Business Today Net Special

Not A Bus To Miss

A hi-luxury bus service in Chennai-Bangalore route hopes to sidetrack AC trains with the promise of cost-effective comfort. But, for the new service operators it's a long road ahead.

By Dilip Maitra

Oracle of Hyderabad

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As you settle down in your seat, the onboard address system greets you with "Welcome aboard, we wish you a very happy journey to Chennai." Hostesses in blue silk sarees offer cold towels, sweets, and a can of cold drink of your choice. You must be wondering, "so what?" Every airline does it for the passengers. You are right, but here we are talking about a bus that offers airline-like service for a journey on the road. You get all these and much more in the new Bangalore-Chennai Blueline bus service operated by Bangalore-based S.S. Tours and Travels, a company which operates bus services to all southern cities and to Mumbai with its fleet of 40 vehicles.

But their new service, launched in the first week of April, to Chennai, is different in many ways. The bus they operate is India's first low-floor double decker (named Lexia DD) specially designed under the mechanical guidance of Mercedes Benz of Germany, and built by Sutlez Motors of Ludhiana. Costing Rs 70 lakh, the bus is built as a monoblock (unlike the chassis system in the normal bus) with a Mercedes Benz V-6 turbo engine of 350 HP, placed at the rear of the bus. Says K.S. Nagraj Setty, the chairman of the Satyam Group of companies that own SS Tours: "Engineers from Mercedes are working with Sutlez people in their plant to produce seven such buses for us." The fully air-conditioned bus has two decks, the lower one has six sleepers fitted with reading lights and personal colour TVs and complementary bedrolls. On the upper deck there are 36 push-back seats each fitted with leg rest and individually-controlled AC vents. You can watch movies that play on four TVs (located in pairs in the front and in the middle) but the sound comes through the personal speakers fitted above the head (so that others are not disturbed). If you are interested in reading, switch on the personal reading lamp above the seat.

There are seven crew members---two drivers, two hostesses, two male attendents, and one security person---to attend to your need. Want to call some one to convey an important message? No problem, hostesses will give you a mobile phone with a roaming facility.

Feeling hungry or want a cup of tea or coffee? Don't worry, there is a well-stocked pantry, fitted with microwave oven, tea/coffee heaters and a refrigerator, that can serve hot snacks like pizzas or samosas and beverages like tea/coffee or chilled fruit juices. The bus leaves Bangalore (or Chennai) at 10.30 PM and reaches Chennai (or Bangalore) at 5.30 in the morning. Despite the service and comfort, the trip does not cost a bomb: the fare for sleepers is Rs 550 and the seats cost Rs 450. "Our fare is about 20 per cent more than the other bus services but still we are going full everyday," claims Setty. Though, that is not enough to make money because of the high cost of the vehicle, Setty will soon launch similar service to Mumbai and thereafter to Hyderabad. His initial aim is to create the awareness and establish the Blueline service as one that is better than AC train journeys in terms of cost, comfort, and service. Once the customers are convinced of the superiority, Setty hopes, they will be ready to pay fares that make the business viable.

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