the bus for 6 hours, instead of having to keep moving around from home/office to taxi -> airport -> security/blah blah -> plane -> airport -> wait -> cab -> travel -> destination.

[julupani]

You and I may prefer the bus, but there is a simple reason why a business man will take the flight. Remember the bus is an overnight service or an afternoon service. The afternoon service has certain pluses, but the overnight service between Chennai and Bangalore is pointless.

Instead of spending the night on the bus, I would much rather spend the night on a comfy bed and take the earliest flight out. I will still be able to make it to an early morning meeting.

You do get business class comfort, but you still have to sit in that for 5-6hrs, instead of 1 hour in Economy class. Overall it will take no less time than taking a plane. And the plane takes away only about 45mins-1hour of working time, the rest of the time I can still work in the car or in the terminal.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by julupani

... the bus is an overnight service or an afternoon service.

There's one service at 07:30hrs, one at 12:00hrs, and a late-night service at 23:00hrs. There used to be a service at 05:00hrs.

Everything depends on our requirements. I would be much more productive if working in a stretch rather than getting interrupted. If I have to reach the destination for a meeting sort of in the forenoon, a plane would be the choice.

[silversteed]

I need to travel from Chengannur to Bangalore on the last monday of August. Any suggestions for the operator? I have to reach Bangalore by 6 o'clock in the morning on tuesday, in one piece, so that I can go to work. I would prefer a Multi-axle to the regular Volvo/Merc. Since almost all buses start from Chengannur around 4pm, it doesn't matter which one. I'm also open to travelling to Kottayam or Changanassery...