[fx45]

MBZ buses for Bengaluurruuu

BMTC to run Mercedes Benz buses on trial basis

Source: BUSINESS STANDARD

The Bangalore Metroplitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will run Mercdes Benz buses in Bangalore city for three months on a trial basis. For the first three days, the passengers using these buses will be charged only Rs 1 for a trip, said R Ashok, minister for transport.
Talking to reporters, here today, he said depending on the response from commuters, the corporation will take a decision on buying Benz buses for use. For the three month trial period, the Mercedes Benz has offered three buses free of cost, he said.
He said BMTC is also introducing free internet facility to commuters on the Volvo buses. The service will be first made available in one bus plying to and from the international airport.

The transport department has initiated measures to reduce the consumption of diesel in state transport buses, he said adding that the savings was made due to the usage of ethanol. Presently, 7.7 per cent ethanol is mixed with diesel in about 1,200 buses operated to Mysore, Davanagere, Bangalore Rural and Hassan depots. The government has requested the Central government to give permission for increasing the percentage of ethanol further. The use of ethanol has resulted in reduction of pollution, he said.
Ashok said, last year, 1.1 million litres of ethanol was used by the transport department and this year, it has been planned to purchase 4 million litres. The tenders have been floated for supply from the sugar mills, he added.

[nbr]

After air-conditioned Volvo and Tata-Marcopolo buses, commuters in Bangalore will now get Mercedes-Benz buses to make their city rides comfortable.

Two AC Mercedes-Benz buses were introduced on an experimental basis Saturday with a flat fare of Rs.5 for the first three days. They will ply on various routes till Sep 11 to gauge commuters' response.

[Mpower]

Nice to see competetion for the Volvo. Anyone got specs and price for this.

LE is Low Entry?

[prmd_cochin]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Nice to see competetion for the Volvo. Anyone got specs and price for this.

Rear engined powered by a EURO 2 diesel - 6 cylinders, turbo charged & intercooled producing 245 hp and 950Nm torque.

[n.devdath]

Is this the same engine used by the Merc inter city bus that was launched between Bangalore and Mysore?

I have traveled in them and they were in no comparison to the B7Rs.

[fx45]

Euro 2?

Arent we tlaking BS-4 ie Euro 4 these days while the world is talking Euro 5?

What are the guys at MBZ thinking?

[ambivalent_98]

PMPML the Pune based municipal transport authority had also got a trial run for the pink colored Merc buses about a couple of months ago. Mercedes is surveying the scenario.
Actually come to think of it like Volvo has its facility close to Bangalore , Merc has their setup up close to Pune.
It would be awesome to see if the Pune Municipal Transport authority would be able to manage to improve the system with Mercedes buses. Just like Volvo buses did for Bangalore, Pune could be a flagship city for Mercedes buses.
Also notice in the photos the registration on these buses is "MH-14" that is the registration of the Pimpri Chinchwad RTO under whose jurisdiction the Merc factory is located.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

PMPML the Pune based municipal transport authority had also got a trial run for the pink colored Merc buses about a couple of months ago. Mercedes is surveying the scenario.
Actually come to think of it like Volvo has its facility close to Bangalore , Merc has their setup up close to Pune.
It would be awesome to see if the Pune Municipal Transport authority would be able to manage to improve the system with Mercedes buses. Just like Volvo buses did for Bangalore, Pune could be a flagship city for Mercedes buses.

Dont forget that Tata Motors also based in Pune, But most of the PMPML buses are AL make. Other than Bangalore and Chennai, no other city shows such loyalty...

[Mpower]

Which route/s are these buses running? Would be nice to see what riders feel about the bus compared to the Volvo.

[mnhegde]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Which route/s are these buses running? Would be nice to see what riders feel about the bus compared to the Volvo.

When launched, only 2 routes were mentioned (Trial). But yesterday I saw one bus coming from the airport route.

Some more info:-
BMTC Intoduces Mercedes Benz Buses In Bangalore(Bengaluru) City.

[aargee]

I'm seeing quite contradictory info here...

the passengers using these buses will be charged only Rs 1 for a trip, said R Ashok, minister for transport. Talking to reporters

versus

Two AC Mercedes-Benz buses were introduced on an experimental basis Saturday with a flat fare of Rs.5 for the first three days

How Re 1 on news paper became Rs 5 on Saturday ?

Originally Posted by fx45

Euro 2?

Arent we tlaking BS-4 ie Euro 4 these days while the world is talking Euro 5?

Well, I guess Euro 4 is applicable for cars as of now or may be motorcycles too, not sure though. When I checked the AL site, I don't see any of them mentioned beyond Euro 3 - Bus Manufacturer | Double Decker Bus

I was checking the spec of Merc & Volvo & this is what I found...
- If Merc is Euro 2, then Volvo certainly has advantage here with Euro 3
- The power difference isn't that big; with Merc having 225Kw compared to Volvo's 213 Kw.
- But the Merc is 6 cylinder & Volvo 7 cylinder. Does this play a big role in FE?

[nkrishnap]

OT: the Euro IV emission norms are not applicable yet to the two wheelers. No idea about the commercial vehicles.

[pramodpk]

There is one in Route 335 E from Kadugodi to Majestic. My wife took this one day and was not at all impressed with it. She said the Volvo is much better. According to her, the interiors were not good and the bus made more noise than the Volvo

[DWind]

@ AarGee,
Both Volvo and Merc uses six cylinder engines. I believe the difference in power is due to cylinder capacity. Volvo's engine is a 7 litre unit while OM926 LA used in Merc is 7.2 litre which is also used in Trucks with a peak power of 240 KW and torque 1300 Nm (against 1200 Nm from 8400-B7R LE). Probably it has been detuned here for Indian conditions. I agree that they are almost evenly matched. I somehow feel, Merc is less VFM than Volvo considering the build quality seen on pictures.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by DWind

I agree that they are almost evenly matched. I somehow feel, Merc is less VFM than Volvo considering the build quality seen on pictures.

Yes, atleast, that's the impression I also percieve from the postings here.

But hey, aren't these buses part of KA Govt? Then how come these buses are MH registered instead of KA registration? How could KA Govt forgo the taxes? One of the buses in the above pic bears a MH registration? Is the news from KA & the pics from MH? I'm confused.