[lloydofcochin]

Very shocking indeed. I just confirmed that it is the Kallada G4 8.15pm bus which leaves from Madiwala to Trivandrum. I have taken this bus many a times and they drive really fast. They normally do Bangalore - Cochin in 8-8.5hrs. My roommate was booked for the same service next Friday. My travel agent said that the Bus will be brought to Bangalore today for repairs.

[BulZire]

Its indeed a Kallada bound to Trivandrum from Bangalore.
As per the report in a tamil daily, tyre marks were there for around 100 mts.
Poor lost souls, RIP.

[TKMCE]

Apparently there was another accident at Harippad near Alleppy on the same day as well to a Bangalore Kollam bus (Suresh Kallada and KPN has Kollamt terminating buses from Bangalore - dont know if there are any others) Bus apparently hit a lorry from behind. No injuries mentioned in the reports (online versions of both Manorama and Mathrubhoomi carry the news) but the incident is well covered because 2 of the passengers who seemed to be in a big hurry to get away from the scene after retrieving their bags were stopped by the highway police on suspicion . The passengers were found to be carrying a lot of silver ornaments which they could not account for properly.

[darklord]

Today's ToI has run a cluster of reports on interstate bus travel:

By bus to B'lore? Think again

If You Didn't Know Already, All Interstate Bus Services Operated By Private Agencies Are Illegal. TOI Takes A Look At The Legal And Safety Aspects Of ‘Contract Carriers’

‘You may not get insurance benefits in case of an accident’


A trip in style, comfort and speed


Poor rail connectivity makes travellers depend on buses

[a4anurag]

I will be going to Bangalore and Chennai for official work from tomorrow.

1) Hyderabad - > Bangalore: VRL Travels 2+2 Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper.

2) Bangalore - > Chennai: Which travels do I choose (must be a Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper)? This is the first time I am taking this route so pretty clueless. Just checked RedBus website and was literally confused about the travels and choices. Familiar seeing buses of Jabbar, Kesineni, SRM and SRS. What to go for?

3) Chennai - > Hyderabad: I guess Kesineni Travels would do the job.

I have booked the Hyderabad to Bangalore journey but confused about the other two. Please help guys.

Anurag.

[binand]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

2) Bangalore - > Chennai: Which travels do I choose (must be a Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper)?

Though this is a bus thread, for this leg I'd heartily recommend the Shatabdi. Seats are available for last-minute booking on weekdays generally.

[VKS]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

3) Chennai - > Hyderabad: I guess Kesineni Travels would do the job.

I have booked the Hyderabad to Bangalore journey but confused about the other two. Please help guys.

Anurag.

Take the 8 pm Dhanunjaya service from Koyambedu bus stand if your destination is North hyd . This service is till Nizampet . Orange is also good if your destination is lakdi ka pul.

Personally Kesineni was never on time for me.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

2) Bangalore - > Chennai: Which travels do I choose (must be a Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper)? This is the first time I am taking this route so pretty clueless. Just checked RedBus website and was literally confused about the travels and choices. Familiar seeing buses of Jabbar, Kesineni, SRM and SRS. What to go for?

Would be great if you put in the timings you are looking at. There are buses throughout the day on this route. The ones which keep up time on the route are Jabbar, Hebron. SRS is a 53 seater bus - quite tight seating, while SRM runs a very old run down bus. Kesineni is a Goa-Chennai service - so runs in the morning from Bangalore.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

2) Bangalore - > Chennai: Which travels do I choose (must be a Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper)? This is the first time I am taking this route so pretty clueless. Just checked RedBus website and was literally confused about the travels and choices. Familiar seeing buses of Jabbar, Kesineni, SRM and SRS. What to go for?

If you are not particular about getting on a Multi-axle Volvo, then RoadLink India is the best bet. They used to leave Bangalore at 11pm sharp, and drop you in Chennai by 5:30. Very well-maintained B7Rs (2-axle buses), courteous staff, on-time departure and arrival and a clean waiting lounge in Bangalore - this had been my experience each time I'd aviled their service.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

3) Chennai - > Hyderabad: I guess Kesineni Travels would do the job.

I've had really good experiences with Orange. I've read good reviews about Kesineni, but my experience was terrible.

[TKMCE]

Try Parveen. Hardly any reviews in this thread but they have been around for a long long time and my family had only good experiences with them including a MAA BLR trip on their non AC service. They also have a Volvo as well at 11 PM from both BLR and MAA but not too sure whether it is B7R or B9R .

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

I will be going to Bangalore and Chennai for official work from tomorrow.

2) Bangalore - > Chennai: Which travels do I choose (must be a Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper)? This is the first time I am taking this route so pretty clueless. Just checked RedBus website and was literally confused about the travels and choices. Familiar seeing buses of Jabbar, Kesineni, SRM and SRS. What to go for? Anurag.

You can stay away from most of the names listed above. Also, never venture on the VRL Isuzu. The bus is very poorly maintained and is driven by a maniac who is extremely rash, honks throughout the night and is very poor with driving on the right gear. So you will not end up sleeping at all. And the bus does not have semi sleeper seats.

Originally Posted by silversteed

If you are not particular about getting on a Multi-axle Volvo, then RoadLink India is the best bet. They used to leave Bangalore at 11pm sharp, and drop you in Chennai by 5:30. Very well-maintained B7Rs (2-axle buses), courteous staff, on-time departure and arrival and a clean waiting lounge in Bangalore - this had been my experience each time I'd aviled their service.

+1 to the above. will not hesitate in recommending Road Link for the Bangalore Chennai sector. B7R / B9R does not make a big difference for this short sector on good roads. Clean buses, courteous staff and timely departures. Whilst they drive fast, I did not see them as being rash. And they have multiple drop points in Chennai (Koyambedu, Guindy, T Nagar, Adyar, Taramani etc)

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Try Parveen. Hardly any reviews in this thread but they have been around for a long long time and my family had only good experiences with them including a MAA BLR trip on their non AC service. They also have a Volvo as well at 11 PM from both BLR and MAA but not too sure whether it is B7R or B9R .

I have used Parveen too on this route but their bus is significantly older than Roadlink. Their buses on this route are branded "Lalbagh Express" and these are B7Rs too. Experience was decent on Parveen except for the old coach and hence some rattles, issues with the seat recliners etc.

[pypkmsrikanth]

For the Hyderabad - Chennai sector instead of Kesineni you could opt for Kaveri Mutli which is an Ishift version and possibly the youngest bus in the sector. Alternatively go for Orange.

[a4anurag]

Guys, Just reached home from the round trip.

1) Hyderabad - > Bangalore: VRL Travels 2+2 Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper. Rs 700.

2) Bangalore - > Chennai: VRL Travels 2+2 Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper. Rs 550.

3) Chennai - > Hyderabad: Kesineni Travels 2+2 Multi-Axle Semi Sleeper. Rs 700.

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1) Hyderabad - Bangalore: The boarding point was Lakdi-ka-pul where the pick-up van would arrive at 20:10 and departure was 20:30. I reached the point at 20:10 where at 20:20 the Manager of VRL, Hyderabad came out and announced that the pick-up van has been caught by the Hyderabad Traffic Police as it is illegal according to the police to ply pick-up vans and buses within city limits before 22:00. I mean this is too much. This is the case every time says the manager and because of this they have changed the final boarding point from Aramgargh cross roads to Gachbowli ORR entrance. At 20:50, the manager got the news that the bus had been left by the police after asking a fine of Rs 4000, which eventually the VRL guys had to pay and the bus directly reached the final boarding point. The people who were at Lakdi-ka pul were taken to the final point by the manager himself in his own car (Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari). We reached the last boarding point at 21:35 where the main bus was waiting for us. All the passengers settled down and it finally started for Bangalore at 22:25. Reached Jedcherla at 23:50 where it gave a break of 35 minutes. The bus was nicely maintained, drivers were dressed perfectly and were courteous, polite.

At 01:10, the bus was abruptly brought to a halt as it was indicated on the instrumentation panel regarding the tyre pressure low. The front right and rear right (dead axle one) tyres were punctured. The bus only had one spare tyre which was put on replacement to the front right. Now for the rear one we had to wait for another VRL 9400 bus which had a spare and it arrived at the spot at 02:30. I generally don't sleep so got down and helped the driver fix the tyres before the rest 40 passengers start shouting for the delay. Finally at 03:30 all was set and the bus started its journey again. Due to all this delay it reached Bangalore (Anand Rao Circle at 09:00 am). Thanked the driver + Helper and got down the bus.

2) Bangalore - Chennai: I chose a VRL here again (I am a fan of this travels). Reached the boarding point which I chose was Yeshwantpur at 21:00 and the bus arrived at 21:30. A well maintained, super silent, smooth bus. I don't remember much of this as I fell asleep as soon as the bus started at 22:35. It reached Chennai (Koyembedu) at 04:30. Overall a big thumbs up to these guys. I loved it here again.

3) Chennai - > Hyderabad: I had booked Orange Travels for the 5th Sept night 22:00 bus but due t an emergency had to cancel this and started for Hyderabad on 4th night. Only Kesineni multi Axle was available and I had no choice so booked it. Koyembedu (Private Omni bus stand) was the boarding point at 22:00. The bus arrived at 22:10 and departs at 22:40. 6 seats were empty due last minute cancellation and these guys couldn't get passengers so it was empty throughout (The last row was fully empty). This was an advantage for me as I used it as a bed for sleeping properly. A semi-sleeper but with sleep facility.. I got down at Lakdi-ka-pul at 09:40 am.

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1) Why do these multi-axle buses sport charger points in all the rows but keep them switched-off and not allow to charge mobiles? It is really painful under emergencies. I remember reading the brochure for the Volvo 9400 where it said:

Electrical systems
The Volvo 9400 6x2 has 2 alternators with (100A x 2 alt) current capacity to meet the high loads of electricity required for bus operations

Source: http://www.volvobuses.com/bus/india/...omponents.aspx

As the company is offering this feature then why do these operators not utilize them? Fuel Efficiency is it?

OT:
2) Out of all the Volvo 9400 buses of all operators that I have seen till date I feel the VRL buses rock big time design and simplicity. Plain white colour with a large 'TOURIST' logo in centre. Airavat, Kesineni etc have such graphics on them for me it looks like some fancy dress competition.

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Thank you for reading this long'ish post. Any clarifications or doubt arise I can help if I know it.

Cheers,
Anurag.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

.... I chose a VRL here again (I am a fan of this travels).

Since you have told about VRL let me give some insights:
- Overall they have close to 4000 vehicles and out which around 500 are buses.
- VRL has complete in house facility for vehicle maintenance - Engine overhaul, GB over haul, body shop for accident repair, painting, cabin and load body manufacuring, facility even for removing bed bug removal etc.
- All the vehicles are having real time tracking for maintenance. All scheduled maintenance are adhered 100% and have major workshop at Varur, Hubli. Additionally they have workshops in all major hubs.
- They have driver trainers and training institute for mechanics.
- Due to best practice in maintenance, their fleet kmpl is always higher and so the less expenses on fuel.
The company is very well organised and there is process for every movement.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

As the company is offering this feature then why do these operators not utilize them? Fuel Efficiency is it?.....

These two alternators are part of chassis, one for vehicle electricals and other for AC. What you need is to have 1kW invertor to power your charging points. Invertor when switched off / breaks down you may not get power for charging points.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Since you have told about VRL let me give some insights

I am falling more in love with VRL and it's systems. They always keep things simple.

If it is an out station travel by bus then my first search is for a VRL bus, if not then the rest don't bother me much.

Originally Posted by Ashley2

These two alternators are part of chassis, one for vehicle electricals and other for AC. What you need is to have 1kW inverter to power your charging points. Inverter when switched off / breaks down you may not get power for charging points.

Agreed! If that is the case then why are the points provided without the 1kW inverter in the bus? I have no idea so asking!

Anurag.