he was in a hurry, i would have done the same probably, just to get home early, no point hanging out there you know...waste of time.
---------- Post added at 06:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 AM ----------
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Marcopolo vs Volvo buses in bangalore
I am a daily user of BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation). I am an admirer of BMTC ever since they released VOLVO buses. The buses were one of the best additions to the present fleet of ordinary buses. The buses are red in color and the look is just awesome. The suspension and the back engine make travelling a pleasurable experience. The buses are air conditioned and crowd in the buses are comparatively lesser than in other ordinary buses.
I read an article where the transport minister has said that the volvo buses would be soon phased out and will be replaced by cheaper and indigenous TATA MARCOPOLO buses. A few buses have been released on a trial basis (i presume). I had the opportunity to travel in these buses too. The looks weren't as good as the volvo buses. But, sometime .. looks can be deceptive.
This time looks didn't deceive. Travelling in these marcopolo wasn't as comfortable as travelling in volvo.
1>The engine in these marcopolo buses suck. They make hell lot of noise and it makes travelling a "DEAFENING" experience.
2>The AC vents suck big time. The ACs don't work at all. I could feel some kind of foul smelling gas coming out of these AC vents which was as hot as the air around. It certainly was a different kind of Air Conditioning (AC).
3>These TATA MARCOPOLO buses have air suspension and back engine. Suspension was Ok. Not the best. Not as good as Volvo ones. The back engine makes travelling a horrible experience. Inspite of installing some insulators the back part of the bus gets heated up and it's hot. Hopeless ACs don't help either.
4> The doors are hopeless. The drivers struggle to get the door closed. It is some kind of push-pop button. The driver pushes that button and the door makes an annoying noise and makes some "BEEP" sound while closing. The door closes half and opens again because the button was held "pressed" for a second more. That kind of buttons suck and here it sucked more. The front doors were a problem in the bus that i traveled today. The door wasn't working properly and the conductor was closing the door himself.
5>The floor aren't classy. They look like some kind of stone or something. It is horrible and makes the bus look very dirty.
6>The transmission isn't automatic. I thought they were automatic. The gear is very small and looks very pretty. Manual transmission is a problem compared to automatic transmissioned volvos.
7>The lights in the bus aren't good. It was really dark during the night.
8>The bus struggled to move up the slope. The engine isn't as powerful as volvo engines.
9>Inspite of the buses being new, after 15 days of travelling they looked older than the volvos which are plying for more than 2.5 years.
TATA MARCOPOLO BUSES suck big time. I was admiring the BMTC when they got VOLVO buses. But, with the introduction of these CHEAPER marcopolos , I am having a different opinion about BMTC now.
I don't think it is a good idea to phase out volvos. Many of my friends who have come from other places are extremely impressed by the class of service. It would be a good idea to have both volvo and marcopolo as different classes of service. Volvo fares are much higher than the marcopolo (understandably) which many people find it difficult to afford for travelling short distances. So, introducing a much cheaper marcopolo would be a better choice for short distances. For areas which are quite far and the areas where traffic is sick , having volvos is the best option because of the comfort.
The decision to phase out volvos is a very bad option. Volvos are one of the reasons why visitors rate commuting in bangalore as comfortable. Phasing them out would mean making life of commuters difficult.
For the guys with DESI sentiments :: The buses may carry TATA tag ,but even Marcopolo is their partner .Marcopolo is not an indian company.
and more over these big brands extract more from u for there names and highere salaries yar have to look into that ....
