Bus travel in India can be a smooth ride

Bad roads and worse coaches were what kept down Indian tourism for a long time. But now as roads get better, tour operators have realised the need for better vehicles to match the roads.

Even though these high-end coaches -- Volvo and Kinglong, for example -- come at a considerably higher cost, tour agents are lapping them up quickly. Passengers too have no problems shelling out a little more for a ride, albeit a much more comfortable one.

For years, the two prominent players in the bus segment in India were Tata and Ashok Leyland. But now Volvo, Kinglong and even Swaraj Mazda, with its Isuzu buses, have started making inroads into the market.

Tata and Ashok Leyland have lately struck back by launching much-improved buses. Tata launched  Globus in 2005 and company sources say, these buses have been bought by tour operators, inter-city transporters and airlines for use as tarmac coaches. Ashok Leyland too is ready for the launch of its new brand Luxura, in alliance with Spanish body-builder Irizar.

The old buses, says Sarabjit Singh, managing director, Travelite, were built on truck chasis, which was what made a ride on them so bumpy. "Of course, the new buses are more expensive but you have to consider the fact that they are faster, the movement is easier and air-conditioning far better."

Singh informs that the hiring cost of these new buses is almost 60-70 per cent higher than that of regular buses. The cost of a Volvo bus, he says, is also almost double that of a regular bus. So is the case with Kinglong buses, which are imported into the country.

Larger companies like Kouni Destination Management are tying up with transport companies to use these higher-end buses. These bring a lot of add-on value, says Himmat Anand, COO, Kouni. He puts the additional cost to about $18 per person for an 8 day trip, which comes to about $2 a day.

But he points out that the larger Volvo coaches sometimes have a problem getting into the narrow lanes in smaller tourist towns in India. For example, a 40-seater Volvo bus would have a tough time in a city like Varanasi.

Lajpat Rai, MD, Lotus Trans Travels, which operates Buddhist trips for foreign groups, is also optimistic that his company will be able to introduce Volvo buses starting this October.

"The cost of the package might go up 30-35 per cent for us since a major component of a Buddhist tour is road transport, but people are willing to pay."

On the Buddhist circuit, which passes through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (where, incidentally, roads are far better now), there's a minimum of eight hours of road travel every day and these buses will be a boon for travellers.

However, there are many circuits in India where operators are hesitant to start operating these buses. Good roads are a major pre-requisite in running them, says Singh. In the north, the golden triangle of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur is best suited and as roads in other parts are improving, his company has launched services to places like Amritsar, Chandigarh and Kapurthala as well.

South India is much better, he confesses. Routes from Bangalore to Hyderabad, Chennai to Bangalore and Mysore, Trivandrum and Kochi are great to operate these buses.

On intercity routes, too, these high-end buses are doing amazingly well. Most state transport corporations -- Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka -- have started to include Volvos in their fleets.

Big, after all, is always beautiful.