[ike]

How long will ekm - Mumbai take ? If they can do it in under 24 hrs it will be quite useful. And why is it that kesrtc still have no multi axles in their fleet ? I wish they were more proactive and procured new buses and start operating in new routes instead of burying their heads in sand.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by ike

How long will ekm - Mumbai take ? If they can do it in under 24 hrs it will be quite useful. And why is it that kesrtc still have no multi axles in their fleet ? I wish they were more proactive and procured new buses and start operating in new routes instead of burying their heads in sand.

Cochin-Mumbai under 24 hrs is not possible. 11am dep from Ernakulam will take at least 11-12 hrs to reach Bangalore considering one lunch, tea and dinner breaks in addition to possible day time travel delays inside cities like Trichur and Coimbatore/Salem.

I think it may take 27hrs at least else they will have to work hard. Things may improve once the road between Trichur and Avinashi gets four laned.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by ike

How long will ekm - Mumbai take ? If they can do it in under 24 hrs it will be quite useful. And why is it that kesrtc still have no multi axles in their fleet ? I wish they were more proactive and procured new buses and start operating in new routes instead of burying their heads in sand.

There are some unconfirmed media reports that KeSRTC might be receiving a Mercedes Benz Multi-Axle by Onam this year. Since the report is saying "one" bus - I am not very sure if this is a trial bus, or a purchase.

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Cochin-Mumbai under 24 hrs is not possible. 11am dep from Ernakulam will take at least 11-12 hrs to reach Bangalore considering one lunch, tea and dinner breaks in addition to possible day time travel delays inside cities like Trichur and Coimbatore/Salem.

I think it may take 27hrs at least else they will have to work hard. Things may improve once the road between Trichur and Avinashi gets four laned.

Currently, the Kallada website quotes an arrival time of 1530hrs at Borivali. So that is a 28 hour journey (1130am dep from Ernakulam). In the opposite direction, they have announced an 1830hrs dep (from Borivali), 1300hrs arrival at Bangalore (madiwala) and 2200hrs arrival at Ernakulam. Interestingly, the end-to-end fare is Rs. 2500, while the fare from Mumbai to Bangalore/Bangalore to Ernakulam is only Rs. 1200. So book it as two tickets, one can save Rs. 100 (Rs. 1200 + 1200 = Rs. 2400).

[Ashley2]

I had made an unplanned weekend trip to Wayanad. I was not interested to take a train (neither it’s possible to get last minute tickets) to Calicut and then take a bus. The only consideration was I can use Parasuram’s 0830 departure from Calicut to Sulthan Bathery. But due to non-availability of tickets in train and late arrival of Kallada(to Calicut) I chose to go via Blore - Mysore.
So taken a 0630 Olivea. There were total of 6 passengers including us. Started at 0645 and we hit the NH via maduravoil. Times of India was given as a complimentary along with a wet tissue. Breakfast was served at around 0745 and as usual it was great. Especially the little Oothapam and sambar vadai.
After a small nap I could see we were near Krishnagiri bypass. Soon we were dropped at Silk board at 1230. What I could see is the Olivea aging too fast as there was lot of rattling and squeaking noise. Infact I was in the RH second row window seat and the rattles were quite high that it woke me at times (no exaggerations). The reason, I used to sleep turning towards the window side and there is a joint where two panels are getting fixed. There was a lot of noise from the joint and it was disturbing heavily. But apart from this the timing, on board entertainment and comfort was too good and would definitely try again.

Reached Bangalore and we have booked a 1330 Kallada to Mysore and thought we can take a break journey from there. But after boarding I understood that it is going to Trivandrum via Calicut. So I wanted to extend my ticket to Sulthan Bathery/Lakkidi.
When I approached the ticket office in Madiwala, the guy was not much interested in speaking to me and told you can speak to Kalasipalayam office. So we headed to next pick up point, Kalasipalayam. There when I asked, it was told there is no such provision and we need to get down at Mysore. I don’t want to argue and was in mindset that that there will be some free seats for sure and so my request will be considered in Mysore. But why this relay race of issue in issuing an extension ticket?

Then we reached Mysore by around 1750. There the guy was interested to give ticket but 400 each. Then the business started and finalized for 250 each between Mysore and Lakkidi.
I can neither say its high or low but I was sure this will not go to operator and will be shared among the driver / ticket issuer in Mysore.

The driving was a kind of rash, sudden brakes and continuous horn. Finally we reached the border which is supposed to close by 2100. Here our driver wanted to overtake a truck and blocked the entire road both sides. He was not interested to come back and so arguments was getting heat both sides and the result was road block for 30 minutes. Somehow we managed to come out due to some traffic management by other truck drivers. But the act of our driver was very bad and rude.

Finally inspite of reminding several times we were dropped some 2km away from our request stop – Lakkidi at 2230 and walked all along the ghat section and reached our resort.

Only positive in the journey was, the bus was maintained good. A Malayalam movie was played (Dilip as a chef in Spain). No idea about the title but was interested to see, especially the BGM and the foreign heroin.

I think this service between Bangalore – Trivandrum via Mysore, Calicut is the longest stage carriage operated by Kallada. I make this statement by looking at the number of get downs and pickups seen between Bangalore and Sulthan Bathery. Also I don’t see any much of reason to choose this service for end to end travel -even Kallada will be aware of this, and should help only enroute passengers.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

I think this service between Bangalore – Trivandrum via Mysore, Calicut is the longest stage carriage operated by Kallada. I make this statement by looking at the number of get downs and pickups seen between Bangalore and Sulthan Bathery. Also I don’t see any much of reason to choose this service for end to end travel -even Kallada will be aware of this, and should help only enroute passengers.

That service was intended to serve Bangalore-Kozhikode/Kozhikode-Trivandrum/Mysore-Trivandrum pax. These days, Bangalore-TVM (end-to-end) passengers are preferring buses via Nagercoil. With the recent addition of buses in Kallada, they've hired a lot of new drivers, and a good number of them are rash. Hope Mr. Kallada would take note of this.

[benbsb29]

Speaking of Kallada and their services, my wife and kid used their services to travel between Bangalore and Mundakayam last evening. This is the route between Bangalore and Vadaserikkara.

The rest of the journey was smooth, but the Volvo Multi-Axle stopped somewhere after Theni and refused to start. This ensued for about an hour following which they somehow got the bus to start and it proceeded with the journey. Not sure what the exact reason was for the delay.

[bejoy]

Took to bus ride after a very long time due to an emergency. Had to dash to Haripad from Bangalore on Wednesday and the Airawat (first choice) was fully booked at 3Pm. So opted for Kallada multi axle Trivandrum bus (6:30PM from Madivala). Booked to and fro tickets online through their e-booking site and the process was smooth. Got confirmation by email and SMS (though SMS was only for the return trip). Reached their office at 6PM, got a shocker that I had to give the printout of the e-ticket. I had no access to printer and since I was short on time, i did not get it. Shown the email and SMS on the mobile, but they insisted on the print-out. They were in no mood to print the ticket in their printer (lousy excuse given was it was low on toner). Having no options, i had to go out to the nearest browsing center to take the print-out. So, anyone opting for the e-booking, ensure to carry the print-out.

The Bus (Green Volvo B9R with number ending AC 102) came at 6:45pm and left at 6:55pm and finally took the BETL at 7:20pm. Dinner stop was at a hotel inside Krishnagiri town. The travel was uneventful, though the bus felt a bit noisy inside. Reached Haripad at 6:45AM.

Returned on the same day, and though I was expecting the same bus, I saw it passing Haripad without stopping. on inquiring, came to know that the bus heading to Mangalore. The Bangalore bus came at 7:45PM (an Orange colored Volvo B9R with number ending AC 103). Dinner stop was somewhere after Thottapally. This bus was better and much more silent inside. Slept well, mainly because i was too tired. Reached Madiwala at 8:00AM.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

...When I approached the ticket office in Madiwala, the guy was not much interested in speaking to me...

Kallada staff, especially at Madiwala, never show any interest to help nor guide properly. Their attitude may be ok for their other business but as a bus operator, customer service should improve especially when they are expanding rapidly to other new sectors.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by bejoy

.... got a shocker that I had to give the printout of the e-ticket. I had no access to printer and since I was short on time, i did not get it. Shown the email and SMS on the mobile, but they insisted on the print-out. They were in no mood to print the ticket in their printer (lousy excuse given was it was low on toner). Having no options, i had to go out to the nearest browsing center to take the print-out. So, anyone opting for the e-booking, ensure to carry the print-out. .....

It happened to me also. They dont accept SMS and email. They asked for a print out. But we were two and said its not possible to get prints and we insisted on that. After some time the guy entered the ticket number in their website and took a print out and used it for his reference.

There will always be atleast 3 to 4 guys and 2 to 3 girls in the office. But they never give proper answers(wrt having a hard copy ticket) and seems to be so busy in their system. It makes you irritated - I am not sure this happens to all native travelers or only to few others like me.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by bejoy

The Bus (Green Volvo B9R with number ending AC 102) came at 6:45pm and left at 6:55pm and finally took the BETL at 7:20pm. Dinner stop was at a hotel inside Krishnagiri town. The travel was uneventful, though the bus felt a bit noisy inside. Reached Haripad at 6:45AM.

Returned on the same day, and though I was expecting the same bus, I saw it passing Haripad without stopping. on inquiring, came to know that the bus heading to Mangalore. The Bangalore bus came at 7:45PM (an Orange colored Volvo B9R with number ending AC 103). Dinner stop was somewhere after Thottapally. This bus was better and much more silent inside. Slept well, mainly because i was too tired. Reached Madiwala at 8:00AM.

Sorry to nitpick, but the Green bus would be KA-01-AA-102, and the orange one would KA-01-AA-103. 103 is a well maintained bus - I had traveled in it a few months back - it did not rattle or make any unusual noises. The buses operated on the Trivandrum-Manipal route are rotated with the ones running to Bangalore. Kallada operates four B9Rs and one Mercedes-Benz Multi-Axle on the Bangalore-Trivandrum route (1 via Mysore, 2 via Coimbatore and 1 B9R + 1 Benz via Nagercoil)

The buses:

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

There will always be atleast 3 to 4 guys and 2 to 3 girls in the office. But they never give proper answers(wrt having a hard copy ticket) and seems to be so busy in their system. It makes you irritated - I am not sure this happens to all native travelers or only to few others like me.

I remember seeing those same faces ages ago, their buses got better, but these folks have the same 'chalta hai' attitude. I knew they were testing my patience when I asked for printout. I didn't want to fight with those guys there. And, if these guys don't want to talk to the customers, they should be sitting in some closed cabin. They never change, unless there is some serious competition, which I doubt will ever happen. Anyway, I wish this would be the last time I choose them.

Originally Posted by binaiks

The buses:

There they are.. I wonder how those two buses got a different maintenance 'treatment'. Any reason why they are rotated?

[cnaganathan]

Since I moved to work out of Bangy 3 months ago, i have been shuttling between bangy and Chennai every week. It is mostly by the Shatabdi on Monday mornings from Chn to Bangy and by the 1700 KSRTC ex Shantinagar Depot on Friday evenings. This is a regular Airavath that manages to reach Chn around a little after midnight. The latter works best for me coz of the fact that office is at Basavangudi and I live right opposite CMBT in Chennai. The service also had a convenient stop at the Shoolagiri McD / Krishna Bhavan for dinner.

As usual last Monday I booked my ticket for the 1700 service and chose my usual seat # 4 (as that used to be the window seat with max legroom). When I landed at the terminus on Friday evening a little earlier than my usual time of 1645 the bus was not to be seen anywhere. Mnutes later a new swanky loking multiaxle arrived with the usual conductor.

Then I noticed this was a Bliss bus and to my pleasant surprise this was to be my bus that day. To top it that was the inaugural service so there were lot of KSRTC Senior looking officials to see us off. Before the bus started the caterer walked up to every passenger and informed that food was on board and that there was a tiolet too. Now that meant no Dinner stop and probably a 25 - 30 minute early arrival at Chennai. I was apprehensive that since I had paid only the usual internet fare of 515 while my some of the other passengers seemed to have paid 598 at the counter, I may be asked to pay the difference fare but later learnt that it was not to be. The bus was waved off on time at 1705 (that was the new dep time). Being a new bus the ride was much more silent and smooth. Was also happy to see that there was onboard Airtel Dish relay on the personal entertainment system.

First trouble started when the driver (who was not the regular one) drove on to the Dairy Circle flyover towards Koramangala little realising that there were 4 pax to be picked up at BTM layout. By the time the Conductor realized his folly, he had reached Forum Mall. So the way out was to loop back on Hosur Road (violating traffic) and head back to Dairy Circle to take the usual route to BTM layout - Time lost 35 mins. Here are other not so good things about the trip.

1. The driver being a young guy was driving a bit aggressive cutting across lanes and overtaking too close to other vehicles.
2. The seats were a bit hard and the lack of the usual dinner break was a bit tiresome.
3. Food options were limited to a Snack plate (Sandwich + 2 Dhal Vada + one cup cake for 100/-) or a Dinner Plate (Rice + 2 Chappathis + a small serving of subji for 125/-). There was no coffe or tea and only sodas were available.
4. The promised WiFi was not working.
5. Towards the end of the journey whenever someone used the toilet there was a noticeable stink in the air.
6. The headphone position for the first row pax was bad (it was behind the head rest as an additional socket in the next row pax's monitor)
7. The tethered remote controls were a messy appendage.
8. There was also an appreciable delay at each toll booth since the crew were trying to use the smart card of the earlier bus. Since that was a regular volvo and this was a multi axle, the toll booth employees would argue and the bus crew will then part with the additional cost.

We were told that this was a trial run. And in my opinion this will not succeed in the long run for the following reasons:

1. Food chocies unless improved may lead to poor patronage of the pantry and may make it unviable.
2. The elimination of the dinner stop leads to fatigue for the crew - a 7 - 7.5 hr non stop drive IMO is quite stressfull.
3. In my case, if I leave the office another 45 mins early and catch the Shatabdi, I will be home at least 2 hrs earlier as well as spend a lot lesser.

Let us wait and see how this goes with the regular travellers of this service (trust me there is a big gang of regulars on this service).

[TKMCE]

On board KA 51 9852 Green Colored Multi Axle of Kalada on their day service to Ernakulam startting at 9 AM form Madiwala.. Just abt 20 people on board with individual travellers all having the luxury of 2 seats to themselves. Fare is 1050 just went ot the Madwaala office and directly bought the ticket. Surprisingly well driven bus and well maintained as well/ Reached Salem at 1230 at the Byepass where abt 3 got down. Not bad from Kallada - and Reliance NetKonnect + works like a dream - who needs WIFI???

Guess I might try them again althgh tmmrw I am getting back on my usual 1828 Merc Multi Axle from KaSRTC. Cost is 200 Rs cheaper

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

On board KA 51 9852 Green Colored Multi Axle of Kalada on their day service to Ernakulam startting at 9 AM form Madiwala.. ...

I have used this service to Coimbatore last month. That was a red coloured one. The bus, movies / FM played was good. The hotel for lunch was good but food was not that great. I was dropped at Covai byepass at 1500.
Was taken to city in their Swaraj Mazda. Over all the service was good!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

On board KA 51 9852 Green Colored Multi Axle of Kalada on their day service to Ernakulam startting at 9 AM form Madiwala.. Just abt 20 people on board with individual travellers all having the luxury of 2 seats to themselves. Fare is 1050 just went ot the Madwaala office and directly bought the ticket.

Ohh! I had spotted this bus yesterday morning at Madiwala. I was at the Kallada office a while before the guys went to the bus for checking tickets! Great to know that the day service is now going well.