June 23: Volvo Buses has announced the commencement of trials for the Volvo 7400XL low-floor city bus in Bangalore. The Volvo 7400XL is India’s first multi-axle city bus, with steered axle. At 14.5 metres, it is aimed at supporting efficient mass bus-based transport systems to shift more people, with fewer buses, quicker and with less resource utilisation.
The minister for Home & Transport, government of Karnataka, R Ashoka flagged off the bus from the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation central office. Akash Passey, senior vice-president – Business Region International, Volvo Bus Corporation & Chairman of the Board, Volvo Buses in India and Manish Sahi, managing director, Volvo Buses in India, were present on the occasion along with ministers and other senior officials from the State Government as well as BMTC’s senior management.
Akash Passey said, “The Volvo 7400XL, which is part of our new range of buses, highlights our efforts to make public transport the preferred choice of mobility in a city. The response to the Volvo 8400 city bus in 13 cities across India has been very encouraging and the 7400XL will take the Volvo City Bus concept one step further.”
The 7400XL can carry over 100 people at a time and as a result significantly improve upon fuel, emissions and road space consumption. Furthermore, manoeuvrability in the city is tackled by the steered tag-axle which allows the bus to take on the tight roads and turns of a city.
On the safety front, the 7400XL is designed to offer enhanced safety to drivers and passengers. The bus body is a tubular structure built to meet anti-roll over standards. The safety bar has also been raised to an exceptional level with roll stabilisers, electronic braking system, EBS, powerful disc brakes and new PX suspension system. The low-entry at the front and in the middle enables easy entry and exit, even for passengers with impaired mobility.
The 7400XL is powered by the efficient Volvo 7-litre diesel engine with 290hp equipped with a turbocharger and intercooler.
At present, Volvo city buses are operated in 13 cities across India – Bangalore, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Mysore, Mangalore, Faridabad, Chennai, Vellupuram, Thiruvanathapuram, Kochi, and Hyderabad.