A Look Inside The Luxury Bus of Indonesia

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu) 08/25/2014 at 16:08 • Filed to: Buslopnik

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A quite a while ago, i saw an article in TTAC about the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . And that inspires me to write about Indonesian Bus. So, you have seen the TTAC's take on buses, And here's a look to the amazing world of Indonesia's luxury buses.

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Traveling by bus is the third choice to get around in Indonesia, just below the Airplane and Trains. Some peoples take these buses for many reasons. First, it is much less expensive than flying. Second, buses reach a lot more destinations than planes or trains. Third, they can't get a plane ticket and miss the train. Fourth, most of the bus passengers don't have cars. Fifth, bus is dependable in all conditions. Finally, There's some people that just loves buses just like me.

Seriously.

Anyway, let's dig deeper into the world of luxury buses of Indonesia!

The Buses

The buses in here is a bit different than the bus you see anywhere else. It's because the buses were made locally by a coachbuilder. So, the bus company only have to buy the bus chassis and let the coachbuilder do the rest, because it's cheaper than buy a completely built-up buses from bus company. For example, here's a Mercedes-Benz Bus that you normally see in Europe:

And here's an example of a variant of Mercedes-Benz bus that's sold in Indonesia:

A bit different, isn't it?

And now, the buses. There's quite a lot of bus maker in Indonesia, but i'll only focus on the top 6 bus makers sorted by market share.

1. Hino (Japan)

Hino is the most common buses here in Indonesia. The reason is simple, they're cheap, easy to work on, very reliable, easy to tune, and quite powerful. The base model hino chassis with 260hp engine and no air suspension retails for mere sniff of 50k USD, and the top of the line RN285 with 285hp is just 65k USD, and those bus can be tuned to as high as 350hp just by adjusting the turbo and ECU setup. And because the bus is cheap, the ticket is pretty cheap as well, since in here some bus company have varied ticket price depending on the bus engine and creature comfort inside.

But, because Hino is cheap, they tends to skip some features you normally get on the other bus maker. For instance, you don't get Air Suspension. Sometimes you don't get ABS as well, so stopping the bus is a bit scary. And because the bus has no air suspension, the ride is pretty rough.

2. Mercedes-Benz (Germany)

What? Mercedes made Buses?

Yep. Mercedes do made buses, and they're the 2nd most common bus you'll see here in Indonesia. The reason is simple, it's the most comfortable bus in here. Seriously. Mercedes Bus is all about long-distance comfort. They don't even let the bus company to re-adjust the Air Suspension on some models because they say it's the best settings suited for Indonesian country road, although if you bought the top of the line OH1836 or OH2542 you can adjust the suspension.

The another reason is, the Mercedes buses is full of advanced technology, like active body control or ABS just like their cars, but it's not very expensive. A base model OH1526 with 260hp and 1500nm of torque is just 60k USD, same price like Hino RN285, and top of the line 1836 is only 120k USD, cheaper than Swedish offering like Scania and Volvo. The only downsides is, the bus top speed is Electronically limited to 120km/h. And in here, speed matters. Just wait for the next part.

3. Scania (Sweden)

Scania is famous in here for the Power. If you look for a thrilling bus ride, go take a Scania bus in here, you won't be disappointed. The power comes from a finely tuned 13,000 cc engine, pumping out a massive 360-380hp and boatload of torque. 0-60? Depends on the driver, somewhere arround high 8 to low 9 seconds. Top Speed? 160km/h for the K380.

Think about it. A 10-ton of alumunium box with some meat and leather hurtling trough the highway at 160km/h.

But, as the saying goes: "With The Great Power comes with a Great Price". That's why the Scania is not really popular in here. The base model K360 cost about the same like the 1836 from Mercedes, yet it's less comfortable due to a stiffer chassis despite the Scania comes with Adjustable Air Suspension. And for the top of the line K380 cost nearly 200k USD, which is a bit ridiculous, for the bus company at least.

4. Golden Dragon (Chinese)

If you see a bus with this logo, don't be fooled. It's not a Citroen. It's Golden Dragon, a Chinese bus manufacture. Golden Dragon is a new player in Indonesian Buses, but now they're gaining quite a lot of marketshare. It's because they're copying Scania. So they offers similar power to the Scania K360, have similar features like air suspension, abs, retarder, cruise control and many else, but at half the price. That's Quite a deal. No word on reliability tough, but i think they're pretty reliable, having seen some buses break the 500k km mark easily.

5. Hyundai (South Korean)

The Story of Hyundai is a bit unique. It may says Hyundai on the front, but underneath it's a Mitsubishi since it has the same Transmision and Engines made by Mitsubishi. The Hyundai buses is powerful, nearly as powerful as the Scania. But my favorite thing about this bus is sometimes it's shooting flames from the exhaust like a Lamborghini when it's driven hard.

Other than the flames, it's just a regular bus just like Hino. Cheap.

6. Volvo (Sweden)

Volvo used to be the ultimate choice of bus, before Scania arrives and steals all Volvo costumers. I mean, Volvo offers Air Suspension, ABS, cruise control, and 330hp engine, all back in 2004. But then it's discovered that the Air Suspension was not suited for Indonesian roads due having very low pressure, and therefore prone to fail. Plus dealership networks is a bit hard to find, so Volvo buses becomes more and more rare.

The other bus makers including Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Weichai, Dongfeng, MAN, Toyota, Perkasa, Nissan Diesel, and many others, but nowhere as common as the top 6 makers above. Now let's move on to the Interior and Creature Comforts.

The Interior

The Bus Interior in Indonesia is varies greatly from each bus company. It all depends on the distance of your travel. If you your destination is less than 300km, normally you get a basic interior like the picture above. You got reclining seats up to 160 degrees, a TV in the front, and that's about it. TV in the front? Yes, something a bit like this:

Pretty nice, right? It'll get better. If you travels more than 300km, you can get 2 class: Executive and Super Executive. The Executive class interior is varies greatly between bus company. But generally, it has more tvs:

A reclining seat with foot rest:

wi-fi, and toilet:

But the ultimate way to travel in bus is obviously, the Super Executive. Just look at this huge seats with massage function and your own reading light:

And even more tvs:

Some of them even have a lounge for you to chill out and relax:

While the others that don't have lounge have a meeting table:

Some buses even has even bigger seats:

And of course, they all have toilets and wi-fi.

So, the passenger have quite nice interiors in the back. But how about the drivers? It's turn out that the drivers also has a quite comfortable cabin:

So, that's the Interior. And oh, i almost forgot, you also got a food if you travel more than 300km. The food is also varies, but it's definitely an Indonesian Cuisine like tempe or some soup or a chicken curry. Usually something a bit like this:

And for the finale, let's look at the drivers

The Driver

I think it's pretty safe to say that Indonesian Bus Driver is one of the craziest in the world. I mean, even when a volcano erupts near them, they just keep on going. Simply because they're paid base on how many trips that they can do everyday. Sometimes they do a drag race:

Sometimes they do a corner in an absurd way:

Sometimes they drift:

Sometimes the do a wet race:

Sometimes the do a night race and pretend to be a police:

Sometimes they do a top speed run:

And sometimes they'll go "Fuck it!" and go out on the other way

But despite they're driving like a lunatic, they're actually very nice and helpful people. You can ask about anything about bus, or city, or travel, or anything about Indonesia with him, and they're pretty knowledgeable.

So, let's sum up then. It's look good, it's comfortable, the interior is awesome, the food is fine, and the driver is... a bit crazy. And that's why i love buses.

PatBateman > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:12

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I'd pay for the first class seating...

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:16

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Aya where have you been? We have been looking for you.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/an-opponaut-ha…

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > PatBateman 08/25/2014 at 16:20

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Yeah.

Back then when i have a Mercedes i rather take a bus for a long-distance business trip. Yes the mercedes is faster, but it's way much cheaper and easier to take a bus instead.

thebigbossyboss > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:21

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Does Indonesia have motorways? If not...well I'd hate to see one of these hurtling along at 160.

MonkeePuzzle > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:23

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suck it disabled people! no toilet for you!

seriously though, that looks like a REALLY cramped place, what's it like inside this closet of a toilet?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > thebigbossyboss 08/25/2014 at 16:27

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Yep. It's a bit like Japanese motorway, where there's speed limit but if you go faster than that, nobody will stop you.

Or there's always an Interstate..

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > MonkeePuzzle 08/25/2014 at 16:31

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It looks a bit like this:

The toilet is small because the bus is rear-engined, any you can't really put the toilet in the front..

MonkeePuzzle > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:33

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actually not terrible

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Luc - The Acadian Oppo 08/25/2014 at 16:37

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Well, i'm kinda busy looking for ISP.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/well-long-time…

thebigbossyboss > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:38

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Oh man those drivers are nuts.

Passing trucks on the shoulder and so forth.

When I see these videos the bus drivers remind me of west africa a bit. Nuts.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > thebigbossyboss 08/25/2014 at 16:42

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Yeah. Only maybe the roads in here is a tiny bit better.

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:55

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Manual box on a Merc bus? That's not a thing you see every day. Do you still encounter many manual buses in Indonesia?

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 16:56

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No speed limiters? Buses in the EU are limited to 100 kmh.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Cé hé sin 08/25/2014 at 17:08

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Actually that's an Auto.

For Manuals..

Majority of the bus in Indonesia is Manual. Auto box is only offered with either MAN or Mercedes-benz starting from this year.

For the transmission itself, Scania has a 7-speed dogleg manual, while the rest still stuck with 6. Hell, Hino still offer 5-speed manual for god sake.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Cé hé sin 08/25/2014 at 17:11

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Why you need one?

The only bus that came with speed limiter is Mercedes-Benz, which is limited at 120km/h.

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 17:19

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It's the law and has been for the past twenty years. Trucks are limited to 90 and buses to 100. You don't get a choice in this. The reason behind the fitting of limiters was originally to reduce emissions and fuel consumption. Truck buyers sometimes specify lower limits - 85 or 80 - depending on the kind of driving they do.

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/25/2014 at 17:24

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I haven't seen a gearlever like that before. Here automatics (on buses and trucks) tend to have something like this:

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Cé hé sin 08/25/2014 at 17:28

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Well, we had no such laws in Indonesia. So those bus can go as fast as they can.

But since 2011 Mercedes has been capping the bus top speed at 120. Some Hino also put an RPM limiter so the bus can't go beyond 1500rpm in 6th gear like in RN285, but most of them removed anyway. If the Hino limiter was on, the bust can only do 115.

But the rest of buses has no speed limiter, since every bus driver speeds anyway.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Cé hé sin 08/25/2014 at 17:39

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I think i have seen that lever in MAN bus, but i'm not quite sure..

But i prefer manuals, it's so much simpler.

Ariel Viera > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:01

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Ooh so beautiful!

CzechMonster76 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:07

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Nothing beats the feeling of being stuck on a bus with 50 plus stinky people with a lunatic driver and nightmare traffic. That's why I don't ride on buses in Indonesia.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > CzechMonster76 08/26/2014 at 11:11

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Not really. Super Excecutive bus always seats less than 36, sometimes even as low as 22.

shieldsdb > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:15

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You haven't experienced shit till you take a ride with a Kuwaiti bus driver from KCIA to one of those god forsaken bases out in the desert.

LatitudeAdjustment > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:15

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The drivers might be nuts but the their airlines have a worse record, so the bus looks better! Local flight I was on had no leg room, no carry on, no toilet and roaches between the windows!

NipperDawg > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:15

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So no different then those Chinese owned buses from NYC to Atlantic City. At least with Atlantic City going out of business there will be less of these lunatics on the NJT.

FCV-8311 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:18

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This was a very good article; thanks for sharing!

de Snoek > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:18

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those actually looks great and comfortable! My experience with "luxurious" and "VIP" busses in other parts of south east Asia is they basically promise what you see on these pictures but end up being old, nearly falling apart, having a big@$$ karaoke set up on max during the ride and drivers going for almost-misses with cattle, other cars and kids and babies playing on the roads.

if you ever go to Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam expect the above...

Vincent Davidson > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:20

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Do they put the engine models and manufacturers on the sides of all the buses? Thats kinda cool.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > LatitudeAdjustment 08/26/2014 at 11:21

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Whoah, that's bad. The last time i took a plane is similar story, i was flying a 737-300 overloaded with durians. Seriously, even the pilot tells me that "We're absolutely lucky to survive that flight"

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > FCV-8311 08/26/2014 at 11:22

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Thank you!

Ultrakill > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:26

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They drive the exact same way in India.

onceagainandagain > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:29

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Technically the luxury bus is an export from Japan as "late night" bus travel is hugely popular due to the lower cost than Skinkansen or air. This has been around for decades in Japan in various levels of luxury.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Vincent Davidson 08/26/2014 at 11:30

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Yes. They let you know all about those.

And it's really easy to understand. For example, if you see a bus above written with "Mercedes-Benz OH1836", that means the bus's has 360hp. Hino RN285 has 285hp. Scania K380 has 380hp. The only ones that didn't do this practice was Golden Dragon.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Ultrakill 08/26/2014 at 11:32

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Yes, having seen some shows about Indian bus driver i can confirm that's true.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > de Snoek 08/26/2014 at 11:34

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Well, In Indonesia sometimes they play those karaoke, but most of the time they shut them up to let you sleep. They only set it to the max when it's time for you to wake up and eat some food.

And i think we have less cattle and kids on the roads.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > onceagainandagain 08/26/2014 at 11:41

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Well, not really. The bus was made locally by coachbuilder, except for the chassis and drivetrain.

For the bus you upload there, i think it's the Hino S'elega Hybrid, which is not sold in Indonesia. Hino once took that S'elega to Indonesian Truck and Bus show 2011, but nobody bought one, which is a shame.

Mike N. > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:44

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Is that a hose for your privates?

davedave1111 > Cé hé sin 08/26/2014 at 11:44

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Technically, they're not limited to those speeds, just to doing those speeds under power. On long downhill stretches of road, fully loaded trucks (especially) and buses can get up to well beyond the limited speed.

Falken12 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:45

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This is much like in the Philippines where you overtake wherever at your own risk so being from the states and riding a bus over taking a box truck by ways of going onto the oncoming lane and seeing another bus down the road...NUMEROUS TIMES, you can imagine how many times I have kissed my ass good-bye in anticip-

-ation.

Jonathan Harper > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:46

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I avoid bus travel like the plague. That said, some of those buses look pretty decent.

davedave1111 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 11:50

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I keep thinking Europe should have something like those super-exec buses - or even a step up, with individual cabins. There's no way I'd take the bus for 12 hours when there's a much quicker plane or train alternative, but on an overnight route with chair/beds good enough to sleep properly in, most of that time goes while you're sleeping.

Cé hé sin > davedave1111 08/26/2014 at 11:55

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Well yes, the limiter doesn't act on the brakes (which may well come in the future) but over speeding will still show up as a violation on the tacho and employers aren't a bit happy about that.

Jon-o > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:06

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And once those busses are done living they send them to places like Jamaica i think. Each bus we took would be this broken old bus that had all the writing and labels were in Asian characters (not sure which language). it said it was from the Philippines. The driver took it up to 130 and the speed limit is 80 passing head on with people using the ditch to avoid head on crashes and flying around blinds corners. It sure was an experience.

onceagainandagain > onceagainandagain 08/26/2014 at 12:08

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No no, I mean the concept has been exported from Japan, the buses are manufactured by whoever. Such as the German built MegaLiner that was bought by the bucket loads bu JR in the 1980's and to this day MegaLiners are still hugely popular in Japan.

a1495844@trbvm.com > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:10

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Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail

———————————> http://www.jobs700.com

Waichukucha > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:12

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Meh! We have those 2. *Welcome 2 Kenya*

Shift-Lah! > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:20

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160 km/h?! How many accidents involving buses were there in a year?

de Snoek > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:31

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Lucky! I once took a VIP bus in Laos from Vientiane to Thakaek. Trip took 6 hours with the karaoke on max and nobody enjoying it.

oh, and the toilet was a little 1x1m, 1 meter high "room" that was 50% occupied by a big tub of water to flush the toilet and 30% occupied by the toilet itself...Asian busses are always an adventure! :)

Tohru > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:42

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So are the cop lights and cop siren standard equipment? Do they have cop buses over there?

Crazy Asian > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:48

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Great write up. Can't say I've ever ridden on a bus in Indonesia. Never needed to. Everything I've ever needed was always within walking distance of my grandma's house or hotel (when in Bali). But damn you, this article makes me miss Indonesia so so so much.

Ultrakill > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 12:58

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I will ride in a lot of things in India, scooter, motorcycle, auto rickshaw, and car, but bus is the thing I'm most afraid of there, that and trains.

gophur > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 13:12

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That was a great read. Thanks for sharing. I know almost nothing about Indonesia but that looks like it might make for a great vacation taking different buses around to different places for a couple weeks. Time to ask Rick Steves!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Tohru 08/26/2014 at 13:55

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Well, it's optional. For cop bus, we do have that, called the Mercedes-Benz Anaconda:

Godman > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 13:56

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When I lived in Indonesia I loved these Buses. You could fully recline and sleep in them, especially when travelling at night for 10 hours which is common to do. I wish they used them here, but I read an article in Gizmodo suggesting they take reclining seats out of airplanes for cheap fares which is really a dumb cold blooded idea. On the lighter side, Indonesian roads can be very twisty and can go through various altitudes commonly causing passengers to get motion sickness and vomit. Hence, I used to call them "Vomit Comets".

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Mike N. 08/26/2014 at 13:57

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Yes.

bryantxune > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 14:10

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last pay check was $9500 working 12 hours a week online. My neighbour's sister has been averaging 15k for months now and she works about 20 hours a week. I can't believe how easy it was once I tried it out.

This is what I do,,,,,,,,,,

www.C­a­s­h­f­e­e­d­1­0.CoM

Tohru > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 14:14

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So those videos of bus drivers with the blue lights and sirens were actually police?

davedave1111 > Cé hé sin 08/26/2014 at 14:15

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I'm not really sure how it all works. I had a housemate for a while who was a lorry driver, and he had all kinds of (very believable) stories about lorries three-abreast on the motorway, doing a ton or more.

Cé hé sin > davedave1111 08/26/2014 at 14:29

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Good lord, I'm glad I wasn't there for that...

In the old days before speed limiters people used to manage startlingly high speeds but I'd be surprised if getting up to 90 km/h (56 mph) and putting the truck into neutral would get you up to 100 on a motorway. They don't usually have hills that long and steep.

TamerlaneBlog > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 19:54

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As the author of the Latin American bus post, I enthusiastically endorse this post. Great writing and photos, my Indonesian comrade!

M54B30 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 21:39

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wow, much Jalop very manual

frossonice > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 22:39

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Not trying to set a rivalry or something here (you know what I meant). I'm from Malaysia and this kind of buses is what our bus services look like about 10 years ago. Nowadays there are double deckers everywhere and truly luxury. The drivers still drives like F1 drivers like you get in Indonesia. :D

Inside the coach,

Jedediah Beall > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/26/2014 at 22:56

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The wife says Malaysian buses are the same. Even have stewardesses.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Tohru 08/27/2014 at 00:40

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Nope. You see, the cop sirens was much higher than than the one in the video. In Indonesia everybody can put the sirens on their car.

*Plus the police bus is much faster than that since it has 600hp engine from the Mercedes Actros.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Jon-o 08/27/2014 at 00:42

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Well, maybe. I don't know about jamaica, but in here old buses went to Fiji, i've seen that on the net.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > M54B30 08/27/2014 at 00:46

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Not really. Scania is even more Jalop.

7-Speed Dogleg Manual Gearbox. Because racebus.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > TamerlaneBlog 08/27/2014 at 00:49

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Thank you!

I love your post as well, especially that burger king bus-shaped lunchbox, it's awesome!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Crazy Asian 08/27/2014 at 00:50

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Yeah, bali is pretty small i think.

Have you try to ride a scooter or moped? It's awesome!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Godman 08/27/2014 at 00:53

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Well, i kinda agrees that cheap planes don't recline because you have a very small legroom there, compared to the buses.

For the roads..

It depends on your route really. If you take mountain backroads then that's what you got. If you take a long, sweeping interstate around the beach, it's fine.

Crazy Asian > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/27/2014 at 00:59

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Yeah, when I last went (8 years ago) was when I learned how to drive a motorcycle/scooter there.

Tohru > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/27/2014 at 01:18

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... Hang on, I'm confused. You mean anyone can legally put blue lights and sirens on their vehicle like the cops do?

I'm from the US - in the state I live in, that would fall under "Impersonating a Police Officer" and is a Class A Misdemeanor ( fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment in county jail not to exceed 9 months, or both).

Using the lights and siren to break traffic laws is classified a Class H Felony (a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment in state prison not to exceed 6 years, or both).

TamerlaneBlog > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/27/2014 at 01:26

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My Indonesian story: My friend here in the States has a Chevy Blazer. I found out that there is an Opel Blazer in Indonesia. My other friend in Jakarta was walking by a junkyard and saw an Opel Blazer and sent me the hood badge. I then sent it to my Chevy Blazer friend!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Tohru 08/27/2014 at 01:51

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Yes.

In Indonesia it's completely legal. Unless in Jakarta, where you'll be fined 40USD.

Tohru > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/27/2014 at 02:00

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Fuckin' weird, man.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Tohru 08/27/2014 at 04:20

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Welcome to Indonesia.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > TamerlaneBlog 08/27/2014 at 04:23

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Well, the blazers used to be everywhere at late 90's. Now they're gone.

And to add for confusion, we also had the Chevy Blazers. Weird..

davedave1111 > Cé hé sin 08/27/2014 at 08:49

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Just looked it up and ran the numbers. The max normal gradient allowed for a motorway is 4% (1 in 25). Assuming I didn't screw anything up, that means a 44 tonne lorry is dropping 40 metres for every km, or 60 metres in a minute at 90km/h. Expressed as power - (44 tonnes * g * 60) per minute - that comes to roughly 580 hp.

Obviously, that increases linearly as speed increases, and although air resistance increases with the cube of speed, so things tend to a limit, by 160 km/h (~100 mph), the power from gravity would be in the region of 1000 hp. Seems plausible, although I haven't worked out the actual drag. Rough guesstimate, a lorry has maybe 5-10 times the drag of a car, and cars with 100 hp will mostly get a ton up without too much fuss.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/27/2014 at 11:40

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Try again, Indonesia, and come back when your buses don't look and feel cheaply made. Also, shame on you, Mercedes.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 08/28/2014 at 16:14

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Come on, real driver shift their own gears. Even bus driver..

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 08/28/2014 at 22:02

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Try living in the US then.

Tapas > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 04/16/2016 at 09:43

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Great write up :) India also has coach built busses because of how cheap they are. I’ve seen this trend in most of Asia and parts of the middle east.