LOVE of Z: CORONA - The New "Garuda"

Almost an year back when there was news that APSRTC was going to launch a new brand Krishnaveni and will use Corona buses for it, we were surprised. Many thought this will be a replacement/ rebranded version of Indra buses. Of the many products that Corona, a pune based company that claims to offer chassis body integration, only sleeper buses were successful. When this news came out, we thought APSRTC is trying to give sleepers a shot again. In fact, they did try buying sleeper buses with 2+1 berth arrangement but the transport department said no owing to safety concerns. A few months after this news, everyone almost forgot APSRTC was going to get Corona buses. Surprisingly, Corona had an update on its website claiming APSRTC has placed order for about 100 buses.

The last new buses were added to garuda fleet was in 2011 a few weeks before Garuda Plus buses were introduced. After the introduction of Amaravati buses in 2016, we were almost sure that Garuda is a dying brand and no more new buses will be added in this category. Most of the 11Z buses were getting scrapped and 29Z buses were struggling to serve even after major repairs. We thought this also made sense because no operator in telugu states was buying 12M dual axle buses any more. Multi axle buses had become the norm. APSRTC surprised everyone with adding 20 Corona buses to its fleet.

A.P.S.R.T.C Brand New CORONA Garuda.

After KingLong(Cerita), Volvo, AL - Luxura, Isuzu, it's the entry of "CORONA" into the Garuda Fleet. In Collaboration with "Deccan Auto" located in the Neighbour State's Capital Hyderabad, CORONA has delivered the First Batch of 20 Buses to the Corporation, Costing Approx. 65-70lakh each

Alloted to the Core Depots of Vijayawada(VJA) & Autonagar(ATNR), these Brand New Beauties are Initially to be deployed on Vijayawada - Hyderabad ; Vijayawada - Bengaluru & Vijayawada - Chennai Routes.

APSRTC’s earlier attempts at using buses of brands other than Volvo in the Garuda fleet were not really successful. For passengers, Garuda meant Volvo and to be frank many referred to them as just Volvo buses rather than Garuda buses. Let us wait and watch how these buses perform and if passengers will accept these as Garudas.

A.P.S.R.T.C Brand New CORONA Garuda.