[nijan]

Best started trial run of TATA CNG-Electric Hybrid Buses

Source: CNG-electric hybrid buses make city debut today - The Times of India

[COLOR=#000000]MUMBAI: The city will get its first [COLOR=#0000ff]CNG-electric hybrid buses[/COLOR] on Thursday. [COLOR=#0000ff]BEST[/COLOR] will initially introduce two of the buses on a month-long trial basis and later order more depending on the feedback.

The buses have low operating costs, better fuel efficiency, low noise levels and zero emission. Each 35-seater bus also has additional facility to accommodate a passenger on a wheelchair. "The bus has a ramp at the entrance and can tilt a few degrees (towards the door) to enable a passenger in a wheelchair board the vehicle without an escort," said an official from Tata Motors, which has made the buses.

For now the buses will ply on two routes, AS-440 (Wadala to Borivli) and AS-503 (Wadala to Kalamboli). "We will check the roadworthiness of these buses and then place orders for them," BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta said. He was optimistic that the low-floor buses with aesthetic design would be an instant hit with passengers. "We will await feedback from commuters," he said.

At Wednesday's BEST committee meeting, he said the month-long trial run of Mercedes Benz buses in October-November last year had evoked a good response from passengers across the city. "But the Merc buses are expensive, run on diesel and provide less mileage than the AC buses already in our fleet," he pointed out. The operating cost of a Merc bus is Rs 17.68 per km while that of a CNG-run AC bus is Rs 13.09 km, he added. BEST committee member Ravi Raja said the Mercs should be inducted only if given free of cost to BEST. "The manufacturer can earn through advertising rights," he stated.

On the other hand, the CNG-electric hybrid buses can run for 300 km at a stretch, and have an intelligent engine that switches from CNG to battery when needed. "The bus automatically switches from one fuel to another with zero driver intervention," said an official. The engine too operates on optimum efficiency and is 25 to 30% more fuel efficient than normal CNG buses.

The driver's seat has air suspension and he also has the benefit of adjustable power steering.

BEST committee chairperson Sanjay Potnis said, "Our objective is to provide buses which are cheaper to operate and have fewer breakdowns. The buses are also comfortable, with proper leg space and headrests for passengers."

The tickets will be similar to those charged on AC buses on the two routes.



Read more: CNG-electric hybrid buses make city debut today - The Times of India CNG-electric hybrid buses make city debut today - The Times of India[/COLOR]

[nijan]

Source : India Transportation: MRTS/Trams/Buses II - Page 258 - SkyscraperCity

[nijan]

travelled in
Source :India Transportation: MRTS/Trams/Buses II - Page 258 - SkyscraperCity

Looks awesome from the outside with CNG HYBRID in bold, definately an attention graber, Inside the best thing is the space to move around and the instrument cluster for the driver ( there is a real time data showing battery charge n all), seats same as Merc buses. The engine noise and vibration is too much at the rear, same as the non a/c starbuses supplied by TATA, even other people were complaining. Still nothing beats KLs in comfort.

Also as stated by the article, these buses arent on trials.BEST have it permanently

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by nijan

Also as stated by the article, these buses arent on trials.BEST have it permanently

Are you sure? The buses are registered "MH-04", while BEST's own buses are always registered "MH-01". (The Volvos are an exemption - since they were supplied by an Advertisement firm free of cost to BEST, in exchange for advertisement rights).

AFAIK, the buses are only on trial with BEST. BMTC has already announced that they are getting those buses for trial.

Don't these buses use CNG for the generator? Wonder how would they adjust in Bangalore.

[julupani]

As the buses are on trial, their ownership still probably rests with TML. Is MH-04 the code by any chance of the Thane area??

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by julupani

As the buses are on trial, their ownership still probably rests with TML. Is MH-04 the code by any chance of the Thane area??

MH-04 is Thane registration code, but BEST would not register other than as MH-01. Unusual.

[julupani]

Like I said the buses are owned by TML. I asked about the code being that for Thane, as TML CVBU has a major spares and exports depot in Thane. Thus expected the vehicle to be registered there.

[AkMar]

Saw the hybrid bus today morning. Attaching the only pic I could manage to click. The engine seemed quiet when I saw it today & yesterday night, but I would still not deliver any final opinion about it. Need to observe it more.

[f1fan]

^^^ I already see issues with the front display board. Part of the word Borivili is missing.
A lot of these new JNURM BEST buses have the same problem as most of the digital displays are not working.

[AkMar]

There is no problem at all with the display. LEDs do not stay on continuously. They switch on and off many times a second, I think 50 or 100 times. This is not noticeable to naked eye. But camera shutter speed is high due to which it cannot capture all LEDs in their glowing state.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

None - repeat - NONE of electronic displays on non a/c SLF buses of KeSRTC have any electronic display boards. err... not sure that they had electronic boards to start with.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

None - repeat - NONE of electronic displays on non a/c SLF buses of KeSRTC have any electronic display boards. err... not sure that they had electronic boards to start with.

I am not sure if I understood your post properly, from what little I could understand:

The KeSRTC non-AC buses do comes with Electronic display boards, and the boards are working in atleast 80% of the buses. I would say only 80% since the buses have been transferred out of EKM depot, and the new depots are yet to get into the track of maintaining these buses.

Here are some pics of the KeSRTC Non-AC buses with their displays showing the route. The first pic was taken during the inauguration of Non-AC services in Kochi - the displays were horrible at that time, and it was a pain to read boards. The second pic was taken a couple of days after the service was introduced (note how small the display fonts are).

The other pics were taken in the last 3-4 months. The displays were re-programmed, and the current displays are very good. The Malayalam font is displayed very well.

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by AkMar

There is no problem at all with the display. LEDs do not stay on continuously. They switch on and off many times a second, I think 50 or 100 times. This is not noticeable to naked eye. But camera shutter speed is high due to which it cannot capture all LEDs in their glowing state.

Good to know that bcos offlate I noticed problems with the display boards of most of the new JNNURM BEST buses.

BTW a couple of weeks back, noticed Mercedes buses being plyed by NMMT on route 123. I had always seen Volvo's on this route. A couple of snaps that I managed to click with my cellphone.

[Klub Class]

Thought of sharing a pic of a low floor KeSRTC A/C bus with electronic display boards that I had clicked some months back!

[teamveevee]

It could be bad mouthing from BEST's part, may be to distract the attention from the BEST board to the vendor. One thing is sure, the no of break downs are more in BEST these days, Lack of maintenance may be real problem here. Newer buses (TM/AL) are more sophisticated and need trained personal for maintenance. It is hard for STUs to keep up with the changes in technologies and it becomes harder when the number of vendors increases. Why Cannot the Gov, make it mandatory for all STUs outsource the maintenance also to the manufacturer like DTC does?
‘New BEST buses are faulty’ - Mumbai - DNA

The new Ashok Leyland buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) acquired under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have had a pathetic record. The vehicles breakdown often and this has resulted in a poor overall performance.

Opposition committee member Ravi Raja of the Congress alleged that Ashok Leyland supplied “old chassis” and sold them to the BEST claiming that they were new. “I have evidence to prove that the chassis’ were manufactured in May 2009 and sold to the BEST in late 2010. Ashok Leyland claimed that these old chassis’ were new. I demand that the company be blacklisted by the BEST.”

Experts, how can some make such a comment? Is not possible to find the date of manufacture from Engine/chasis number?