APSRTC to use Mercedes Benz buses

The recently introduced Mercedes Benz buses will now be used by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.

Hyderabad Dec 26 : Passengers can hope to travel long distance in the luxury of Mercedes Benz buses to be introduced by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) soon. APSRTC officials said that for starters a Mercedes Benz bus would be test-driven for 45 days in the state. Based on its performance, the corporation will place an order for procuring a few MB buses.

During the test period, APSRTC will ply the bus and collect regular ticket fare from passengers. "Except fuel, there is nothing the corporation has to bear during the test period. The 45-seater vehicle will be given to the corporation with insurance," a senior APSRTC official said. Similarly, 17 new luxury buses (10 Luxura and seven Serita vehicles) would be introduced in addition to the existing 100 Garuda buses for high-end passengers. A high-end Tata 1623 will also hit the roads before the second week of January.

"The difference between new buses and the existing Garuda fleet is that the passenger will have more legroom and more space in the aisle. The driver will also have more comfortable place to run the vehicle," the official said. The corporation has formulated plans to run these luxury shuttle services buses between Hyderabad and Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Banglore and Tirupati and from Vijayawada to coastal Andhra.

SOURCE: Tollywoodglitz

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India Gets First AC Bus Stop!

Bus passengers in Bengaluru can now look forward to a pleasant experience while waiting for buses. Bharti Airtel has launched India’s first ever air-conditioned bus shelter in Bengaluru city in association with BIG Street, a subsidiary of Reliance BIG Entertainment Limited. B.E. Govindaraju, joint commissioner (advertisement and markets), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), inaugurated the bus shelter.
The Airtel air-conditioned bus shelter is situated on the pavement diagonally opposite to Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium and is adjacent to the pavement near Cubbon Park entrance (Kasturba road). With dimensions of approximately 25x8 ft, it can accommodate 20 people at a time and will be manned by a uniformed guard.

On the occasion, Venkatesh V, CEO, mobile services, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Karnataka, said, "Airtel has always been the first when it comes to offering innovative services to customers - be it path-breaking services like Hello Tunes, BlackBerry or the iPhone. On the communication front, the first-of-its-kind Airtel Rajdhani Express and this Airtel air-conditioned bus shelter, which is India's first ever such bus shelter are two such examples of our innovative initiatives."

“Our endeavour in Big Street is to enrich people’s lives out of home. We undertook the initiative of providing AC bus shelter to the citizens of Bengaluru, and we are delighted to have Airtel partner with us. The launch of this first-of-its kind bus shelter in the country marks the beginning of many other innovative solutions that we will be offering,” quipped Rabe Iyer, head, BIG Street.

SOURCE: EFYTIMES
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REDBUS MENTIONS US
Volvo launches signature series B9R

REDBUS mentions travelbyvolvo!!

It is indeed a great honor for this blog. We have been mentioned by India's leading online website for booking bus tickets, www.redbus.in
In their latest newsletter, which was sent to all the operators with which they deal, REDBUS mentioned the poll we have been carrying at our blog (there is a new poll now too - please VOTE)

Here is the newsletter that they sent out..
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Volume no#: O11208

redBus - News update

www.redBus.in – Bus tickets online

Dear Mr. [[Bus operator Name]],

We would like to thank you and [[Travels name]] for being a part of the redBus’ successful growth story. This is a short letter that will tell you the latest news about all that we are doing to increase business.

redBus increases its distribution

[[Travels name]] tickets at Post Offices

India Post, Karnataka, tied up with redBus to sell bus tickets through their e-enabled centers. It is prestigious for us to have a tie-up with such a well-known institution. Now [[Travels name]] bus tickets will be available at India Post offices.

[[Travels name]] tickets on Mobile

There are over 220,000,000 mobile users in India. This tells us how big mobile is as a medium. [[Travels name]] bus tickets are can now be booked over the mobile phone! Customers can simply SMS redBus to 543219 and start the booking process.

redBus customer’s quotes

“This is an excellent service with a variety of payment options. Very good customer support and very well organized as well as easy to use portal. What else does a customer require!!! Excellent job people.” – (Sameer Sharma, HCL, Gurgaon)

“Thanks to redBus.in. It is a very good facility.” – (Chittayya Yadav, Eenadu, Hyderabad)

“redBus booking is one of the great facility to the public in Bangalore. It’s a very good facility for online booking for buses. redBus internet system is one of the best. Even cancellation is very good. Great job by redBus management. Keep it up.” (Deepesh, Bangalore)

“Best site to book online bus tickets. Easy navigation.” – (Vijay K, Infosys, Bangalore)

Industry news & research

A website (http://travelbyvolvo.blogspot.com) conducted a survey to find out how many customers would be willing to travel from Mumbai to Delhi by bus. Below are the results:

We look forward to an excellent travel season ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Phanindra Sama

CEO, redBus.in

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Please note that the poll has been updated since. Vote what you feel (there are two polls down, scroll down to see the new one).

KSRTC Volvo: Mangalore to Udipi

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to operate 10 Volvo buses from Mangalore to Manipal.

Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Minister for Transport R. Ashok said that the Government would not give into the private bus operators’ lobby in Mangalore and if everything went according to the plan, KSRTC buses would operate between Mangalore and Manipal before the New Year. A team had been deployed to study the number of private buses operating between Mangalore and Manipal. Since there was a stiff competition from private bus operators in the district, the bus fare would be highly competitive, he said.

To end the monopoly of private bus operators, the corporation had prepared a plan to launch city services in Mangalore city limits. Depending on the public response and performance of the buses, a decision would be taken to augment the operations, he said.

He said KSRTC would submit applications to the Regional Transport Authority seeking permits. KSRTC had gained substantial ground on routes such as Mangalore-B.C. Road, Mangalore-Puttur, Mangalore-Uppinangadi and Mangalore-Dharmasthala, which were dominated by private bus operators.

A study by KSRTC had identified some routes on which buses could be introduced, the number of buses required for each route, the number of personnel and the infrastructure required, he said.

Asked about the opposition to the operation of KSRTC buses in Dakshina Kannada, the Minister said that he had consulted his party colleagues and Ministers in the Cabinet. “Let me see the response from the public to our services in Mangalore,” Mr. Ashok said.

SOURCE: WWW.HINDU.COM

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Signature series Volvo B9R
Book your Volvo ticket online NOW

Volvo launches Signature series B9R (9400 6x2) bus

KOCHI: The Volvo on Thursday launched a special edition of the Volvo Ocean Race signature series - Volvo B9R 9400 - at the race village.The special edition bus was launched in connection with the Race. The company is planning to launch 80-100 buses in this series in the coming year.The company is planning to sell a total of 425 Volvo buses by the end of this year.Among this, 40 buses are in the multi-axle series.``The company is planning to sell 450 buses in 2009. Out of these, 80-100 buses will be in the multi-axle series,’’ said Akash Passeey, managing director of the Volvo Buses India Private Limited.He said that in the multiaxle category, 20 buses have already been delivered and the remaining will be out soon. The special edition buses launched in connection with the Race are priced at Rs 85 lakh. Theses buses will be available at the same price for one month in Kerala, he said.The Volvo has given training to 8,000 drivers across the country to handle these buses.The special edition buses have a number of specialties, including 340 hp engine, electronic braking system and added seating capacity. ``The electronic braking system ensures safety for passengers and drivers. There is an onboard computer display providing data for drivers,’’ he said.Answering a question, he said that the company was working out reduction in the cost due to the 4 percent decrease in Excise Duty.``Approximately Rs 50,000 will be reduced with the excise duty reduction. We are still working over it,’’ he said.

Specially designed bus for Maradona has a crack

Kolkata: The West Bengal government’s promise for a four-tier security for Diego Maradona appears to have a serious loophole even before his arrival in the city. The bus that has been specially designed to ferry Maradona from Kolkata airport to the hotel, has got a crack on its windshield. The bus is supposed to have bullet-proof glass all around. So, how come there was a crack in the bullet-proof glass?

The bus was kept at the Kidderpore tram depot where the fault was detected. The organisers tried damage control by putting on multi-colour tapes on the crack and were caught by some TV crews.

Surprisingly, state sports minister Subhas Chakraborty appeared nonchalant when asked about this at a press conference at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club (CSJC) this evening. “It’s nothing serious. Even if a crack is detected it will be repaired properly and the bus will be there at the airport to receive Maradona. The alternative arrangement, a Sedan, will be used only if Maradona refuses to board the bus,” Chakraborty said.

Meanwhile, some of city’s top industrialists like Sanjib Goenka, Harsh Neotia are going to have an opportunity to shake the ‘Hand of God’ at a dinner on Saturday night. The dinner that will be hosted by the events management company Celebrity Management Group (CMG), will see the presence of the Chakraborty and Kolkata mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya as well.

“We have sent invitations to all sports organisations in the city as also to all political parties including the leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Partha Chatterjee,” Chakraborty said.

Asked about the presence of eminent sports personalities like Sourav Ganguly during Maradona’s felicitation at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK), he said: “We have sent invitations to all of them. But I don’t know who will be present.”

Union external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate Maradona’s felicitation programme at the YBK and the soccer legend will be requested to start off the exhibition match there. Before the match, the players from both teams will be introduced to Maradona. The sports minister said there would 100 additional buses for the spectators from the YBK.

Source: Indianexpress.com

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Untrained driver drives the VOLVO

VRL pune to bangalore service

Book your Volvo ticket online NOW

KSRTC's untrained driver drives the Volvo bus!

BY:T L Prasanna Venkatesan

I was to board the KSRTC Meghadoota service on the 27th of November at the Shanthinagar bus stand in Bangalore to Chennai. The bus that was scheduled to start at 10:17 PM, did not arrive at the bus stop till 11:00 PM. The bus that managed to arrive so late from the depot had mechanical problems.

The driver reported that the bus could not pick up speed and possibly not go beyond third gear. Apart from this, the bus also had very bad air conditioning, which added to the frustration and fury of the passengers.

The angry passengers demanded that the conductor give it in writing about the condition of the bus and also regarding the late arrival, so that action could be taken against the concerned through the Consumer Court. The conductor, who was not ready to do so, directed the driver to drive the bus back to Majestic bus stand.

It was 12:00 AM by now, and the passengers were stranded at the main bus stand.

While the depot manager, the only living creature at the Majestic bus stand at that hour, managed to approve the use of a higher class service bus for this journey, but another problem reared its head- the driver had no experience of driving a Volvo bus. Hence the driver had to have a practice session at the bus stand. The driver, who was ecstatic about handling a new Volvo, confidently agreed to drive us to Chennai.

Thus, that day the passengers united for a common cause, and proved that a voice raised by all of us together can jolt the officials into action and force them to provide better services to the public.

Source: Citizen matters

My point here is : Isnt it a policy of Volvo that only Volvo trained drivers can drive a Volvo bus in India? Comments please... In the meantime, click HERE to book your VOLVO tickets online