[ameyawaghmare]

Originally Posted by luvDriving

Hello Friends,

I will be travelling to Bangalore (for the first time) from Pune on the weekend of the 12th Dec. Can anyone suggest a reliable travels ? I have shortlisted VRL and SRS.

Another query is regarding alighting point. I need to be at Ramamurthy nagar near Raghavendra circle. So which will be the closest point at which the bus can drop me ?

Many thanks in advance.

P.S. How is the Airavat service by KSRTC ?

VRL and SRS are both, fantastic but reviews of VRL are far better. Airavat drivers are into heavy engine lugging for saving fuel economy (the same is widely discussed in this thread). In one of my travel, I remember Airavat getting into the town of Ranebennur or so and waited for a good 15 minutes loading and unloading cargo. This easily added another 30 minutes to the travel.

Other than this, your pick up point is very important. Airavat usually departs from Swargate. Most VRLs and SRS are coming from Mumbai and hardly have 1 or 2 stops along the Bangalore bypass.

No idea on the drop points inside BLR.

[jayakumarkp]

Originally Posted by luvDriving

Hello Friends,

I will be travelling to Bangalore (for the first time) from Pune on the weekend of the 12th Dec. Can anyone suggest a reliable travels ? I have shortlisted VRL and SRS.

Another query is regarding alighting point. I need to be at Ramamurthy nagar near Raghavendra circle. So which will be the closest point at which the bus can drop me ?

Many thanks in advance.

P.S. How is the Airavat service by KSRTC ?

Both VRL and SRS are generally good.
For Ramamurthy Nagar, you can probably catch a BMTC bus towards Hebbal ( one of the AC ones) and get down at the ramamurthy nagar subway in ORR. You can get the bus from Majestic. Or may be just catch an Ola or Uber.

[TMRT]

It has been a while and there could be other better and more comfy options by now but my travel with Paulo Travels for Mumbai to Goa was a bliss sleeper coach affair.

[adithya.kp]

I see that both VRL and SRS have very few buses in Bangalore-Mangalore-Kundapura route. Does anybody know the reason. Its really surprising. Is it that they find it difficult to compete with the operators like Durgamba, Sugama etc. (these tow have their own loyal customers)

[sv1976]

Any feedback on AC sleeper buses on Cochin-Bangalore route? I've taken the Kallada Volvo sleeper coach 3-4 months back and was quite OK. Please share if you have any feedback on Kalyani, Sona, Greenline.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by sv1976

Any feedback on AC sleeper buses on Cochin-Bangalore route? I've taken the Kallada Volvo sleeper coach 3-4 months back and was quite OK. Please share if you have any feedback on Kalyani, Sona, Greenline.

Kalyani and Sona are only ticketing agencies - they do not operate sleeper buses on their own on this route. Greenline is generally a good service. You also have Kerala Lines on that route - this is a newer bus, and a better service. (Kalyani Travels on RedBus is the Kerala Lines bus).

[xotiq]

Originally Posted by adithya.kp

I see that both VRL and SRS have very few buses in Bangalore-Mangalore-Kundapura route. Does anybody know the reason. Its really surprising. Is it that they find it difficult to compete with the operators like Durgamba, Sugama etc. (these tow have their own loyal customers)

Have been using Durgamba from 1999, their service has been good, ensuring customer loyalty. During the early 2000's options on Kundapura-Bangalore were Durgamba, Sri Durgamba, KSRTC and the occasional Sea Bird, Sugama etc.

[dreamliner17]

I have a strange fascination - Buses! I can't help but be in awe of the sheer size, design and power that these machines possess. It's the whole feeling of 'travel-kingsize' that i experience inside them, although no king would want to travel with 50 or 60 or 70 or maybe more people crammed inside that space
Be it our noisy and rickety local B.E.S.T buses in Mumbai or the hi-tech Volvos and Scanias and Mercedes-Benz' available today, i have enjoyed them all....well...almost! From the 'back-bone breaking' leaf springs to the luxurious air suspension travel that we have today, buses have transitioned greatly in passenger comfort, features and safety, in general. I can never justify this fascination for buses. Perhaps, logic may not be able to justify everything you like!

The SETRA Experience!

Thanks to a short exchange program to Karlsruhe, Germany, i got to know more about another company excelling in Buses - SETRA ! It is the German bus division of EvoBus-a JV between Mercedes-Benz and SETRA since 1995 and wholly owned by Daimler. SETRA has practically the same umpteen number of variants or variations in buses, the same way Samsung has for mobile phones However, their buses are divided into 3 broad categories - TopClass, MultiClass and ComfortClass, to cater to different pricing and purposes.

S 415 UL











Tech Specs:
Length: 12,200 mm
Width: 2,550 mm
Height: 3,175 mm
Turning circle: 21,070 mm

Motor: OM 936 Euro VI
Power [kW]: 220/260
Max. Torque [Nm]: 1,200 / 1,400
at speed [1 / min]: 1,200
Capacity [l - l]: 7.7
Type: 6-cylinder in-line engine
EU emissions standard: VI
injection: Direct common-rail technology

S 415 GT-HD











Tech Specs:
Length:12,200 mm
Width:2,550 mm
Height:3,620 mm
Turning circle:21,070 mm
Engine:MB OM 457 LA, Euro V, BlueTec
Nominal capacity [kW]:315
Max. torque [Nm] :2,100 (1,1001/min.)
Displacement [cm³]:11,967
Type:6-cylinder in-line engine, vertical
Transmission:MB GO 210, servo-assisted

S 516 HDH





















Tech Specs:
Length: 13,325 mm
Width: 2,550 mm
Height: 3,880 mm
Turning circle: 21,512 mmMotor: OM 471 Euro VI
Power [kW]: 350/375
Max. Torque [Nm]: 2,300 / 2,500
at speed [1 / min]: 1,100
Capacity [l - l]: 12.8
Type: 6-cylinder in-line engine
EU emissions standard: VI
Injection: Common-rail technology with pressure boosting X-Pulse
Transmission: MB GO 250-8 MPS (PowerShift) 8-speed

Note: All data sourced from company website (www.setra.de) and translated.

[condor]

We regularly travel on SRS & VRL. Recently made a booking on VRL. There was a problem with the logon, hence happened to complete booking as a guest on the website. We did nt get the mail confirmation. We only got the SMS with the PNR details.

Due to change of plan, had to cancel it. The booking office insisted on a printout - but we didnt have a mail. Called the customer support number. They asked for the PNR, & name and contact number - and sent a copy of the mail to the mail id that we normally use to book. The rest of the process was a breeze.

Was a good experience with VRL there.

[aroonanand]

Has Roadlink India suspended their operations? I was trying to book an AC service from Bangalore to Chennai and did not see their service. Their website now works like an aggregator website. I am looking for a service that drops me at Velachery - the only other options are Royal AC Sleeper and Aditya Travels. Any reviews on these or any other options?

Someone told me that Roadlink now operates under the Aditya brand - is this true?

Thanks

[Rahul Bhalgat]

To travel from Pune to Ahmedabad, I used to take Patel Volvo in past.

The Patel Volvo was not clean and the buses were not in very good condition. But they had a bus that started early (5 pm) and that reached Ahmedabad by 7 am. Others like Neeta etc. were starting late and reaching late too.

I travel 850 km from Pune to Bangalore in 14 hours by KSRTC. So I was never happy to spend 14 hours (in bus) to travel 660 km from Pune to Ahmedabad.

Soon, I discovered that train is a better option. If you plan the journey at least 2 days in advance, book train (Tatkal) starting at 7:50 pm everyday. It reaches Ahmedabad by 8 am. And thrice a week, you also have a Duranto, departing Pune at 9:40 pm and arriving Ahmedabad at 6:15 am. Such timings make Duranto more convenient than even a flight.

Recently, twice I had to go to Surat / Ahmedabad (for business purpose). The plan was made in the late evenings, at an eleventh hour. I could have got some buses in the night. But I preferred to take my car and drive down, starting at 4:00 am or 4:30 am from Pune. This speaks of my reluctance to spend 14 hours in Bus for 660 km or 9 hours for 425 km to Surat.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Has Roadlink India suspended their operations? I was trying to book an AC service from Bangalore to Chennai and did not see their service. Their website now works like an aggregator website. I am looking for a service that drops me at Velachery - the only other options are Royal AC Sleeper and Aditya Travels. Any reviews on these or any other options?

Someone told me that Roadlink now operates under the Aditya brand - is this true?

Thanks

Yes. Roadlink is now Aditya. The buses however look the same with the obvious addition of the new name. I have never taken Roadlink as it is always priced higher than competition.

Royal lists a bus from Bangalore but not from Chennai, in their website.

There is a KPN Sleeper from Adyar if you are interested. Else sticking with Aditya would be the better option.

[DWind]

Hi,
Any regulars on Trichy-Chennai sector? I would need to travel from Trichy in the afternoon and would need a dependable service to reach Chennai in the night? Any pointers to dependable service. There is a Guruvayur-MS train in the afternoon but I am not sure of getting a confirmed ticket.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by DWind

Hi,
Any regulars on Trichy-Chennai sector? I would need to travel from Trichy in the afternoon and would need a dependable service to reach Chennai in the night? Any pointers to dependable service. There is a Guruvayur-MS train in the afternoon but I am not sure of getting a confirmed ticket.

Not a regular but I suppose you can choose any of the four buses from KPN in the afternoon. They have a sleeper as well a little late in the evening among the 4.

Shri Renganathan is another small operator who does the Trichy route mostly and has introduced a Multi-Axle for sometime now. Price should be same as other operators in the region.

Do choose the one that fits your schedule.

[manduvindupondu]

VRL has started Bangalore - Jodhpur bus which takes 36 hours. Wonder how many travel end to end! Nature calls, bath, meals, fresh up, stretching breaks. Curious to find if anyone has travelled such long distance buses (or close to it) and would like to know their practical experiences.