The scene is a typical late afternoon weekday and that group of parents with anxiety writ large on their faces have been waiting patiently for their wards travelling by the school bus to reach the designated drop point. The school bus has been delayed, not unusual though and parents unaware as to when it will arrive go through that routine bout of restiveness. At last they sight that rickety vintage van needling through the dense traffic at a scary speed, reach the place with children stuffed inside a tin shedlike rudimentary body built on the chassis. And out rush the children screaming joyously having been released from that temporary prison on wheels. Parents heave a sigh of relief and watching cautiously the moving/reversing van, scurry off having read about increasing number of accidents involving these contracted school vans bereft of safety features, both when zipping on roads and during the drop and pick-up of kids. The familiar scene as above witnessed in many of the cities and towns, especially at contemporary times when technology pervades every facet of life, may seem like an aberration; but all that is about to change, thanks to the pioneering effort on this front by the leader in the bus domain Ashok Leyland (AL) – with the introduction of Sunshine school bus.
The Sunshine school bus (Sunshine) commercially launched during late June this year has been making waves in the segment. What’s so special about the Sunshine widely expected the cause a paradigm shift? Well, to know about the same and the perception of the end-users, customers and operators, we met Mr. T. Venkataraman, Sr. Vice President – Global Buses, AL at the corporate office during last week of Aug. 16. He passionately begins: “We missed the prime school season and launched it a bit late because we wanted to get the product absolutely right, the very first time; and the aspect of customer being able to recognise and differentiate the features vis-à-vis competition was very important. Market feedback has been encouraging and we are now creating enough stories developed on the facts about starting a safety revolution, importance of safety issues, relevance for the country, why our positioning is so and important decision points in the future as far as school bus is concerned. We are talking to all the stakeholders to learn from them and fine-tune the product features and launch other variants.”
Leveraging technology
Sunshine is the first and only product in the industry that has rollover compliant design and frontal crash protection. These important features though not in the legislation at present, assumes significance at the current juncture against the background of increasing road accidents. Mr. Venkataraman points out: “Apart from it, the other features like bigger windows, anti-bacterial interiors, pastel shades, impressive aesthetics, comfortable anti-microbial seats, RFID card and telematics, lowest fixed step entry, etc., add on to make the kids happy during the drive and safely reach home in a vibrant mood. Also it’s a common sight to see the parents wait anxiously for their wards at the drop-off spot not knowing whether they have boarded the bus and the status of bus during the trip. We are planning to address these issues through GPS cum technology tracker. Both the position and performance of the vehicles can be monitored on real time basis and the relevant info’ will be made available to the parents. There is also the plan to have Wi-Fi and infotainment down the timeline considering the other variants in the offing. Well if Wi-Fi is provided, we can also ensure that parents can be in touch with their children right through the journey,” he adds.
As part of customer reach program and to highlight the special features during the next 4 months, Sunshine will be demoed and all the dealers will be provided with a demo bus, says Mr. Venkataraman. He also indicates: “We will reach out to customers with touch and try route and wait in anticipation for the next season to start. Customers will thus get the immersive experience and by juxtaposing the competitor’s product against Sunshine, we can explain to them, ‘that is a bus and this is our bus’ – thus, the feature by feature comparison will clearly bring out the superiority of Sunshine and this is probably the best way of illustrating the USPs.”
Sunshine platform
Sunshine model launched has GVW of 8.1 ton and comes with 40 and 50 seats options and available in BS-III and BS-IV versions. More importantly, the Sunshine platform will be the basis for coming out other variants and the segment will have in due course of time Sunshine Staff and Sunshine Tourist. We will have 3 wheelbase options 5200 mm, 4900 mm and 4200mm and seats from 30 to 50 depending on the variant, reveals Mr. Venkataraman. He elaborates: “Sunshine is a factory built bus through the semi-integral chassis route, again possibly the first in the segment. It is rollover compliant and though this aspect is not covered under the bus code, we have got it mandated on ourselves in view of the high ground taken by us on safety of the product. We want to be part of the safety revolution and not just stop with lip service; which means it has to be demonstrated, realised and continued to be held in that focus part. It is tempting to go through the FES route and body building by vendors to increase the volume but we are not doing it that way. If we cannot control quality at bodybuilder’s end, why that approach should be chosen as the same can lead to the product going awry. We want to build a modular program to ensure the cost and time to markets are brought down. As for the anti-collision protection, beyond controlling the distance between vehicles, the impact if it happens creates a secondary crumple zone. In the modular program, what fails can be easily replaced and this cuts down the waiting period at the workshop for various other reasons. Also in the semi-integral frame, we have pushed the floor down to 750 mm and provided lowest fixed entry height for the kids at 250 mm. As regards FOH or wheelbase door choice, it should be noted that the driver has a good sweep vision up to 260 deg. Considering the same and other factors, we have taken a conscious decision to have the wheelbase door, set just behind the front wheel.”
Market penetration
In the competitive segment, being a late starter and coming out with a product with a higher price tag, how does Sunshine expect to get the approval of the stakeholders? Mr. Venkataraman responds: “Yes, we have entered recently at the lower end of ICV spectrum but volume-wise, taking into account the other products, we occupy the 2nd position. We believe that we will get at least 30 % more on our current market share of 24% and that should take us closer to the 36% market share needed to occupy the top slot in the ICV space. To be a market leader, the portfolio has to be complete and we still need to get that. We have got a product and a platform through Sunshine and need to be ready with the variants by next season. We will stay put on this platform at 32 to 50 seats with various wheelbases to address the market. It should be noted that there are about 380 variants possible in the ICV segment considering surfeit of parameters. We will plot this and redefine our position in such a way to focus on high TIV and geographies of interest; and know well that we ‘cannot be everything to everybody in the segment’ in our products offering to the market.”
As for positioning Sunshine in the competitive field, firstly it’s rollover compliant and this is major safety aspect even though the same is not included in the bus and Govt. codes; competition does not have this safety feature, points out Mr. Venkataraman. He amplifies: “If an unfortunate rollover incident occurs in the absence of the safety feature, it can cause immense grief and herein we have taken the loftier stand and provided the safety feature to initiate the trend. It cannot be cost per seat anymore in such situations and if we do that we will be missing out on the main important safety theme. Well, if we can achieve both viz., safety aspect and being competitive, we will do it and pitch in for that market where it resonates. Secondly the touch, feel and try experience should give us that extra edge in the marketing exercise. By doing demos and seeding the market with vehicles, the testimonials and the word of mouth message that will emerge should snowball fast as the market is so alive. Thirdly when the aggregation route, à la Uber model, may not be possible for the products in this segment, people who have other vehicles will push it for alternative applications creating a void and we will cater to that requirement.”
Commenting on the bus segment in toto, Mr. Vekataraman opines that the company will come out with factory built intercity coaches when the licenses and permits are streamlined and the relevant codes are in place. Currently AL occupies the 4th slot in the world ranking and the No.1 spot in India. The TIV yo-yoing between 38,000 to 50,000 buses per annum in India can spike to 75,000 if the various issues relating to regulations and STU purchase decisions are expedited. He expects the market to hit this figure during FY 2021 and the company is getting geared up for that challenge by 2019. The company is also keen to fill the void in the high-end, viz., intercity coach segment including the multi-axle variant perceived as niche market. The whole thing about bussing he reiterates is getting the roads and infrastructure right and the various secondary aspects like hotels, motels, rest rooms, etc., in place. He confirms that exciting times are ahead in the bus domain and the company is closely watching the developments; and will be ready with all the models to enter the intercity coach market at the appropriate time when operational economics appeal – for AL it’s a natural upgradation exercise in their product program. Well, the above vision plans spelt out by the bus segment honcho of the CV behemoth, definitely sends out a clear message to all the stakeholders in the domain; and it becomes imperative especially for the competition to closely watch the company’s work in progress including its recent Sunshine foray, to stay in contention.