[TKMCE]

Binaiks

A lot of us have expressed their frustration at bus wallahs picking up local passengers and thus reaching Bangalore late for our or office or what not.

Why dont you think of the other way around as well?? There are any number of buses which reach Trichur at civliised hours!!! So if you end up on taking an earlier bus (most likely reason usually - seats not available in the more convenient departures), then you do have to pay for the inconvenience!!!
Anyone who have travelled extensivesly with National Express will clearly understand what I am talking about. A designated stop iis the only designated stop !!! End of the story!!!!

As I said I have travelled enough and more in KeSRTC (and suffered for having to travel to the wrong end of the state for so many years) to feel strongly that it is high time the rule is chucked out for the premium segment- I would have said AC and super deluxes buses onwards but with most of these services being replaced by express buses even on interstate routes, it should be removed for atleast the inter state express services also!!!

IKE (and Binaiks also)
==

My issue is not that the Trivandrum Volvo should not go to to Trichur Bus Stand or even that it should not stop at Mannuthy , since it goes to Trichur Bus Stand. The problem is as per the obsolete KeSRTC rule, if there are five others who want to get down at 5 other intermediate points between Trichur Bus Stand and Mannuuthy, then as per this rule , then the KeSRTC bus crew apparently gets penalised if it doesnt stop at these additional five stops as well, Now spare a thought for the poor passenger destined for Trivandrum.

And heaven forbid (since Binaiks mentions there are so few buses late in the night)- 10 others get in from Trichur Bus Stand - the original designated alighting point -and wants to get down at 10 different places between Trichur and Ernakulam - what happens again??? Also this "alighting only and no boarding" rule is not practical - if some one wants to board at Palarivattam where someone else is getting down quoting the "rule", the conductor cannot prevent the the guy waiting to board - he can only charge the guy the fare from the previous fare stage and not Ernakulam!!!

[ike]

If a couple of people want to get off at non designated stops I don't blame them. We all like to get off closest to home. And people travelling short distances don't prefer a long distance bus but when there are no alternatives what would they do ? Buses are meant for people to travel. People don't take forever to get off It's only a couple of minutes. While it may be irritating for the long distance traveller, please spare a thought for the poor guy who wants to get home.

[ramzsys]

BLR-Tirupati-BLR

It was an impromptu trip. So went to Shanthinagar bus stand(a quick search of APSRTC website showed that AP buses departed from here).
There was a 'super luxury' bus with destination as Tirupati-Nellore. I enquired the driver about the reaching time to Tirupati and he said 1:30 or 2:00 am and the bus started by 9:05 PM. Dinner stop was at some Sravanthi hotel(veg & nv) where there was no proper toilets-this was under the Hoskote fly-over.

There was both rain and truck traffic that hampered the speed and the bus managed to reach TPTY by 3.15 am. By the way, there was no conductor and the driver handled the ticketing.

Took the footpath way and the reporting time for darshan through Divya darshan was 13th july-9 pm. Nevertheless i took the Seegradarshan and this took 5 hours to come out.

When returning, i found 2 KSRTC buses(Executive to BLR and a NWKSRTC volvo B9R) destined to BLR. The executive started first and since i haven't traveled in any air suspension Tata bus, i boarded into this. The tiffin break was at Nandi, and the Volvo overtook here.

Got down at Corporation by 10 pm. Fare was Rs.250 onward, 247 in the return trip.

I found the Leyland better with respect to comfort, speed and engine pickup wise.

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by ike

If a couple of people want to get off at non designated stops I don't blame them. We all like to get off closest to home. And people travelling short distances don't prefer a long distance bus but when there are no alternatives what would they do ? .

Book a KeSRTC Long Distance bus

Let us leave this here !

Moderators - my apologies for going a little OT.

But on a serious note , please be aware of the pitfalls of taking the KeSRTC overnight long hauls esp if your final destination is anywhere near the terminating point . And in such cases please dont sit anywhere near the front of the bus and take extra care of your luggage as there have been quite a few cases of thieves who book themselves as fellow passengers and scoot of with your belongings as well enroute!!

KaSRTC has no such ( " it is mandatory to drop me off at my doorstep if my house is on the way and I ask in the middle of the night") rule which can be enforced to the best of my knowledge.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

quick trip update on our journey to/from Mumbai via KaSRTC:

Not sure this was your one off trip or you travel on this route once in a while. I have posted some reviews on some of the operators on this sector in the same thread.

My take is, if time is important to you, you should travel with SRS or National. KSRTC is usually on time but they are slow. Besides they enter Pune to pick/drop passengers at Swargate. This adds up to your travel time.

Also, I have made some observations on ticket prices, especially off season. Ticket prices are lowest on the previous day of date of travel. Some operators like SRS start with high price, but you will see prices corrected on the previous day of date of travel. This is true especially for Bangalore to Pune / Mumbai direction. National generally keeps the prices consistent throughout but occasionally there are problems like same seat being assigned to two different travelers.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Not sure this was your one off trip or you travel on this route once in a while. I have posted some reviews on some of the operators on this sector in the same thread.

Yes, I did read the posts , but as I mentioned my wife insisted that we travel by KaSRTC and also some of the previous experiences with Sharma , National wasnt good and hence the decision.

Moreover, havent won an argument with my better half

[coolclouds]

@TKMCE: I am not requesting a Volvo bus to do shuttle service during night.

In my case, we were the same four passengers to get down at Kaloor. Let it be Kaloor BS or Stadium, the effort to stop is same. Isn't it? He can be more human. Also, all of us were traveling from Bangalore.

If we stick on to designated stops, Bangalore - Thiruvalla bus do not have a fare stage nor pick up point at Alwaye. Still you get down at Alwaye after paying till Ernakulam BS. Imagine a day when your driver ask you to get down at Ernakulam bus stand and come back. How will you react?

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

@TKMCE: If we stick on to designated stops, Bangalore - Thiruvalla bus do not have a fare stage nor pick up point at Alwaye. Still you get down at Alwaye after paying till Ernakulam BS. Imagine a day when your driver ask you to get down at Ernakulam bus stand and come back. How will you react?

I know I will be getting this question , so here goes.

Aluva BYPASS is a designated DROP OFF point for the Thiruvalla service and almost all other KeSRTC premium class services but Aluva is not a fare stage for the Thiruvalla service which is Ernakulam. This was reconfirmed with the KeSRTC people at Satellite (Mysore road BS) before I booked the first time and rechecked with the conductor as well. I have not requested to get down at any of the 4-5 earlier jucnctions before the Bypass which is closer for me to reach home.

A designated pick up/drop off point need not be same as the fare stage point. The same is the case for KaSRTC where I book a ticket from Ernakulam to Bangalore but again the designated pick up point is Aluva BYPASS which is specified in the ticket.

Just to highlight my point (about not incoveniencing long distance travellers), please note that of the 4 Club Class services of KaSRTC which passess Aluva enroute to Bangalore, only three have a pick up point at Aluva - the 2 Mercs and the Volvo originating from Ernakulam. The Trivandrum Bangalore Multi Axle does not have a pick up point at Aluva .

Interestingly I hear a lot of complaints about one bus in 1000 not going into Trichur town. Imagine the plight of people in Aluva where hardly any "upper class" service of KeSRTC goes into the town and enters the KeSRTC bus stand even during daylight hours And for all those who speak about a long detour into town etc etc (not to speak of interest of the long distance traveller from Trivandrum to Trichur and Palakkad)- I have only reply - look at Cherthala!!!

Wo says "connections" doesnt matter???

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Imagine the plight of people in Aluva where hardly any "upper class" service of KeSRTC goes into the town and enters the KeSRTC bus stand even during daylight hours

Is it really needed during day time? IIRC, SF & Exp services used to go via Alwaye town during night, which was a relief for several passengers. I am not sure if its still there.

As far as I am concerned, I always chose a bus which can pickup/drop me as near as possible. We are used to delays in departure, loading/unloading parcel mid way, traffic blocks etc etc and never complain. A bus hardly takes 5 to 10 seconds or less to drop a passenger (with cabin baggage) and as long as its not a detour, that doesn't make any delay in overall travel time nor affect the comfort of a long distance traveler. In many cases, the drivers will not even switch on the cabin lights and only the passenger and driver will know.

Unlike neighboring states, local bus services are almost nil in Kerala during night time hence we are left with no other option than requesting for a stop.
I completely agree with your point if a passenger demands a stop during day time when there are alternate services available.

What I said is strictly my thoughts. I still continue to get down at my nearest stops/signals during wee hours including last week

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Is it really needed during day time? IIRC, SF & Exp services used to go via Alwaye town during night, which was a relief for several passengers. I am not sure if its still there.

What I said is strictly my thoughts. I still continue to get down at my nearest stops/signals during wee hours including last week

Fair enough Cool Clouds, let us leave it there. The problem is while you and I may be socially responsible ensuring that the least amount of disturbance is created to other passengers , unfortunately the number of people who are not bothered about disturbing others are far too many. Also people scooting off with your bag (in many cases by genuine mistake as half the backpacks look identical even in day time) are far too many. It is for these reasons that whenever I go to Trivandrum, I avoid taking the Ernakulam route and take the one via Tirunelveli, Nagercoil etc. Hardly anyone gets down before Tirunelveli in that route as availability of buses to Madurai, Trichy etc are far too many as you correctly said.

As for KeSRTC services getting into Aluva town, hardly any SF bus gets into the bus stand even in the middle of the night.Aluva bypass in the middle of the night will make Mannuthy look like heaven !!! I once escaped a nasty accident by a very small margin. A Kodungalloor SF which I boarded from Trivandrum (with about 5 people on board from EKM) dropped me at the bypass at 2130 as is the RULE. Unfortunately it was pitch dark as KSEB (again as per the "advertised schedule" in force) had a scheduled power cut. It was pitch dark, and our highways department (as is the norm - not the rule) had piled up some sharp metal rods, gravel and other assorted construction material in the median- the flyover construction was still going on at that time . Unfortnately there was no way I could know that coming home after 6 months, I couldnt see much in the pitch darkness , tripped, and fell down inches from one of the sharp rods!!! I was lucky to escape major injury by a very small margin!
Sad thing is that if the bus had gone into the town and the bus stand, it could have got another 20 people !!!! This is in stark contrast with Cherthala, where with not one but just two cabinet ministers linked to the town, every bus except the Volvo I think goes inside the town day or night!

One more ridiculous case is the Airport Volvos from Kochi Airport. Not only do they not enter Aluva town, most of them take the Vytilla bypass and Kundannur route ensuring that they bypass all three railways stations, Aluva, Ernakuam North and Ernakulam South Railway stations as most of these buses go to Fort Kochi. The main beneficiaries of this stupidity - foreign tourists headed to Fort Kochi travelling in supreme comfort at the cost of less than a Pound while localites are left in the lurch (Kochi Airport taxi fares are exhorbitant!).

Let us move on - I am travelling KaSRTC this time - so bypass it will be this time as usual!!

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Fair enough Cool Clouds, let us leave it there. The problem is while you and I may be socially responsible ensuring that the least amount of disturbance is created to other passengers , unfortunately the number of people who are not bothered about disturbing others are far too many. Also people scooting off with your bag (in many cases by genuine mistake as half the backpacks look identical even in day time) are far too many.

I respect people and always made sure that no one is genuinly affected because of my little little requests.

Incidently, while writing this, I am waiting for a Bangalore student from Bhubaneshwar who mistakely swapped my laptop at Kolkatha airport.

Lets stick back to Reviews :-)

[TKMCE]

Sharing an useful info from my last trip.

The KasSRTC Multi Axle (Club Class) Mercs - avoid seats 37 and 40 - the thrid last row - if you are booking a Window seat. Reason - there is no view
as they are obcured by the "sleep like a baby" logo or emblem painted outside. If someonce can share the corresponding seat numbers of Club Class Volvos it will be useful.

The only other incident of note was an oversmart youngster planning to get down at Chalakkudy after buying a Trichur ticket being outsmarted by an even more smarter alert conductor. Ended up paying 118 Rs from Trichur to Chalakudy (the Ernakulam fare) for his troubles!.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Sharing an useful info from my last trip.

The KasSRTC Multi Axle (Club Class) Mercs - avoid seats 37 and 40 - the thrid last row - if you are booking a Window seat. Reason - there is no view
as they are obcured by the "sleep like a baby" logo or emblem painted outside. If someonce can share the corresponding seat numbers of Club Class Volvos it will be useful.

Same numbers for the Volvo too. The row ahead is also best avoided - its partially obstructed (fully obstructed if you recline the seat to the maximum). IMHO, the best seats in both the buses are in the 20 range.

[TKMCE]

Ernakulam Bangalore on KaSRTC Merc. Took the 1828 service. Uneventful and reached at 0650 AM at Majestic.

The main advantage of KaSRTC is with its 10% discount on the return leg,if both legs booked together, the fare works out to only Rs 1620 round trip Bangalore Ernakulam Bangalore on a Multi Axle which is excellent value. Ofcourse if you are looking for Ferrari like thrills, then look elsewhere.

The 1828 service goes inside Trichur town as it is a designated boarding point, hence if your destination is Madiwala or Silk Board or Electronic City, the later services from Ernakulam at 2005 (Merc) and 2035 (Volvo) are a much better bet since they arrive by 7 -7.30 AM at Madiwala and you can spend more time at home if you are on a weekend trip. These two buses skip Trichur town. All KaSRTC Volvo services to Kerala now stop at Hotel Jubilee after Angamali (clean place with clean rest rooms) and ex BLR at Krishna Inn/McDonalds at Shoolagiri.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Same numbers for the Volvo too. The row ahead is also best avoided - its partially obstructed (fully obstructed if you recline the seat to the maximum). IMHO, the best seats in both the buses are in the 20 range.

Do you remember similar seat numbers for Bharathi and Viji Yathra? I think many back row seats in Viji Yathra (Pathanamthitta) does not provide clear outside view.