[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Klub Class

For the record, y'day I traveled in a KeSRTC Bus (Pala - Iritty) which leaves Pala at 18:00 and reaches Kakkad (~35kms before Calicut) at ~00:00. ...Me and my friends are okay with buses that do not have stop for having foods and likes

6hrs is not bad. Its unusually to have buses other than Volvos that run continuously for more than 2 hours. The crew usually tend to take a break after 2 hours. My best in a Non-AC bus has been 3 hrs from Thrissur to Kozhikode, that too in a bus that left Thrissur at 00:30hrs. This 3 hrs was inclusive of a 10 minute break somewhere near Kakkad for tea.

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Its unusually to have buses other than Volvos that run continuously for more than 2 hours. The crew usually tend to take a break after 2 hours. My best in a Non-AC bus has been 3 hrs.

I didn't get your point Sir. Why would the non Volvo buses not run continuously for more than 2 Hrs?
Is it terrain related?
I say so because I have done numerous journeys on Pune- Jalgaon, Pune-Dhule, Pune- Indore and Pune- Goa routes in AC, Non-AC, Sleeper Non Volvo buses.
After the dinner break, the continues drive is usually for 4 to 5 hrs. Generally from 11 PM to 3.30- 4.30 AM.
Cheers.

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by binaiks

My best in a Non-AC bus has been 3 hrs from Thrissur to Kozhikode, that too in a bus that left Thrissur at 00:30hrs. This 3 hrs was inclusive of a 10 minute break somewhere near Kakkad for tea.

Binai, I hope you mean the fastest in KeSRTC. I have travelled umpteen times between Clt and Tsr in Private buses and a number of times I have reached before 3 hrs. They generally don't stop for tea and even in Bus stands enroute, the engine is never switched off.

Incidentally, the fastest ever trip from Calicut to Thrissur (Punkunnam junction to be precise) was in a bus named Gloria Motors ( Dark Blue and Grey combo body colour) which took 2 hrs 25 mts. It was faaaast, rash to an extant and I was in the front seat on the left looking at the driver. He did Kunnamkulam Punkunnam in 18 mts flat. This was way back in 93 or 94 when there were no speed governors or punching stations. Unfortunately, though I travel to Calicut every vaccation, I never saw that Gloria bus again.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by autotranny

He did Kunnamkulam Punkunnam in 18 mts flat. This was way back in 93 or 94 when there were no speed governors or punching stations.

I am not sure if the comment is really valid for today's times. Back in the 90s, we used to do Coimbatore-Thrissur in less than 2:30 hours by ordinary KeSRTC buses - the same distance now takes the same time (or more) for a Volvo bus.

Originally Posted by coriollis

I didn't get your point Sir. Why would the non Volvo buses not run continuously for more than 2 Hrs?
Is it terrain related?
I say so because I have done numerous journeys on Pune- Jalgaon, Pune-Dhule, Pune- Indore and Pune- Goa routes in AC, Non-AC, Sleeper Non Volvo buses.
After the dinner break, the continues drive is usually for 4 to 5 hrs. Generally from 11 PM to 3.30- 4.30 AM.
Cheers.

I should've been specific. The comment is related to Kerala, and mostly day journeys. During night trips, buses often go non-stop for 6-8 hours in this part of the country. Also, the discussion was solely related to Stage carriers, not related to the umpteen private travels.

[Autokrat]

Pictures of the Ashok Leyland Luxura rear engine bus.

The first one (SBT) is the fully built version with IRIZAR body spotted at Chennai Koyambedu OMNI busstand.

The second one (Shama sardar) is a Luxura with body built by Azad.

[binaiks]

Just saw two mint fresh b9rs of kallada g4 at madiwala. Heard they are launching kottarakkara service.

[TKMCE]

As per today's Malayala Manorama there is a report of an accident between a Kottayam bound Bangalore originating bus and a lorry at the Coimbatore L and T bye pass road near Madukarai around 2 AM on Saturday. Head on collision with al orry while trying to overtake another bus , as per the newspaper report quoting poloce sources. The bus driver died in the accident and a few people are injured.

Any idea who was the operator? As per the report, the driver is from Idukki and had shifted with family to Ernakulam an year ago after he got the job with the Ernakulam based bus operator. As in almost all cases, the operators name is not mentioned anywhere in the newsreport.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

accident between a Kottayam bound Bangalore originating bus and a lorry at the Coimbatore L and T bye pass road near Madukarai around 2 AM on Saturday.

It was a Kallada non-AC sleeper/seater bus bound for Kottayam. I passed the area at around 5am, in the BLR-PLKD Super Deluxe. There was a huge traffic pileup on the bypass road, and for this reason, my bus arrived at the destination 25 minutes behind the scheduled time (and 1 hour behind their usual time).

The front right portion of the Kallada bus had been completely ripped apart. The truck had relatively lesser damage.

OT: With all due respect, please note that it's "BYPASS" and not byepass. I find a lot many people using the wrong spelling.

[TKMCE]

Thank you (for both the information and the grammar correction!). Quite a few of these slepeer, sleeper/seater buses and not just from the operator in question have been in accidents where loss of live has occured. In terms of the number of incidents, the Volvos who have been now around for sometime seems to be involved in lesser number of fatal accidents. Is this hypothesis correct or is it just coincidence, or may be I am wrong totally?

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Just saw two mint fresh b9rs of kallada g4 at madiwala. Heard they are launching kottarakkara service.

Here is one pic:

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Thank you (for both the information and the grammar correction!). Quite a few of these slepeer, sleeper/seater buses and not just from the operator in question have been in accidents where loss of live has occured. In terms of the number of incidents, the Volvos who have been now around for sometime seems to be involved in lesser number of fatal accidents. Is this hypothesis correct or is it just coincidence, or may be I am wrong totally?

I don't know if I'm right, but I think there are a lot many non-AC buses than Volvo/Merc/Isuzu. So, taking a percentage figure would make more sense. In that case, I feel the percentage of Volvos getting into accidents might be on the higher side.

Originally Posted by binaiks

Here is one pic:
Attachment 949610

The green looks awful to me, and the white/beige brings back the vintage memories

[TKMCE]

Silversteed

I was talking about the survivability rather than the number of accidents. The number of fatal accidents (where there were loss of lives) is I think more on Sleepers than Volvos/Mercs. Even for Kallada, there was atleast one other sleeper accident where a couple of passengers lost their lives (reported elsewhere in this thread), there was SRM and there was KPN and quote a few others.

This is important since in may of these sleeper coaches from what I understand, the emergency exits are heardly designed scientifically. Since 95% of these trips are in the night, most accidents happen in late hours where people will mostly be asleep. And if there is a fire, every second is precious. Their situational awareness at that time will also be the lowest. Immediately after the SRM accident near Coimbatore, I was reading a newspaper report in which one of the people who escaped was mentioning how diifficult it was to get out of the vehicle after the accident.

There are any number of standards for Emission/Pollution and stickers are all over most buses saying they are compliant on one or the other norms. The legislation on emission norms is also strong.

But how about the bus safety standards??? The legislation is very weak, AFAIK there are no strict norms and post the SRM accident the Chennai hgh court had to step in!!! It is not the responsiblity of the courts but the Motor Vehicle Department/RTOs to ensure compliance to new safety norms.

It is for this reason, I will always gladly pay a few hundred bucks more to travel ina Volvo or Merc. Their design and safety features are far better than some of these often improvised sleeper cum seaters or even normal buses of many of the older manufacturers, especially the older models.

NB : Before someone points out the obvious about this being a thread for Reviews and not Accidents, let me state why I feel it is important for this to be discussed here. I know there is an accident thred elsewhre in this forum but that covers everything fom Bicycles to Ferraris and is mostly a news thread for pictures etc.

Many of us travel atleast 2-3 times a month in these buses. I am no automotive expert, but I do have extensive awareness of passenger safety issues in another mode of transportation, namely Aviation and believe me it is not without reason that Air Travel is stated to be safer than any other mode of transportation. There, every accident is a lesson learned and used for future improvement, whether in design or processess. In many cases identified design flaws causing an accident lead to compulsory grounding of other aircraft of the same type which are in service, till the rectification is complete. Here in most cases nothing happens, no follow up, no research,no awareness, nothing!! And with emergency services being a joke (and let us not forget the increasing tendency of taking secondary rosds by some of these operators to avoid tolls) and then we have a very precarious situation at hand!!!

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

I was talking about the survivability rather than the number of accidents...

...have extensive awareness of passenger safety issues in another mode of transportation, namely Aviation and believe me it is not without reason that Air Travel is stated to be safer than any other mode of transportation...

...with emergency services being a joke (and let us not forget the increasing tendency of taking secondary rosds by some of these operators to avoid tolls) and then we have a very precarious situation at hand!!!

Agree with you on all points.

What happened to the bus body code? Why is it not implemented even after so many accidents? Complacency on the part of the authorities? Political clout?

I think, the reason for implementing so many safety controls in aviation is because of the fact that the chances of survival in the event of an accident is extremely low without safety measures, compared to road travel. Yeah, we need such strict norms on all forms of transport - road, rail, and water.

IMO, AC sleeper buses are the most unsafe of the lot. Hardly any of them carry even ONE fire extinguisher that's accessible to the passengers. Of all the sleeper buses I've travelled in, I find the Corona sleepers' windows the smallest of the lot.

[binaiks]

One of the oldest operators on the Bangalore-South Kerala route, SPS, is launching their first Multi-Axle Volvo service from this Friday.

The route is Bangalore-Adoor via Kottayam. The bus will leave from Kalasipalya at 2000hrs, and Madiwala at 2045hrs. Return timings not known.

SPS has also launched online booking: SPS Travels - Online Bus Tickets to Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Vytilla, Pathanamthitta, Moovattupuzha...

[foby.sebastian]

The KTC Volvos started servicing in kannur - Trivandrum route any one have more info ?

One of my friend saw it at Kollam.