Srikanth – Page 3

These Pictures Of BEST’s Volvo Fleet Will Make You Cry

Remember the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking’s Volvo fleet? That’s right, those six diesel-powered, single-door Volvo buses that were always covered in advertisements, mostly seen on AS-4 or Fort Pheri?

A little backstory here. In 2010, BEST had signed a deal with a firm named Asian Concierge, who would purchase 50 Volvo B7RLE buses and provide them to BEST in lieu of advertising rights on the body of the buses for 10 years. The first two buses were inducted November 2010, four more joined shortly after and that was that. The remaining 44 buses, which were to join BEST’s fleet by March 2011 never arrived.

The six buses were all housed at the Oshiwara Depot and mostly operated on AS-4 between Oshiwara Depot and Backbay Depot. Sometimes they operated on A-74Express from Oshiwara Depot to NSCI Worli (Nehru Planetarium/Lotus). Instead of idling at Backbay depot, they were often deployed on Fort Pheri-1 AC that ran in a circle in and around Fort.

BEST’s fleet strength at that time was near 4,700 buses, which included the 272 (in)famous Cerita fleet. According to Sanjay Potnis, then chairman of the BEST committee, BEST did not purchase any Volvo buses as they did not have the budget for it.

When BEST scrapped all AC routes in 2017, all of them including the Volvo fleet was grounded. If you want to read a bit of history on what led to the AC fleet to be grounded, do read these two articles, both authored by me:
The curious case of BEST and its AC buses
The ‘BEST’ scamster Indians should know about – Congress and the Khobragades have a lot to explain

Since 2017, these buses were just lying at Oshiwara Depot. A photo of them in a dilapidated condition appeared on some busfanning groups in 2021 but I was unable to secure permission to use them publicly.

The six buses that were housed at Oshiwara were:

2705/OSH (MH-46-J-0083)
2703/OSH (MH-46-J-0024)
2706/OSH (MH-46-J-0084)
2701/OSH (MH-46-J-0020)
2702/OSH (MH-46-J-0023)
2704/OSH (MH-46-J-0081)

All photographs and even Google Earth footage showed only four buses parked at the Oshiwara Depot. On a side note, Google Earth is now limited historical imagery of India to 2017-2018 while imagery of the years before that is available for other countries.

In March 2023 (two months ago), it emerged that at least two of the six buses had been junked. Fellow busfan Swapnil Patil posted two photographs of 2705/OSH and 2703/OSH at a scrap yard in Taloja. You can see the images below:

BEST Volvo 2703/OSH at the Taloja scrapyard (Photo: Swapnil Patil, all rights reserved, used with permission)

BEST Volvo 2705/OSH at the Taloja scrapyard (Photo: Swapnil Patil, all rights reserved, used with permission)

These two photographs really break my heart. These buses were barely 13 years old and could have run for their full fifteen years. The disastrous double fare hike of 2015 made AC buses more expensive that auto-rickshaws in the city and the 2016 rollback, while successful was too little, too late. Asian Concierge seems to have gone under liquidation, and I can’t seem to find the original firm on Tofler, although there is an Asian Concierge Transport that was incorporated in 2016.

That’s all from me for now. Let’s hope common sense hits BEST soo and they increase their now drastically dwindling fleet of buses as quickly as possible.

Featured Image: BEST AS-4 at Mahim (Photo: Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia)

BEST To ‘Smarten’ Depots Across City With World Bank IFC Assistance

In a bid to modernise and monetise its real estate, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is looking to hire the World Bank Group’s member organisation International Finance Corporation (IFC) as its advisory partner, reports the Indian Express. The upgradation will receive financing from the World Bank and was confirmed by General Manager Lokesh Chandra.

Unlike previous monetisaton plans, BEST is looking to go in for competitive bidding this time to ensure that the undertaking receives its revenues. The Kurla and Oshiwara depots and Mahim Bus Station were handed out to private parties and at least Kurla and Mahim have been redeveloped but BEST is yet to receive the ₹300 crore revenue due to the builders landing up in front of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). In these projects, part of the land is awarded to private parties to build on. Since permissions were granted in the initial stage, development on the commercial sections were carried out first.

Currently only one depot has been completely redeveloped – the Kurla Depot, located at the junction of Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg (LBS Marg) and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR). The depot was damaged in the floods of 2005 and was subsequently redeveloped by Kanakia as part of its project Kanakia Zillion.

Among the bus stations that were redeveloped, there is the Seven Bunglows (Saath Bangla) Bus Station on JP Road in Andheri (West) that was redeveloped in 2004-2005 as the G7 Shopping Centre. There is the long-delayed redevelopment of the Marol Maroshi Bus Station near the Seven Hills Hospital in Andheri (East) as well. I’m personally not aware of who the developers of these two are. Kanakia was awarded redevelopment of two bus stations, the Versova-Yari Road Bus Station in Andheri (West) which has been redeveloped into a residential project called Kanakia Hollywood with a bus station on the ground floor and the Mahim Bus Station in Mahim (West) which was redeveloped as part of Kanakia Miami.

Featured Image: Kurla Depot at Kanakia Zillion (Photo: Architect Rushikesh H)

Use Headphones, Says BEST; Bans Loud Conversations And Music On Buses

In a bid to make travel by buses a little more pleasant, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has banned loud music and conversations in buses after a deluge of complaints from passengers.

A notification was issued on 24 April in the regard and under the new rules all passengers watching videos, listening to music, or having conversations on their phone must use headphones. The undertaking has also said that passengers causing inconvenience can have action taken against them under section 38/112 of the Bombay Police Act of 1951.

BEST has announced that a notification regarding this will be displayed on all buses while all staff (including those on wet-lease buses) will be made aware of it.

While the move is undoubtedly a good one, especially for those listening to music or watching videos, it makes limited sense to those having phone calls. Unless the phone is on speakerphone, using a phone regularly shouldn’t be too loud except when the passenger is shouting into the phone. At the same time, due to the preponderance of noise-cancellation headphones, people using headphones can be louder than those without them.

On the plus side, passengers can now listen to the noise made by the bus itself, for some of them (especially a lot of the electric buses) are extremely noisy.

Featured Image: BEST prohibits loud phone conversations, audio and video on mobile phones on the buses, mandates use of headphones by Srikanth Ramakrishnan. (P.S: It took me 20 minutes to make this image using Microsoft PowerPoint)

As BEST Limps Back To Normalcy, Check Out The Offlinks That Saved The Day

The last two months has not been good for the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking.

First, the undertaking junked the wet-lease agreement with one player due to the buses being in bad condition and lying unused at the depots. As per the report in the Times of India, no details of the contractor were mentioned and it was a very ambiguous article. However, thanks to a few friends in the bus fanning community, it came to light that these buses were operated by MP Enterprises and Associates (MPG) out of the Wadala Depot. In early 2020, these buses operated on routes in Wadala and Andheri (East). Around 280 buses were taken of the roads.

As if this wasn’t enough to add to the city’s woes, BEST also withdrew 400 of the CNG-powered Tata buses. I had reviewed the midi-buses operated out of the Mumbai Central depot too in 2020. These buses were operated by Mateshwari Urban Transport (MUP). The reason behind it was the buses catching fire. The first was on 23 January between Santacruz and Bandra, followed by another on 11 February at Chakala and yet another on 22 February, the last one near Agarkar Chowk.

Over the last month, BEST has ben slowly reintroducing these buses after thorough safety inspections with 10-10 buses from each of the depots – Majas, Dharavi, Santacruz and Pratiksha Nagar and it was reported on 14 March that 369 of the 400 buses were back on the roads.

In order to make up for the lack of buses, BEST pushed in a few off-links into service.

Below are some snaps of various Offlinks on different routes across the city, clicked by Sahil Pusalkar.

Below are the following: The first is bus 5410 of the Dindoshi Depot operating on route C-12. Next is 5219 of the Dindoshi Depot as well, also on C-12. Then there is 5188 of the Magathane Depot, this one too on C-12. Then there is 5278 of Dindoshi on 525 and 5225 of Dindoshi on 415.

The next lot is 1741 of the Mulund depot on 492, followed by 5414 of Dindoshi on 415. Then there is 566 of the Kurla depot on 308, followed by 1919 from Majas on 340. Then there is 5108 from Ghatkopar, also 340.

In the third lot, there is 4554 of the Central depot on C-1, followed by 1455 of the Goregaon depot on 28. There is 5531 from Wadala on 201, 1893 from Bandra 255 and 6599 from Worli on 169.

The next set of buses consist of 5157 of Dindoshi on 348, 6625 of Bandra on 255, 6664 of Worli on 172, 6615, also of Worli, again on 172 and 6625 of Bandra again on 348 this time.

The last set of buses are 5295 of Dindoshi on 348, 6552 of Central on C-14, 1927 of Dharavi, 5519 of Ghatkopar and 1512 of Kurla, all on 27.

That’s all for the time being, do follow Sahil on Instagram here: @sahilpusalkar.

Featured Image: Buses at Agarkar Chowk (Srikanth Ramakrishnan)

Ready, Chalo, Go! BEST’s Electric Double Deckers To Hit Mumbai’s Streets On 21 February On Route A-115

It’s official, Mumbai’s first electric double deckers are to hit the city’s streets on 21 February 2023. The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking put out a press note announcing the details.

BEST's press note announcing launch of the electric double decker services — BEST’s press note announcing launch of the electric double decker services

The bus will operate on route A-115 between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) from 8.45am with a frequency of 30 minutes. On weekends, the bus will operate on the heritage track from 9am onwards.

Each bus will be conductor-less and use Chalo’s Tap-In, Tap-Out system, thus requiring all users to either have a Chalo Card or the Chalo App.

That’s all from this update. However:

To understand how the Tap-In, Tap-Out system works, do read Vishal’s article: A Ride In BEST Using The New Tap-In, Tap-Out System
To know how to use the Chalo app, do read Gandharva’s explainer: Chalo, Aage Badho: Getting Familiar With BEST’s New App For Tickets
To know how to use the Chalo card, do read Gandharva’s article explaining it: A Quick Guide To Using The Chalo Card On BEST Buses

Featured Image: BEST Switch Double Decker by Somit Sen on Twitter.

Double Decker Buses Return To Hyderabad After Two Decades, City Of Pearls Becomes First To Launch Electric Version

After a gap of twenty years, double decker buses have returned to the roads of the southern city of Hyderabad, and this time in an electric avatar, making the City of Pearls to be the first city in India to have double-decker buses in operation. Double deckers were earlier operated by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) until services folded up in 2003. Double deckers were introduced under the Nizam State Railways – Road Transport Division (NSR-RTD) of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. With the subsequent bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, city services in Hyderabad came under the aegis of the Hyderabad Zonal Urban Road Transport Corporation (HZURTC) that comes under and operates using its parent body, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC).

Open deck and regular double deckers of the HMDA and TSRTC (Image Tweeted by Arvind Kumar)

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) placed an order for six buses, of which three have been delivered with the rest to be delivered soon. The HMDA is looking to up its fleet to 20 such buses. The buses are Ashok Leyland Switch EiV 22 AC double deckers, although in the images released by the Special Chief Secretary for Urban Development Arvind Kumar, the Switch logo in the front of the bus was visibly covered up. Each bus costs ₹2.16 crore and comes with an annual maintenance contract (AMC) for 7 years. With a carrying capacity of 65 passengers plus the driver, each bus has a range of 150km and can be charged in 120 to 150 minutes.

The buses were flagged off by Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao along with Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, Chevella MP G Ranjith Reddy and Chandrayanagutta MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi.

An old Double Decker Bus in Hyderabad from the year 2000 running on Route 7Z from Zoo Park to Secunderabad via High Court. Photo shared by Shakerhussain on Twitter.

These buses will primarily run along the Hyderabad Street Circuit as part of the the Hyderabad Formula ePrix to be held on 11 February in and around the vicinity of the newly built Telangana Secretariat, Tank Bund, Necklace Street, Paradise and Nizam College. After that, they will be used for tourism along a heritage circuit in the city.

The Forumla ePrix and Hyderabad Street Circuit

The Hyderabad ePrix is part of the 2022-2023 Formula E Championship. The Formula E championship is a single-seat motorsport championship for electric cars and this will be the first edition to be held in India.

The Hyderabad Street Circuit (BBTD/Wikimedia Commons)

The Hyderabad Street Circuit is a race track laid along the roads of the city. Two designs were prepared, one by PPE Racing and the other by Driven International. The second one was chosen while the former was criticised for its rather phallic design with one racer allegedly saying it resembled a dildo.

Interestingly, in 2018, the Formula One Powerboat Championship (F1H2O) was held in the new capital of Hyderabad’s former state, Amaravati.

Telangana Mobility Valley

KT Rama Rao announced that Telangana would soon see investments of ₹3,000 crore in the mobility sector, in addition to the ₹8,000 crore already secured by the state in the segment. A new mobility cluster, named the Telangana Mobility Valley would be established for electric vehicles with a focus on manufacturing, engineering, research and development for vehicle manufacturing as well as cell chemistry, hydrogen fuel cells and component manufacturers. Currently, research and development in the EV sector is primarily based out of Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka while manufacturing is concentrated in the neighbouring Krishnagiri district and Chennai, both in Tamil Nadu.

Featured Image: Hyderabad’s new Switch EiV22 Double Deckers (Image tweeted by Arvind Kumar)

BEST Sets Up Exhibit At Kala Ghoda Fest To Showcase Undertaking’s Heritage And History

The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking has decided to put up an exhibit at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. According to a note shared by the undertaking, the Kala Ghoda Festival Committee made a request to the undertaking which in turn set up the exhibit at Cross Maidan near Churchgate.

BEST's Notice about the Kala Ghoda Exhibit — BEST’s Notice about the Kala Ghoda Exhibit

The exhibit is available for public viewing at Azad Cross Maidan near Churchgate from 4 February to 12 February 2023 from 10 am to 10 pm. It showcases the history and heritage of the undertaking.

BEST also shared some pictures of the exhibit on their Twitter and Facebook pages.

The entrance to BEST's exhibit where a cutout of a conductor greets visitors along with a model of a double decker bus. — The entrance to BEST’s exhibit where a cutout of a conductor greets visitors along with a model of a double decker bus.

Models of BEST's horse-drawn tram, double decker tram and double decker bus on display. — Models of BEST’s horse-drawn tram, double decker tram and double decker bus on display.

In its notice, BEST also reminded the public about the BEST Museum that is open to all in the third floor of the administrative building at Anik Depot. The museum is open from 7 am to 3.30 pm on Monday and from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. There is no charge to visit the museum.

Featured Image: The Kala Ghoda Horse Statue (Pradeep717/Wikimedia Commons)

Did You Know About The World’s Largest “Car Theft”?

While I admit upfront that this has nothing to do with buses or public transport, it does have something to do with one of every bus fans’ favourite brands. This news, while reported in 2016 has been doing the rounds lately on the interwebz and I thought I’d write on it.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane to the 1970s when something interesting took place. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea was establishing diplomatic contacts with western nations and among them was the Kingdom of Sweden. The DPRK ordered 1,000 Volvo 144 cars from the Volvo Car Corporation (then part of Volvo AB), which were delivered in 1974.

The Volvo 144 was the first in the 140 series of saloons (or sedans) and made its first appearance in 1966. The nomenclature indicated that it was the first series and was a four-door saloon with a four-cylinder engine.

While the North Koreans took delivery of the cars, they never paid for them. The Swedes meanwhile have not clarified what all was included as part of the trade deal. The sale was insured through the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) which stepped in and ensured that Volvo Cars did not go bankrupt. However, the debt on the sale, along with interest had accumulated to US $328 million in 2016. That’s roughly ₹2,680 crores, based on the current (2023) exchange rates! The Swedish Export Credits Guarantee Board sends a reminder to the DPRK government every six months.

It is unknown whether the original deal included spare parts but Volvo Heritage believes that due to the bulk purchase by North Korea, the 144 was common across the world and thus getting spares from elsewhere would be easier. However, the cars are rare these days, and when seen, usually act as taxicabs.

In 2016, the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang tweeted out a picture of a Volvo 144, captioned Still going strong. One of the Volvo’s from yr 1974 still unpaid for by DPRK. Running as taxi in Chongjin w almost half million km on odo!

Still going strong. One of the Volvo's from yr 1974 still unpaid for by DPRK. Running as taxi in Chongjin w almost half million km on odo! (Caption as tweeted by the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang) — Still going strong. One of the Volvo’s from yr 1974 still unpaid for by DPRK. Running as taxi in Chongjin w almost half million km on odo! (Caption as tweeted by the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang)

The lack of payment for these 1,000 cars prompted Soviet diplomats to label it as the “largest car theft in human history.” Imagine being a Communist nation in the 1970s and mucking up so bad that the Soviet Union mocks you. I know.

Founded in 1927 as the automobile division of SKF, the Volvo Cars Corporation or Volvo Cars remained a part of the Volvo Group or Volvo AB until 1999 when it was spun off as an independent company, with both of them sharing the Volvo trademark. Volvo Cars was acquired by the Ford Motor Company as part of its Premier Automotive Group that included Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. With the sale of Aston Martin to a group of American investors and Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors of India, Ford divested Volvo Cars to China’s Zhejiang Geely, better known as Geely. Volvo Cars’ history is very similar to American telecommunications manufacturer Motorola that split in 2011 to form Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility, the latter of which was acquired by Google and then eventually Chinese red-chip firm (listed in Hong Kong) Lenovo.

Geely also owns several other prominent European automobile brands, such as Polestar, Lynk and the iconic British brand Lotus, along with the London EV Company (formerly the London Taxi Corporation), which is known to manufacture the iconic black cabs seen in London.

Well, that’s all from me this time.

If you’re interested in another international incident that was funny, look no further from North Korea’s backyard, Russia. In 2018, a group of Russians in Vladivostok donned a cardboard cut-out shaped like a bus to cross a bridge that was off-limits to pedestrians. You can read about it here:

In 2018, A Group Of Russians Dressed Up As A Cardboard Bus To Cross A Vehicular Bridge

Featured Image: A 1974 Volvo 144. (Photo: Niels de Wit from Lunteren, The Netherlands)

PMPML Converts Old Bus To High-Pressure Cleaning System For BRTS Bus Stops

In a bid to automate and mechanise certain functions while putting older buses of the fleet to better use, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has converted an old bus into a moving high-pressure cleaning system.

Bus stations of the Corporation’s Rainbow bus rapid transit system (Rainbow BRTS) were earlier cleaned manually by sweeping them. The plan to to change the process was initiated by Babasaheb Mulani, a bench fitter from the Pimpri Depot under the guidance of depot manager Bhaskar Dahatonde and DME Rajkumar Mane.

The vehicle was used to clean BRTS shelters in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad during the ongoing G20 summit.

PMPML shared a video explaining the new system to their social media accounts. Below is the video from their Youtube channel and the wonderful caption from their Instagram account.

Innovative BRT Bus stop cleaning system by PMPML

Until date BRT bus stops of PMPML were majorly cleaned using normal mechanisms like sweeping, but to thoroughly clean every corner of a bus stop PMPML came up with an idea to convert an old bus into a moving high pressure cleaning system.

Due to resolute efforts from Babasaheb Mulani (Bench Fitter) under the guidance of Bhaskar Dahatonde (Pimpri Depot Manager) and Rajkumar Mane (DME) this idea came into existence and was successfully executed.

As the cleaning performance of this innovation was excellent, this bus was also sent to clean BRT bus stops and routes during the G20 Summit.

PMPML heartily appreciates this innovative creation and ideation by our employees.

पीएमपीएमएलचे बीआरटी बस थांबे सध्यापर्यंत फक्त झाडून साफ केले जात होते, परंतु बसस्थानकाचा प्रत्येक कोपरा पूर्णपणे स्वच्छ करण्यासाठी पीएमपीएमएलमधील कर्मचाऱ्यांना जुन्या बसला चालत्या फिरत्या उच्च दाबाच्या स्वछता प्रणालीमध्ये रूपांतरित करण्याची कल्पना सुचली.

हि कल्पना सत्यात उतरविण्यासाठी पिंपरी आगाराचे आगार व्यवस्थापक भास्कर दहातोंडे व पिंपरी आगार अभियंता राजकुमार माने यांच्या मार्गदर्शनाखाली बेंच फिटर बाबासाहेब मुलाणी यांनी आटोकाट प्रयत्न करून टाकाऊ साहित्या पासून सर्व्हिस व्हॅन मध्ये ‘फिरते वॉशिंग सेंटर’ तयार केले व त्याचे यशस्वी प्रात्यक्षिक घेतले.

या प्रणालीच्या अत्यंत उत्कृष्ट कामगिरीमुळे जी२० परिषदेदरम्यान बीआरटी बस थांबे व मार्गांची स्वछता करण्यासाठी या यंत्रणेचा वापर करण्यात आला.

आमच्या कर्मचार्‍यांच्या या नाविन्यपूर्ण निर्मितीचे आणि कल्पनेचे पीएमपीएमएलतर्फे मनस्वी अभिनंदन.

PMPML

The vehicle is fitted with a 1 horsepower (1 HP) motor, a 2,000 litre Sintex tank and a service pipe. The bus is then driven to the bus stop and pressure washed.

According to Shri Mulani, Dahatonde, and Mane, the plan is convert older buses of the depot to such cleaning vehicles and use it to keep bus stops across the twin cities clean. A trial was conducted at the Akurdi BRTS stop. Passengers too appreciated the clean bus stop.

The rear of the PMPML Washing Service Van of the Pimpri Depot (Screengrab from PMPML's video) — The rear of the PMPML Washing Service Van of the Pimpri Depot (Screengrab from PMPML’s video)

Truly a good time to say, What an Idea, sirjee!

Note: These buses are the same buses that I had referred to as Udaan Khatara in 2015. You can read more about how the PMPML cleaned up its act here: Buses in Pune: How the PMPML managed to clean up its act

Also Read: As Transit Fans Celebrate Ashwini Bhide’s Return, Let Us Not Forget Shrikar Paradeshi, Who Turned Around PMPML’s Fortunes

Featured Image: The PMPML Washing Service Van of the Pimpri Depot (Screengrab from PMPML’s video)

India Hands Over 75 Buses To Cash-Strapped Sri Lanka

As part of its Neighbourhood First policy, the Government of India has handed over 75 buses to crisis-hit Sri Lanka to be used in its public transport system. This is the first installment of 500 buses that India is supplying to its island neighbour.

In December 2022, India supplied 125 Mahindra Scorpio vehicles under a line of credit to the Sri Lanka Police due to a non-availability of vehicles in the island nation which had posed mobility issues for law enforcement. A total of 500 such units have been promised by India.

This is not the first time India has donated buses to its neighbours. Earlier, India had donated around 1,000 buses to war-torn Afghanistan as it was rebuilding itself after the war with the Taliban. The buses were primarily operated in Kabul as Milli Bus and also included buses donated from Iran and Japan. Under the National Institution Building Project of the United Nations Development Fund, India also established a maintenance department and Tata Motors trained officers and engineers in the maintenance of buses and driving skills. The Milli Bus service was established in the 1920s and even operated a Trolleybus system in Kabul in 1979 but most of its infrastructure and depots were damaged due to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1992.

The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) operates buses all over the island nation. Buses are known for their distinctive red livery with a blue stripe running across the centre. Most of the buses are manufactured by either Ashok Leyland’s subsidiary Lanka Ashok Leyland or Tata Motors in India and exported. In fact, back in 2015, I remember seeing an SLTB-designated bus (albeit sans registration) on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Apart from this, the SLTB also operates a few luxury air-conditioned buses. Some of them are light purple in colour (unlike them Purple Faeries of BEST) and are manufactured by Zhengzhou, Henan-based Yutong.

YUTONG ZK6930H Luxury bus from SLTB Super Luxury Tourist Transport Service

SLTB also operates (this time in red), buses manufactured by King Long! Imagine if these buses were the ones in purple instead. It would have been so hilarious. Here is a pic of a King Long bus that the SLTB has.

ND-8709 Mawanella Depot King Long - XMQ6127CY B+ type Bus at Makumbura in 04.07.2019

The SLTB also had a tie-up with the country’s largest telecom provider Dialog Axiata to enable Dialog’s contactless payments system Dialog Touch Travel on select SLTB buses in Colombo.

If you want to know of another story where India helped not only its neighbours but over half the world in times of need, do read the book Braving The Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story by Aashish Chandorkar and Suraj Sudhir. You can buy the book on Amazon below:

Featured Image: Lanka Ashok Leyland SLTB bus near Piradeniya on the Galle-Colombo route by Shankar S.

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