[Gautham_v6]

Very good review @Vigsom sir. Got reminded of the days when I used to travel on Volvo bus from Siruseri to Tnagar and then back to my home in Adambakkam durung 2014-16. For a journey worth Rs.50 , the experiwnce was smooth most of the time with volvo compared to other standard MTC buses.

It's unfortunate that AC buses are no longer avaialable in Chennai. Plus most of the buses were badly maintained. Wish they bring it back someday.

[skywalker18]

Thanks for your post @vigsom,
A little more than a decade back, I used to travel in KSRTC Volvo Airavat several times every year in Bengaluru-Manipal route and back. These buses used to state of art public transportation back then and were almost brand new. Seeing your post made me nostalgic about those times about rushing to majestic bus stand in the evening for the late evening bus and it used to be pretty crowded.

The rides were comfortable from Bengaluru to Mysuru but after that roads in the western ghats were in poor condition though I presume these buses handled it much better than other buses would.

A one way fare in Bengaluru Manipal route used to cost around 550 INR then.
Also, around the same the same time KSRTC also had added Mercedes Benz buses in their fleet, though I did not get a chance to travel in them.

[jerk_free]

Originally Posted by SuperGirl_Dad

Do these busses have washroom?
Passenger seatbelts?
Arent the auxiliary lights illegal and blinding?

No washrooms or passenger seatbelts. The driver has seatbelts but seldom wear it.

Washrooms and passenger seatbelts are there only in uber luxury busses - Extremely rare and these services usually shut down soon for lack of patronage.

Aux lights - Yes they are illegal. It is likely the primary headlights have gone kaput and it would've been cheaper to fix the aux lights.

[RGK]

Originally Posted by Gautham_v6

Very good review @Vigsom sir. Got reminded of the days when I used to travel on Volvo bus from Siruseri to Tnagar and then back to my home in Adambakkam durung 2014-16.
It's unfortunate that AC buses are no longer avaialable in Chennai.

In 2009, Chennai saw the introduction of Volvo City buses. When I met the Principal Transport Secretary, Shri. Atulya Mishra, I suggested increasing buses on the OMR (IT corridor) route for better patronage. Without hesitation, he contacted MTC director Mr. Paulraj and facilitated the addition of more buses from the 19 and 570 series.

Kanchipuram depot received 40 out of 100 buses purchased, with the rest allocated to Chennai depots. Vista Motors was designated as the service center. Due to the high maintenance costs of Volvo buses compared to Ashok Leyland, the Volvos were eventually phased out. Currently, Ashok Leyland supplies quality AC buses.

It is evident that MTC and TNSETC have big room for improvement to match the standards set by KSRTC, hindered partly by unfortunate political interference.

Originally Posted by vigsom

A fourteen year young, 21 lakh km done vehicle, doing long distance trips without a sweat. Best part - doing it in style, and passing the acid test of driving in rain with not a drop of water entering the cabin. If this isn't called superior upkeep, what else is? Kudos to KSRTC for this!

Certainly, it's undisputed that KSRTC, through its exceptional standards, has surpassed all other southern state transport services in long-distance travel and manitenance. Undoubtedly, they deserve recognition for this achievement. On the other hand, TN's transport system is commendable in coverage but lacks behind notably in the provision of AC services.The only silver lining is the more affordable ticket prices in TN.

[Gautham_v6]

Originally Posted by RGK

Kanchipuram depot received 40 out of 100 buses purchased, with the rest allocated to Chennai depots. Vista Motors was designated as the service center. Due to the high maintenance costs of Volvo buses compared to Ashok Leyland, the Volvos were eventually phased out. Currently, Ashok Leyland supplies quality AC buses.

I was not awqre that Ashok Leyland supplies AC buses for MTC. But I guess those would be for SETC tour and transport purpose . Do we have any AC buses in Chennai for inter-City use?

[RGK]

Originally Posted by Gautham_v6

I was not awqre that Ashok Leyland supplies AC buses for MTC. But I guess those would be for SETC tour and transport purpose . Do we have any AC buses in Chennai for inter-City use?

Very much, most of the 570 and 570S buses are AC services only.

[G13BB]

Sure sounds like a great experience. Occasionally travelling in such old buses always feels special! Kudos to KSRTC for keeping the old ones in top condition. This proves the fact that age is just a number for most of the vehicles and the 15/10 year ban makes no sense.

Not sure how true, but there was news back in the late 2000s when KSRTC started buying more and more Volvos, KSRTC had a specialised team from Volvo here in Bengaluru for servicing the buses and the drivers were specially trained for Volvos.

It's good to see an RTC compete at the level of top private bus operator in the country. Hope it stays the same and doesn't get diluted due to the freebies offered in Karnataka at present.

[skyocean]

Thank you sir for the nostalgic post @vigsom. You sat on my favorite seat on the Airvat fleet (#3 & #4). I was a regular on the BNG-MNG route and I always preferred the 11AM bus. This was almost 15 years ago and I wont be surprised if you find that very bus on the route younger than ever.

Originally Posted by jerk_free

No washrooms or passenger seatbelts.

Aux lights - Yes they are illegal. It is likely the primary headlights have gone kaput and it would've been cheaper to fix the aux lights.

Passenger seat belts were available in the initial lot of B7Rs at KSRTC. They were removed from the newer buses because no one used them. Volvo still provides the seat belt on the first row and the last center seat (I remember #Seat 45 on the B9R) on Airavats atleast.

Regarding Aux lights, Busses in this region be it a Volvo, nonvolvo or truck which has a route through the ghat sections of Karnataka/Kerala/TN have them due to thick fog in most seasons especially during night time. KSRTC has a inhouse Volvo maintenance depo at Bangalore and are not bankrupt yet to put an aux light to replace the main headlights. That's how you can see a 14 year old volvo still on the road in great shape with everything working look at the ORVMs as an example.

[SAE40 in veins]

Originally Posted by Gautham_v6

I was not awqre that Ashok Leyland supplies AC buses for MTC. But I guess those would be for SETC tour and transport purpose . Do we have any AC buses in Chennai for inter-City use?

Actually many are in use. There are three liveries, the older sky blue livery, the dark Navy Blue versions (with Prakash Body) and the later white ones. All supplied by the uber reliable ALL.

More importantly, happy to see a post about a bus after a long time. We had naval ships, aircrafts, tanks and what not......

Finally a whiff of fresh air for truck and bus guys like me.

[rkv_2401]

These Volvos can take a beating and keep on ticking.

I recently saw a PRTC Volvo AC bus (which was probably acquired in 2014, the blue ones - https://www.aanavandi.com/blog/prtc-...vo-buses-city/) in pretty rough shape, plumes of black smoke behind it whenever it accelerated, but the ride itself seemed very smooth, it had good enough pickup to make comfortable overtakes, and the engine note was as sophisticated as the best maintained of the KSRTC Airavat buses I've been on.

A shame these fleets aren't/weren't maintained better by the MTC in Chennai and the PRTC in Puducherry.

[guru_max]

The longevity and reliability of buses across brands seems to have improved a lot. Recently TNSTC/MTC have rebuilt the bodies of several old buses and put them into use. The underlying chassis and mechanicals provided by OEMs (mostly AL) seems to be good, but the bodies built by private builders have not stood the test of time. TNSTC is not exactly known for upkeep and several of these buses are at least 8 years old. They must have a odo reading of more than 10 lakh kms.

[PrasannaDhana]

Such large odo readings are pretty common in transport sector.

I bought an used 7 year old Ashok Leyland bus with 12 lakh km odo a few years back. The engine was as good as in any new bus.

These buses do 300-600 km daily on highways and are pretty much taken good care of., as it was run in a transport fleet of my acquaintance.

[Flyingdutchman]

One of rare occasion where a public sector transportation organisation is actually delivering industry leading services and still being in profit. Credit goes to Visionary MD's in early 2010's who introduced luxury fleets such as Airavat, Ambaari, Ashwameda, Sheetal in KSRTC but more than that I really admire the professionalism of Drivers/Co-drivers , local depot engineers/ Managers for keeping the vehicles in immaculate condition with regular servicing. Many states tried to replicate the success of KSRTC but haven't been upto the levels of KSRTC yet. Financial hygiene , Professional staff, Modern fleet, Vast network are some of the peculiar features that you won't find in another transport companies in other states. Always been a fan of Airavat ( Pune- Bengluru) since 2011.