[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by gold class

You can contact Thrissur office for the return tickets on 0487-2441385,09388475998.Once you have done the phone booking you can board the bus from your location and your payment will be collected by the attender in the bus.

Is it applicable for Sundays and other holiday services?

[gold class]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Is it applicable for Sundays and other holiday services?

Ya it is. But purely depending up on the seat availability.I think they will be able to accommodate because apart from Shama,they are also in to contract with Neeta -Volvo operating between Mundakayam-Bangalore. Also on weekends and holiday season they run additional services by hiring buses from Sam Tours & Travels. So they have seats to play with.

[TKMCE]

I agree with coolclouds. i guess they do the phone booking but with a payment at any of their local agents within a couple of hours. Else it is too much of a risk if people dont turn up.

[benbsb29]

Bangalore - Mundakayam : Sai Neeta Travels

I had booked a ticket for my in-laws from Bangalore-Mundakayam on an A/C bus over the weekend. I came to know of such a bus only based on the information which was provided by a couple of members on this thread. Thanks a lot for the same, guys!

When boarding the bus, i was pleasantly surprised to see that the bus was a B7R Volvo, from Sai Neeta Travels. Despite the departure time of 7:30PM which was provided, the bus left from Madiwala only about 8:15 PM. The other downside was that the bus does not stop on Hosur Road directly, but instead stops on the lane connecting to Hosur Road opposite the now defunct petrol bunk at Madiwala. Crossing the busy road with elders, kid and luggage was a Herculean task.

That aside, what i got to know from my in-laws who travelled on the bus was that it was comfortable, and also reached Mundakayam at 8:30AM, which is even relatively earlier than the Sharma non-A/C bus which leaves from Bangalore around more than an hour earlier. No wonder Volvos heralded the revolution in bus travel in India.

This is certainly an option we would prefer over the Sharma Travels bus for future journeys.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Bangalore - Mundakayam : Sai Neeta Travels

Is it the same NEETA travels (Mumbai operator)? Please confirm

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Is it the same NEETA travels (Mumbai operator)? Please confirm

I am not sure if it is the same operator. However, this is co-ordinated by the same Travels Centre group of people.

[gold class]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I am not sure if it is the same operator. However, this is co-ordinated by the same Travels Centre group of people.

It is not directly related to NEETA -Mumbai. But There is a travels called Sai Shree in Kalasipalayam who is the authorized agent for Neeta Mumbai.The Volvo running to Mundakayam belongs to Sai Shree travels and their operations to Kerala(Mundakayam),Hyderabad,Chennai is running under name SAI NEETA.

[shalini_g]

Traveled on the Sai Neeta last saturday. I was at Guruvayoor and booked the ticket via a travel agent. Reached Thrissur by 8.30PM and went to Travel center. I was told by the Guruvayoor agent that the bus will reach Thrissur by 9PM and later came to know that it is late by 30min. FInally bus arrivied at9.40PM and soon left the place. Bus looks like an old one, but was neat. I was seated in the front row, just behind the driver and was not so comfortable as there was no foot rest given. Every time the bus braked, I was pushed forwards as I couldn't rest my feet properly.
Around 1 PM , suddenly every one was feeling hot and realised that AC is not working. Went and complained to the driver, he again switched it on . Not sure why they are switching off AC in between. Not a good practice!!!

It picked people from Palakkad and finally reached BLR EC around 7.30AM. Overall an OK trip.

Regards,
Gopi

[gold class]

Originally Posted by shalini_g

Traveled on the Sai Neeta last saturday. I was at Guruvayoor and booked the ticket via a travel agent. Reached Thrissur by 8.30PM and went to Travel center. I was told by the Guruvayoor agent that the bus will reach Thrissur by 9PM and later came to know that it is late by 30min. FInally bus arrivied at9.40PM and soon left the place. Bus looks like an old one, but was neat. I was seated in the front row, just behind the driver and was not so comfortable as there was no foot rest given. Every time the bus braked, I was pushed forwards as I couldn't rest my feet properly.
Around 1 PM , suddenly every one was feeling hot and realised that AC is not working. Went and complained to the driver, he again switched it on . Not sure why they are switching off AC in between. Not a good practice!!!

It picked people from Palakkad and finally reached BLR EC around 7.30AM. Overall an OK trip.

Regards,
Gopi

Thanks Gopi for the information. In fact i had shown this message to the concerned person and the particular driver has been moved out of duty. I think you are refering an old guy as driver. Company was also having some doubt on him and with this solid evidence they have moved him out. In fact the other thing is there was no palakkad pick up the same day. It might be seats that drivers got in to their pockets.
The other fact is even tough it is a semi sleeper volvo you will not be having foot rest in the very first seats. That is why its called 'daddy s seat' and is provided with a seat belt so that you dont tend to move forward when it brakes.

[shalini_g]

Originally Posted by gold class

Thanks Gopi for the information. In fact i had shown this message to the concerned person and the particular driver has been moved out of duty. I think you are refering an old guy as driver. Company was also having some doubt on him and with this solid evidence they have moved him out. In fact the other thing is there was no palakkad pick up the same day. It might be seats that drivers got in to their pockets.
The other fact is even tough it is a semi sleeper volvo you will not be having foot rest in the very first seats. That is why its called 'daddy s seat' and is provided with a seat belt so that you dont tend to move forward when it brakes.

Thanks Gold class for the update. There were two drivers, intially it was a lean guy with thick beard and later the old guy took over. AC was switched off by the old guy. I am not sure wheather they went to Palakkad town for pickup, but got atleast 5 to 6 people after Thrissur.
Abt the seat belt, I don't find it for the seats just behind the driver. Will check it next time.

[libranof1987]

Recently completed a Bangalore-Chennai round trip.

I was booked on SRS Travels A/c Hispano bus on Sunday 1500 for B'lore-Chennai. The bus was 20mins late and eventually departed from Madiwala (my boarding point) at 1530.

The scheduled arrival in Chennai was 2100 while we reached at 2140.

The leg room was more than that in a Volvo. The driving was farely nice and speeds restricted to ~75 km/hr (don't know if the driver was disciplined or the bus couldn't go faster). The bus had a terribly loud and harsh horn though. No movie was played. We stopped about 80 kms from Chennai for a tea break.

Fare was Rs. 380. I find that extremely VFM. I wouldn't mind choosing this bus over a Volvo (considering the fare was ~Rs. 200 less)

For Chennai-Bangalore, I was booked on the 1315 KSRTC Airavat Gold Class. The bus took off almost on time and dropped me off at KR Puram at 1900 (amazing punctuality).

The driving was pretty good. We'd stopped for snacks at some place ~150 kms from B'lore.

Fare : Rs. 590. (the conductor took 600 and didn't give back 10. I asked him for the change once and he said, he'd give later. Then, I just didn't want to ask him for it again. Plan to write to KSRTC about it.)

[DaiKatana]

Completed a Bengaluru-Chennai round-trip through Olivea last week.
The journey was absolutely comfortable both ways.
Buses were Volvo multi-axle in 21-seat, 3-abreast configuration. Had acres of leg room (more than in business class in some airlines). The seats had great lumbar and calf support and could be electrically adjusted to find the most comfortable position. Each seat had a drop down 10-inch plasma screen with a selection of Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu movies. There was a live TV option as well, but reception was spotty.
On-board refreshment included a bottle of water, and an absolutely edible breakfast - i took the 6.30 am service. On the return journey - the 11 pm service from Chennai - we were served veg burgers and dessert, which I think was a bit too much considering the late hour.
Buses leave Bengaluru from HSR Layout thrice daily - 6.30 am, 4pm and 11 pm, with corresponding services from Chennai. From Chennai, buses leave from Hotel Radha Regent, near Koyambedu bus station. Travel time was 5.30 minutes both ways. Fares are a bit steep; Rs 1680 one-way.
Now for the downsides. The buses are beginning to show their age, and up keep is a bit iffy, specialally on the inside. The door to the chemical toilet at the back of the bus didn't have a latch, which meant it couldn't be used. Also, the on-board entertainment system has gremlins. Headphones wouldn't fit, or work, on the return journey. That said, the bus was clean.

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by gold class

Company was also having some doubt on him and with this solid evidence they have moved him out. In fact the other thing is there was no palakkad pick up the same day. It might be seats that drivers got in to their pockets.

I still don't understand why a driver would want to switch off the AC, unless instructed by the management to improve fuel efficiency. Maybe Gold Class could throw some light on this.

[autotranny]

Hi everyone. My friend's parents want to travel from Mysore to Chennai on this Saturday. They were initially planning to come to Blore and take the Olivea, but its fully booked. Any other good options for direct from Mysore.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by autotranny

Hi everyone. My friend's parents want to travel from Mysore to Chennai on this Saturday. They were initially planning to come to Blore and take the Olivea, but its fully booked. Any other good options for direct from Mysore.

There is no much of service between Mysore and Chennai.
To my knowledge it should be a split journey between Mysore-Blore, Blore-Chennai.

Wish some one moves this space atleast for this holiday season. Last time I need to travel by Cauveri Express to reach chennai from Mysore..