|
|
Take
the bus
 Volvo
intends to change inter-city bus travel with the B7R
Text and photos:
Bijoy Kumar Y
For
one who always likes to be behind the wheel of a vehicle, playing passenger
doesn't come easy, and you'll find me seeking solace in sleep. Especially
so in a bus. The condition of the bus, the seats, the pan-chewing co-passenger
– nothing disturbs me as I snore away. You can't blame me, what with
the condition of buses that ply on our roads.
When was the last time you embarked on a 24-hour bus journey? Can't remember?
Chances are that you've never mustered enough courage to do something
like that. But despite them, you can't discount the importance of buses.
They are dirt cheap, more frequent than trains and usually start their
journey from where trains and planes end theirs. But the problem is most
buses in India are built from truck chassis and that means passengers
are treated like cargo – imagine travelling in a goods train and
you get the picture. Yes, private luxury coaches now feature air-suspension
packages, better ride quality, comfortable seats, video sets and even
air-conditioning, but those huge coaches built on truck running-gear have
little going for them when it comes to the safety of passengers.
More often than not, the bus body is built by the cheapest bidder (especially
so for state transport buses) and not a single day passes without our
reading horror stories about buses plunging into rivers, highway accidents,
and scary death tolls. Every time the conventional bus brakes, takes a
corner or hits a bad patch, passengers and their survival skills are put
to a severe test. While young bodies manage to take the toll, older ones
travel under threat of crumpled bones. Then there are pregnant women who
avoid long bus journeys and parents who hate to take children in buses
because they will invariably get road sick. But the fact remains that
you can't escape buses. A time will come when you'll have to board one.
Hope to God that it's a Volvo.
This Swedish giant has been in the business of making buses since 1937
and sure knows a bit about making them a more comfortable experience.
Three years after launching the FH12, the first Volvo truck in India,
Volvo India is now launching a bus built from a true-bus chassis.
With the B7R, Volvo wants to change the way Indians see inter-city bus
travel. "We expect to see buses from Volvo becoming a motivation
for travel and the means to bring cities and people closer in India. This
is possible when a passenger begins to consider bus travel as a pleasurable
and safe experience as against being a matter of distance and fatigue,"
says Ulf Nordqvist, managing director of Volvo India.
In the run-up to the launch, Volvo brought down two buses based on the
B7R platform and let a few transport operators have a go at them. They
ran on typical long distance routes such as Bangalore-Kochi and Mumbai-Shirdi,
and the operators found out that people were willing to pay more to travel
in these buses, which recorded over 90 per cent utilisation of seats over
the trial period. So what made the passengers love the B7R?
 The
running gear
To begin with, Volvo will be assembling the chassis only and the body
will be built by JAE (Azad Group). This company has a license agreement
with Volvo to build a contemporary, European bus-body specifically designed
for the B7R bus chassis. The chassis comes powered by a trusted Volvo
engine mounted at the back, displacing 6724 CC to develop 260 bhp and
110 kgm of torque.
But while the power and torque are impressive, what's really worth the
while for operators is that these engines have an estimated life of 8
to 10 lakh km before the first overhaul. Now these buses are expensive
(we will come to the price soon) and what Volvo has to sell to Indian
operators is a concept similar to what is prevalent in the aviation industry
– the more buses on the road, the more the profitability and hence,
longer intervals between engine overhauls. It is not uncommon to find
10-year old buses in Europe for the same reason, and most of the time,
these buses get a second life in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, where
they carry on for another ten years!
Coming back to the B7R, optimal engine power is what custom-built buses
are all about, and this Volvo powerpack does not drop its performance
over gradients, ghat sections and rough terrain, which usually force the
driver to slow down and make innumerable gear changes. That also means
Volvo buses will adhere to clockwork schedules similar to long-distance
trains and aeroplane services, and the engine also allows for quick acceleration
and retardation even in traffic conditions. And to address the eco-brigade's
concerns, the B7R meets Euro II norms and offers much better fuel efficiency
per passenger per km, despite having thrice the power output of typical
buses in India.
Comfort
factor
The B7R comes with a retarder incorporated into the gearbox. This device
electro-maganetically cuts in – at the gearbox output – just
as you touch the brakes, and provides a degree of retardation before the
massive drum brakes come into play. To you and me that means a ride quality
almost comparable to that of being on rails – the retarder makes
sure the passengers never realise whether the bus is braking or not. In
addition, there are exhaust brakes which help the driver keep a higher
average speed while driving downhill without taxing the conventional brakes.
This system makes bus travel in mountainous terrain a much safer experience.
Air brakes and Split Type Braking System add to the safety of bus travel,
apart from enabling the driver to remain in control.
You would have noticed that the best of luxury coaches in our country
offer spartan facilities for drivers. But a B7R driver gets adjustable
seats, effortless power steering, smooth short-throw gear shifts, an ergonomic
control panel and air-conditioning. A single-piece windshield also allows
a wide area of visibility along with electrically-operated rear view mirrors.
Elements meant to motivate the driver and make him proud of his job. As
in the case of trucks, Volvo also ensures that drivers go through a training
programme before they start ferrying people.
On the move
There are luxury buses with air-suspension set-ups already on our roads.
These are usually retrofitted and again, nine out of ten times on a truck
chassis. The B7R comes with two air-bellows up front and four at the rear.
In addition to that, there are stabilisers at the front and rear, and
two double acting hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers at both ends. A
good suspension system is not just a comfort feature, it is also integral
to vehicle dynamics and more so in the case of a bus.
While spring loading, and hence the vehicle dynamics, of a truck chassis
varies with the load it carries, a custom suspension unit ensures that
there are no unpleasant surprises for the driver as the bus which weighs
something like 16,200 kg takes on a curvy bit of road, or when changing
lanes at speeds above 80-100 kph. Further, the bus-body is built with
tubular steel structures and is so designed that in case of a collision,
the material does not implode, thus minimising injuries.
True luxury
Luxury in the B7R's book goes beyond flashy sticker jobs, tinted windows,
jazzy upholstery and a video screen. Instead, the interior is tastefully
designed with seats that offer good lumbar support for long journeys.
An integral air-con means there isn't any auxiliary engine driving it
–the main powerplant drives the air-conditioner without sapping any
power, thus ensuring reliability. The body style has fixed windows and
that shows the confidence Volvo has in this air-con system. Even when
that monster engine is running in top revs the integral design cabin is
absolutely insulated from exterior noise, which means you can actually
carry out a normal conversation like in an aircraft – another advantage
of being a 'true' bus. And yes, a cavernous bay in its belly ensures your
suitcases are safely tucked away, and not tied to a roof-rack.
 Bus
stops?
The Volvo B7R would cost roughly Rs 40 lakhs – that is almost double
the money an operator will be shelling out for a similar yet conventional
bus. But it is not just a bus that Volvo has to sell, but a modern concept.
When a bus performs without failing for years and when maintenance is
no longer an issue for operators, the B7R starts to make a lot of sense.
"It is an issue of logistics, and the change can be profound in the
way it impacts bus operators' business and the quality of service they
provide. I will not be surprised to see bus operators transforming their
companies from mere fleets to corporates with a national brand image,"
says Akash Passey, who heads the bus division at Volvo India.
Won't the operator go to a cheaper body builder after buying the B7R powerline?
They can if they want, and the current excise structure does not allow
Volvo to build complete buses at their plant. Volvo India insists that
the B7R buyers will stick to original bodywork, though.
Driving the B7R was a revelation. An exercise that made me realise that
it would be ages before living the dream of crossing a few continents
in one. The seat belt worked, steering was perfectly weighed, acceleration
not so mind-boggling and braking telepathic.
Trust me, I have driven lots of cars, very fast motorcycles, a few trucks
and even a boat, but this was a different experience altogether. At the
end of a lap around Volvo's driver training facility, I realised there
was one solid reason for not sleeping while travelling in a bus, if it
is a Volvo B7R – I could actually be
driving it.
|
