Several stakeholders in the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem (see earlier post) are contributing to the shift towards a more sustainable collective intercity bus transportation in India. Such stakeholders include the private tech platforms, the bus operators, vehicle manufactures.
This post presents three key takeways that agencies in cooperation with aforementioned stakeholders can play in standardizing the industry-wide bus body design practices. The practices are aimed at increasing customer comfort such as in the seating arrangement in the bus as well as in their safety while travelling e.g. by mandating provision of standardized emergency exits. The practices also include guidelines for the service staff e.g. for the bus driver's comfort and their safety while driving. For simplicity, the scope in this post is the air-conditioned intercity bus transportation that has gained popularity in recent years in India.
Bus service operators and vehicle manufacturers who may want to enhance their communication on adherence to such standardization and bus travellers who like to compare different service offers may find this post interesting.
Data was collected from websites of private bus operators of medium capacity buses (between 35 to 45 passengers excluding the driver) and private tech platforms on which these bus operators offer their services (in North and South India), further opinions expressed by customers on social media about their travel experiences from using services of the tech platforms. The customer segment in this data is primarily the young tech savvy travellers who frequently use online booking for travelling.
Take away 1: Improved level of standardization in practices for bus body design in India
Standardization, in a fragmented market of the Indian intercity bus transport, appears to be on the rise across different service offers with respect to adherence on interior specifications related to comfort and safety, for both, the travellers as well as driver/co-drivers, that the customers increasingly observe, compare and hence expect.
A key role in achieving this standardization may be the revision of guidelines (code of practice) for bus body construction that was undertaken in 2022 (Amendment No 13 (11/2022) To AIS-052 (Rev.1): Code of Practice for Bus Body Design and Approval). The automotive research association of India (ARAI) on behalf of automotive industry standard committee that was set up by ministry of shipping, road, transport and highways (department of road transport and highways) contributed to organizing such guidelines on e.g.
a structured categorization of buses,
seating features,
layouts,
lightings, driver's workspace,
provisions for especially abled passengers.
The amendment noted that the need arose as "...previously the body design and building of buses" was often undertaken by "way side body builders". The use of adhoc practices was thus leading to "low uniformity in construction" that resulted in several "fatal accidents". Although "some reputed (bus) body builders" in the market improved the bus design, it was apparent that "still a lot has to be done". Hence a step towards standardization of the specifications for design and approval of bus body was taken.
Other key players in ensuring standardization include the bus body manufacturers, approval bodies, and also tech platforms who specify the design standards to the participating bus service operators and vehicle manufacturers.
Take away 2: Level of standardization in bus body design terminologies through digitalization
Terminologies regarding comfort and safety features as also other bus design features now can be observed being more commonly used in customer reviews of the tech platforms.
In online ticketing the frequent use of following terms can be observed across customer reviews:
air-conditioned sleeper/semi-sleeper,
seating capacity (high, low, medium capacity expressed as range of number of passengers)
seat layout (2X2, 2X1),
provision of hammers (for breaking the window in emergency), emergency exist, and
charging points etc.
Similar features for driver's workplace requirements are also mentioned often in the reviews e.g. layout of the cabin area, facilities for sleeping.
As the number of stakeholders using the common terminology for the bus design and its features rises, the level of standardization of the industry will also rise. Another way to observe this is in the use of icons visible on tech platforms for the amenities (which are design features) offered for the customers from different service providers.
Figure 1 and Figure 2 below illustrate how, comfort and safety features for offers from two different bus operators on the same route, date and time e.g. on redBus (or similar platforms), can be compared.
Take away 3: Cultivating competition by consistently maintaining and improving standards
The effect of the aforementioned standardization e.g. through digitalization by tech platforms is that customers are able to provide real time and specific feedback on their experience e.g. the bus arrived as per schedule for pick up, curtain was missing etc. For the bus operators and vehicle manufacturers such feedback is useful for ensuring improvement and also finding out what their competitors in the market are better at.
Another standardization can be observed in the similarity of icons representing the amenities. Figure 3 illustrates this on the basis of an example from redBus, zingBus and Neugo. Travellers and service providers alike can with this visual help better compare available offers e.g. on the same tech platform or those across the market.
In addition, the travellers can assess whether the promised services are also being provided. Service providers may as a result compete on same travel routes by enhancing their service offer. Which in turn can raise the customer expectation across industry e.g. with regards to standards in the intercity bus transportation industry in India. Flixbus for e.g. in an interview expressed aiming to make a structural impact on travellers by “providing consistency to its customers”.
Customers express their opinions on their journey, in particular regarding amenities e.g. on water bottle (are the bottles available?), air conditioners (are these functioning properly), color of seat covers (how appealing are these), foot rest (is there one and does it function properly), reclining chairs (how far can one recline and does it add to the comfort), blankets (are they available and are they clean) etc. The availability of washrooms/toilets currently or in future is often expressed by travellers as a much-needed development. Disappointment is observed when e.g. curtains for private space do not fully serve their purpose (short in length or missing), smaller water bottles than those mentioned in the service offer.
redBus for example, for each service offer of the bus operators, displays ratings of the amenities and journey experience as also the data collected on possible improvements that the operator can make. Figure 4 below shows such an example.
The observation regarding online booking, through tech platforms, is that these appear to have contributed to a higher level of standardization e.g. in the process of searching, comparing and buying the tickets online for a journey. With respect to the journey itself, frequent use of following terminologies can be observed,
checking into the lounge,
boarding from the pick-up point/terminals,
halting for refreshments,
alighting at drop-off points or terminals,
finally collecting the luggage using the baggage tag provided on check-in.
However, standardization similar to airlines, is far from over. External challenges such as delays due to congestion and infrastructural issues persist for service providers and travellers alike. On a more optimistic note, passengers appear to show patience e.g. in the use of EV buses (now growing in number) and their eventual additional stops at the charging station. There appears to be awareness regarding the teething troubles in introduction of new technology related services. Very often appreciation is shown for the improved behaviour of the staff as also the speed restriction in buses.
Conclusion
Overall, standardization in both, bus body design and the related services for intercity bus transport, is adding to customer’s comfort and safety. Further, digitalization has enabled process efficiency. Several influencing factors, like pollution, road driving habits, infrastructural issues, are still being addressed and need continued attention to make Indian road transport more sustainable, comfortable and safe.
*Data was collected between 1. October and 29.November 2024.
**These are author's personal views. The data collection is based on the public sources available on the internet. The author takes no guarantees for this information.
Refer to this article as
Jain, A. (2024, November 30). POV: 3 key takeaways on the impact of standardizing bus body design in India for more passenger comfort and safety. ajps.info. https://www.ajps.info/post/3-key-takeaways-on-the-impact-of-standardizing-bus-body-design-for-more-passenger-comfort-and-safety
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