The Hindu : Karnataka News : NEKRTC introduces sleeper bus

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 21, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

NEKRTC introduces sleeper bus

T.V. Sivanandan

comfort: The airconditioned sleeper bus that has been introduced between Gulbarga and Bangalore.

GULBARGA: The North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) on Thursday introduced an airconditioned sleeper bus service between Gulbarga and Bangalore.

Chairman and Managing Director of NEKRTC Shankar Patil told The Hindu that the corporation was the first to introduce airconditioned sleeper coach from Gulbarga to Bangalore. Though private operators had introduced sleeper coach services a couple of months ago, they were non-airconditioned coaches.

The new bus acquired from Pune-based Corona has features such as rear engine, which ensured low noise inside the bus and less vibration, and the front suspension in the bus provided the driver a more elbow room for a high turning radius of the vehicle. Another feature of the vehicle was that its 170 HP engine.

Mr. Patil claimed the absence of a chassis in the bus would ensure a smoother and comfortable journey. While the price of a Volvo bus was about Rs. 70 lakh, the cost of the Corona bus was Rs. 38 lakh, he said.

Mr. Patil said that the Corona bus was first introduced on Indian roads a year back and it had become a roaring success in Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Patil said the interiors of the bus with plush state-of-the-art fittings and the bedding has been made to order by the NEKRTC taking into consideration the passenger amenities. The bus has 32 berths.

He said of the 10 buses ordered by the NEKRTC, the company had supplied two vehicles and both have been introduced in Gulbarga-Bangalore route.

Eight more buses were expected to be delivered within two months and they would be introduced on the Bellary-Hyderabad, Raichur-Bangalore, Bidar-Hubli and Sindhanur-Bangalore routes, Mr. Patil added.

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