[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by ike

Hi guys. I'm based in Mumbai & need to visit Jaipur. I managed to get train ticket for the onward journey but all trains are full for the return leg. A redbus search said there are no direct buses between Jaipur & Mumbai so I guess the best option is to travel to Udaipur & take a bus from there. The problem here is that most buses reach Udaipur early morning & Mumbai bound buses depart only in the evening. Any Advise will be appreciated.

Bangalore based VRL and SRS travels operate some services to Rajasthan from Bangalore. Please check their sites for destinations in Rajasthan. They have departures in the morning and evening IIRC.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ike

Hi guys. I'm based in Mumbai & need to visit Jaipur. I managed to get train ticket for the onward journey but all trains are full for the return leg. A redbus search said there are no direct buses between Jaipur & Mumbai so I guess the best option is to travel to Udaipur & take a bus from there. The problem here is that most buses reach Udaipur early morning & Mumbai bound buses depart only in the evening. Any Advise will be appreciated.

There is a direct RSRTC Volvo bus service between Jaipur & BOmbay

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by ike

Hi guys. I'm based in Mumbai & need to visit Jaipur. I managed to get train ticket for the onward journey but all trains are full for the return leg. A redbus search said there are no direct buses between Jaipur & Mumbai so I guess the best option is to travel to Udaipur & take a bus from there. The problem here is that most buses reach Udaipur early morning & Mumbai bound buses depart only in the evening. Any Advise will be appreciated.

AFAIK, there are no direct buses. You can consider changing buses at Ahmedabad. Alternatively, you can also travel via Jodhpur. There are frequent Jaipur-Jodhpur RSRTC Volvo services.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

There is a direct RSRTC Volvo bus service between Jaipur & BOmbay

There "was". It is not running anymore. Infact, RSRTC does not have any service between Jaipur and Mumbai.

[treadmark]

This has nothing to do with the travel reviews.
I had this in my mind for a long time, why service providers are procuring/registering busses away from their home town. For instance not all buses of SRM are not registered in Chennai, KPN are not registered in Salem, Kallada from Kerala, SRS from Bangalore and so on. Is there any benefit for operators in doing so?
What is the benefit in doing this? Also they aren't consistent in doing this in one single state, for a same operator the busses are registered in multiple cities.

Moreover I have spotted several small operators with registration plates from Arunachal Pradesh (AR), Nagaland (NL), Odisha (OR/OD) plying down south.
Appreciate if some one can shed some light on this.

Cheers!

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by treadmark

Moreover I have spotted several small operators with registration plates from Arunachal Pradesh (AR), Nagaland (NL), Odisha (OR/OD) plying down south.
Appreciate if some one can shed some light on this.

Cheers!

Lower taxes in AR and NL.
You may also notice similarly high-end cars being registered in JH or Jharkhand

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by treadmark

This has nothing to do with the travel reviews.
I had this in my mind for a long time, why service providers are procuring/registering busses away from their home town. For instance not all buses of SRM are not registered in Chennai, KPN are not registered in Salem, Kallada from Kerala, SRS from Bangalore and so on. Is there any benefit for operators in doing so?
What is the benefit in doing this? Also they aren't consistent in doing this in one single state, for a same operator the busses are registered in multiple cities.

Tamil Nadu had some issues with registered Volvo buses - they were charging an entry tax on new Volvo buses registered in TN, which was removed only very recently (about a year or so back). TN also had issues with permits - they had stopped issuing "Omni Bus" permits a few years back, and operators had to take All India Tourist Permit - a lot of operators were harrassed for operating regular trips with buses having Tourist Permit. So, all the TN-KL operators preferred getting their buses registered in Kerala, where they can also make substantial savings in Road Taxes (Road tax for KL registered buses are less than buses registered outside KL). Permit is available easily as well. If you notice, all the buses which operate from TN to Kerala and vice versa are KL registered (except a handful of KPN TN Registered buses and Sleeper coaches, which are either PY/KA or AR/NL/OD registered).

Karnataka mandates all other state vehicles to pay road tax annually - again, that is a big sum for operators. So majority of the operators register their buses in Karnataka (who also charges slightly lesser rates for KA registered buses as compared to other state registered buses). So irrespective of where their base is, operators would prefer registering their buses where the tax/harassment is less.

Kallada has KL and KA registered buses (they also have TN registered pick-up vans), while KPN has buses registered in TN, KL, KA, AP and PY. SRM also has buses registered in TN, KL, KA, AP and PY. SRS has buses registered in KA, AP, TN, PY and OD.

Originally Posted by treadmark

Moreover I have spotted several small operators with registration plates from Arunachal Pradesh (AR), Nagaland (NL), Odisha (OR/OD) plying down south.
Appreciate if some one can shed some light on this.

Not only small operators - even big guys like SRS do that. But, if you've noticed, all such buses are either full Sleeper buses or are Sleeper-Seater buses. They do that because KA, TN, KL and PY do not issue anymore fresh permits for Sleeper/Seat+Sleep buses (KL never issued permits for sleeper buses, but TN, KA, PY used to). AP has a different configuration for sleeper buses.

However, sleeper permits are issued by states like MH, GJ, RJ, etc. However, states like AR, NL, OD etc charge meagre amounts of "mother tax" and also issue permits for Sleeper/Seat+Sleep buses - so a lot of operators get their buses registered there, and operate in wherever they want. Irrespective of the fact that those states charge meagre taxes, the bus needs to pay tax for the state where it is operated in. So by saving on mother tax, they can still make profits in the state where they run. On the other had, the mother tax in states like MH, GJ, RJ are comparatively higher, and it does not make sense to register there.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by binaiks

However, sleeper permits are issued by states like MH, GJ, RJ, etc. However, states like AR, NL, OD etc charge meagre amounts of "mother tax" and also issue permits for Sleeper/Seat+Sleep buses - so a lot of operators get their buses registered there, and operate in wherever they want. Irrespective of the fact that those states charge meagre taxes, the bus needs to pay tax for the state where it is operated in. So by saving on mother tax, they can still make profits in the state where they run. On the other had, the mother tax in states like MH, GJ, RJ are comparatively higher, and it does not make sense to register there.

I have seen many heavy haulers sporting the NL plate as well. For registration, do these guys take the vehicle to NL? Wouldn't the round trip negate some of the tax benefit? Add to that paying tax for all the states enroute!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

I have seen many heavy haulers sporting the NL plate as well. For registration, do these guys take the vehicle to NL? Wouldn't the round trip negate some of the tax benefit? Add to that paying tax for all the states enroute!

There is no need to take the vehicles there. Just photographs are submitted to agents who get the work done and get you registration certificates and permits!

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by binaiks

There is no need to take the vehicles there. Just photographs are submitted to agents who get the work done and get you registration certificates and permits!

Woah!! Is it because vehicles are not required to be present by law or because of some palm greasing?

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Tamil Nadu had some issues with registered Volvo buses - they were charging an entry tax on new Volvo buses registered in TN, which was removed only very recently (about a year or so back). TN also had issues with permits - they had stopped issuing "Omni Bus" permits a few years back, and operators had to take All India Tourist Permit - a lot of operators were harrassed for operating regular trips with buses having Tourist Permit. ....

To my knowledge there was no issues in registration of Volvo buses in TN. Since most of the buses were plying to KA they were registered there.
Also Omni bus permit was again available earlier and its used by most operators. There are certain regulation to comply with which the operators don't follow. That makes the issue.

Originally Posted by binaiks

TN, KA, PY used to). AP has a different configuration for sleeper buses.

TN never issued sleeper permits, its only PY issued and they too stopped.

Originally Posted by binaiks

However, sleeper permits are issued by states like MH, GJ, RJ, etc. However, states like AR, NL, OD etc charge meagre amounts of "mother tax" and also issue permits for Sleeper/Seat+Sleep buses - so a lot of operators get their buses registered there, and operate in wherever they want. .....On the other had, the mother tax in states like MH, GJ, RJ are comparatively higher, and it does not make sense to register there.

From my understanding GJ has one of the lowest tax structure(Infact GJ has the lowest sleeper bus fare). MH gave permit for 2×2 - 40 sleeper buses till a year back. RJ/GJ gives permit upto 38 berths for a 12m bus. Yes, they extend the bus upto 13m. But our operators have not turned their attention there. So until such time we can have some relief.

[TKMCE]

I wanted to travel on 30th July morning from Kochi to Bangalore and look at what I found.

Air Asia Dep 1020 - Rs 990 All Inclusive
Indigo Dep 1530- Rs 990 All Inclusive
Spice Jet Dep 1115 - Rs 1999 All Inclusive
Kallada AC Volvo Dep 0930 - Rs 1235
Train 2678 Intercity -AC Chair Car Rs 665


Some releif now for the sky high bus fares on this sector. Knowing this route, especially Mid Week, I feel closer to date also you will get reasonable fares below Rs 2000 even at the last minute in Spice Jet and Air Asia and Indigo. This I feel may be a safer option than booking with a bus operator and then finding at the last minute the service is cancelled or combined with another service due to insufficient number of passengers.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

I wanted to travel on 30th July morning from Kochi to Bangalore and look at what I found.

Air Asia Dep 1020 - Rs 990 All Inclusive
Indigo Dep 1530- Rs 990 All Inclusive
Spice Jet Dep 1115 - Rs 1999 All Inclusive
Kallada AC Volvo Dep 0930 - Rs 1235
Train 2678 Intercity -AC Chair Car Rs 665


Some releif now for the sky high bus fares on this sector. Knowing this route, especially Mid Week, I feel closer to date also you will get reasonable fares below Rs 2000 even at the last minute in Spice Jet and Air Asia and Indigo. This I feel may be a safer option than booking with a bus operator and then finding at the last minute the service is cancelled or combined with another service due to insufficient number of passengers.

I tried to book Air Asia for Sept 17th for a friend. Its his parents wedding anniversary and the fare was Rs. 500 on Kochi-Bangalore on calender, but actual fare turns to be Rs. 19xx for two tickets.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

To my knowledge there was no issues in registration of Volvo buses in TN. Since most of the buses were plying to KA they were registered there.
Also Omni bus permit was again available earlier and its used by most operators. There are certain regulation to comply with which the operators don't follow. That makes the issue.


TN never issued sleeper permits, its only PY issued and they too stopped.


From my understanding GJ has one of the lowest tax structure(Infact GJ has the lowest sleeper bus fare). MH gave permit for 2×2 - 40 sleeper buses till a year back. RJ/GJ gives permit upto 38 berths for a 12m bus. Yes, they extend the bus upto 13m. But our operators have not turned their attention there. So until such time we can have some relief.

The problem that existed in TN was the hefty entry tax on volvo buses. I was told this by a bus operator.

GJ charges Rs. 12000/berth annually for buses have more than 20 pax. For seater+sleeper buses, its 6000/seat extra. And one needs to physically present the bus for registration.

But in case of AR its a paltry 5000/bus, and one need not take the bus there for inspection. This is why more people are now flocking to north-eastern states for registration.

Thanks for the correction - TN did not issue sleeper permits.

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

I tried to book Air Asia for Sept 17th for a friend. Its his parents wedding anniversary and the fare was Rs. 500 on Kochi-Bangalore on calender, but actual fare turns to be Rs. 19xx for two tickets.

Did you book using the Air Asia website or a third party website??? When I tried today in Air Asia website it was showing All Inclusive fares with Rs 990 being the cheapest i could find. Even then it is a good deal. Always try if possible to book through the respective airline website.

On the topic, the Bangalore Kochi Intercity (the day train) has now an additional AC Chair Car which doubles the Chair Car capacity. It is supposed to be I think till Jul 31 but does increase the chances of getting a last minute seat atleast in Tatkal as the Tatkal avaiability also goes up proportionately with increased capacity.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Did you book using the Air Asia website or a third party website??? When I tried today in Air Asia website it was showing All Inclusive fares with Rs 990 being the cheapest i could find. .

I tried Air aAia site itself. It showed Rs. 500 fare on monthly chart but while selecting that, it shows a different fare.

Additional chair car on Intercity is a welcome move. Hope they retain the same.