(L–R): Nalinda Kurukulasuriya, General Manager (TATA Commercial Vehicle Sales Division) of DIMO, Rohit Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer of TATA Marcopolo Motors Limited, Vijitha Bandara, Chief Operating Officer of TATA Division of DIMO, Gahanath Pandithage, Chief Executive Officer of DIMO, Rudrarup Maitra, Head – Sales (CV International Business) of TATA Motors Limited and Ranjith Pandithage, Chairman and Managing Director of DIMO presenting the newly launched TATA ULTRA bus
Pic by Pradeep Dilrukshana



By Zahara Haris
Taking over the challenge of providing a safe and comfortable public transport system in Sri Lanka, Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) together with Tata launched a new range of Ultra buses recently.

Sri Lanka being the first country to be launched internationally, the buses Ultra Standard Bus, Ultra School Bus and Ultra AC Bus are developed considering  the convenience of  commuters as well as the bus operators.

The Ultra Standard Bus and Ultra School Bus which consists 34 seats each and Ultra Luxury AC bus with 29 seats, are designed to meet the transportation needs of various groups of people such as office staff, school children and tourists.

The buses comprise of many features which include, spacious seating and interior which enables commuters to access all seats easily, a door ahead of the front axle resulting in more seats, an easy gear shift, adjustable driver’s seat, durable and radial tyres, large shutters and windscreen and 6-speed gearbox with over drive.


In addition, the Ultra luxury bus will be equipped with a LCD screen fitment and a CD/DVD player upon request.

 Prior to the launch, DIMO and Tata brought down 25 buses as a trial to test  its suitability to Sri Lankan conditions and people, which became a  success according to the feedback of those who purchased.

Sharing their experience, the operators said, since there are extra seats they could accommodate more passengers as it gives better return for them, also since it has a vinyl carpet which doesn’t slip and a low footboard, it’s safe for the public, specially for children.

Chairman and Managing Director of DIMO, Ranjith Pandithage said that once there is a fall of fuel price, people will use their own transport as it is more comfortable and reliable,  which has resulted in bringing down the number of public transport users specially  of CTB buses. According to him, if there is a good public transport, people will prefer to use it as they look for safety and comfort.

“People demand for it. Young society wants that. They don’t want to spend time on the road; very soon they will want all public transport air-conditioned. In Singapore,  almost all the public transport are air- conditioned,” he said assuring that they are ready to  provide a better public transport in Sri Lanka as well.
TATA Motors Limited is an Indian automobile company with consolidated revenues of US$ 42.04 billion and with over 8 million of vehicles plying in India.