EVOLUTION

Here comes the EVOLUTION of A/C buses in APSRTC-GHMC region.
1.The first A/C bus in Hyderabad was introduced way back in 2005. The bus was called  SEETALAHAMSA . AL VIKING SLFs were used. Initially they had good patronage . But , they soon lost their importance and were cancelled . They were renamed as MEGHAMALA and re introduced as inter-city buses.
2.In 2009 , APSRTC got its first lot of JNNURM buses in the form of VOLVOs. 8 VOLVO 8400s were procured. Now, some of them are in bad shape but running strong.No more VOLVOs were added to the fleet as these buses became burden to APSRTC which is already running under losses.
3.Then came the TATA MARCOPOLO A/C buses. . Introduced in 2011, The buses had a distinctive color scheme and were named CITY-SHEETAL .The bus has problems with its doors and the A/C too.
Then, another variant of MARCOPOLO was introduced with green colour scheme . The bus is much refined when compared to the old MARCOPOLOs .

The A/C buses do not have many takers in the city and are found running empty at any time . Except for a few buses which run packed  during rush hours.

*not sure on the technical details of the marcopolos, will post them when i'm sure.

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My Favorite City Buses.

Well ..
Here are are my most favorite buses of APSRTC-GHMC region .
1. The first place goes to TATA 1613C SLF . It was introduced as Metro Express. The reason I like this bus the most is because of its appearance, The bus looks good from the exterior and its interiors too are beeter than that of the AL VIKING SLF . The engine too does not make much noise and a ride in this bus is comfortable.The bus was procured in 2009 under JNNURM.
2. The second place goes to AL VIKING . Though the bus has normal chassis, The bus looks fine from exterior because of its windows and the ride quality too is good in this bus. These were introduced as City Ordinary in the year 2007 .
3. The third place goes to the AL VESTIBULE BUS . Introduced to transport more people in a bus in major routes which have more density of people, The main thing i like about this bus is the wide entry and the windows. Now, in a battered state .. this bus still is my choice

EVOLUTION

Metro liners were first introduced in 1995 for long distance luxury travel in Hyderabad. They had luxurious seats. Most of the buses were built on Ashok Leyland VIKING chassis.

In 2002 , during the national games, VEERA buses again built on Ashok Leyland chassis were introduced to facilitate transport for the athletes . The buses were introduced as VEERA bus replacing the old Metro Liners

In 2007, New buses were introduced by the name METRO DELUXE these buses were built at B.B.U,miyapur and had LED destination boards. The existing veeras were modified by creating the door at back and changing the coour scheme to green.

In 2011, The existing old Metro Deluxe buses were replaced by the new TATA MARCOPOLO low floor buses procured under JNNURM..