KSRTC’s European-style sleeper buses to begin operations from Friday

The buses will operate on routes such as Kundapur-Bangalore, Mangalore-Pune, Bangalore-Secunderabad, Bangalore-Hyderabad, Bangalore- Ernakulam, Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore-Thrissur and Bangalore-Panaji. The vehicles, Volvo 9600 multi-axle sleeper buses labelled ‘Ambaari Utsav’ (Celebration of Journey), are expected to cost 10 per cent more than the Ambaari Dream Class, said officials.

The buses will start operating from February 24 and ply mostly on the national highways. “The buses have been introduced mainly for national highways and inter-state travel like Bengaluru-Mumbai, Bengaluru-Pune and other long-distance routes,” said V Anbukumar, managing director of KSRTC.

According to KSRTC, in the first phase of induction, 50 buses will be launched. From the Bengaluru Central division, the buses will leave from Bengaluru towards Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Thrissur and Panaji, and in the Mangaluru division, buses will leave from Kundapura for Bengaluru and from Mangaluru for Pune.

The Scandinavian design of the buses offer 40 berths in each vehicle with ample headroom, reading light, two air vents, twin USB ports and a mobile holder. The aerodynamic front will reduce air drag in high-speed operations leading to fuel savings alongside panoramic windows while the newly-improved suspension aims to provide steering stability and handling.

The buses include in-built advanced safety features such as an anti-slip regulation system (ASR), knee protection for the driver, fire detection and suppression system (FDSS), fire extinguishers, roof escape hatches, front impact protection (FIP), front under-run protection (FUP), side under-run protection (SUPD), enhanced pedestrian safety and improved rollover protection.

Apart from the induction of new vehicles, the KSRTC has taken up renovation of its old body vehicles at regional and divisional workshops. As many as 250 vehicles have been renovated and put into operation and to further facilitate easy travel for rural area passengers, the corporation intends to induct 600 Karnataka Sarige buses over the next three months. The KSRTC also aims to induct 50 electric buses by March 2023 on inter-city routes and 350 electric vehicles in a phased manner to provide well-equipped transport facilities.