Supply of vehicles has commenced
Ashok Leyland Ltd., the largest supplier of buses to State transport corporations, has received orders for around 4,000 buses from State transport undertakings (STUs).
A total of 22 STUs across the country, including the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), Jaipur City Transport Services Ltd. (JCTSL), and the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd. (PMPML) have placed large orders on the company.
Mr. Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland Ltd., said: “With rapid urbanization and increasing agglomeration in Indian cities, it is important to modernize public transportation systems and offer technologically advanced and empathetically designed transport solutions. JanBus, the world’s first front-engine, single-step entry, full-flat floor bus, is a vehicle specifically designed for urban transport. It provides several patented features that maximize passenger safety and substantially enhanced operating economics for the STUs. JanBus has received tremendous response from STUs. It will contribute over 2,000 buses to JNNURM-II. We have also received orders from the international market for the bus, and soon JanBus will be running in many countries. We have always been at the forefront of providing world-class products first to our fellow Indians and remain committed to making lives simpler and safer for every Indian.”
Similarly, the eight-metre ‘JanBus Midi’, with a uniform floor height of 650 mm, is specially designed for feeder services, offering last-mile connectivity from metro stations, BRT corridors to the final destinations. Metro feeder operations require quick boarding and alighting, for which the bus is equipped with wide doors and a single-step entry. Both the JanBus and the JanBus Midi are products that are well suited to the Government’s ‘Smart City Strategy’.
Ashok Leyland will offer a mix of JanBus, midi-buses and Ultra Low Entry (ULE) buses as a part of the 4,000 buses ordered under JNNURM-II. The supply of these buses has started, and many of them are already carrying passengers.
Pantnagar plant’s 100,000th vehicle rolls outAshok Leyland Ltd. rolled out the 100,000th vehicle from its state-of-the-art Pantnagar facility on September 9. With the latest technology and processes, this fully-integrated plant, established in 2010, manufactures all future-gazing products across trucks and buses. Spread over 200 acres of land and with an annual capacity of 70,000 vehicles, the plant also produces aggregates such as engines, gear-boxes and axles. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland, said: “Pantnagar is an important step in our ambition to be a world-leader in the global commercial vehicle industry. With large and strategic investments in technology and quality, and a young and energetic workforce, Pantnagar also manufactures BOSS and CAPTAIN, our recently launched class-leading products. Our capacity will allow us to take advantage of the expected upswing in the economy and industry.” He added: “100,000 vehicles is a significant milestone for us, as we have achieved this in only 4 years of operations and are today able to roll out a vehicle every 5 minutes. It’s not just what we make and how many we make that we are proud of, but also how we make them. The Pantnagar plant pioneered the unique BLESSING scheme which provides opportunities for students from remote hilly areas in becoming employable youth of India.” |