Eagle Corporation Pvt. Ltd. (ECPL) operates daily buses from 5 a.m. every half-an-hour from 10 cities in Gujarat – Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Baroda, Gandhinagar to Mumbai, Udaipur, Pune, Navsari, Surat, Porbandar – with regular buses (of Tata, Ashok Leyland, Eicher, etc.), and Volvo and Scania pushback buses (semi-sleeper) with consistent services. However, the Ahmedabad-based company’s forte lies beyond the daily routine, in providing innovative solutions, many of them which have proved novelties in Gujarat.
Founded in 1978 by Lt. Rasiklal Damjibhai Bavaria (Golwala) with two buses and a vision to facilitate fast and comfortable public transport, ECPL today has a fleet of 86 buses, including 10 buses bought newly from Scania. “The new fleet from Scania makes us the largest fleet owner of Scania buses in the western region of India,” said Mr. Jayendra R. Bavaria, Chairman & Managing Director, ECPL.
The luxurious Scania buses are one amongst the many firsts to its credit, and the company first started its operation on the routes between Rajkot and Mumbai. “We were also the first to get the VCR systems in the buses. We bought the idea of introducing sleeper coaches, manufactured at Rajasthan Motor Body and also the push backs with Volvo to Gujarat. In 2009 we were also the first to bring Mercedes Benz in Gujarat,” beamed Mr. Bavaria.
ECPL’s proactive efforts are not restricted to bus bodies alone. The company focuses on deploying services that the customers may not have even thought of. Mr. Bavaria has always been keen on bringing new technology in the business. Understanding the importance of serving the customer better, ECPL had also supplied free of charge a water bottle to each passenger. He brought WiFi in buses to keep the customer connected during the travel.
It is under Mr. Bavaria’s leadership that ECPL became the first travel operator in the country to introduce computerized tickets and also set up a dedicated call-center for ticket booking. “We believe in being technologically advanced to meet people’s expectation of new things every two-three years. If you can provide innovative solution coupled with comfort, then people will accept you. We always give people before they demand, and that’s why we have been able to sustain for the last 38 years. This has made us pioneers in several initiatives like first travel operator to have a dedicated call center, app-based ticket booking and ‘Pay Later’ facilities, among several others”, asserted the CMD.
Another striking example of being foresighted and supportive of the larger vision of comfortable travel is the unique luxury service launched by Mr. Darshan Bavaria, the son of Mr. Jayendra Bavaria, known as CLUB ONE. This proved to be Gujarat’s first luxury road transport when it was first launched four years ago. The fleets were designed by Mr. Dilip Chhabria (DC) to offer first class comfort at far lower prices than any airlines, providing high-grade near flat 140 degrees leather reclining ergonomic seats from best of aircraft seat manufacturers with electronically operated calf support, lumbar support, multi-level head rests, and finest on-board entertainment with personalized LCD monitors for each seat screening movies & music. The splendid comfort was enhanced by elegant restrooms and gourmet meals on board.
Elaborating further on the elite club one range of buses, Mr. Darshan Bavaria, Executive Director, ECPL, asserted: “We converted a Volvo B9R which has a seating capacity of 53 seats and modified it to 21 seats. The bus was WiFi-enabled and had Frankfinn Institute stewards who can serve customized food orders for the passengers. We had tied up with Dominos, so that customers can enjoy fresh pizzas ready. We are also planning to introduce services like personal foot massage for whoever wants to opt. The pilot route of Rajkot to Mumbai has given us a lot of confidence to further innovate and hence we are redesigning the buses and will be back by the end of the year.”
Another concept that ECPL is working on is entertainment bus. “We plan to bring in live musicians to make our passenger’s journey even more pleasant and memorable. We see other travel operators tying up with travel entertainment start-ups for entertainment services. We feel bringing in live musicians will be a step ahead and closer to passenger comfort,” he revealed.
Looking ahead
In the essence of public service, ECPL also has an active presence in Staff Transportation. Since 2011, the company has been extending its services for pharma companies with 3×2, 56 seaters of Tata and Ashok Leyland buses. “We quote as per the company’s annual plan, area, occupancy of people expected. A contractual agreement is usually done which is viable for both the company and us. Depending on the budget, some companies also prefer 2×2 buses, hence we are also focusing on staff transportation, apart from the feedbacks from people to start buses on several new business points like Bhuj, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Anand, etc. Decision to start depends on whether we will be able to get 70 per cent occupancy from the area,” said Mr. Jayendra Bavaria.
Extending the many self-reliant ideas, ECPL is planning to start its own workshop and body-building facility in Ahmedabad. “We are trying to set up infrastructure in Ahmedabad where we can take care of bus body building and maintenance. It will give us independence to do designing as per our innovative ideas, keeping in mind passenger safety. Once the sleeper coach notification is out, we can do it as per the guidance. People always prefer sleeper coaches beyond a 500 km journey. We make changes as per our requirement. A fully-built bus anyway costs us about Rs. 60 lakhs. Buses which are retained in the fleet for a period of eight years undergo regular and diligent maintenance. Having control over what we want and maintain can help,” averred Mr. Bavaria.
The tour operator’s commitment to customer satisfaction and human resource seems to be unwavering. Although the company doesn’t design packages for pilgrimage, it rents out buses to people if they assure full occupancy. “We had recently sent a Scania bus to ‘ChaarDhaam’ Yatra. We ourselves want to start Ahmedabad to Dwarka, but we may want to introduce a bus like the Club One on that route, keeping in mind the traveler who seeks comfort on such tough pilgrimage. On International Yoga Day this year, we were approached by Patanjali for their Yoga event in Ahmedabad. We deployed 1,000 buses for the participants coming from different parts of the State within 48 hours of intimation,” said Mr. Bavaria.
The company is mulling over opening a driver training institute at its facility at Ahmedabad. “We are showing readiness to train drivers, help them get licenses as they are the pilot of our company. We also want to encourage women drivers take up this profession and look forward to help them gain self-respect and dignity required for the profession,” concluded Mr. Jayendra Bavaria.