The Hindu Business Line : Ashok Leyland to unveil concept bus at Auto Expo

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Ashok Leyland to unveil concept bus at Auto Expo

T. Murrali

Chennai, Jan. 8 Ashok Leyland will be unveiling a concept intra-city bus at the Auto Expo.

Christened iBUS, it was developed in 10 months by a Cross Functional Team (CFT) of 25 young engineers of the company.

The semi-low floor bus has electronically controlled air suspension, which can kneel for easier ingress and egress of passengers. The rear engine bus has two doors, with the rear being the widest in the country having a width of 1.5 meters, according to the YEsF team members. The AC bus has 42 seats and can accommodate 30 standees.

Senior Engineer (Advance Engineering), Ashok Leyland, Mr Vivek Upadhyay, says the bus body is designed to meet all the impending safety norms. The vehicle is fitted with a new design E-core (Electronic controlled common rail engine) engine complying with Bharat Stage III norms.

According to the team this is the first heavy-duty common rail engine developed in India, offering 152 kW of power and 704Nm@ 1400 rpm torque. It has power-assisted clutch and “a host of other features for the driver”.

The Deputy Manager (Advance Engineering), Mr Barath Rajagopalan, says the bus has several intelligent features such as ABS, WiFi connectivity, closed circuit television, which is capable of running advertisements thereby adding revenue to the fleet operator.

Besides offering the coordinates of the bus, the vehicle tracking system in the bus provides a host of passenger information. For instance, when the bus passes through a particular locality, it can have information/advertisements on the commercial establishments in the area. It has day/night parking assist system supported with infrared camera. In addition, the two-channel system enables the driver to see if the passengers are in, to actuate the door closer.

Deputy Manager (Customer Group – Bus) of the company, Mr Venkat Subramanian said the heart of the iBUS is the central body control unit (CBCU). “This is nothing but controlling most of mechanical parts, through electronics,” he says. CBCU is for the entire bus, what ECU (engine control unit) is for engine. It will help improve the overall efficiency of the vehicle, the CFT members say.