It was a fine evening (month’s beginning) and my wallet had enough to do the talking. So I stepped into the 'New Volvo MTC bus'-one which I had been longing since its roll out. Man what a sight it was. Felt like something that was at all times felt visionary came into existence.
Some admirable features which we never imagined seeing in a MTC bus were,
1) A/C – Each seated passenger has individual ducts. It’s going to be ur travel-haven during the summer.
2) 2- Cameras (Rear and Front) and LCD screens for them. The driver has no problems.
3) Complete electronic control for the driver (He dresses like a pilot-good. But speaks local Tamil *gasps*)
4) It looked disabled-friendly. One end was low-floored and the other was a controlled protrusive ramp. Alleviative for already struggling handicapped and elders.
5) One half of the bus had seats that were ramp just as in a theatre. It was a nice feeling I tell u.
6) Smooth & swift. Very less noise.
7) Last but not the least – The CD player was playing soothing ‘Ilayaraja’ melodies with speakers all over the bus.
The fare is justified against the facilities MTC offers in its Volvo line of buses. But a common man needs to pay through his Nose. I was charged 2.5 times the normal charge. The MTC can introduce season tickets to attract passengers in the lean hours too. It runs empty sometimes.
P.S. I would have missed some features too. I gave my best to note down those, but then I was unable to stay awake for a longtime inside the bus. I badly needed a blanket-Its December. Finally the conductor shouted ‘Thambi enchirppa Tambaram vandudichi’ (Get up kiddo, we’ve reached Tambaram).
1) A/C – Each seated passenger has individual ducts. It’s going to be ur travel-haven during the summer.
2) 2- Cameras (Rear and Front) and LCD screens for them. The driver has no problems.
3) Complete electronic control for the driver (He dresses like a pilot-good. But speaks local Tamil *gasps*)
4) It looked disabled-friendly. One end was low-floored and the other was a controlled protrusive ramp. Alleviative for already struggling handicapped and elders.
5) One half of the bus had seats that were ramp just as in a theatre. It was a nice feeling I tell u.
6) Smooth & swift. Very less noise.
7) Last but not the least – The CD player was playing soothing ‘Ilayaraja’ melodies with speakers all over the bus.
The fare is justified against the facilities MTC offers in its Volvo line of buses. But a common man needs to pay through his Nose. I was charged 2.5 times the normal charge. The MTC can introduce season tickets to attract passengers in the lean hours too. It runs empty sometimes.
P.S. I would have missed some features too. I gave my best to note down those, but then I was unable to stay awake for a longtime inside the bus. I badly needed a blanket-Its December. Finally the conductor shouted ‘Thambi enchirppa Tambaram vandudichi’ (Get up kiddo, we’ve reached Tambaram).
13 comments:
Apart from all the features mentioned, the A/C buses need temperature controllers.
I travelled during November and the temperature was killing. I felt numb at the end of the journey. So, ennala thoonga mudila and "Thangachi, yenchruma"-nu yaarum sollala;).
A/C buses are a welcome change. Chennai now has more and more aspects to feel proud, so far as infrastructure is concerned.
But, enna A/C ya irundhalum, Kathipara thaandi dhana ponum! Apo oru kola veri varum paaru... Adhuku vidivu kaalam epo varumo therila!
I guess the driver(or conductor) can control that. May be we could've tried insisting him. Coz how is it possible for an air conditioner to remain in a constant temperature. It doesn't make sense, rite?
(They are after all the horned MTC Servants. We ought to plead them)
Am very sure this volvo buses ll end up wit flop.. 1st thing is only few r affordable to pay to travel..maintainance ll be very very poor as far as our drivers r concernd.. rash drivin,many excoriations occurs..& as usual our public ll decorate wit supari,pan etc...d tkt charges as per stops shld be displayd so dat sme people ll atleast step into d bus... as u said monthly or season tkts s good option...
You cant term is tat way rahul. I think the idea of the state government is to bring the people travelling by their four wheelers to the buses, thus reducing the number of vehicles on road. If not all, atleast some. So people who travel in this would not be so silly to spit gutkhas. The arterial roads in Chennai are of a good condition as well. The MTC cant compromise on charge coz they gotta achieve the break-even.
There also some extra ordinary features, automatic temperatures control, where the temperature A/c will vary based on the out side temp(d70).
more over these "new volvo mtc bus"drivers are given training in banglore for 45 days. for better communication and operation, but these people never implement everything they learned thats the prob. any way these buses will be ruling entire city by 2010 if the fare is reduced.........
Wow tat sounds really good. As i said earlier, I may hav failed noting down some features. Its evident that regular bus drivers cannot drive it in city and it needs special training. I also heard that MTC hardly plies it during lean hours and operates it only during peak hours. A way of virtually forcing commuters to board in and attract business. We will be longing to board one during the summer-that's for sure.
Seldom do i get the chance to come to chennai these days.. And this news about AC buses comes as a pleasant surprise...I ve travelled by some volvo buses here in bangalore and found it to be exorbitant..but given the scorching heat in chennai , i think many ppl may not mind paying a bit extra to have a pleasant ride....
The volvo A/c bus is running in loss for govt .. it consuming 200 litres of diesel/day ..there are lot signals & traffic jam so it wil consume more diesel .. it will not suit nowadays 4 our city .. may be in future it wil succeed ..
"Idea of the state government is to bring the people travelling by their four wheelers to the buses, thus reducing the number of vehicles on road" do u think wat u quoted is right??Am sure a person who travel in car ll never turn up to bus.I hve shooted few pictures of UR NEW VOLVO BUS.Scratches & sloppy in the backside.ALSo as MR ragavan told consumption of diesel is more.MILAGE is around 2km/litre.Still the standard of the people have not increased for journey in VOLVO MTC.
@ Sriram
First-of-its kind for Chennaites. As i told earlier, its not possible for a common-man to shell out 3 times of the normal cost on a daily basis. His outlay augments 3-fold. In lieu, they can attract commuters with season tickets or other related travel options. And Chennai is not too far from being called a posh city. After 'Bangalored' its soon going to be 'Chennaied':):)
@ Raghavan
Our Govt servants are not philanthropists. They are not ur well wishers r kins either. If they run it for a loss, they wil abandon the service right away. I agree with ur point regarding the fuel consumption. It ought to consume that quantity coz of its size, engine capacity, features etc etc. So the govt wil not mind shelling that off as long as we ppl keep the service moving. Its enuf if they achieve the Break-Even.
@ Rahul
It may not be true, but I just assumed it that way. Coz I have live-example of such a case living in my neighbourhood. There r ppl who can afford this. Look out for the unmatchable victory of this cruiser.
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