‘Airavat’, in ancient Hindu philosophy is the name of the six headed elephant which used to be the vehicle of Rain God Indra, the ruler of Swarga. The description itself is sufficient to denote the type of luxury associated with the name Airavat.
The Airavat I wish to talk about here, is the Volvo service run by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Started in the early years of this decade, this Volvo service is truly one worth its weight in gold. KSRTC has over the years improvised on its existing fleet and is today one of the biggest customers for Volvo India Pvt Ltd.
The B7R and the lately introduced B9R buses from Volvo itself are a revelation in the Public Transportation Sector. With the infrastructure in the terms of good roads complimenting, Volvos have certainly taken off in the right direction. Of course the more recently introduced luxury buses from competitors of Volvo have been successful, but Volvo has clearly got the early bird or the first mover advantage.
Over a decade back, the journey to Mumbai from my place Udupi used to take atleast 24 hours. Starting at 9 in the morning, it used to drop us in Mumbai at not before 9 the next day. But today, given good roads and weather conditions, an Airavat covers the same distance in hardly 15 hours .
Of course, all these doesn’t come cheap. Airavat is definitely a bit expensive than some of its competitor state run Volvo services or even the private operators who run the same. But with the benefits that an Airavat offers, that extra bit of an amount seems like peanuts. Without a doubt, I can say that the Airavat Volvos are the best maintained Volvos today. An Airavat Volvo which has been running for the last 2 odd years will still be as good as a new one which has just rolled out of an Assembly Line (For that matter, any vehicle owned by KSRTC is better maintained than its respective counterparts from other competing State Transports). Be it the suspension or the AC, be it the steering or the power, be it the seating comfort or the cleanliness in the maintenance of the interiors, be it the accessories provided or the quality of the AV system, an Airavat beats everything heads down.
Part of this goes to the wise decision by KSRTC to forge an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) with Volvo India Pvt Ltd. KSRTC also ensures that the vehicles are driven by only those handpicked drivers who are trained properly by Volvo itself.
The popularity of Volvo was risen when Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the younger brother of KSRTC became the first to introduce Volvos for City Transport also. Yes, Bangalore is the first and probably the only city in the country to have Volvos running on all major routes. And this became a feast for frequent flyers, when the Bangalore Airport was shifted outside the city and BMTC introduced special Volvo services from various points in the city to the Airport at a very very nominal cost. And the beauty of this service is that these buses are specially built by Volvo for BMTC and have enough space for the luggage as well. Other than most of the top businessmen and executives, majority of the flyers actually take this service.
The greatest feature of these Airavat’s is their punctuality. They start on dot and more often than not, they reach the destination on dot. Hardly have I seen an Airavat reaching the destination more than half an hour late than the scheduled time under normal circumstances.
I became a fan of Airavat when I was put up in Hyderabad and needed to go to Bangalore very frequently. With train tickets availability at short notice being a big question mark, Airavat was a viable alternative. And with every passing trip, and with improvements on the NH 7, my love for Airavat always grew. Whenever I now look for travel options, if there is an Airavat available, it wins straightaway. Nothing else will even be considered. Every bit of the experience is enjoyable. You can relish every moment of the journey. And the best part is, even after travelling whole night, you can remain fresh enough to go to duty the next morning, completely normal.
If you have not experienced Airavat so far, I bet you have definitely missed one of the best experiences you can ask for in life.
The Airavat I wish to talk about here, is the Volvo service run by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Started in the early years of this decade, this Volvo service is truly one worth its weight in gold. KSRTC has over the years improvised on its existing fleet and is today one of the biggest customers for Volvo India Pvt Ltd.
The B7R and the lately introduced B9R buses from Volvo itself are a revelation in the Public Transportation Sector. With the infrastructure in the terms of good roads complimenting, Volvos have certainly taken off in the right direction. Of course the more recently introduced luxury buses from competitors of Volvo have been successful, but Volvo has clearly got the early bird or the first mover advantage.
Over a decade back, the journey to Mumbai from my place Udupi used to take atleast 24 hours. Starting at 9 in the morning, it used to drop us in Mumbai at not before 9 the next day. But today, given good roads and weather conditions, an Airavat covers the same distance in hardly 15 hours .
Of course, all these doesn’t come cheap. Airavat is definitely a bit expensive than some of its competitor state run Volvo services or even the private operators who run the same. But with the benefits that an Airavat offers, that extra bit of an amount seems like peanuts. Without a doubt, I can say that the Airavat Volvos are the best maintained Volvos today. An Airavat Volvo which has been running for the last 2 odd years will still be as good as a new one which has just rolled out of an Assembly Line (For that matter, any vehicle owned by KSRTC is better maintained than its respective counterparts from other competing State Transports). Be it the suspension or the AC, be it the steering or the power, be it the seating comfort or the cleanliness in the maintenance of the interiors, be it the accessories provided or the quality of the AV system, an Airavat beats everything heads down.
Part of this goes to the wise decision by KSRTC to forge an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) with Volvo India Pvt Ltd. KSRTC also ensures that the vehicles are driven by only those handpicked drivers who are trained properly by Volvo itself.
The popularity of Volvo was risen when Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the younger brother of KSRTC became the first to introduce Volvos for City Transport also. Yes, Bangalore is the first and probably the only city in the country to have Volvos running on all major routes. And this became a feast for frequent flyers, when the Bangalore Airport was shifted outside the city and BMTC introduced special Volvo services from various points in the city to the Airport at a very very nominal cost. And the beauty of this service is that these buses are specially built by Volvo for BMTC and have enough space for the luggage as well. Other than most of the top businessmen and executives, majority of the flyers actually take this service.
The greatest feature of these Airavat’s is their punctuality. They start on dot and more often than not, they reach the destination on dot. Hardly have I seen an Airavat reaching the destination more than half an hour late than the scheduled time under normal circumstances.
I became a fan of Airavat when I was put up in Hyderabad and needed to go to Bangalore very frequently. With train tickets availability at short notice being a big question mark, Airavat was a viable alternative. And with every passing trip, and with improvements on the NH 7, my love for Airavat always grew. Whenever I now look for travel options, if there is an Airavat available, it wins straightaway. Nothing else will even be considered. Every bit of the experience is enjoyable. You can relish every moment of the journey. And the best part is, even after travelling whole night, you can remain fresh enough to go to duty the next morning, completely normal.
If you have not experienced Airavat so far, I bet you have definitely missed one of the best experiences you can ask for in life.
1 comment:
Dude... I completely second your thoughts on Airavat's way of operations... Even while travelling by the worst of the roads on the Shiradi Ghats, one can reach Bangalore from Mlore/Udupi by 6 AM in the morning, if one starts at 9 PM previous day... while other private buses reach after 8 AM !!
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