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Big boost to bus segment under enlarged JNNURM scheme

Bus and SPV Expo showcases opportunities in Indian bus market

In its bid to give a major boost to the bus segment, the Centre has expanded the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme to provide support to State Governments for replacing their fleet of buses. In total, 15,000 buses would be bought in the next 90 days for the purpose, for which the Centre will give subsidy as envisaged in the guidelines of the programme.

Under the project, Delhi will get 1,500 buses, while Mumbai will have 1,050, Bangalore 700, Kolkata 1,200, Hyderabad 700 and Chennai will have 800 buses. The programme will broadly involve an investment of around Rs. 7,000 crores, of which the Centre’s share will be around Rs. 4,000 crores.

Addressing the media at the inauguration of the Bus and SPV show, Mr.Dilip Chenoy, Director General of SIAM told that, the Government is considering another stimulus package for the automobile sector, which will lead to replacement of about 40,000 buses of State transport corporations (STCs). In a study conducted for the purpose, it was found that there are more than 32,000 over-aged buses which are being operated by various state transport corporations. The over-age could be both interms of the years and the number of kilometers covered. hence the government has decided to replace 40, 000 of these old buses in 2009-10. These buses will be more in the Mofussil category priced between Rs. 15 to 20 lakhs.

The bus segment is in for exciting times in 2009-10 and it is to showcase this opportunity that the Bus and SPV show was organised by CII, SIAM and ACMA. The event held between 11th and 14th of March 2009, had participation from 5 major players in the industry including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo, Mercedes and Swaraj Mazda. Some of the component majors including Bosch, Allison Transmission and Vapor bus also participated in the event. SIAM is planning to organise more such shows in the future, which would compliment the Auto Expo, which will be held in Janaury 2010.

With regard to the JNNURM scheme, some of the State road corporations have started floating tenders for purchase of buses. Many more tenders are expected to open soon. JNNURM aims to convert cities into engines of economic growth, to encourage urban fast-track integrated development.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Bus and SPV Expo, Mr. Sudhir Mehta, Chairman, SIAM Committee for Trade Fairs, said that India is the second largest producer of buses after China, accounting for 16 per cent of the world production. If one excludes China, India would account for 30 per cent of the world’s bus production in 2007. The bus manufacturing capability in India has nearly doubled over the last eight years, with 75,000 buses produced in 2008 with a five-year average growth rate of 10 per cent. Large and small buses grew at 11 per cent and 9 per cent respectively over the last five years. The city-wide variation in bus penetration across India varies from as low as 0.4 to 6 buses per thousand people.

In terms of value, this industry is estimated to be over Rs. 7,500 crores and supports huge employment in the country – not only in bus chassis manufacturing but also down the line in body building, servicing and even drivers, conductors and cleaners. It already supports huge employment. The Automotive Mission Plan 2006-2016 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises has identified that in the next 10 years the automotive industry could support an additional 25 million employment if properly nurtured.

This industry has a strong backward (component, basic material) and forward linkages (insurance, financing, oil industry and roads). Each vehicle sold also generates manpower requirements for providing service support and drivers. Buses play a very important role in mobility of the general population. Even in cities, unless there is a strong public transport system, it becomes difficult to manage the huge private vehicles.

Buses are a vital mode of public transportation. State Road Transport Undertakings currently account for approximately 15 per cent of total bus fleet. In 2006-07, these undertakings carried 2,235 crore passengers covering 46,210 crore passenger km.

STUs in India had around 115,000 buses at the end of 2006-07, giving employment to 660,000 people. However, their share has been declining over the years. While in the earlier years the share of buses in the public sector was around 32 per cent, today it has declined to 15 per cent. Some of the reasons for drop in the share of the buses in the public sector have been unviable operation of road transport undertakings, inadequate fare structure in the States, lack of capital expenditure on acquiring buses, etc. Since 1991, the share has further deteriorated due to withdrawal of capital support from the Centre to STUs/STCs.

Production of large buses has been stagnating of late, at around 20,000 units, mainly because STUs were not able to replace buses because of lack of funds. However, in 2007 alone, the offtake increased substantially, to around 45,000 units. Though the number fell again to around 38,000 last year and to 32,000 this year, it is expected that with Government support, especially under the JNNURM scheme, the situation will improve a lot in 2009-10.

The following significant developments are worth noting:

* In 2007-08, the number of buses bought by STUs or STCs was estimated at around 16,783 units.

* As per the CIRT data, the cancelled km of STUs/STCs in 2006-07 is stated to be around 6,000 lakh km because of poor ownership of buses by STUs and STCs.

* In Delhi alone, the cancelled km was more than 300 lakh km.

* Since 1991 and up till 2005, the number of buses in the public sector have increased from 1,06,100 to approximately 1,15,800, whereas in the same period private sector buses have grown in number from 2,25,000 to over 6,51,800.

Traffic planning and management in various cities in recent times have led to different types of experimentation, including BRT systems, and the industry is confident of addressing the specific problems of towns and cities appropriately.

JNNURM launch

JNNURM was launched by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on December 3, 2005. A total of 343 projects were sanctioned. It envisages an investment of more than Rs. 1,00,000 crores with a committed Central Government share of Rs. 50,000 crores. The State Governments and urban local bodies will contribute Rs. 50,000 crores.

The mission is to be implemented in a time-frame of seven years (2005-2011). The objective is to ensure integrated development of urban infrastructure and services, secure effective linkages between asset creation and management and to ensure adequate investment of funds to address deficiencies in the urban infrastructure. It lays particular emphasis on providing basic services to the urban poor.

JNNURM has two components: Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) for bigger cities and the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for small and medium towns that aims to encourage reforms and to fast-track planned development of identified areas with a focus on urban infrastructure.

The progress of municipal reforms is an important component of the mission which enables a city to claim additional funds under this scheme. In order to cope with the massive problems that have emerged as a result of rapid urban growth, it has become imperative to draw up a coherent urbanization policy/strategy to implement projects in select cities on a mission mode.

In its third year since inception, JNNURM is now progressing at an even pace. Under Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) which focuses on 63 mission cities, 324 projects have been sanctioned covering 54 cities in 26 States and Union Territories in the country. The cost of these projects is estimated to be Rs. 30,135.23 crores.

JNNURM came in for appreciation from the then Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, who proposed to increase the allocation of the mission from Rs. 5,482 crores in 2007-08 to Rs. 6,866 crores for 2008-09. The mission is seen as the main vehicle for improving urban infrastructure and has also succeeded in bringing about reforms in urban governance and urban-related laws.

Tata Motors targets major share of JNNURM order

Tata Motors has done wonders to its bus portfolio. Till 5 years back, bus business was practically a non-existent business for Tata Motors, particularly in the fully-built segment. Today, more than 80 per cent of the LCV buses sold are fully-built, and eventually the plan is to have 75 to 80 per cent of all buses sold as fully-built across all products, says Mr. Sandeep Kumar, Head -Sales & Marketing (Buses), Tata Motors.

At the Bus & Special Vehicles Expo (BSVE) 2009 held in Bangalore the company showcased its expertise by providing a wide range of passenger carriers across all segments, including the high-end luxury buses built as per the Hispano designs, the low-floor city buses from Tata Marcopolo, the 909 school bus and the 712 staff bus, also of the Tata Marcoplo range.

Tata Motors currently has three manufacturing facilities for buses. The first is the unit in Lucknow where Tata Marcopolo low-floor buses are being built. The second which is the new facility is in Dharwad, which is going to be the world’s largest bus manufacturing facility with a capacity to manufacture 15,000 buses. The Dharwad plant has started commercial production and is currently building the lighter range of buses like the school and staff transportation buses.

The third one is the ACGL unit in Goa where the company builds buses primarily for export. Incidentally, the high-end luxury bus, the Tata Hispano, is built at this plant as per designs provided by Hispano, the prominent Spanish bus company in which Tata Motors acquired a stake a few years back.

The Tata Hispano luxury coach is an integral rear engine and has a huge 10 cubic metre space for baggage storage requirements of passengers. The bus is equipped with 45 fully reclining two tonne fabric seats. Each seat has an adjustable head flap, retractable arm rest along with a bottle holder and magazine pouch. The high deck coach is ideal for tourist / inter-city transport.

Tata Motors has so far sold 50 units of the Tata Hispano buses and targets sale of 250 units in the next financial year. The bus is priced at Rs. 55-60 lakhs based on the features. It comes with the 240 hp Cummins engine and the chassis is 12m long. The company has supplied these buses to MSRTC, APSRTC, UPSRTC and private operators like Neeta travels.

Low-floor Marcopolo buses

This is one segment where Tata Motors has grown leaps and bounds in terms of technology and products. The Tata Marcopolo low-floor city buses, 650 of these buses have already been supplied to DTC in Delhi and the company has bagged another order from DTC for 1,625 buses of the low-floor concept (1000 non-AC and 625 AC).

The Marcopolo bus with its low-floor height of <>

The company is expecting a big order for these buses under the JNNURM plan. Other than these low-floor city bus which is less than 400mm in height, the company also has a semi low-floor bus which is chassis on which body is built as per customer requirement. Currently the ultra low-floor city buses are running in Delhi and a couple of buses in Bangalore.

By the end of this year, the company hopes to see these buses running in other States like Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, West Bengal and Jharkhand. New Starbus range On the LCV platform, Tata Motors has introduced a few new models, the 909 school bus and the 712 AC staff bus. Both the buses are from the Marcopolo range which also belongs to the Starbus range. The buses come with new body and chassis and are available as 24, 32 and 40-seaters. The buses have significantly more length and wheelbase which add to the seating capacity and extra legroom for passengers.

The new Starbus range of buses are BSII and BSIII-compliant. These vehicles are manufactured at the fully automated manufacturing and assembly plant of Tata Marcopolo, Dharwad plant. The 909 is also available in a CNG fuel option. Ideally suited for transportation of company staff, for schools and transport to tourist destinations and in normal route bus. Apart from fully-built buses, Tata Motors has also launched a true bus chassis called Super Milo. The Super Milo is primarily for private contract market and offers 10 to 15 per cent better fuel average. “We have managed to convert the conventional chassis market to 100 per cent radialised market. In the future we would like to make even the rear air suspension mandatory”.

Between the two categories of the large and the lighter buses, the company has sold 14,000 units in the 12 tonne+ category and 11,500 of the lighter buses. The company is expecting a growth of 10 to 15 per cent in the next financial year.

Ashok Leyland to build low-floor buses at Alwar plant

Ashok Leyland is gearing up to garner a significant share of the bus market. The company recently received an order for 875 ultra low-floor buses from DTC, 350 of which are AC and the balance non-AC. With the JNNURM order for 15,000 vehicles coming up, the company expects big orders for its city buses in the next couple of months.

Ashok Leyland has been a pioneer in the bus segment. In the city bus segment, it offers a complete range, including an ultra low-floor bus with rear engine (230 to 260hp engines – CNG and diesel options), semi low-floor bus with front engine and rear engine options. The company can offer buses at <400>

These 12-metre- long buses will have 35 seats with a 2x2 configuration. Passenger ride comfort is further addressed through a wide 1100 mm door and kneeling facility for easy entry and exit as also comfortable grab bars and air suspension. A retractable ramp is a disabled-friendly feature. These buses, powered by a 230 hp engine, will be fitted with automatic transmission, speed limiting device and multiplex wiring.

The chassis and the body for the fully-built buses will be manufactured at Ashok Leyland’s Alwar plant, which had spearheaded the induction of CNG technology in Delhi buses, with a supply of over 3,500 CNG bus chassis. The infrastructure has since been augmented for bus body assembly, with ultra-modern facilities like a cubic framing fixture, hydraulic automated paneling, conveyors for automation, body lifting mechanisms, paint booth and a shower testing facility.

The company has established a capacity to manufacture 4,000 such buses per annum at its Alwar facility. It is also setting up its new plant in Uttaranchal which will be operational by March 2010.

Volvo Buses to establish Consultancy Services: Positive outlook for 2009

Just when the entire commercial vehicle industry is going through a period of recession, Volvo India has bucked the trend by announcing fresh orders of over 150 inter-city buses from major State Road Transport Corporations. To meet current orders as well as plan for emerging need for modern city buses, Volvo Buses will be increasing its production capacity by 25 per cent.

Volvo clocked a 150 per cent increase in volumes in 2008 compared to 2007. It has also announced a major initiative to establish a separate division for Consultancy Services in India. The need for modern bus transport system is fast maturing and Volvo Buses aims to tap into this growing opportunity by introducing its Consultancy Services in India.

Volvo will work with various corporations showing interest in improving transport efficiency. help in traffic planning and helping in modern approaches to city planning by de congesting the city and moving.

Mr. Akash Passey, Managing Director, Volvo Buses India Pvt. Ltd., said: “The sustainable business model that modern Volvo Buses offers its customers, allow us to remain positive even in a downturn. The culture of bus transport is changing in India. The long-term impact on a city, mobility and life cycle costs are key criteria in city bus planning. Central and State Governments are committed to build transport solutions that meet growing urbanization demands. We are well poised to partner with various civic authorities in building transport infrastructure to bring in tomorrow’s solutions today.”

The current inter-city order booking does not yet include that potential from the city segment which is now strongly backed by Central Government initiatives. These new initiatives will provide a further fillip to the industry in 2009.

“This year we will strategically focus on city segment through various long and short-term initiatives. We today have the most intense city transport model in Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai and Pune – which will support the city planning process where decongestion remains No.1 priority. As the market leader globally, we have the expertise and the products to support this development and are now ready to bring it into India in a focused manner through separate Consultancy Services,” added Mr. Passey.

BMTC is currently operating 300 Volvo city buses in Bangalore. The results are quite obvious. For example, in the airport corridor, but for BMTC’s Volvo fleet, there would be a requirement for 22,000 additional passenger vehicles to transport passengers to and from the airport. Just imagine 22, 000 additional vehicles on Bangalore’s already congested roads.

Mr. Passey feels that there will be significant growth in the city bus segment in the next 3 to 5 years. Most cities will move from low range products to medium and premium applications.

Volvo is looking at a small share in the JNNURM order for 15,000 vehicles. Out of the total order nearly 20 per cent would be low-floor buses which could be in the price range of Rs. 50 to Rs. 80 lakhs. Volvo is currently at the top end of the segment, and is hoping to get a small share. Even if we talk of a 1 to 2 per cent share of the order, the number will be close to 300 buses, which will be significant orders for Volvo and all these would be city buses. “We will be able to make an entry into 8 to 10 cities as a result of the JNNURM”, says Mr. Passey.

Consultancy support

Consultancy Services will bring together Volvo Buses’ experience and expertise from across the globe in creating projects that will provide sustainable solutions customized for a city’s transportation needs. The team will create modern vehicle and transport management system, so that State Road Transport Corporations can streamline operations, reduce costs and provide better service for passengers. The service will partner with various stakeholders in the process the customer organisation.

The service will include manpower based in Sweden and in India who will operate on project basis with customers and also partner with allied local agencies in the development. Projects on this account are already on the anvil. Rapid urbanization creates an enormous challenge for the civic authorities and the cost in terms of fuel, lack of business mobility and safety is enormous.

Volvo Buses has created high-efficiency bus-based transport systems that make it far more attractive to travel by public transport. Volvo has delivered more buses for BRT systems than any other supplier in the world. A few of the cities where Volvo works with on mass bus transport systems are: Bogota in Colombia, Mexico City in Mexico, Goteborg in Sweden, York in Britain and Curitiba in Brazil.

Mass Transport Bus Systems the world over are largely subsidy-free in principle. They generate profit from day one. Today there are about 50 cities with various degrees of implementation and about 100 cities that are planning for BRT.

BRT is the most efficient way to transport people. 13 cities are going to BRT growth and in the next 5 years we hope to see phenomenal growth in the BRT corridor. Cunsultancy from Volvo - who have worked with 40 cities around the world. They will over the next 6 months work with BMTC and share data and their global experience and based on that will implement measure to improve transport efficiency. First step will be from BMTC.

Mr. Passey is hoping that five years from now 50 per cent of turnover would come from soft office which includes consultancy services, aftermarket, parts and service. The company has 38 service points across India.

In 2008 Volvo launched its multi-axle coaches, which have been received well. The company has sold 50 units of the multi-axle coach, mostly to private operators. It currently has over 400 city buses and close 2,000 inter-city buses on Indian roads.

Volvo is also planning to use the Indian bus facility as a hub for exports. Three years from now the company is targeting 25-30% of its volumes from exports to Middle East and Africa.

More orders for Volvo buses

Volvo has received an order for 260 buses of which BMTC (Bangalore), has placed an order for 140 Volvo 8400 city buses.

BMTC already operates more than 300 Volvo buses in the city which have radically changed the view of what it is like to travel with city buses in India.

“Surveys show that 60% of the passengers in these buses previously traveled in their own car or by motorcycle,” related Akash Passey, Managing Director of Volvo Buses in India. “For many Indian cities, the goal is to have more people use mass transit and, consequently, this requires new, modern buses.”

Volvo buses are also used in Bangalore for transportation to and from the airport.

“Each new Volvo bus placed in traffic increases the exposure of buses. As a result, increasingly more of the population views buses as a better alternative than traveling in their own vehicle,” says Akash Passey.

Volvo Buses has also received orders for 120 Volvo 9400 inter-city coaches from Karnataka and Maharashtra. The orders are from customers already operating Volvo coaches known for their high performance.

“Our customers have seen that passengers prefer these coaches, are prepared to pay extra to travel in them and that, as a result, the coaches generate highly favorable productivity,” says Akash Passey. The buses will be assembled at the Volvo Buses’ plant in India and deliveries will be made in 2009.

Mercedes targets sale of 100 luxury buses this year

Mercedes is targeting a sale of 100 units of its luxury bus this year. The company has so far sold 25 units since it launched its buses in September 2008 to major bus operators like Sharma, Neeta, Konduskar, Kaleeswari, Eagle and SST.

The buses have been primarily introduced in western and southern regions on routes like Mumbai-Bangalore, Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Kolhapur, Bangalore-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Mumbai, Hyderabad-Vijayawada, Ahmedabad-Mumbai and Ahmedabad-Rajkot. The high-end luxury bus pitted against the Volvo and priced at Rs. 75-80 lakhs has 45-seat capacity under standard layout.

Mercedes is currently importing the bus chassis as CKDs and assembling it at its new facility at Chakan in Pune. This facility has been set up with a capacity to manufacture 1,200 truck and bus chassis per annum. The 305 hp, Euro III-compliant coach comes with an O 500 R/RF chassis from the MB stable and the body built by the Jalandhar-based Sutlej Motors.

Mr. Ashok Bhardwaj, General Manager (CV-Bus Sales), Mercedes-Benz India Private Ltd., said the company is in talks with all the major STUs in the country, including KSRTC, APSRTC and MSRTC, and expects significant orders in the current year both from STUs and private operators.

Mercedes has just entered the luxury bus segment. A global leader with a wide range of products across all segments, the company will definitely look at the city bus segment but only after it establishes its presence in the luxury bus segment.

In an earlier interaction Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, had indicated that the company is planning to launch one or two products in the commercial vehicle segment, which could be in the truck or bus segment. It is still not clear as to which segment the company would launch its products. But considering the opportunity in the city buses, Mercedes could well look at launching its products in this segment. It has already established its service network in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The bus market in India is witnessing a tremendous change – a revolution aided by Government-driven infrastructure projects which are dedicated to redefine the mass transportation industry in India.

Large projects like the NSEW corridor and the Golden Quadrilateral are already underway and are close to completion. As links between far-flung places strengthen, there is an increased demand for mass transit systems to move the people with solutions that are reliable, robust, and passenger oriented. It is this need that the Mercedes-Benz buses will fulfill.

Swaraj Mazda provides complete passenger transportation solutions

Swaraj Mazda had a significant participation at the Bus and SPV show. Moving from being manufacturer of M&HCV vehicles, Swaraj Mazda today offers the complete range in the bus segment. The company has recently added its Isuzu range of buses in the high-end Luxury segment and Executive segment. This has further strengthened the bus segment in which Swaraj Mazda is traditionally a strong player.

The company commands a very strong marketshare in the LCV range which is typically used for tourist purpose, school and college buses and for staff transportation.

The top of the line product is the Prestige LT-1, which was launched a couple of years back. This high end luxury inter-city bus is pitted against the Volvo. The company has sold nearly 10 buses till date, mostly to private customers, and the response has been very encouraging, says Mr. Ganapathy Lakshmanan, Chief Manager - Marketing of Swaraj Mazda Ltd.

“We have showcased our products to the State transport corporations and we look forward to some good orders in 2009-10”, adds Mr. Lakshmanan.

The company has invested of Rs. 300 crores on a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which is located right next to its existing facility which rolls out LCVs. The new facility has capacity to manufacture 7,000 bus bodies and 12,000 truck and bus chassis. The company has indicated its plans for launching trucks from Isuzu in the heavy commercial vehicle segment.

Swaraj Mazda is working with Isuzu very closely for its future range of products. In fact, the Prestige LT-1 bus model comes with engines and transmissions from Isuzu and the bus bodies are built at the new facility. Isuzu is closely watching the developments in the Indian commercial vehicle segment and is planning to step up its presence. A lot depends on the recovery in the commercial vehicle segment in the domestic market.

KMS emerging major player in bus body building

KMS Coach Builders is a recent entrant in the bus body building industry. The founder of the company, Mr. Ismail Shariff, who comes with three decades of experience in the line, started his career in 1979, working for Azad Coach Builders in Bangalore. Later he started his own venture by undertaking construction of bus bodies of various types under labor contract for BMTC & KSRTC. Today KMS’s labor force work in all State transport corporations across Karnataka.

It is with this vast experience in bus body building that he started KMS Coach Builders in 2006 with its manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Bangalore.

Mr. Shariff says: “In India, the perception of passenger transport is undergoing a radical change. The travelling public is looking for more comfort & better aesthetics. Quality is another aspect which the customers attach greater importance. Keeping these facts in view we are planning to develop buses which are passenger-friendly.”

In a short span of two years, KMS has established itself as an important fabricator of bus bodies for all major State transport corporations, including BMTC, KSRTC, NEKRTC, NWKRTC, MTC (Chennai), TNSTC and APSRTC. The company has been working closely with Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors for executing these orders.

KMS has established a fully equipped facility for bus body building, which is equipped with painting booth with the baking facility, 10 tank process zinc plating & hot phosphating, machine shop comprising of heavy duty shearing machine and press brake to fabricate components, water shower plant for roof leakage test, CO2, Mig-Mag welding equipments, hydraulically operated panel stretching equipment, centralized screw compressor for operation of pneumatic tools and diesel generators for uninterrupted power supply.

KMS has a workforce of over 1,200 people who are employed in various bus body building units of State transport corporations on labor contract basis. This is a key strength of KMS as it has an experienced labor force capable of building all types of bus bodies be it the stage carriers or the high end luxury air-conditioned buses.

In the last two years, the company has built over 2000 buses, including the ‘Meghadoot’ air-conditioned luxury buses for KSRTC, ‘Rajahamsa’ luxury buses, moffussil type buses for STUs with tubular structure, City type double-door buses with 2 x 2 seats, ‘Suvarna’ improvised city type buses with passenger-friendly features, suburban type double door buses with 3 x 2 seats, and staff & school buses for educational institutions. The company has a very strong technical team headed by Mr. N. Gangadhar who is the Technical Director of KMS. Mr. Gangadhar comes with years of technical experience working for leading automobile manufacturers.

At its current facility KMS has a capacity to build 75 buses. With the plant running to full capacity, KMS is now planning to set up another facility near Hosur to cater to the requirements of Ashok Leyland. The complete financial assistance for KMS has been provided by State Bank of Mysore.

Certified to ISO 9001/2008, KMS is already completed the formalities for the accredition process with CIRT and they have been listed under the ‘A’ category.

The company is also working jointly with OEMs in developing new models and designs. It has recently developed a new city bus for Ashok Leyland. These buses supplied to BMTC are being operated from different parts of the city to the Bangalore International Airport. BMTC has added over 300 buses of this type to its fleet in just six months. Recently BMTC has inducted a new series of BIG – 10 buses, also built by KMS.

“We are confident that in the coming years, there will be good demand for aesthetically built travel-friendly buses for public transport, and KMS will play an important role in meeting this demand”, says Mr. Shariff.

CauveFLEET can help manage your fleets more efficiently

Staff transportation is a very common facility provided by most of the IT and manufacturing units. Usually this is an outsourced activity which is handled by private bus operators on behalf of the respective companies. In view of the current recession in the IT industry and the overall downturn in the manufacturing sector, companies are looking at ways and means to reduce the cost and improve efficiencies.

Staff transportation being a key component of cost, clients are now asking for data for the last few years from service providers to assess the efficiency of service. Considering the city traffic conditions, even a normal delay of 30 minutes of a bus carrying 40 employees amounts to 20 man-hours of work loss for the company.

As companies tighten the belt and start asking for these reports, bus operators are in a fix. Most operators don’t have organised systems and procedures resulting in inefficiencies in the system. The same phenomenon holds good for cargo transportation as well. But this is bound to change in the next few years with many of the fleet operators realising the need to get more organised.

India is a huge population of unorganised fleets and identifying an opportunity in this segment, Cauvesoft has launched CauveFLEET, a dedicated transport management system which will help operators manage their business better. Irrespective of whether the fleet size is 30 or 10,000 vehicles CauveFLEET addresses most of the business bottlenecks. CauveFLEET is a web-based easy to use solution which can help manage the fleet operator’s business efficiently from anywhere the world.

Cauvesoft was started in the US by Mr. B. Swaminathan in 2004. The company has its off-shore development centre in Chennai. Mr. Swami says: “In 2006 we started looking at the Indian market and found that there was huge requirement for introducing IT systems in the transport segment. The products available in the market are not serving the exact requirement of fleet operators. Hence we started studying the requirement of fleet operators, identified their challenges and requirements and developed a product which will suite their needs best”.

CauveFLEET is an integrated system which will help fleet operators prevent costly unexpected breakdown in business due to neglected vehicles and equipments. It also serves as a ready reckoner to understand the fleet usage, maintenance, fuel economy, driver management, human resource management, accounting and finance management, maintenance system management, spares/inventory management, vehicle information management and all the necessary expenses associated with operating a successful fleet business.

Cauvesoft’s first major customer was SBLT, a major player in the staff transportation business with a fleet of 500 buses. Typically the problems faced by fleet operators are, tracking the vehicle, the driver, fuel cost and fuel average of vehicles, daily log providing the departure and arrival timings, periodic maintenance, replacement of spares and obtaining FC. These are some of the issues required to be addressed by the operator on a regular basis.

CauveFLEET web-based vehicle management system provides complete solution for all these issues. The system can track & manage vehicles, provide third party vehicle data, comprehensive reporting on the status of vehicle, staffs, collaborative suite for performing day-to-day tasks, tracking of vehicle transactions and availability, vehicle information, including the position of vehicle, type of vehicle, contract information, maintenance information, etc., driver information including the driver’s daily log of activities, advances, payments, salary and loans.

CauveFLEET integrates seamlessly with a broad range of finance, operational, maintenance and management information systems to form the entire part of an enterprise wide solution exclusive for fleet owners.

Vehicle Management module

Vehicle Management module provides a collaborative environment for performing day-to-day tasks. Vehicle Management module covers Daily Vehicle transactions including the positioning of vehicle, type of vehicle, customer information, vehicle contract information, etc., Average fuel consumption for different type of vehicles are captured, definition for tolerance limit for different vehicles can be prefixed and variance can be recorded and reported. Vehicle management module is linked to HR, accounts & finance, vehicle maintenance & master data module.

It also helps manage the entire RTO regulations, capture mandate RTO expenses such as counter permit renewal, fitness certificate, taxes, national permit renewal, permit taxes and insurance expiry information until it is renewed.

Cauvesoft has carved a niche for itself by looking at the transport segment which has been hitherto unaddressed by IT majors. “After the successful implementation of CauveFLEET in SBLT, we are now talking to many other fleet operators for implementing our software. The response has been very positive and we look forward to some significant breakthroughs in the immediate future”, adds Mr. Swami.

Mahindra upgrades Tourister school bus range

The Mahindra Tourister school bus, considered the No.1 in the segment, has consistently delivered incredible value to its customers. Coming from the Mahindra stable, each school bus is engineered to deliver on its promise of total safety, but without any compromise on comfort and efficiency.

Greater safety for a worry-free drive, superior comfort for unmatched convenience, contemporary styling for aesthetic appeal and the best mileage at the lowest maintenance cost make the vehicle a top brand.

The Tourister school bus range is available in 16, 25, 32 and 40-seater BSII versions. A 25 seater is also available in CNG and CRDe engine variants conforming to the BSIII norms.
In keeping with the customer-centric M&M philosophy, the Tourister range has been upgraded several times over the years to meet the ever-changing customer requirements. A few years back, the Mahindra Tourister introduced the CRDe engine technology, which till date remains the only brand in the segment to offer such technology. CRDe engine boasts of the lowest noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) factor, ensuring that kids enjoy a quieter drive.

This year M&M is proud to introduce an improved version of the existing Tourister range, the Tourister i, signifying the 32 improvements which have been incorporated in the existing bus to further enhance safety, comfort and aesthetics. With the new launch, all school buses henceforth will be sold under the Tourister i brand.

After two very successful years of school bus season, 2009 promises to get even bigger and better year. Branded as the Mahindra School Fest ‘09, this year’s school bus campaign aims to consolidate and further strengthen the Tourister’s position in the school bus segment.

This thrust will be led by a highly focused marketing campaign targeting over 65,000 schools, fleet owners, bus operators and drivers across the country. Trained executives called Mahindra School Bus Experts (MSBe) will fan out across India, driving home th