[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Traveled by the new Viji-Yathra Volvo Multi-Axle (Bangalore-Pathanamthitta, via Ernakulam, Kottayam) service yesterday. A short review:

The bus was new (about 34000kms on the odo). The bus came to Madiwala at around 2010hrs. The traffic police has made the area strictly "No-Parking". They were charging most private vehicles parked in the area (between Madiwala Ayyappa Temple/MAS Hotel to St. Johns Signal). Cops were not letting buses to stop on the road as well (Kallada buses were being parked at their will though).

Thanks Binai for the review.

I think the traffic cops are not paid hence this "No Parking". I have seen this drama few months back at this stretch which lasted for few days.

Last time, A1 took this route via Tiruppur but joined NH47 only at Palghat.

Did they play any movie? (I do not prefer to watch movie till midnight)

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

I think the traffic cops are not paid hence this "No Parking". I have seen this drama few months back at this stretch which lasted for few days.

Lol. Very true. I was fined last month for "No Parking" - I paid the fine and got a receipt. Then the cop said you can park for as long as you want now. So the Rs. 100 I paid was considered as "parking charges"

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Did they play any movie? (I do not prefer to watch movie till midnight)

They did play a movie, and that got stuck every now and then. They played it till about 2230hrs or so, but at low volumes.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by binaiks

This chap was fast - he picks up speed very quickly and makes quite a lot of sudden turns. The bus turned left at Chengampally, and took the route via Tiruppur-Palladam and exited on the Coimbatore bypass. I did not see any other operator on the way.

Even in my last trip to Muvatupuzha in Yatra travels Air bus the driver was the same way, add to that a bus which has a weak suspension and had a very tiring travel. The driver was driving like a maniac for most times and then wasting time taking long breaks.
That bus too took the left from Chenganpally as you mentioned. Not sure why they taking it since there is no drop off point and roads too not that great compared to NH

[SantoshPV]

Originally Posted by shipnil

How much time did KSRTC took to complete the journey? Any idea if they have a stop at Hinjewadi / Wakad if the bus is going to / coming from Mumbai?

Sorry shipnil, was quite busy, hence the delay in replying.
The bus used to start at 7pm from Swar Gate (Pune) with a half an hour stop over from 8:30-9pm at Natraj Hotel for dinner & then they drive non-stop. I reach the 8th mile bus stop (just before they take the flyover over Jalahalli Cross) by 8:15-8:30am next day.
I traveled once in a Mumbai bound bus & they reached Pune through the Khatraj ghats & stopped at the Khatraj bus depot. Guess they continued on to rejoin the highway to Mumbai, so I don't think they take the Hinjewadi route.
You can check with KSRTC by calling the listed call centre number - 080-4455-4422

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Traveled by the new Viji-Yathra Volvo Multi-Axle (Bangalore-Pathanamthitta, via Ernakulam, Kottayam) service yesterday.

Traveled in this same bus yesterday. Left Madiwala at 9.10 but managed to cross Silkboard only at 9.30 via Madiwala market. As usual, the driving was rash and reached Vyttila at 6.10am. They took a detour to avoid Walayar as they got some info regarding traffic block at check post from their another service.

The fare was Rs. 1050 for Bangalore-Ernakulam.

[sagarpadaki]

My father needs to travel to Coimbatore. He is sensitive to back pain ,hence comfort is the highest priority. Which are the best operators with the best buses available on this route?

Preferably sleeper,non AC. Multi axle volve with best leg space,reclination would also do. But comfort is the highest priority!

Please suggest

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

My father needs to travel to Coimbatore. He is sensitive to back pain ,hence comfort is the highest priority. Which are the best operators with the best buses available on this route?

Preferably sleeper,non AC. Multi axle volve with best leg space,reclination would also do. But comfort is the highest priority!

Please suggest

Oh! Thats a lot of requirements. May be you should look at Olivea. They operate from Bangalore to Coimbatore, departing at around 2300hrs. The ticket fare is Rs. 1500 (one way).

Sleeper buses are operated by Karnataka SRTC (AC and non-AC), SRM (AC), SRS (Non-AC) and KPN (AC, not sure if they have a NON-AC one as well). I think a few more operators operate non-AC sleeper buses on that route.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Preferably sleeper,non AC.
Please suggest

You may check SRS. Their Coimbatore - Bangalore bus is relatively good and they go via Salem-Dharmapuri (Regular NH). I think some operators do interior routes result in bumpy ride.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

My father needs to travel to Coimbatore. He is sensitive to back pain ,hence comfort is the highest priority. Which are the best operators with the best buses available on this route?

Preferably sleeper,non AC. Multi axle volve with best leg space,reclination would also do. But comfort is the highest priority!

Please suggest

If you could arrange a 2 Tier or 3 Tier AC ticket in a train would be the best bet as you mention the back pain issue.

Else Volvo middle seat should be quite ok.

[ssdubai]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

My father needs to travel to Coimbatore. He is sensitive to back pain ,hence comfort is the highest priority. Which are the best operators with the best buses available on this route?

Preferably sleeper,non AC. Multi axle volve with best leg space,reclination would also do. But comfort is the highest priority!

Please suggest

SRS, Conti, Sharma and KPN have Non AC Sleepers.
As for Volvo Multiaxle , i would suggest Hindustan Travels, KPN ,Kallada and Sharma that ply in this route. And then there is Olivea with the little extra comfort.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

My father needs to travel to Coimbatore. He is sensitive to back pain ,hence comfort is the highest priority. Which are the best operators with the best buses available on this route?

Preferably sleeper,non AC. Multi axle volve with best leg space,reclination would also do. But comfort is the highest priority!

Please suggest

Originally Posted by binaiks

May be you should look at Olivea.

Originally Posted by ssdubai

SRS, Conti, Sharma and KPN have Non AC Sleepers.
As for Volvo Multiaxle , i would suggest Hindustan Travels, KPN ,Kallada and Sharma that ply in this route. And then there is Olivea with the little extra comfort.

I would stay away from Olivea if comfort, as in, soft ride is my priority. If space alone is the priority, then Olivea it is, nobody comes even close. For a comfortable ride with decent amount of leg space, a Volvo has never been a good choice for me, unless it has a 2x1 seating configuration.

Among sleepers, I vote for KPN buses, because they have air suspension at the front and the rear, unlike SRM and SRS. Haven't travelled in Conti and Sharma sleepers to Coimbatore, so I don't know. KPN has two sleeper services from CBE, at 22:30hrs and 22:45hrs.

[sagarpadaki]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys.

Train would have been the preferred option.But on such a short notice we cant get tickets.Can try tatkal though.

Mostly if no train ,will ask him to travel by olivea!

[autotranny]

A question to all the Blue blooded Bus Fans ..

Which is the largest (private) bus fleet operator in India ? and how many buses do they operate ? I remember reading long back about VRL , Konduskar etc ordering 100 - 150 Volvo buses in one lot, but no news afterwards.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by autotranny

A question to all the Blue blooded Bus Fans ..

Which is the largest (private) bus fleet operator in India ? and how many buses do they operate ? I remember reading long back about VRL , Konduskar etc ordering 100 - 150 Volvo buses in one lot, but no news afterwards.

I think, still VRL leads among private operators though I am not sure about the number of their buses. They also do have some Limca record for having most number of vehicles.

Edit: Came across this news today. Here is the link. Editing to avoid back to back post.

PRIVATE BUSES MAKE HAY

Bengaluru might be just a night’s journey away for Keralites. But for those bound for the garden city, the distance has only got longer with time.

Malayalis are faced with a deadly mix of travel woes. They are up against problems aplenty in the form of hefty private bus fares, inadequate railway connectivity and a lobby of travel agents and private operators who allegedly grab railway tickets during peak seasons, to redirect passengers to private transport.

Adding to the cup of Malayali travellers’ woes has been the cancellation of the lone Volvo AC bus of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which was servicing the Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru sector.

Maintenance and financial crunch have been cited as the reasons for the cancellation. However, harassed travellers say this as KSRTC’s ploy to help private bus operators.

“The KSRTC usually cancels their services citing low returns. But, there are 29 private AC buses operating between central Kerala and Bengaluru.

There are several non-AC services too. They wouldn’t run so many services if there’s no profit. There are several non-AC services too. ,” says Binai K. Sankar, an active travel blogger from Kodungalloor.

Regular travellers also complain that KSRTC usually cancels its services during peak seasons like summer holidays, Onam and Christmas, just to aid private bus services.

With the higher secondary results set to be announced on May 15, the rush to Bengaluru is expected to shoot up. With train tickets to Bengaluru being already sold out till mid- June, people have no option but to burn their pockets and choose private buses.

The hardest-hit are passengers from Thrissur, Kochi and Kottayam, from where a lot of people travel to Bengaluru for studies and jobs.

Travel experts say the problems are expected to worsen in early June, when schools and colleges open after holidays.

Karnataka rakes in huge profits

While the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation finds a rare sort of joy in cancelling bus services to Bengaluru, allegedly to help the private bus lobbies, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation is raking in huge profits from their Kerala bus services. In fact, the KSRTC's loss is the Karnataka RTC’s gain.

According to travel experts, there are seven AC buses (Airavat club class) and five non-AC buses (Rajahamsa) to the southern districts of Kerala, all garnering huge profit for the Karnataka transport department. In fact, Kerala services are the second highest profit-makers, after Mumbai services, for the KRTC.

“If we compare Kerala RTC with Karnataka RTC regarding Bangalore services, anybody can say that the latter has an upper hand. Karnataka has more number of services with more facilities than its Kerala counterparts.

They are running the buses for the sake of passenger needs and comfort and not just for the sake of profit,” said Sujith Bhakthan, an active netizen, who blogs on KSRTC buses.

The large number of bus services operated by Karnataka RTC itself shows that their Kerala services are profitable. However, the KSRTC insists on saying that its Bengaluru-bound buses are running at a huge loss

[TKMCE]

Travelled on Bharati travels Merc Multi Axle Bangalore Aluva Saturday.
Bus condition inside was immaculate, very creditable keeping in mind this bus is atleast a few months old. Driving was smooth with a two driver operation, both of them were Tamilians. This bus runs between Bangalore and Pathanamthitta viaTrichur Ernakulam Alleppe Changanacherry Thiruvalla and Kozhencherry.

Scheduled arrival was 5.45 at Aluva but reached around 6.30 AM. There was heavy rain at BLR on Saturday evening so this delayed things around 15 min. There is no scheduled stop for food which most people were unaware of till they got into the bus, so a few minutes were wasted at Hosur during a pick up while people who had not had dinner got snacks , soft drinks etc. Boarding at Madiwala was outside the Kallada office.After Krishnagiri there was another halt of 15 min for loading luggage. To make things worse, there was one unfortunate gentleman in the first row who was clearly suffering from some gastric disorder and was requesting "nature breaks": every 3 hours or so for around 15 min each time and the crew were only willing to oblige While this was very considerate of the crew , what was was very irritating was that both these stops were just before scheduled stops anyway (at Perundurai and Mannuthy) and ended up wasting needless time Also the Bharathi refuelling fuel station at Perundurai (the refuelling was a leisurely affair as well) has no catering facilties not even for any tea/cofee for which they stop again barely 15 min after leaving Perundurai, In short with all these virtually unlimited unscheduled and scheduled breaks, the day I travelled, the multi axle merc barely covered 40km between 2 and 3 AM. Finally I decided I had enough with the bus already running late by 45 min (there was luckily no hold up at all at Walayar) and felt there was no point being a good samaritan when nobody else seemed to care about the delays. Hence I requested that I be dropped off at the nearest access point to the NH 47 of my eventual destination whch is barely 2 km from Alwaye Byepass junction. This request also the crew agreed to without a murmur ! Normally I never ever request this even for buses terminating at Ernakulam and instead backtrack from the byepass junction at Alwaye as I keep the sensitivities of other pax but finally my patience had reached its limits. To sum up this bus is not a great option for travelling beyond Ernakulam to places like Pathanamthitta or Changanacherry for which the "Military Style" operations which Binaiks described in his Viji Yatra trip may be a better option in terms of a fairly early arrival!!! Interestingly I saw the bus again at Aluva in the night on the way back at 9 PM, so the crew would barely have a rest of 6 hours at the destination.

Also this was a full bus and the second drivers rest space atleast in my trip was the passageway between the seats athe front of the bus!!! With all these frequent unscheduled stops the guy hardly got any worthwhile rest!


However everything else was good. The guy at the Kalasipalayam Bharati office was friendly , the bookings even through the office are made on the internet and you get an SMS immediately with your booking details. This is also one of the very few private Kerala bound multi axles which has pick up both at Majestic and Kalasipalayam. No water bottle but the blankets were clean and of good quality, And finally the same Bharati office (at Kalasipalayam - next to Sharma Travels) have also a few "quota" seats for the Ambica (Greyhound) non AC service between BLR and COK so this is useful information for last minute travel as they may still be available when other options are full as these quota seats are not generally sold on the internet

I dont know whether my experience was a one off bad one, but if it is not, there is no point paying a premium fare of Rs 1050 for this service when the 1944 Bangalore Ernakulam Multi Axle Club Class of KSRTC from Shantinagar will reach you quicker at Aluva or Ernakulam at lower prices (works out to 810 one way if you book the return as well). The KSRTC service will lso drop you off at the bus station at Kochi instead of Vytilla.