[avira_tk]

The useless petitioner should be declared a vexatious litigant and the entire appeal thrown out. Kerala's usual track record of socialist crab behavior seems to be intact maybe Kerala can get a new bus maker after agitating against obscene profits made by Volvo. No other stc bothers with non Volvo buses because the other brands have earned a terrible reputation with their non existent service and lack of commitment and presence in the market.

Ten years after Volvo made bus travel better, Kerala's retards are trying to undo any progress that they think benefits only the bourgeois. I have interacted with a member here whose cringe worthy socialist rants now seem to explain why the state always has a vocal aspiring backwards community.

[audioholic]

I just feel this is the act of some jealous or rather worried tour operator(s) trying to hinder purchases. I feel that tendering must not be done in such cases which involve technology, machines etc. Though the KeSRTC should provide valid reasons for selecting Volvo, at the same time, accidents whose real cause is not determined by a professional agency cant be taken into consideration to totally avoid the buses.

The private operators whose buses burned did not have the face to justify themselves apart from hinting that the bus itself had a defect. The Govt agencies gave mixed reasoning and that too was not published properly. Hence, its absurd for such an objection being filed. Since its from a person from a similar field its not surprising. KaSRTC runs more no. of multi axles and volvos than most of the tour operators do. Its obvious that these buses suffer from lesser accidents since *compared* to the private operators, the buses are maintained and driven in a better manner.

If tendering and the cheapest bidder was to be selected, it will go by the same way how Tata brought in the Marcopolo AC bus portraying it as the VFM alternative to the Volvo city bus. BMTC fell for this and ordered a considerable lot of buses which really spoilt expectations.

Perhaps they should invite trials from other manufacturers and decide if they could buy Mercedes or Scania buses. As of now, its Volvo that has been selling well and become popular.

[prmd_cochin]

My view is that KeSRTC buying Volvo is a waste of money because KeSRTC itself is a waste of public money.

Also to add to what i was saying, KeSRTC lacks funds to do proper maintenance of their fleet, lot of their buses runs of Juggads.

They have failed miserably in maintaining and operating the JnURM provided Volvos. Many of them were cannibalized for spares as they didn't have money to buy the spares.

Buying Volvos will result in more debt for KeSRTC that has to be repaid by collections. After initial period of successful running you will see they abruptly canceling trips due to maintenance issues losing commuters trust and thus losing revenues.

KeSRTC as a venture should be disbanded.

However let me also say they have awesome drivers and staff that are more cordial then ever before.

[silversteed]

Here's something I wanted to see:

Several unions with the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have come out against a petition filed by the Palakkad-based Bus Passengers Association secretary M Abdul Kareem challenging the decision of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation to purchase 12 multi-axle Volvo buses for operating inter-state services.

The Kerala State Transport Workers Union has alleged that the petition was filed to protect the private bus lobby especially in the Malabar region. A V Francis, state secretary of the Kerala State Road Transport Workers Union said that this is the first time that the KSRTC had decided to purchase multi-axle Volvo buses for running inter-state services.

“Twelve such buses have been booked by the KSRTC for conducting services on the Kerala-Karnataka routes. If multi-axle buses are introduced, it will increase the existing seat capacity. Also, it is safer. A private bus lobby is working to ensure that these services are not launched in Kerala,” he said. He added that the move is being made on the pretext of safety issues.

“Two such multi-axle buses operating in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had caught fire in recent months. However, that does not mean that the buses are unsafe. The private bus operators have converted old bodies of several buses and are currently operating them as stage carriages for inter-state services, which is illegal. It is high time the authorities opened their eyes to catch the real culprits,” the members with the unions said.

The unions also rubbished the claims that the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation did not opt for competitive tender prior to booking the buses.

“There is no need to float competitive tenders as the KSRTC purchases only Volvo buses. No other company produces these body types. So there is no need for such tenders to be called,” they said.

Source

[benbsb29]

The rest of the claims made sense to me, except the part highlighted below :

“There is no need to float competitive tenders as the KSRTC purchases only Volvo buses. No other company produces these body types. So there is no need for such tenders to be called,” they said.

There are other manufacturers who make multi-axle buses, so the logic does not hold good.

[prmd_cochin]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

The rest of the claims made sense to me, except the part highlighted below :



There are other manufacturers who make multi-axle buses, so the logic does not hold good.

Volvo has become a generic name for similar type of bodies and that's whats getting reflected here. Ignorance.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

There are other manufacturers who make multi-axle buses, so the logic does not hold good.

Originally Posted by prmd_cochin

Volvo has become a generic name for similar type of bodies and that's whats getting reflected here. Ignorance.

The "type of bodies" referred to in the statement means the complete bus manufactured by Volvo. You cannot expect Merc or Scania to manufacture a Volvo bus, and the KSRTC wants to buy Volvo 9400XL coaches. Let's cut some slack for these people who want the corporation to run better buses.

[swiftnfurious]

I remember KeSRTC making profit during the stint when K B Ganesh Kumar was the transport minister. It's at that time we had new types of buses introduced including the yellow interstate buses & mini buses too.

I have never seen that kind of commitment or initiatives from any other ministers. It also makes me believe that if the corporation is run properly, it can make profits. Hope someone capable takes over and does justice to this corporation.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I remember KeSRTC making profit during the stint when K B Ganesh Kumar was the transport minister. It's at that time we had new types of buses introduced including the yellow interstate buses & mini buses too.

I have never seen that kind of commitment or initiatives from any other ministers. It also makes me believe that if the corporation is run properly, it can make profits. Hope someone capable takes over and does justice to this corporation.

The KB Ganesh Kumar era and the Mathew T Thomas era that followed saw the corporation growing. However, what followed is a major downfall, thanks to some really incapable people in power. It's only sheer luck that the corporation didn't go to the extreme red.

The yellow/pale green superfast buses were not really made for the kind of roads and road manners in Kerala - most of them were running without their front and rear bumpers within no time - the fibre-glass bumpers just cracked and had to be replaced, unlike the GI sheet ones used by the KSRTC's own body garages.

[Vancho]

Originally Posted by Joe M

The best way to reduce traffic congestion is to improve public transport. Assume the 45-50 passengers deciding to travel to Kerala by car because of the lack of comfortable public transport!

I think Joe has made a very valid point here. Often even me and my friends have been forced to travel to Kerala by car since bus tickets were either not available or priced exorbitantly. During all such journeys, I have seen a lot of people travelling from Bangalore/Chennai by car. This obviously increases the risk of accidents and creates chaos on the already congested roads.

[prmd_cochin]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I remember KeSRTC making profit during the stint when K B Ganesh Kumar was the transport minister. It's at that time we had new types of buses introduced including the yellow interstate buses & mini buses too.

I have never seen that kind of commitment or initiatives from any other ministers. It also makes me believe that if the corporation is run properly, it can make profits. Hope someone capable takes over and does justice to this corporation.

Are you sure they made profit during their tenure, fir sure they were better off then. I think KeSRTC has never ever made profit and will never ever with the current structure. they are said to have 13 in service employees per bus and then count the pension cost of the retired employees. And now they are hell bound on breaking the back of private sector buses by running on their time schedules on the routes like Ernakulam guruvayur and Ernakulam munnar.

[darklord]

KeSRTC multiaxle volvos ready to conquer streets

KeSRTC multiaxle volvos have been rolled out in Bangalore. Manufacturing and stickering jobs over. Volvo will formally hand over to KeSRTC in the next few days.

Unfortunately, full story only in Malayalam, here:
http://www.mathrubhumi.com/story.php?id=436503

Checkout KSRTC Blog for more pictures:
http://www.ksrtcblog.com/specials/im...ictures-leaked

[tharian]

These Volvo's look quite different and nice without the tinted windows.
Never seen a Volvo bus without tints.

[decode]

Awesome News! End of the day this is a relief to the common people who are in need of these facilities. The fact that a lot of people move away from Kerala to the neighbouring states for maintaining their livelihood is almost depicted in true per the discussion in this forum. If other states in India have done it , what should stop the KeSRTC? This should be considered as a welcome than to damage the objective. Use it as a stepping stone, 12 government run multi -axle Volvo buses only contribute to meagre percentage, there are so many people (not just from Kerala – but other states around ) who would benefit , Kerala has a great advantage for tourism and even foreigners use the available private operators for interstate travel. We will be luckier if the government keeps up to maintain its promises around the many developments in Kerala which has been a long wait and still waiting ! This move should be encouraged and motivated which will only open up for more much advancements & expansions where other manufacturers like Mercedez, Scania , Isuzu etc.... also would get their share to contribute and gain. These kind of objections have only pulled and kept Kerala back & low …where the neighbours plunged and utilised the weakness of the state and ONLY the ordinary citizens of the state suffer and sacrifice. The interstate travel industry should not just be an opportunity for the private operators who have a sufficient proven record of fleecing the needy helpless passengers on baseless exorbitant prices utilising the demand which mainly categorises into weekends, extended weekends, festivals and what not?

[darklord]

I saw these bearing temp plates being driven towards Thiruvananthapuram. Guess new deliveries.



I counted six.