Volvo Buses has received an order for an additional 240 city buses for use in Bangalore city. The 70 Volvo buses already in service in the city offer such riding comfort that many car users have switched over to bus commuting.
Several globally prominent companies have chosen to start operations in Bangalore, which today is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Though Bangalore offers a lot of locational advantages, the surging vehicle population has led to severe traffic congestion. One way to check traffic congestion is to encourage commuters to travel by bus instead of by two-wheelers and cars.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) decided to put into service modern, air-conditioned city buses from Volvo. The experiment was so successful, and now passengers are satisfied with the performance of Volvo buses, according to Mr. Upendra Tripathy, BMTC Managing Director. Majority of the passengers of Volvo buses previously used cars and two-wheelers to go places.
Following this success, BMTC has now decided to place an additional 240 city buses with Volvo, due for delivery by the beginning of 2009. Of this, 200 buses will be operating on various routes in the city, while the balance 40 will be used for traffic between the city center and the new airport.
The buses will be built in Volvo’s plant in Bangalore. While the chassis will be produced in the joint plant with Volvo Trucks, the bodies will be built in the company’s new body plant that was opened in January last.
Volvo’s city bus in India is built on the B7RLE chassis and the body is designed on the Volvo 8700 European model. The bus features low entry, a wheelchair ramp and air-conditioning. The 290-hp engine meets the Euro III emission standard.
Volvo’s city bus in India is built on the B7RLE chassis and the body is designed on the Volvo 8700 European model. The bus features low entry, a wheelchair ramp and air-conditioning. The 290-hp engine meets the Euro III emission standard.
Said Mr. Akash Passey, Managing Director Volvo Bus Body Technologies India: “BMTC’s decision after two years of testing to make a larger investment now is indeed a welcome development. Currently, we are the market leader in respect of luxury, air-conditioned inter-city buses and are now making a major advance in the city bus segment.”
He also said that besides Bangalore, the company has sold its buses for use in cities like Pune, Chennai and Mysore. With the opening of its own body plant, the company expects to make headway both in domestic and export markets.
