Over 50 travel agencies in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa are extremely dissatisfied with the poor quality of buses provided by Volvo India Pvt Ltd. The agency owners, under the aegis of the Volvo Bus Owners Seva Sangh (VBOSS), have presented a charter of five demands to Volvo India Pvt Ltd and have asked the bus-manufacturing company to provide Rs 3 lakh refund per bus. Incidentally, VBOSS had recently staged a peaceful protest against the Swedish automobile giant during the ‘Bus World’ exhibition held in Mumbai recently.
According to Harsh Kotak, convenor of VBOSS and co-owner of travel agency Metrolines, the bus-owners are unhappy with the quality of the buses and the after-sale services provided by the company.
Volvo India Pvt Ltd was launched in Bangalore in 2001 in collaboration with Indian company Jaico. Volvo provides the chassis and engines while Jaico manufactures the body.
“Even ST buses have a better quality body,” rued Malik Patel, who owns six Volvo buses. “The body is in such a bad condition that a loose part can end up injuring a traveller. Two years ago, a passer-by was killed when a door broke loose due to a faulty lock and hit him,” he added.
Agreed Kotak, who purchased six Volvo buses three years ago. “The body develops problems very soon. It also leaks during monsoons.The floor of the bus is so weak that it develops holes,” he said.
VBOSS has now placed a charter of five demands before Volvo India Pvt Ltd. “We have demanded more 24/7 service outlets, lowering the cost of bus components and parts, free of cost repairs and replacement of damaged parts, annual maintenance contract with bus owners and a refund of Rs 3 lakh each,” informed Kotak.
The bus owners point out that if they are investing Rs 60 lakh for a Volvo bus, they deserve better quality products and services. “After paying an enormous amount for these buses, all we get is a poor-quality product and equally bad service,” complained Patel.
Kotak also pointed out that Volvo needed to open more outlets near Mumbai for repair and maintenance of the vehicles. “Volvo has only one outlet in Bhiwandi, but problems in the body are repaired only at their Bangalore workshop. Therefore, we are forced to go to our local mechanic,” he said.
Purchasing Volvo buses was a regrettably bad deal, feels Chandakant Chheda who works with Neeta Travels, the first agency to introduce these buses in Maharashtra. “Our maintenance cost has increased by repairing the wear and tear in these buses,” he said.
Speaking about the bus owners’ grievances, spokesperson of Volvo India, Sohamjeet Randhawa said, “We are preparing certain proposals for the owners and will discuss it with them soon. We are committed to reaching a solution suitable for both the parties.”
When queried about allegations that the bus bodies were of inferior quality, Randhawa responded, “We will pinpoint the problems and sort them out with the owners.”