[DWind]

Hi,
I would need to be in Ooty on Saturday Morning 8AM with starting on Friday. Are there any travels from Chennai which would reach there by this time?
Alternatively, if I start on Friday Afternoon train I can reach Coimbatore in the night. Are there any night service buses to ooty? And how late?
Any info on this would be helpful.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by DWind

Hi,
I would need to be in Ooty on Saturday Morning 8AM with starting on Friday. Are there any travels from Chennai which would reach there by this time?
Alternatively, if I start on Friday Afternoon train I can reach Coimbatore in the night. Are there any night service buses to ooty? And how late?
Any info on this would be helpful.

There are TNSTC buses from Coimbatore and the frequency is good. Be prepared to be in a queue to board the bus during peak hours.

Alternatively, you may check with auto guys/agents outside bus stand for return taxis to Ooty.

[TKMCE]

Has Sharma Transports pulled out of Kerala sectors?? Recently I tried to check their availability and found that neither Kochi nor Trivandrum was listed on their wbesite They were one of the oldest surviving operators on the Bangalore Kochi route much before the Volvos came to the scene along with players like Indira, SB, NS-RPD , COnti etc. They had a "guaranteed connection" service from Kochi to Mumbai those days and were selling Kochi Mumbai/Kochi Pune through tickets. If the Kochi Bangalore bus was delayed, the Mumbai bus would wait at Bangalore. Those days the IT boom had not caught on in a big way and a lot of the Kochi (and Trichur) to Bangalore passengers were those travelling on to Middle East from Mumbai on various airlines. Their office at Kalasipalayam (the old office was opposite to where they are right now) always had good waiting areas and amenities for passengers.

Hope they restart (if they have pulled out). They were one of those operators which was always reliable. Not flashy but always steady and dependable.

[treadmark]

I have to travel from Chennai to Bangalore on 20th of this month. Any time after 15:00 hrs should be comfortable for me. Few months back (think on May) I traveled in Kallada travels bound to Mumbai around 15:00 hrs from Koyambedu. Since it was punctual I was looking for the same service in redBus and Kallada's website but couldn't find it.
I can see Hebron and one SeaBird departing from Koyambedu at 15:00 hrs and 16:15 hrs respectively, if any one had been in any of these, please suggest your opinion.

Cheers!

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by treadmark

I can see Hebron and one SeaBird departing from Koyambedu at 15:00 hrs and 16:15 hrs respectively, if any one had been in any of these, please suggest your opinion.

Cheers!

Hebron is mostly punctual and got fairly decent reviews these days. I travelled in Seabird Goa service (3.20 pm Dep) few months back and they were literally flying. Reached Bangalore with a 30 mins dinner break at 8.20pm IIRC. But, they are not punctual always.

Among both, my pick would be Hebron.

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Hebron is mostly punctual and got fairly decent reviews these days. I travelled in Seabird Goa service (3.20 pm Dep) few months back and they were literally flying. Reached Bangalore with a 30 mins dinner break at 8.20pm IIRC. But, they are not punctual always.

Among both, my pick would be Hebron.

Thank you Coolclouds, I'm planning to go with SeaBird because I have an event at ITC Grand Chola until 2:30 PM (schedule confirmed this morning), though I will be able to reach Koyambedu in 20 minutes on a cab I don't want to take a risk on Chennai's unpredictable traffic situations.

I'm by the travel time of 4 hours from Chennai ~ Bangalore on SeaBird Goa service leaving at 4:15 PM from Koyambedu.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by DWind

Hi,
I would need to be in Ooty on Saturday Morning 8AM with starting on Friday. Are there any travels from Chennai which would reach there by this time?
Alternatively, if I start on Friday Afternoon train I can reach Coimbatore in the night. Are there any night service buses to ooty? And how late?
Any info on this would be helpful.

There are night services by SRM, KPN and SETC - but I don't think any one would be making it to Ooty by 8 AM. They all typically pass Coimbatore by around 6~7.

Coimbatore to Ooty - lots of normal 2x3 buses run. They start from the Gandhipuram "Central Bus Station".

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Has Sharma Transports pulled out of Kerala sectors?? Recently I tried to check their availability and found that neither Kochi nor Trivandrum was listed on their wbesite

They pulled out from the Trivandrum route about a year back. Atlas Travels was operating a Volvo with the "Sharma" name for some time, and Sharma sold tickets for some time on their website. Recently the bus was named "Atlas" itself. They stopped the Ernakulam Service in October - with a total ban on luggage, Sharma found it difficult to survive. They pulled out finally. They had cancelled most of their other services long long back - Atlas ran them as "Sharma" for sometime. Now all are "Atlas" - and news reports coming in that they too might not be there for long.

AFAIK, the only non-AC options between Ernakulam and Bangalore now are Nellippilly and Greyhound (both of them are on the verge of closure as well).

Originally Posted by treadmark

I can see Hebron and one SeaBird departing from Koyambedu at 15:00 hrs and 16:15 hrs respectively, if any one had been in any of these, please suggest your opinion.

I'd pick Hebron between the two. Its a fairly new Volvo 9100, and they are quite punctual on the route. Seabird is a hit or miss. If you don't mind, I'd also suggest KaSRTC Airavat Club Class - there is one at 1615 or 1630, IIRC.

Originally Posted by treadmark

I'm by the travel time of 4 hours from Chennai ~ Bangalore on SeaBird Goa service leaving at 4:15 PM from Koyambedu.

They normally come to Madiwala around 10PM. Never mind the timings on their site.

[coolclouds]

Please post your feed back.

Originally Posted by treadmark

I'm by the travel time of 4 hours from Chennai ~ Bangalore on SeaBird Goa service leaving at 4:15 PM from Koyambedu.

No, its five hours including 30 mins break. That bus was a B7R and left Koyambedu at 3.20 pm.

Another day, Sangita B9R left Koyambedu at 3.00 pm and reached Bangalore at 10.15 pm with just a tea break.

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Coimbatore to Ooty - lots of normal 2x3 buses run. They start from the Gandhipuram "Central Bus Station".

Are you sure about this? If I recollect correctly, in 2012 all 2X3 TNSTC buses to OOTY were departing from Coimbatore North Bus Stand at Mettupalayam Road, Tatabad and not from Gandhipuram. I remember this because I have dropped my neighbor there once on my way to Bangalore.

I'd pick Hebron between the two. Its a fairly new Volvo 9100, and they are quite punctual on the route. Seabird is a hit or miss. If you don't mind, I'd also suggest KaSRTC Airavat Club Class - there is one at 1615 or 1630, IIRC.


They normally come to Madiwala around 10PM. Never mind the timings on their site.

Thank you Binai, will choose among Hebron or Airavat after reconfirming my event schedule at Chennai.

Cheers!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by treadmark

Are you sure about this? If I recollect correctly, in 2012 all 2X3 TNSTC buses to OOTY were departing from Coimbatore North Bus Stand at Mettupalayam Road, Tatabad and not from Gandhipuram. I remember this because I have dropped my neighbor there once on my way to Bangalore.

A few months back, I had seen them at the Central Bus Stand in Gandhipuram. May be the ones I saw were one offs. But officially these buses are supposed to start from the bus station in Mettupalayam Road.

Originally Posted by treadmark

Thank you Binai, will choose among Hebron or Airavat after reconfirming my event schedule at Chennai.

I'd suggest taking a bus that terminates in Bangalore, since they normally do not take elaborate breaks. The Seabird one goes to Goa, and hence would take a dinner break.

[sandsun7]

Just saw that Kallada runs a multi-axle volvo on the Bangalore-Kannur sector. This bus takes the Madikeri-Sullia-Kanjhangad route. Any idea when this service started and how is the patronage? This probably is the first multi axle on the Kannur-Bangalore sector. Weekday tickets are priced at a Rs. 800 which I feel is reasonable, considering the regular volvos charge Rs. 750

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Just saw that Kallada runs a multi-axle volvo on the Bangalore-Kannur sector. This bus takes the Madikeri-Sullia-Kanjhangad route. Any idea when this service started and how is the patronage? This probably is the first multi axle on the Kannur-Bangalore sector. Weekday tickets are priced at a Rs. 800 which I feel is reasonable, considering the regular volvos charge Rs. 750

Looks like a new offering. There were no private Volvos on the Kannur route apart from Golden a few months back. Kallada used to operate a B7R on this route couple of years back which took the Mysore - Calicut route. So did KRMS. Both these services do not run now. Checked Kallada's website and they now seem to connect Kannur to Bangalore, Kanyakumari-Trivandrum and Chennai-Pondicherry using B9Rs. Trying to compete with KTC on the Chennai-Pondy and Trivandrum sectors I think.

Interestingly, KaSRTC has also increased the number of Volvos (B7R) on the Blr - Kannur sector from 1 to 3 daily. Looks like there are enough number of commuters on this sector. KaSRTC charges 640 for a Volvo on this route.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Looks like a new offering. There were no private Volvos on the Kannur route apart from Golden a few months back. Kallada used to operate a B7R on this route couple of years back which took the Mysore - Calicut route. So did KRMS. Both these services do not run now. Checked Kallada's website and they now seem to connect Kannur to Bangalore, Kanyakumari-Trivandrum and Chennai-Pondicherry using B9Rs. Trying to compete with KTC on the Chennai-Pondy and Trivandrum sectors I think.

Yes, in fact there were very few options for AC travel on this sector earlier. Even the airavats were introduced much later. Now Ashoka also runs a well maintained Volvo B7R on this route.

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Interestingly, KaSRTC has also increased the number of Volvos (B7R) on the Blr - Kannur sector from 1 to 3 daily. Looks like there are enough number of commuters on this sector. KaSRTC charges 640 for a Volvo on this route.

My sister and bro-in-law had traveled to and fro in the 10 PM service (Bangalore-Kannur) and 8.30 PM (Kannur-bangalore) buses last week. Apart from the well known issue of lack of legroom in the KaSRTC B7Rs, another issue they had to face was the bone jarring ride between Virajpet and Hunsur. The bus still takes the direct Hunsur-Gonikoppal-Virajpet road which is in very bad state with virtually no road at all at many places. No one in the bus could sleep during that stage, they said.

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by binaiks

AFAIK, the only non-AC options between Ernakulam and Bangalore now are Nellippilly and Greyhound (both of them are on the verge of closure as well).
.

I belive SPS is also running. Their Ernakulam Bangalore Non AC service has been around for a long time . Or have they stopped as well???

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

I belive SPS is also running. Their Ernakulam Bangalore Non AC service has been around for a long time . Or have they stopped as well???

SPS has stopped according to my friends. The sole runners now are Kallada (Trivandrum non-AC), Greyhound, Nellippilly, SRS (Thiruvalla non-AC). Hope I haven't missed anyone. Obviously KaSRTC Rajahamsa also exists and KeSRTC is reportedly planning to bring in a "Super Deluxe" in the Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam route shortly.