YEAH you heard it right.Though it sounds a little harsh,thats the way volvo buses,especially the older ones -the Volvo B7R’s are on bangalore’s traffic jam infested roads.Being a biker,i have had the hellish nauseating experience of riding behind these buses on my everyday 20km commute to engineering school only to have thick black smoke being emanated from the tail pipes of these so called “VERY ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY and EFFICIENT”
buses,straight into my helmet.
This black carcinogenic diesel smoke is more apparent and very distinctly noticeable,especially when the Volvo’s accelerate in the lower gears,which is what they do all day in the city as they stop frequently at the various bus stops and also due to the fact of them being stuck in crawling bangalore traffic whose average speed is 20-30 KMPH.I do admit that their tail pipe emissions are much cleaner,atleast that’s what they appear to be at higher speeds when they get into the cruise mode .But this cruise mode is rarely encountered in a traffic prone city like bangalore which again brings us back to square one.VOLVO BUSES DO POLLUTE AND THEY DO IT WITH ALARMING LEVELS OF CARCINOGENIC BLACK DIESEL SMOKE ESPECIALLY AT LOW SPEEDS.
Now I do think this has to do with the KSRTC/BMTC’s lack of good maintainance as the buses get older and rake in the miles,and along with it profits for the bus corporation than volvo’s emission control technology.Although i have seen Volvo’s newer buses to have cleaner emissions at low speeds while accelerating,i have a strong feeling that this will soon lapse into the ways of the polluting older volvo’s as the new volvo buses age.What baffles me is the lack of public protest or awareness about this serious issue of pollution.I believe the BMTC/KSRTC’s maintainance department has to take most of the blame since Volvo need to adhere to the indian emission norms which are second only to Japan’s.*we have beaten everybody in the world hollow including the american’s except the japanese on that*a reason to cheer about*
But in India,since rules are just rules and because of lacksadasial enforcement the resultant grim situation.
So,since Volvo can release their buses into the Indian market after confirming to the tough BHARAT STAGE emission norms,it is upto the bus fleet operators like the BMTC-KSRTC not to mention various private bus operators to maintain their Volvos well and reduce carcinogenic emissions.Also the pollution department must get it’s act together and fine the erring buses very heavily to deter them from polluting our already polluted and fragile atmosphere.It would do our cities a lot of good if the volvo and the other buses have quarterly emission testing.
Apart from this,most of the volvo bus driver’s consider themselves to be a cut above the rest as they drive these powerful buses which produce about 260 bhp and 1200nm torque which puts the buses of the indian makers look humble with their power outputs of 120-160bhp.This combined with the Superior Braking and handling abilities of the volvo’s,the drivers tend to drive very rash and a hurtling volvo behemoth at insane speeds in the city is a very very dangerous proposition as the chances of things going haywire are very real.More than just using speed governors,a proper restraint and adherence to road rules on the part of the volvo drivers is the underlying need as the volvo’s with their enormous weight carry a huge amount of inertia which can be fatal at speeds as less as 10KMPH.
I have experienced travel in volvo buses on many interstate routes and on intra city travel in bangalore and i indeed admire the volvo’s for the good comfort levels and insulation from the irregularities of Indian roads.But the Volvo’s which have set benchmarks in Passenger safety and comfort levels fare very poorly in the exterior engine noise which is a real pain for the fellow road users and the engine with the AC’s compressor running at full chat creates quite a ruckus and recently volvo buses have been in the dock in london’s suburbs for the high engine noise levels.Also the seatbelts are the least used fixtures in the volvo buses.Also,in a particular incident when i rode in a volvo from coimbatore to bangalore,i was sitting in the first seat diagonal to the driver and i had many a hairy experience as the driver merrily drove with gay abandon at breakneck speeds missing many other buses and lorries by inches leving me and the other passengers clutching the armrest’s with a few of us saying a prayer or two to reach bangalore in a single piece.Not that other buses are driven sedately but the higher power and speeds achieved by the volvo needs more restraint and safer driving.Though the volvo’s in the cities haven’t causes too many accidents yet,there have been many whispers about many accidents on the highways involving Volvo’s.And before these whispers turn into a full throated scream,the errant drivers need to be curbed before many more innocent lives are lost.
It is high time we look at volvo’s shortcomings than just singing paens about it’s comfort and safety and quicker journey times.Why volvo is the butt of this critical artical-Because it is the priciest bus brand in india currently and we as indian consumers deserve a better deal from a brand which other Indian brands seek to emulate.Also we Indians used to rattly tata’s and leyland’s,new to these kind of high end buses should not be carried away by big names and we should expect the best and the most stringent regulations..Tata,Ashok leyland,MAN,Mercedes Benz,etc are about to enter the indian high end bus market and problems like should not become a regular feature or in a lighter vein “original equipment” with the high end buses.Volvo has a reputation to protect and a precedent to set.Hopefully good ones.
So what if it a Volvo?
Cheers
