Now, ride the Marcopolo

Now, ride the Marcopolo

By Suchith Kidiyoor
Posted On Friday, October 31, 2008

It seems as every government organ in the city is bent on making the 52nd Rajyothsava a grant event. To make travel more easy, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has decided to run yet another type of bus to the existing list of Pushpak, Suvarna, and the hi-tech Vajra and Vayu Vajra. The new buses - Tata Marcopolo - produced by the Tatas at their Dharwad unit will now traverse the city roads, intially on a pilot basis.

The four Marcopolo buses will add to the BMTC’s existing fleet of 157 Volvo buses. The buses, which are in operation in New Delhi under the name ‘Star Bus’, can run on compressed natural gas (CNG). However, they will use diesel in Bangalore.

The air conditioned buses known for their modern facilities were a big hit in Delhi, and is equipped with a kneeling option that enables women and elderly passengers to board the bus with ease.

Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, a senior official from BMTC said, “The Tata Marcopolo Motors Corporation has supplied ‘Star Bus’ with roof-mounted CNG cylinders to the Delhi government. Now the company has come out with a diesel version with the same features. BMTC will operate two buses from Nov 2. The fares on these buses will be comparatively low compared with Volvo buses.”

Even though a concrete decision on routes is yet to be finalised, sources revealed that the buses would run on suburban routes such as Hoskote, Nelamangala. “The cost Marcopolo bus at Rs 40 lakh is much lower than the Rs 70-lakh Volvo bus. All procedures followed while inducting the Volvos will be followed with the Tata buses too. The trial run will be for three to four months. If we are satisfied with the performance, we will buy more,” the official said.