[ranjitp1]

There was a ruling a long time ago by virtue of which sleeper buses are actually not permitted to be run by operators,but operators continue to run them.Anybody has any info on this if the ruling has been revoked ?I somehow am paranoid of travelling in a sleeper bus as I feel chances of getting out in the event of an accident is very minimal.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by binaiks

...I found the interiors of the bus to be top-notch. Much better than the Kallada Benz Sleeper (will post the photos soon)...

The problem in Merc sleeper is the gangway width and the saloon height. Due to lesser interior saloon height the rear most lower berths are almost in the floor (reduced height between saloon floor and berth) and makes it uncomfortable for the passengers when foot wears are placed there.

The same customer have opted for 4 more and they are likely to be onroad by this month end/first week of sep. These coaches are likely to come with still better fit and finish as this was a first coach in this platform for Azad.

Originally Posted by silversteed

...
Could you post a higher resolution version of the Third image? Is that an OBD port on the steering column - left side?

Any pointers on the maintenance, running costs, etc of the bus?

That is a OBD port only. That's relocated to steering column from Instrument cluster.
They are charging 999 during week ends and 800 during week days. With almost 80% over all occupancy, higher revenue and with cheap maintenance, both the coaches are likely to be free from hypothecation in less than 15months.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

There was a ruling a long time ago by virtue of which sleeper buses are actually not permitted to be run by operators,but operators continue to run them.Anybody has any info on this if the ruling has been revoked ?I somehow am paranoid of travelling in a sleeper bus as I feel chances of getting out in the event of an accident is very minimal.

TN - there is no permit. PY - Only old permits are renewed and no new permits. KA and AP continue to issue new permits. Infact AP is planning to release permits for seater and sleeper config (like PY). They are planning to bring under "Indra".
You are true about the risk in escaping in case of any emergency. India is always unique and there is nothing to control on this. As of now there is no ARAI certification for sleeper buses and its likely to be available in near future - both cross wise and longitudinal.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

There was a ruling a long time ago by virtue of which sleeper buses are actually not permitted to be run by operators,but operators continue to run them.Anybody has any info on this if the ruling has been revoked ?I somehow am paranoid of travelling in a sleeper bus as I feel chances of getting out in the event of an accident is very minimal.

Even I was bit skeptical at first, but now I am regularly availing in Parveen sleeper(Corona). Corona engineers had done their home work pretty well, It had four emergency exit windows. Two on the roof, one behind (the rear windshield) and an emergency door.

[sandsun7]

My wife is travelling from Bangalore to Kozhikode by 2.15 PM Kallada Multiaxle Volvo (via Mysore) today. Any idea what time the bus generally reaches Kozhikode? Kallada office tells 10.45 PM, but I am not too sure whether it actually reaches that early! saw a previous post where Ashley has got down at Lakkidi (58kms from Kozhikode) at 10.30 PM
Anyone who traveled recently has any updates?

[TKMCE]

Travelled yesterday from Aluva to Bangalore by the 2035 EKM BLR Volvo Multi Axle of KaSRTC. Normally I take the first multi axle service (1828 Merc) as I need to reach before 7 Am at Majestic. This time opted for the last service (they have another merc at 2005 from EKM as well) deciding to take a chance on reaching late to office.

Oh Boy what a surprise.......

a, The bus reached Aluva at 2105. Although KaSRTC scheduling team beleives their multi axle services travel like helicopters between Ernakulam and Aluva as their published departure time at Aluva is 20 min after leaving the Ernakulan bus station, my bus managed to reach at 2105 (the previous service - 2005 Merc reached at 2055). Around 4 of us boarded from what turned out to the be the last stop and the bus left soon after. Bus was about 80% full - partly due to the fact that the scheduling team misjudged the "holiday" rush and put 2 single axle special services as well!

b Well maintained bus, safe driving, polite crew and the usual stop at the very good Hotel Jubilee after Angamaly. Nowadays many private buses like Kallada and Bharati also stop here.

c Slept soon after and woke up only after the cew announced a 10 min tea break at Hotel Surya after Krishnagiri. Time was only 4.45 AM.

d Pulled up at Majestic at 6.25 Am , immediately behind another Multi Axle (Merc) of the same operator. Out of curiousity, checked the other bus and foud it was the 1828 service from Ernakulam which I normally take........ So in short I got two more precious hours at home.


At 09h hrs 50 min, this was the fastest I have reached between Ernakulam and Bangalore on KaSRTC. If only these guys were consistent every time.............



Well done.

And for all who find travelling o Ernakulam to board the service incovenient, all three multi axles starting from Ernakulam (1828, 2005 and 2035) have a boarding point at Aluva on the bypass. Only the Trivandrum Bangalore service do not have a pick up. Unlike what the local travel agents tell you at Aluva, this is now a full proof option as the crew do not generally miss a pick up irrespective of how or where you book the ticket as long as you mention the boarding point as ALUVA. With the 10% discount on the return ticket if both up and down journeys are booked together, the fares works out to be very competitive at around 830 Rs one way.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

a, The bus reached Aluva at 2105. Although KaSRTC scheduling team beleives their multi axle services travel like helicopters between Ernakulam and Aluva as their published departure time at Aluva is 20 min after leaving the Ernakulan bus station, my bus managed to reach at 2105 (the previous service - 2005 Merc reached at 2055). Around 4 of us boarded from what turned out to the be the last stop and the bus left soon after. Bus was about 80% full - partly due to the fact that the scheduling team misjudged the "holiday" rush and put 2 single axle special services as well!

Pick-up timings of buses are always determined keeping in mind the fact that the bus cannot wait at the pick-up point for a long time. Therefore, the timings are always unrealistic (KaSRTC used to put up the pick-up time at Dairy Circle to be just 5 minutes after the bus leaves from Majestic).

The 2 special buses were not because of a "misjudgement" - but due to the correct judgement. KaSRTC operated two specials from BLR to EKM on Tuesday evening. The buses cannot remain parked there until Sunday (opportunity cost as well as the expenses on payment of incentives to crew). Thus, they returned the bus on Wednesday. The buses would again work a special on Friday, and return only on Sunday.

Originally Posted by TKMCE

At 09h hrs 50 min, this was the fastest I have reached between Ernakulam and Bangalore on KaSRTC. If only these guys were consistent every time.............

This service is fairly consistent. I've seen them passing Madiwala at 0730 latest. During my trip, the bus took close to 11hrs though (partly due to a horrible traffic pile up at Walayar). Your preferred bus loses more time since it enters Thrissur, and also starts from Ernakulam during peak rush time. This bus would leave when the city starts sleeping, and gets the advantage of lesser crowd on the roads throughout its trip.

[foby.sebastian]

kallada Mercs , Way to Go!

Source: Suresh Kallada's Facebook page.

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by binaiks

The 2 special buses were not because of a "misjudgement" - but due to the correct judgement. KaSRTC operated two specials from BLR to EKM on Tuesday evening. The buses cannot remain parked there until Sunday (opportunity cost as well as the expenses on payment of incentives to crew). Thus, they returned the bus on Wednesday. The buses would again work a special on Friday, and return only on Sunday.

Aahhh!! Welcome to revenue management.... Interesting point - only thing is did the Tue/Wed special trips make money?.............I doubt it..........

Fri/Sun may work - but again u are parking the bus from Sat mrng till Sun evening.. this is the reason why airlines generally do not operate additional flights to/from Kerala during Onam and Xmas... The traffic is way too directional........... What ever money u make during the additional trip into Kerala is all blown by returning the aircraft near empty back to base.


I digress.but we are on the topic ----revenue management of additional services whether bus, train or flight

Originally Posted by binaiks

This bus would leave when the city starts sleeping, and gets the advantage of lesser crowd on the roads throughout its trip.

It also runs the risk of hitting peak hour traffic if reaching Bangalore late. Anyway both the crew seemed to be urgency personified which helped things a long way.

[foby.sebastian]

The 50th bus of kallada.

Source: Suresh Kallada's Facebook page.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

- only thing is did the Tue/Wed special trips make money?.............I doubt it..........

Since these buses are charging more money on their onward journey, they shouldn't be at loss.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

My wife is travelling from Bangalore to Kozhikode by 2.15 PM Kallada Multiaxle Volvo (via Mysore) today. Any idea what time the bus generally reaches Kozhikode? Kallada office tells 10.45 PM, but I am not too sure whether it actually reaches that early! saw a previous post where Ashley has got down at Lakkidi (58kms from Kozhikode) at 10.30 PM
Anyone who traveled recently has any updates?

During my travel there was a delay due to traffic created by our driver at the border. We reached Mysore by around 1800 hrs and from there you can calculate the actual time. But I used a 1330 service from Madivala. Hope you are speaking about the same service.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Aahhh!! Welcome to revenue management.... Interesting point - only thing is did the Tue/Wed special trips make money?.............I doubt it..........

Fri/Sun may work - but again u are parking the bus from Sat mrng till Sun evening..

Perhaps you forgot the fact that Wednesday was a Holiday, on the account of Independence day. If one takes a two day leave (Thu/Fri), one can enjoy a 5 day vacation at home. By now, you might have understood why did KaSRTC run a special on Tuesday evening.

Usually, they send their bus on Friday, and it is parked on Saturday/Sunday at Ernakulam. They end up having to pay batta/incentive for one additional day. But the bus runs as a special both ways, charging around Rs. 1100 per seat (compared to their normal fare of Rs. 800 for Club Class - the specials are Airavats) - and it runs with 100% occupancy.

In this case, the bus would have been parked at Ernakulam from Wednesday to Sunday - that is 5 days. They lose on the opportunity cost as well as the incentives/batta for the 5 days. They cannot ask the crew to return since the bus is in "foreign" territory. In this case, the bus would run with 100% occupancy from BLR to EKM (@1100 per seat). Even with less than 50% occupancy on the way back, they would recover the cost of fuel+crew. They also get to use the bus on Bangalore-Mysore route on Thursday and Friday!

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Since these buses are charging more money on their onward journey, they shouldn't be at loss.

Exactly my point as well. They are charging Rs. 1100 (+levies) per seat!

Edit: Kallada's new Mercedes Benz Sleeper bus met with an accident this morning near Nagercoil. Reportedly, the bus hit a tree and plunged into a pond nearby. There are no casualties, but the bus is in bad shape. Looks like a case of fatigue/rash driving. The way the bus has been built/furnished, did not seem very safe to me. The lower berth has absolutely no access to the window, and hence it would be an impediment to passengers in the lower berth in case of an accident.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

We reached Mysore by around 1800 hrs and from there you can calculate the actual time. But I used a 1330 service from Madivala. Hope you are speaking about the same service.

I was talking about the same service, ashley2. She boarded from Kalasipalayam at 14.15. Bus left ten minutes later with around Around 75% occupancy. Reached Mysore at 1730 and left by 1740. Last when I called her at 1900, she was at Gundlupet and the crew had announced a 20 minute break.
Hoping she would reach by at least 2300.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by binaiks

...
Edit: Kallada's new Mercedes Benz Sleeper bus met with an accident this morning near Nagercoil. Reportedly, the bus hit a tree and plunged into a pond nearby. There are no casualties, but the bus is in bad shape. Looks like a case of fatigue/rash driving. The way the bus has been built/furnished, did not seem very safe to me. The lower berth has absolutely no access to the window, and hence it would be an impediment to passengers in the lower berth in case of an accident.

The access to window for a lower berth passenger is a big question in any sleeper. I have traveled in some sleepers of SRM where the entire lower berth is covered and there will be zero visibility. You need to stand up and look throu the upper berth to know where the bus is during alighting. That pair used to run between Pollachi - Chennai and I think now they are running between Chennai - Nagerkoil.

Kallada Merc accident may be due to severe "Thristy" - "Mark". But sad to hear on the same :-(


Should help..

Originally Posted by sandsun7

I was talking about the same service, ashley2. She boarded from Kalasipalayam at 14.15. Bus left ten minutes later with around Around 75% occupancy. Reached Mysore at 1730 and left by 1740. Last when I called her at 1900, she was at Gundlupet and the crew had announced a 20 minute break.
Hoping she would reach by at least 2300.

Schedule is on time till now. The only bottle neck is the border and rest will be fine. There will be multiple boarding points at Sulthan Bathery, Kalpetta but mostly it will be done in a few minutes.

[Ashley2]

Kallada Merc Accident:
Very bad shape indeed. Extremely happy and surprise to hear no casualty inspite of the fact that bus is half filled with water.




Source as in image