Transportation Bus transportation Taking the High Road The massive upgradation of national highways and the construction of a network of expressways linking important cities have given a boost to the coach-building industry in India, as demand for luxury buses has gone up exponentially, says Annamma Oommen. 30 HEY are among the new crop of expressways that have come up in India, linking important cities. The Mumbai-Pune expressway Tand the Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway – each nearly 100 km in length – are among the busiest roads in the country. Sleek air-conditioned coaches zoom across the fast lanes, hitting speeds of 100 to 120 kmph. Inside the coach, passen- gers can relax in luxurious pull-back seats, watching their favourite Bollywood flicks. Travelling along the new expressways, one experiences the sea-change that has occurred in the quality of surface trans- port. Sturdy luxury coaches, replete with air suspension, comfortable seats, ample COMFORTABLE RIDE: Holidayers are increasingly travelling by luxury coaches to destinations like Goa sitting space and enormous holds for baggage, zip across India’s leading cities, transporting millions of business travel- include Mumbai-Pune, Delhi-Chandi- lers, holidayers and students. garh, Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Jaipur, Bangalore- Many state transport undertakings With demand Chennai and Ahmedabad-Vadodara. have also acquired a fleet of fancy coaches, It takes an hour or two to reach an catering to the burgeoning demand from passengers airport – in Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore from passengers, most of who do not soaring, transport – from the city centre; early check-in, mind paying a premium for travelling in security drills and delayed flights due to relative comfort. operators are also air congestion or bad weather add another With demand from passengers soaring, two to three hours to a journey that would transport operators are also placing placing orders take about three to four hours by road. orders worth millions of dollars, acquiring Similarly, while the luxury coaches hundreds of modern new coaches. Conse- worth millions of have adequate leg-room and offer enter- quently, the coach-building business in tainment, travelling by air – especially India is on the fast lane, and has started dollars, acquiring low-cost airlines – can be quite tiring. luring in major international players. Coach tickets are available even at the last While European commercial vehicle hundreds of moment. Consequently, coach services manufacturer Volvo continues to modern new are now being used for not just short strengthen its position, other foreign and journeys, but also for inter-state and Indian vehicle majors are also unveiling coaches. overnight travel across different states. plans to set up manufacturing and assem- Demand for buses and luxury coaches bling units in the country. They include is expected to expand phenomenally over Daimler-Chrysler, Tatra Vectra, Asia the coming years. India’s bus transport Motor Works (AMW), Man-Force, Scania per cent of the overall road network, they business is already huge – the country and Isuzu. carry about 40 per cent of the total road ranks among the top-10 in the world in Fortunately for the industry, large traffic. With the improvement in overall the bus segment – with about 30,000 amounts are being invested by the road connectivity, the potential for surface vehicles being sold every year. government in building a network of transport is obvious. But the market for air-conditioned international standard expressways and Akash Sheth, ceo, Raj Travel World luxury coaches is limited, less than about national highways, besides upgrading – which operates coach services under 1,000. The luxury-bus segment, however, the existing roads. The nearly 6,000-km the Raj National Express brand – says that is growing at a compound annual growth Golden Quadrilateral project, which links in spite of the growing popularity of air rate of about 25 per cent. the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata travel, there is a growing trend for travel- Volvo Buses India Private Ltd (VBIPL), and Chennai through a network of four- lers to opt for buses. the newly-formed company of the laned highways, is nearing completion. It makes more sense to take a coach European major, is targetting public trans- According to the National Highways while travelling between two cities that lie port companies, starting with Karnataka. Authority of India (NHAI), the country has within a distance of about 250 km and are It has already won an order for 240 city a total road length of 3.3 million km. While well-linked with four- or six-lane highways buses from the Karnataka government. national highways comprise a mere two or expressways. This would, for instance, Volvo buses can now be seen even on 31 TRANSPORTATION Our game-plan is to revolutionise public transport in metros and cities by providing safe, efficient and eco-friendly buses to ordinary commuters. HIGHWAY HALT: Food courts, mini-malls, restrooms and other facilities are coming up along the new expressways and national highways local routes in Bangalore. VBIPL also aims to emerge as a major by the driver, rear engine and alpha- “Though we have been fairly player in the export market, selling buses numeric destination display boards. successful in bringing about a sea-change to other countries in South Asia, the Asia- The buses will in the future also in road transport across India with our Pacific region, the Gulf and Africa. It plans be equipped with general packet radio hi-tech truck and luxury buses, our game- to upgrade its production capacity from service (GPRS) and global positioning plan is to revolutionise public transport the current 450 buses per annum to 1,000 systems (GPS). in metros and cities by providing safe, by 2010. This year, it hopes to more than “The company has already bagged efficient and eco-friendly buses to ordinary double its sale of luxury buses. an order for 500 vehicles from the Delhi commuters,” says Akash Passey, managing Tata Motors too is leaving no stone Transport Corporation,” says P. M. Telang, director, VBIPL. unturned to get a piece of the action. Its executive director, commercial vehicles, Based on the Karnataka success, Volvo bus-building joint venture with Marcopolo Tata Motors. Its buses can also be seen in is now targetting other cities such as of Brazil, and the earlier strategic alliance Mumbai and Pune. Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and with Hispano Carrocera of Spain, have Ashok Leyland, part of the Hinduja Ahmedabad, while also looking to partici- fructified in the launch of its new range Group, also launched a low-floor concept pate in the proposed Bus Rapid Transit of fully-built coaches under the ‘Globus’ bus – the iBus, priced at $140,000 – at the Systems in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam brand, and a range of branded buses under Auto Expo 2008 held in Delhi. and Hyderabad. the ‘Starbus’ portfolio. The world’s largest selling bus manufac- In fact, in a bid to improve delivery The ‘Starbus’ range is assembled and turer, Daimler-Chrysler, has a joint venture cycles, Volvo has formed a joint venture supplied by Tata Motors along with its joint with Sutlej Motors Ltd (SML), a Jalandhar- with an Indian partner, Jaico Ltd, to set up venture partner, Marcopolo, at Dharwad based bus body manufacturer. Production a nearly $20 million bus body building plant in Karnataka. These 32-seater buses are is to start by the end of 2008 in Pune on (with a thousand-unit capacity) adjacent disabled-friendly and feature roof-mounted 100 acres of land acquired by Daimler- to its truck manufacturing operations in alternative fuel cylinders (for Compressed Chrysler especially for this project. Hoskote in Karnataka. By next year, it Natural, Gas), gas leakage detection The joint venture is seen as a culmi- hopes to roll out 50 buses a month from and alarm systems, speed governors, nation of an India visit by a high powered its plant. pneumatically-controlled doors operated team from Stuttgart, Germany, headed 32 TRANSPORTATION by Wolfgang Diez, the head of Daimler- manufacturing here.” Chrysler, buses and coaches business Asia Motor Works Ltd (AMW), which unit. On its own steam, SML has also We will import manufactures heavy commercial vehicles, set up an independent fully integrated will also roll out buses next year from its bus manufacturing company – Lexia the ‘business plant at Bhuj in Gujarat. According to R.C. Motors. It has exported vehicles to Mangal, senior vice-president, marketing, South Africa, besides catering to the buses’ initially AMW, “The company will produce both domestic market. and volumes city and inter-city buses.” Another European auto giant, The market for buses is expected to Volkswagen, also plans to start manufac- will decide their remain buoyant, as millions of consumers turing ‘business buses’ that will trans- travel on holidays, business and for social port executives. “We will start with manufacturing purposes. With highways being expanded small buses by the end of the year,” says and hundreds of kilometres of new Jochem Heizmann, Volkswagen’s manage- here. expressways being built, bus travel is set ment board member. “We will import to emerge as a major component of the them initially and volumes will decide their transport sector. ON THE RoaD BUS travel is popular in many parts of Pradesh), entrepreneurs are building a semi-sleeper buses across a score of the world: the famed Greyhound Lines chain of smart restaurants and shopping cities in India. The e-tickets are like the criss-cross the US, Canada and Australia malls, amusement parks and other ones accepted by airlines and even and several top coach operators have entertainment outlets along highways. Indian Railways – a passenger can take services in Europe. In India, however, The change is evident right from the a print-out of the ticket and report at the bus travel never really attracted affluent initial stage of booking tickets.