Tata Motors Wins Fresh Bus Orders From State Transport Authorities

Tata Motors on Tuesday said it has received fresh orders to supply 928 Tata Marcopolo built-buses to the State Transport Authorities in South India. It also received a similar order of 623 bus units in Kolkata.

Both the orders were part of the 2700 orders bagged by Tata Motors, for Tata 'URBAN' buses under JnNURM - II scheme, the auto maker said.

The 928 units order comprises 487 units bagged from Karnataka (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation), 40 units from Puducherry (Pondicherry Road Transport Corporation), 97 from Kerala (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) and 304 from North East Karnataka region (North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation), the auto maker said in a press release.

It said these buses are fitted with CCTV cameras that can record every movement inside the bus, adding that wider passage-way for free movement, wider window panes for better visibility along with wider and lower entry/exit doors make these new buses "safe and convenient for commuters to enjoy public transportation".

Stating that these buses also enhance the operational efficiency for State Transport Units (STU's), the release said they are compatible to hook-up with a central control room server.

This enables an operator to monitor the performance of each bus in terms of number of trips, off-road position and adherence to pre-scheduled maintenance by monitoring real-time health of the bus through OBD (on-board diagnostics).

The 623 units order comprises 120 units from Calcutta State Transport Corporation, 120 units from Meghalaya Urban Development Authority, 73 units from Tripura Urban Transport Company Limited, 270 units from Assam State Transport Corporation and 40 units from Chattisgarh (Naya Raipur Development Authority), the company said.

The company said the 'URBAN' buses from Tata Motors with a smart new front fascia, have been designed for safety, comfort and convenience of passengers and better operating efficiency for State Transport Authorities.

"These buses are manufactured at Tata Marcopolo Motors Limited (TMML) world-class facility in Dharwad and Lucknow, with state-of-the-art technologies and expertise in systems for bodybuilding and bus body design, conforming to international standards in quality and safety as well as 'roll-over tests' as mandated by the Urban Development Ministry," Tata Motors executive director-commercial vehicles Ravi Pisharody said about the 623 bus units order.

About 60,000 Marcopolo buses operate across the country and they are also sold in all focused markets globally, Tata Motors said.

As of 3:07 p.m., shares in Tata Motors were trading at Rs 487.10 apiece on the BSE, down 1.86 per cent from the previous close.