[binaiks]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

(Karnataka RTO seized KeSRTC multi axle Volvos for not having emergency exits)

Any details about this news? I think many private buses registeres in KA don't have emergency exits. Then why KL registered KeSRTC?

That news is false. They seized a non-AC Super Deluxe bus of Kerala SRTC for not having an "emergency exit". Under Section 290, Sub-Section 4, of Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, it is stipulated that a glass not measuring less than 1500mmx1200mm should be provided at the rear of the vehicle as emergency exit. So, any stage carrier having the above mentioned emergency exit provision would get fitness - and the particular bus also had the same.

Now the Government of Kerala has taken up the issue with the Government of Karnataka. I doubt if a state can unilaterally start enforcing such orders on vehicles registered in another state.

[Rajeevraj]

Had to make an urgent trip to Calicut from Bangalore last Sunday (Apr 27th). Came to know only Sunday morning. Looked at a couple of Sunday night services (Kallada/KaSRTC) and all were full. FInally decided to take the Bangalore-Calicut-Trivandrum 1.15PM Multi-Axle. Booked online (it showed only 6 seats available). I was wondering how a Sunday afternoon service would be so full. To my surprise when we left Bangalore, there were only around 10 passengers in the bus. I was also assuming that this service was being run for Bangalore-Calicut and Calicut-Trivandrum passengers. So was puzzled by the empty bus.

Through the journey I realized that more than Bangalore-Calicut, this was a more of a Mysore-Trivandrum and a Bathery/Kalpetta-Trivandrum service. Most of the seats were filled from these 2 places. We left Kalasipalayam at 2.30 and reached Calicut at 10.45 PM with just one stop for dinner at 7PM at Gundlepet. Journey was comfortable enough. Heavy truck traffic trying to beat the forest closure between Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundlepet-Bandipur.

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Attachment 1237449

(Karnataka RTO seized KeSRTC multi axle Volvos for not having emergency exits)

Any details about this news? I think many private buses registeres in KA don't have emergency exits. Then why KL registered KeSRTC?

Originally Posted by binaiks

Now the Government of Kerala has taken up the issue with the Government of Karnataka. I doubt if a state can unilaterally start enforcing such orders on vehicles registered in another state.

Matter seems to be sorted out:

Last week, a KSRTC inter-state Volvo bus was stopped by RTO officials at Bangalore for failing to have installed emergency exits in the bus. However, it was later resolved as the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) argued with Karnataka RTO officials that most of the buses operating from Karnataka don’t have speed governors as per the Motor Vehicle Department norms in Kerala. Even though speed governors are mandatory in Kerala, it is not so in Karnataka. Similarly, the MVD rules defined in the state of Kerala does not demand emergency exits.

Source:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/citi...cle2211785.ece

Also the new service from Ekm may start soon.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by bejoy

Matter seems to be sorted out...

Not that the Kerala MV rules doesn't mandate having an emergency exit, in fact they do - a glass area having minimum dimensions 1500mm x 1200mm at the rear, and maybe some concession offered for rear-engined buses, because I'm not sure about the rear-glass fitted in Volvo buses registered in KL.

The KA RTO folks were looking for a pigeonhole-sized door on the RHS that they want to call an emergency exit, and IMO it's just a namesake and not at all practical compared to the full-sized emergency door found in the middle on the RHS of some of the Volvo Airavat CCss, or to the breakable rear-glass in the seized Super Deluxe of the KSRTC.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by bejoy

Matter seems to be sorted out:



Source:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/citi...cle2211785.ece

Also the new service from Ekm may start soon.

If buses do not have speed governors, they should stop them. I think govt owned buses do have the speed governors. With this adjustment, they are making bus travel unsafe.

[silversteed]

Had booked this service only to try out the new Multi-axle Volvo service of KSRTC. Though I had reasons to be at home early morning on saturday, the reason for booking this service was only to try out the new bus.

About the bus: White, with the Garuda and Super Deluxe livery, dirty on the outside but well-kept on the inside. Comfy leather seats with calf support, seat-belts provided for every seat, two LCD TVs (standard fare in multi-axle buses), rear camera (that was kept on always), charging points on alternate rows of seats, on either side. And Michelin radials - the KSRTC had the practice of using Michelin radials on the intercity services, this bus continues the trend (the new Super Deluxe buses run on JKTyres though). This bus, RS781 was speed-locked at 80kmph.

Scheduled time of arrival at Madiwala was 17:20hrs. But, as expected, the bus turned up at my boarding point only at 18:00hrs. There was a small confusion here, when some pax who'd booked another service (via Mysore-Kutta-Kozhikkode) assumed this to be their service and tried boarding. The conductor patiently made it clear, and in ten minutes we were on our way. There were pick-ups at Bommanahalli and Electronic City. Despite the conductor calling and informing the passengers, some of them turned up a few minutes late. By the time the bus crossed the KA border, it was 19:00hrs.

At 20:05hrs, the bus pulled in to a Saravana Bhavan before Krishnagiri. The place is decent for a highway eatery, though I would've preferred the hotels and McD attached to the HP Fuel station in Shoolagiri to this one. Heavy traffic ensured that we pulled in at the perfect time for dinner. The bus was back on the highway at around 20:45hrs, with the second driver behind the wheel.

The speed-lock ensured that the bus never went beyond 80kmph, though there weren't many free stretches. By the time it crossed Salem, it was already 22:30hrs. Since the bus was full, it didn't enter Coimbatore and Palakkad, but took the bypass. I got down on the highway itself at 02:10hrs.

The crew is one of the best I've seen. Both the drivers were never ever rash, and were trying to drive the bus at 1000-1500rpm. At times, it appeared that there's some lugging in the top gear, but I also suspect the state of tune for the lower pulling. Perhaps things will change for the good after the bus goes for its first service. It was good to see the drivers using indicators for changing lanes, using the high beam judiciously and honking only very rarely. Both the drivers and the conductor buckled up as soon as they got on their seats. I saw the drivers using the front windscreen defogger, wash-and-wipe, ride height adjustment, retarder and cruise control suitably. I hope the crew keeps it up all throughout.

There are two things I didn't like about the trip - one, the delay in arriving at my destination - over 2 hours behind schedule, thanks to the speed-lock and the traffic; and two, because the bus was parked with the door open, right in front of a high-power lamp that attracted quite a few flies, by the time the drivers were informed and moved the bus away, there were quite a lot of ticket-less travelers, read flies, inside the bus.

Sidenote:
Binaiks, it was a pleasure meeting you at the dinner break point. Hope to meet you again another day

[binaiks]

A quick trip log:

1. Bangalore to Alappuzha by Kerala SRTC Garuda Multi-Axle Volvo on May 09, 2014

Selecting this bus was an obvious decision - a new service, from our own RTC. I made the booking on the day the reservation was opened (April 30, 2014) through the ticketing counter at Satellite Bus Station on Mysore Road. I had to attend a wedding in Pandalam on Saturday, May 10. While I booked the ticket, I wasn't very worried about the arrival time in Alappuzha, but the bus turned out to be locked at 65kmph, and on the first few days delays over 3-4 were standard. This made me a bit worried, and I made it a point to head to Satellite and check out with the crew every day I could.

Finally on the day of journey, I reached Satellite BS around 1630hrs. The crew in the bus were known to me - so a round of pleasantries were exchanged. Boarding started at 1645hrs -the AC was running already. The bus was fully sold out - so last minute ticket seekers were turned away. Bus started off at 1704hrs - the driver struggled a bit to get the bus on to the highway - the engine did not respond at all to the throttle input (could be related to the fact that the bus hasn't reached its first service till now).



Traffic was heavy as usual. We reached Madiwala at 1759 and left at 1805. The bus did not take the EC Flyover - since we had pickup at Bommanahalli and E.City. The bus had to wait for sometime after EC since a passenger missed the bus. After all pick-ups were passed EC Toll gate at 1846. Hosur passed at 1920hrs. Dinner break was at "Hotel Saravana Bhavan Classic", just before Krishnagiri (2001hrs, dep at 2035hrs). The drivers changed here - the second guy was a new driver (new to Volvo as well as to the route). We were just nearing Thoppur as the clock went past 2145. I slept after that. The driving seemed good - no harsh brakes. I slept through till Thrissur. We reached Thrissur at 0324 (quite late by "Garuda" Standards). Left at 0335. The driver changed again, and an older driver (he had driven till Krishnagiri from Bangalore) took over. He was quite quick on the road.

We reached Vyttila at 0500 - took a quick tea break and left at 0507hrs. I was dropped at Alappuzha Medical College Junction at 0606hrs - 13hrs end-to-end - slightly on the higher side, but quite good for a new bus locked at 80kmph.

One thing that I did not like - a ticket checker got in at 4AM, and woke up all the passengers. Lights were left on for quite a lot of time till he finished checking all the 48 passengers. This could've been avoided in a premium service - especially at such odd hours for a long running bus.

2. Ernakulam to Bangalore by Kerala SRTC Garuda Multi-axle on May 11, 2014.

I hadn't booked any return ticket when leaving from Bangalore. I still wonder how did I do that. I had some back-up plans in mind - some buses which hardly get passengers. I was just casually browsing the Kerala RTC online reservation portal after reaching Alappuzha, when this "18.30 ERNAKULAM-BANGLALORE ACM" service caught my attention. So that was the new Ernakulam-Bangalore Multi-axle service. Without wasting time, booked a ticket on that bus - the fare was Rs. 1101 + reservation charges.

I reached Ernakulam BS at around 1700hrs on the day of my journey. My bus (RS782, KL-15-A-280) was being prepared for the journey. They were putting up a garland, and cleaning the bus. The bus was being flagged of that day - the honours were done by Ernakulam MLA Shri. Hibi Eden. Flag off was perfectly on time, and we moved out at 1835hrs (5 mins late - passenger was caught up in the inauguration melee and got into the bus late).

This time both the drivers were new hands - and the conductor too was in the route for the first time. The drivers struggled a bit to maneuver the 13.7M bus through the narrow alleys of Kochi. Reached Vyttila at 1857, and left at 1902. As the bus left Vyttila, the crew noticed something amiss with the passenger door - it did not open every time they wanted it to open. They tried repairing it themselves, but did not succeed. We lost some time in the process. Passed Aluva at 1958, and reached Ankamaly BS at 2016hrs - here mechanics were called to correct the door. It was some loose contact, and things were set right quickly. We got moving at 2038hrs. We were already over an hour late.

The driver meant business as he hit the road - this bus too was speed locked at 80kmph. The driver kept that speed and ensured he did not lose momentum by hard brakes. Finally reached Thrissur at 2125hrs - 55 minutes late. A lot of pax got down, and an equal number got in. We ensured that the bus had 48/48pax all the time! Left Thrissur at 2138hrs - 1h08m late. By now pax who got in from Ernakulam were hungry and some of them questioned the crew - the responded saying they were new and will stop in the next hotel.

By now most hotels were closed. We stopped at a regular "bus motel" in Alathur at 2231hrs. I had brought my food, so used this time to stretch a bit. The bus left at 2306hrs after food. The bus pulled into a fuel station inside Palakkad town at 2343hrs, took in 157lts of diesel, and started off at 2350hrs. There are instructions from the management that the fuel tank door should be kept locked at all times, and the key to that should be kept along with the ignition key - this meant that they had to switch off the engine (and the AC) and then refuel. (A good thing from the safety PoV, but bad from the passenger comfort PoV)

Palakkad BS was reached at 2355hrs - two passengers got off, and two got in. We left at 0000hrs. I slept even before we were back on the highway - woke up just as we were nearing Hosur - it was 0600hrs now. We stopped near Electronic City at 0630hrs. The bus did not take the Elevated road. I was dropped at Bommanahalli at 0643hrs - overall 12h08m end-to-end. Quite good - considering the fact that we lost around 30-35 minutes trying to fix the door, evening traffic in Cochin, plus the dinner break of 35 minutes and fueling time of 07 minutes. Over the coming days, this service will get fine tuned further and it should be doing the distance in under 12 hours. With an 80kmph lock in place, there are no chances of heroics on the road as well. Both the drivers drove really well - both of them hit 80kmph quickly and ensured they did not lose momentum. Overtakes were well signalled and horn usage was minimum.

I am sure this service will be my preferred choice hence forth.

General remarks on both the services -
1. The buses were really clean inside. Curtains were clean, and headrest covers were in place.
2. They did not provide blankets in both my trips (in the outward trip the conductor had limited stock, but in the return trip they did not have a single blanket) - so carrying one is recommended.
3. They do no provide water bottles.

Originally Posted by silversteed

Sidenote:
Binaiks, it was a pleasure meeting you at the dinner break point. Hope to meet you again another day

It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Hope we run into each other some other day again.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by binaiks

I am sure this service will be my preferred choice hence forth.

Binai, thanks for the detailed review.

I think a 6.30 pm departure is too early for a Multi Axle bus. Office goers and those who want a guaranteed early arrival at Bangalore can look for this service without a second thought.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by binaiks

One thing that I did not like - a ticket checker got in at 4AM, and woke up all the passengers. Lights were left on for quite a lot of time till he finished checking all the 48 passengers. This could've been avoided in a premium service - especially at such odd hours for a long running bus.

The ticket-checkers are probably the most rude employees in the corporation. I've had my fair share of arguments with them on a few of the long distance services at odd times such as this one.

Originally Posted by binaiks

My bus (RS782, KL-15-A-280) was being prepared for the journey...

How could they let the destination board have a typo (Malayalam version) in such a premium service, more so on the first day!

[JoseVijay]

Is anyone aware that KPN has started it's services between Hyderabad and Trivandrum?

Have come across this information in the regional news channels when they aired the news of an accident that involved a KPN travels Volvo.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

Is anyone aware that KPN has started it's services between Hyderabad and Trivandrum?

Have come across this information in the regional news channels when they aired the news of an accident that involved a KPN travels Volvo.

Redbus is showing a KPN service from Hyderabad to Trivandrum. Departure Hyd at 1.45pm and TVM arrival at 10.30am.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

Is anyone aware that KPN has started it's services between Hyderabad and Trivandrum?

Have come across this information in the regional news channels when they aired the news of an accident that involved a KPN travels Volvo.

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Redbus is showing a KPN service from Hyderabad to Trivandrum. Departure Hyd at 1.45pm and TVM arrival at 10.30am.

The service started some 2+ years back. Initially they ran AP registered buses, then replaced them with new KA registered buses.

[Thumping Soul]

Hi Folks.

My sister, brother-in-law and kids would need to travel to Goa tonight from Mumbai.

So could you guys please suggest the best bus service (overnight) from MUMBAI to GOA?

Regards
Saurav

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

Hi Folks.

My sister, brother-in-law and kids would need to travel to Goa tonight from Mumbai.

So could you guys please suggest the best bus service (overnight) from MUMBAI to GOA?

Regards
Saurav

Check VRL. They have three overnight services and should be good.

[dass]

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

Hi Folks.

My sister, brother-in-law and kids would need to travel to Goa tonight from Mumbai.

So could you guys please suggest the best bus service (overnight) from MUMBAI to GOA?

Regards
Saurav

www.Redbus.in should be able to provide you with multiple options, depending upon your timings and place of boarding.

From what I saw, NEETA seems to be the one offering most # of the services and VRL has the best ratings. Your choice.