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I travelled in A/C Marcopolo in Bangalore and hate the experience. It was no where close to Volvo in built quality. But I find Non A/C buses are good.

@Ashley2 - Maybe it was a one-off case, the Marcopolo in which I travelled was really very refined and silent.

Excuse my ignorance - Could you pls explain what is LPO 1618?

I travelled in one 2 weeks back. Saw one last week. Not seen one since.

May be it should be the other way around.Some one could support me.
Again the vibrations I am speaking are only during idle.
LPO 1618 is the bus which TML has given to MTC.Marcopolo is the brand name of the bus and LPO 1618 is the chassy name.
BTW, I am attaching a the spec sheet of LPO 1618,1512 and 1613CNG
TML 1618, 1512, 1613 CNG - JNNURM.pdf

@ Ashley2 - Thats what I meant. The bus in which I travelled should have been an exception, being so silent and refined at idle.

And thanks for the spec sheet.

Just heard a BMTC volvo(near ITPL) which sounded like a car without an end can. Caught me offgaurd since I saw the bus stop for the commuters and the next minute when the driver took off it sounded like a car devoid of its end can.

Wonder what maintainence has gone in for the bus and if they seriously follow a routine of check-ups and service.

Due to fascination for buses, I'd taken a ride in one of the Marcopolos that arrived in Chennai, probably for tests. That was way back, because it had the old tail lamp cluster and not the round ones found in the JnNURM buses. I'd written about it somewhere in this thread. I felt the newer ones are more refined, but again, I would go by what Ashley2 has said. The vibrations at idle are way higher compared to the AL Vikings delivered under JnNURM scheme.

IMO, the fascia of the Marcopolo is inferior to the Viking in terms of looks. Just my personal opinion. I'm not denying the fact that there are people who like the MP's looks too.

@Ashley2: Thanks for sharing the datasheet... Do you have a similar one for the AL Viking? Hope am not asking too much :)

@ silversteed - I accept what you say. That's what I have also mentioned in that review. From the front, the MTC Viking looks good too, but it's the rear looks of the Viking which makes the Marcopolo the overall winner when it comes to design.

Having said that, I heard from my friend living in Pune that some of the AL Viking buses there looks really horrible but he was not able to mention the coach-builder's name.

What about while running? which is smooter? I always thought AL engines are much louder and harsh[ i live very close to a major highway in Kerala, i could feel the difference sitting inside my house,especially during night], when compared to TC engines. From my personal experience, while idle time and at very high speeds AL behaves better (ie Vibrations are more in TM), but while normal cruising, TM buses are much smoother and the engine is more silent and soft sounding.

Same here. I've hardly noticed any AC Marcopolos at all over the past weeks - something like 1 AC Marcopolo for 100 Volvos. I hope its a case of good riddance.

Wonder why this dislike towards the AC Suvarna's (Marcopolo), when it's known from discussions here, that these buses are purpose-built for an obvious reason. Anyways, the S-1 and S-2 schedules (both being Vijayanagar-Vijayanagar, travelling in opposite directions of the Ring Road) seem to have been taken off due to not many takers. The time it took to get to the places was much longer, due to the circuituous routes they travelled on. But the 501A's (Banashankari<->Hebbal) have caught up well with the commuters and have good occupancies. On the same lines, occupancy levels on the Vajra's are declining nowadays after the recent fare hike.

Curiously, the circular Marcopolo monogram is getting to be a hot pick with the logo thieves. There are hardly any Marcopolo's left which still have these monograms on them.

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is inducting a brand new fleet of Ashok Leyland Rear Engine Low Floor buses (non-AC) in Kochi City tomorrow. The buses are part of the 200-bus JNNURM Funding project. 120 such buses would be introduced in the city. These buses have bodies from Veera (the second lot has bodies from Prakash). These buses have been idling around for a long period now (I guess Transsenger had posted photos long back on T-BHP).

Here are some pics of these buses, all set for inauguration:













Total 9 buses will be introduced tomorrow. They'll run on three routes.

Binai, thanks for posting those pics. They look good. Reminds me of the Harsha-built Superfast buses that were introduced during the first few years of the decade.

EDIT: The new HLs from the NewGen cabs would look killer on this body. Struck me only now.

Just a doubt - are these buses fitted with auto transmission, or the regular MT?

One thing that makes me wonder is the fetish for the scrolling LED displays, and mandated by JnNURM. It's easier to read static boards (LED or plain, painted ones) than these scrolling ones. Unless you keep looking at it for minutes altogether, you won't get to know the route. This is a real problem for people who are new to the place. Sometimes old is gold

Binai wonderfull pics do u hv pics of the gear ...yest at goregain in mumbai i noticed our Kesrtc star bus the AC one with Mumbai registration....running as contract carriage they just painted white paint over ksrtc logo and name....is kesrtc selling the buses

Personally, I've had only ordinary travel experiences with AC Marcopolos : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1716432-post86.html ;
having been used to the slickness of the Volvos, my first few rides in the Marcopolos were persuasive enough to never travel in them again.

Although I agree with the economy-AC travel philosophy that these buses are to represent, I'm convinced that its a better travel experience and wiser expenditure of public money if the regular "Air Suspension" buses have ACs fitted rather than BMTC investing in the rather pricey AC Marcopolos.