Volvo CNG City Bus Makes Delhi Debut

Volvo Buses India Private Limited has been operational for over 10 years in India so far and the company has been responsible for introducing a whole new level of bus travel experience with their high end coaches for inter city travel and their city buses for in-city travel solutions. The buses boast of powerful engines, international level build quality and a high level of comfort for passengers.

The City Bus has witnessed a fair amount of success and is operational in 12 cities across India, with Bangalore being a prime example of how these buses have changed the way people commute. These buses however are powered by diesel.

For the Delhi market, Volvo Buses has been working hard at offering a viable CNG solution. First showcased at the 2010 Auto Expo and now introduced as part of a trial run in alliance with DTC, the Volvo 8400 Low Floor CNG City Bus is finally a reality on Delhi streets. This is the first CNG Bus from Volvo in India and post trials, Volvo Buses is looking at introducing more buses to be a part of the DTC fleet and therefore ushering in a superior bus travel experience for Delhi commuters.

The CNG city bus will be built at the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant of Volvo Buses India in Hoskote near Bangalore. According to the company, the bus boasts of high end technologies and features that make it stand out from the competition. Firstly, it comes with an all new transmission designed for the rigours of CNG use. The new driveline, namely the Volvo Ecolife, is tuned to optimize fuel consumption with it optimized gear system. The fully automatic bus has intelligent systems on board to help it recognize whether the bus is moving or at standstill and therefore it can self select ‘idle’ to further enhance its ability to save fuel. The bus has been fixed with a stronger retarder which ensures a jerk-free ride. Fitted with a hydraulic system, the bus can ‘kneel’ in order to allow elderly or handicapped commuters on board easily. Other commuter centric features include comfortable seating, wide aisles, the most powerful air conditioning unit in its class and ample standing room with easy to grip handles.

On the safety front, the Volvo 8400 Low Floor CNG City Bus boasts of having an active protection system that cuts off the ignition at the time of refueling. Further to this, if there is a reason for the engine to suddenly heat up beyond a preset safety point, the automatic sprinkler system will come on. The bus itself is design to be a rather safe place to be and its build quality is impeccable.

Powering the 8400 CNG City Bus is a state of the art 8300cc, in line 6 cylinder CNG driven engine that is capable of generating 280 horse power at 2400 rpm. More importantly, this engine manages to make 1151Nm of torque at just 1400 rpm. The Volvo CNG Bus has the best power to weight ratio in its class and this translates to ease of driving long durations around the city.  The CNG system comes with 6 roof mounted seamless steel cylinders, where each cylinder has the capacity of 135 WLC. On a complete set of full cylinders, the Volvo CNG City Bus can travel anywhere between 250 to 300 kilometers before running out of gas.

Volvo hasn’t revealed the price of the bus, however the company officials were adamant that if you were to consider the complete cost of ownership, the City Bus would prove to be more cost effective than some of the cheaper priced buses that are plying on Delhi roads. A case in point being the fact that the bus ideally needs to cover 800,000 kilometers before it needs an engine overhaul, which is far superior to the requirements of the competition. Now in DTC custody, the Volvo 8400 Low Floor CNG City Bus has to prove its mettle in order to make further inroads in the Delhi city bus market and if everything goes to plan, then commuters in Delhi will have the opportunity to finally enjoy the Volvo Bus Experience.