[venki.bala]

Kesineni travels have started new services to Raipur via Nagpur and Ahmedabad via Baroda, Surat and Vapi. having covered the south i think they are slowly exploring towards north destinations from hyderabad.

[Viju]

20-Apr-2013, Ernakulam - Bangalore
Kallada Travels Volvo B11R
Cost: 1150/-

Pros: On-time pick-up from Kalamassery (10 p.m.) and drop off at Silk Board (7 a.m.)

Cons: Lack of goodies usually provided - water bottle / snack, blanket, no movie was played. Most importantly, I was on Seat 2A, and was hoping to catch a glimpse of the action from the driver's view. They closed the curtains tight and I felt claustrophobic.

Worst thing was, the bus was being driven very rashly (incessant honking, swerving, braking) and I was feeling really nauseated by the time we were approaching Bangalore. Worst thing was, he took the detour through Palacode. The roads in this route are good, but the speed at which the driver was negotiating the curvy road almost made me throw up.

I am not a regular bus traveler, but the reason why I booked this particular bus was that my previous trip in a Kallada B11R was really pleasant (and all the stuff that I mentioned earlier was provided too).

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Viju

Cons: Lack of goodies usually provided - water bottle / snack, blanket, no movie was played. Most importantly, I was on Seat 2A, and was hoping to catch a glimpse of the action from the driver's view. They closed the curtains tight and I felt claustrophobic.

The curtains are closed in every night bus (except the two KSRTCs) - some crew allow passengers to have a glimpse - but some passengers object to this behaviour since light is a disturbance to sleep. About the goodies, I'll find out if its still being supplied or if they've stopped it.

[lurker]

Which curtains are these ? the ones behind the driver .. if so then that is dangerous. Because a few times, the Kallada Volvo bus I was travelling in has met with accidents near the Salem route and the driver often leaves the bus and runs away. Nobody sitting behind knows whether the bus has stopped due to traffic reasons or due to some accident, then the next thing we notice is some crowd gathering and hopefully police arrives to save the passengers from the wrath of some motley crowd. Usually at night. And at those times the 'crowds' mainly consist of tipplers or those exiting bars. Basically we are left to deal with people with very low situational sense and lower level of social courtesies.

[f1fan]

Folks,
Had a question:
My parents are travelling Mumbai - Hubli by Airavat Gold Class. How different is this from Airavat Club Class? Being just an overnight service, do they provide all the amenities like Water bottle and blanket?

[Ashley2]

Seats are different. Gold class is with reclining seats and the Club class has semi sleeper seats.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by lurker

Which curtains are these ? the ones behind the driver .. if so then that is dangerous. Because a few times, the Kallada Volvo bus I was travelling in has met with accidents near the Salem route and the driver often leaves the bus and runs away.

The curtain behind the driver would be closed when in the run - that is a normal practice by every operator. It saves passengers from a lot of glare. About drivers running off when there is an accident - that is more of a norm these days, since the local crowd would almost always first beat up the driver without bothering for the accident victim or even find out what happened. The drivers surrender to the police instead, from where the operators bail him out.

Originally Posted by f1fan

Folks,
Had a question:
My parents are travelling Mumbai - Hubli by Airavat Gold Class. How different is this from Airavat Club Class? Being just an overnight service, do they provide all the amenities like Water bottle and blanket?

Gold Class is somewhat tight in terms of seating. Gold Class buses have 53 seats - non-semi-sleeper. Blanket and water bottle would be provided. 53 seats is a bit too tight in a Volvo Multi-Axle. Club Classes have only 49 seats, with 44 of them semi-sleepers. I think Club Class would be a better option since its an overnight journey.

[metropolis]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Was this Indra Ac. How much was the fare?

Fare was 2500/- per person

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Gold Class is somewhat tight in terms of seating. Gold Class buses have 53 seats - non-semi-sleeper. Blanket and water bottle would be provided. 53 seats is a bit too tight in a Volvo Multi-Axle. Club Classes have only 49 seats, with 44 of them semi-sleepers. I think Club Class would be a better option since its an overnight journey.

Thanks for the feedback Binaiks. Unfortunately there is no Club Class for Hubli. The options are Corona sleeper (which my parents dont like), normal Airavat and this multiaxle Gold Class. I have booked the first row (behind the driver) and hope that the leg room there would be better then the other rows.
Any idea on the blankets part?

[silversteed]

What is the most reliable option for a Thrissur-Hyderabad trip on May 12th, sunday? I see two Suresh Kallada B9R services, and a Kesineni B11R. The websites show the buses having a lot many free seats. Is there any chance that the Kesineni service gets cancelled due to poor loads? Kesineni is preferred because of their drop-off points in Hyd

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by silversteed

What is the most reliable option for a Thrissur-Hyderabad trip on May 12th, sunday? I see two Suresh Kallada B9R services, and a Kesineni B11R. The websites show the buses having a lot many free seats. Is there any chance that the Kesineni service gets cancelled due to poor loads? Kesineni is preferred because of their drop-off points in Hyd

The Ernakulam - Hyderabad sector has very high load factors. No chance of Kesineni cancelling this route at any time. Off late Kesineni services are not getting that good reviews. So may be you can try Kallada, I have not tried their service in this sector. I have travelled couple of times to Salem in Kesineni, generally the return from Salem has been always better than the onward journey in terms of their punctuality.

[ramzsys]

I could see KaSRTC buses listen in Redbus. Is this new news?

[manduvindupondu]

Another bad experience (3rd time) in SRS Travels. Listen SRS, are you heading downward spiral like Kesineni, SVR?

Route travelled - Dharwad - Hyderabad (Service is Mangalore Hyderabad via Hubli)

Pickup van from Dharwad to Hubli was fine at 10 pm as promised.
Now the headache starts. The bus from Mangalore was supposed to arrive at 23:15.
It arrives at 00:45 !!?? Irritated to the core and on top of it, the rude staff and rash driving. Also, they forcefully dropped us at Mehdipatnam, when the bus was going to their garage at Gachibowli. So, finally got down at Mehdipatnam at 10:30.
Earlier also, faced issues with Bangalore - Hyderabad (service was Mysore - Hyderabad via Bangalore). It looks like SRS cant manage long distance bus services despite good multi axle volvos.

[binaiks]

Had a quick round trip to Chennai over the last weekend. A quick review


Outward Trip: April 19, 2013

Operator: Bharathi Travels
Bus: TN73-E-3937 (Volvo B9R Semi-Sleeper)
Pickup point & Time: Madiwala, 2314/2336hrs (Scheduled: 2315hrs)
Drop point & Time: Chennai CMBT, 0630hrs (Scheduled: 0530hrs)

I booked the ticket through GoIbibo.com using a discount coupon (saving Rs. 115). Choosing Bharathi took a really long time – was confused between a lot of options, including KPN, VRL, etc. I decided to try out Bharathi, since it was really long since I traveled by one of their services. On the day (er! Night) of journey, my bro dropped me at Madiwala by about 2230hrs. Met some acquaintances there and spent time till about 2300hrs. Later, headed to Alhind Travels, who handle Bharathi buses at Madiwala, and waited for my bus. A lot of Greenline buses came by at that time – I never knew Greenline was such a big player – they had lots of AC sleeper buses, and all of them looked in good shape as well. My bus turned up at 2314hrs, and started moving after the pickup at 2316hrs itself – I was impressed, since the scheduled time was 2315hrs! But that impression was short lived – the driver pulled to the side and parked – as the agent checked all seats. We finally left at 2338hrs. In the meantime a lot of buses to Chennai whizzed past. Madiwala was the last pickup – we had about 48 passengers on board and moved out. The cleaner came around and distributed 1 litre water bottles!! I slept soon after we crossed Electronic City (the bus went below the flyover). I woke up in between, and the bus was at Hosur then (0032hrs). I was fast asleep when I jolted awake – we had a puncture!! The crew sprung into action and changed the tyre – I slept before the bus started off. Woke up when a kid in the bus started crying out – 0200hrs, near Krishnagiri toll. It took quite some time for the parent to cajole it to keep quiet. Had a nice sleep then on – woke up as the cleaner shouted out Poonamalle – 0550hrs. Then the bus went via Porur, Guindy (0610), Ashoka Pillar (0617) and Vadapalani (0623hrs). I was finally dropped outside CMBT Metro bus terminus at 0630hrs – an hour past the scheduled drop time. The overall journey time was 6h54m – that includes the time lost in changing the tyre.

Overall rating: 4.5/5. The seating was bit tight – maybe because the reclining angle was really good. (Punctuality gets a 4 on 5, Maintenance gets 4.5/5 and driving gets 5/5). Maintenance loses points since the AC vent right above me did not have a closure!!

Return Trip: April 21, 2013

Operator: Vijayanand Roadlines (VRL)
Bus: KA25-D-1403 (Volvo B9R Semi-Sleeper)
Pickup Point & Time: Koyambedu, 2317hrs (Sch. Dep: 2315hrs)
Drop point & time: Silkboard junction Bangalore, 0435hrs (Sch. Arr: 0445hrs @ “Bangalore”)

Booking this one was no-brainer decision – this was the cheapest option for that night, plus the discount for booking through their site. I was at CMBT by 2230hrs itself – roamed around the bus station for quite some time, and clicked some pics. I got a message containing the bus details by 2200hrs itself. The bus came in at 2300hrs itself – boarding started immediately. The bus was ready to leave by 2313hrs – just when a passenger decided to take a leak – he came back only at 2316 hrs. The attendant quickly took a headcount, and we got moving at 2317hrs – 2 minutes late. The driver was absolutely awful at the beginning – he was lugging the engine badly, and driving was worse than some KSRTC guys. I slept off hearing the cries from the engine as it kept pleading for mercy. Had a nice straight undisturbed sleep – woke up at 0410hrs – at a place that I thought to be Krishnagiri toll gate. I thought I still have time, and continued sleeping. I woke up at 0430hrs, just the bus was running past my stop – Bommanahalli!! The attendant shouted out “Silk Board”… the bus dropped me at the beginning of the flyover exactly at 0435hrs! He took all of 5h18m for the journey!!

Overall rating: 5/5 (Driving gets only 4.5/5, all other points get 5/5!!) Definitely recommended!!

[silversteed]

I travelled from Bangalore to Palakkad and back on the weekend.

Onward, I'd booked the KaSRTC 2111BNGTRC ACC, and the return in the KaSRTC 2135PGTBNG ACC. My priority was a good night's sleep. I did get what I wanted on my return trip, but my onward trip was really one of the longest in this route.

The bus, that was supposed to pick me up at 21:20hrs arrived at 22:40hrs at Christ college bus stop. The Ekm bound Merc ACC had come in late at about 21:30hrs, and the conductor was heard telling some passengers that all buses were leaving late from Shantinagar. However, the 2205BNGPGT ACC headed to Palakkad arrived just 15 minutes behind its scheduled time of departure. So were many other special services bound to various parts of TN. To make matters worse, some passengers turned up late at the various boarding points, and the bus lost some 5 minutes each at St. John's junction, Bommanahalli, E-City and also Hosur.

The driver was not in any mood to make up for the time, and he kept lugging the engine. We pulled in at Shoolagiri for fuel and a break at 00:10hrs. The bus, instead of pulling up for fuelling at one of the available outlets, parked on a bay. The crew and some passengers got down for food. In the meantime, many Chennai bound buses, KaSRTC and private, pulled in for fuel, and there was a long queue. My bus started moving only after 01:20hrs. One of the passengers was having some fries he'd bought from the McD, and each time he picked up some from the cover, he made sure that he made the loudest crackling sound from the packet - enough to hinder my sleep.

Somehow I managed to doze off after an hour or so. When I woke up at 04:30, we were only halfway between Salem and CBE. Hit the L&T toll road at 05:40, crossed Walayar at 06:20, and was finally dropped at Palakkad KSRTC depot at 07:05hrs. This is probably the last time I would take this service.

The return trip was uneventful. The bus left Palakkad depot at 21:45hrs, 10 minutes behind schedule. But reached Madiwala at 04:40hrs. The crew were more friendly too.