Roads are the lifeline of any city, especially in India where a major part of passenger traffic is carried by roadways while a small percentage use rail transport. If this lifeline starts choking because of traffic jams, the city itself faces a crisis. Along with rising pollution, parking problems also get aggravated with the growing risk of road accidents. Much of the traffic congestion is due to a significant increase in vehicle population. People shun public transport, preferring to travel in their own vehicles. This is because of the unclean and inefficient public transport system available in most cities.
The problem would get solved when travellers switch to a pubic transport system resulting in reduced congestion. This can be done by introducing a clean and efficient public transport system which adds to the convenience of the commuter.
In most developed countries, the penetration of buses is mugh higher than in India. We do not have an adequate number of buses to support the huge population. The Centre and many State Transport Undertakings are making efforts to modernize the mass transport in major cities of India. Bus manufacturers have agreed to co-operate with the Government to provide a clean and desired means of transport for daily commuters.
Tata Motors has joined hands with the Government and introduced many buses for daily urban transport.
India is a diverse country with differing needs in different parts. Each city may have a different need of a bus for city transport. These are usually affected by factors like climatic conditions, pollution levels, the number of people commuting daily, etc. Hence Tata Motors has specially designed options for City Buses. These are available in varied fuel options – diesel, CNG and also the CNG electric parallel hybrid bus, the latest offering.
The City Bus has been specially designed keeping in mind the comfort of city commuters. Low-floor and broad doors facilitate quick and easy boarding and alighting for passengers, making everyday travel hassle free. The Ultra Low Floor options are built for convenience of people who are differently-abled and may face difficulties when travelling on public transport. The City Buses are spacious and can seat up to 54 passengers, providing optimum comfort for even those who are standing. Moreover, shorter halt-times due to ease of embarking and disembarking saves time and fuel giving better run-times and improved economy to the bus operators.
Robustly designed buses even offer better resale value. Clean and contemporary in looks, the City Bus has brought about an image makeover for public transport by making intra-city travel convenient and more dignified than ever before.
These buses can be used in a BRTS provided with a fleet management system, including GPRS / GPS system, display / destination board, smart card reader and door control with RF tag, display at the bus stand with a back server, driver kit with bus controller and display system on the bus, and skills upgradation for drivers.
Some of the cities where Tata Starbus is being used for daily commute are Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Kota, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Nagpur, Raipur and Aurangabad.
The City Bus is available in a comprehensive range – 20 seats to 67 seats. With several options present in the non-AC and AC categories, there are different floor-height and step options in the range as well. These are available in BS III and BS IV specifications in diesel, CNG and CNG-electric hybrid options.
At the forefront is Tata Motors where they take the lead to deliver environment-friendly buses with an aim to have a cleaner and greener world.
