[binaiks]

Originally Posted by 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.

Its been operating for the past two years or so. Not a new service. From their charts, they've been getting sufficient number of direct tickets.

[PVS]

Any clue why CPC buses went out of business in the profitable Kundapura/Udupi/Mangalore to Bangalore sector? They were quite popular till the late 90s (when I was studying at Manipal), and used to get filled up first, before the likes of Durgamba, Sugama et al. They used to have an A/C service Mangalore to Mumbai departing Mangalore in the morning hours, which used to be quite popular. I travelled in their morning A/C service from Bengaluru to Mangalore around late 1993, and it was a good ride, with a lunch halt at Hotel Asshok Hassan. Lunch was included in the ticket price.

[rajinibm]

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

Adithya travels bought over Roadlink India close to more than a year back if I recall correctly. I use them at least twice a month and no complaints. I too use them as their last stop is Velachery and very close to my home. Tried Royal once but wasn't so comfortable as Roadlink.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by PVS

Any clue why CPC buses went out of business .

Same with Conti Travels to Coimbatore. I remember back in the day, they had good looking buses compared to the usual ones. Again, AC and all white body and their office was opposite Cash Pharmacy on Residency road.

[Ashley2]

Conti is still running in the same routes. Surprisingly they still maintain the Isuzu's.
The management has changed but operations are continued.

[SchumiFan]

I had to attend a wedding in Chennai and hence decided to be at my place the previous night itself. Decided to try the KPN Scania 4:30 PM service on Tuesday.

Bus was prompt in arrival but departed 15 minutes late. We took the elevated highway and reached Hosur by 5:45. They played a couple of movies, which I preferred they didn't

Driver still hadn't got a hang of the bus and it showed with some sudden and late brakes. Leg room was better than Hebron, maybe the lack of seats in the last row helped.

Stopped past Pallikonda toll for dinner for 15 minutes and reached CMBT at 10:45.

Impressive time keeping and great interior space. The Bangalore Chennai route is getting busier with the addition of new lines each day.

Parveen joins the Scania craze with their own service thrice a day. Might take that next time I visit Chennai.

350 rupees for the morning 6AM bus (KPN), is a price worth seeing.

[manduvindupondu]

Travelled by Diwakar travels from Hyderabad - Bangalore yesterday.
Pros
Service was punctual
Driving was smooth, sedate, no swerving, no sudden braking
Driver and attender were polite, courteous
Good pickup/drop locations in Hyd/Blr respectively
Boarded the actual bus in SR nagar at 10:00 pm. Nice as many travels cramp passengers in pickup vans and made to wait at some deserted location for the actual bus to arrive.

Cons
No proper stop for restrooms. Problem if you travel with family
Dusty seats and smelly blankets

[aroonanand]

Just did a round trip from Bangalore to Chennai

Onward: Blr to Chennai by Royal Travels AC Sleeper
Bus reached Madiwala by 1045, about 15 minutes ahead of scheduled departure and was clean and new. Left Madiwala by 11 PM and was dropped off at Taramani by 530 AM. Sedate driving with minimal honking and good drop points in chennai (Guindy, Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur, Taramani and Velachery). AC temperature was maintained at optimum levels, not too cold.

Return: Chennai to Bangalore by Aditya Travels (erstwhile Roadlink) AC Sleeper
Chose this service as this was the only one with a Taramani pick up (strangely Royal was not listed on this day). Called the company and confirmed pick up point by evening. Driver called me as soon as the bus left Velachery to check where I would board. Reached Taramani by 940 PM (instead of scheduled 935 PM). Again bus was clean and good pillows and blankets provided. The bus left Koyambedu by 11-1110 PM and dropped me at Madiwala by 520 AM. Bottle of water with Lays and biscuits provided. Only grievance would be excessive honking by the driver and loud chatter between driver and cleaner which was audible in front berths.

Would definitely recommend both these services for those requiring drops / pick up from the Adyar / ECR / OMR area.

[SchumiFan]

Travelled to Chennai in Parveen's new Scania service. Started at 12:20 (some point after Bommanahalli) and reached Guindy at 5:15 AM.

Bus was late in arriving to the departure point. At 11:30, it was only arriving from Chennai and once all the passengers alighted the bus, it was cleaned quickly before letting the ones for the next trip in. Shawl/water bottle was provided and each seat had a small pillow which I used for lower back support.

Started at around 11:50 from Madiwala and stopped at some point after Bommanahalli after missing out on picking a couple of people. One guy took the auto to reach the bus and the other one chose to walk

So finally started after 15 minute delay. No more passengers got in after E.City even though there was one seat free. A passenger who had missed the non A/C bus was taken in and he was sitting in the co-driver seat for a while. Not sure if he ever moved in to take the remaining seat.

No rash driving but was pretty close in following the vehicles in the front. No stops anywhere and reached Poonamallee at 5.00 exactly. The bus had black screen in between the cabin and the passenger space and hence lights were blocked out pretty nicely.

The V3 seat was creaking every time the bus braked. Not sure what the issue was. But the reclining mechanism worked and had a very comfortable journey.

Would prefer it over Hebron for the leg room.

[bhandary]

This week had traveled from Bangalore to Udupi by Sugama Tourist sleeper bus. The bus was driven a little hastily once the city limit was crossed. The braking for the speed breakers or for bad patches were done at the last moment and this would have caused tremendous strain on the front suspension of the bus. The journey on the ghat was a roller coaster as the turns were done at a good speed. Wish there were 'bed belts' to secure the sleeping passengers from rolling in all directions.

In contrast the return journey to Bangalore by VRL was very good. The driving was very disciplined all the way. Not sure if its a regular practice by VRL but the bus did not have a conductor. It was left to the driver to announce the stops, remove and handover the passengers baggage from the rear/side storage compartment, that too after a long tiring and demanding driving.

More than the bus company, probably its down to the individual drivers who make the journey either pleasant or nightmare for the passengers.

[adithya.kp]

You are right. It was a very reputed operator. I think its due to the competition. I have been travelling in this route since 1998. CPC operated only one or two buses. In 2005 or so they (intercity bus) closed down. They resumed again in 2012 with two 2+2 seater buses. But the occupancy was very very low. People prefer 2+1 sleepers to 2+2 seater buses. One of the buses met with an accident and they closed down again in 2013. (Note. I have never traveled by CPC. Dont know how good they were)

Originally Posted by PVS

Any clue why CPC buses went out of business in the profitable Kundapura/Udupi/Mangalore to Bangalore sector? They were quite popular till the late 90s (when I was studying at Manipal), and used to get filled up first, before the likes of Durgamba, Sugama et al. They used to have an A/C service Mangalore to Mumbai departing Mangalore in the morning hours, which used to be quite popular. I travelled in their morning A/C service from Bengaluru to Mangalore around late 1993, and it was a good ride, with a lunch halt at Hotel Asshok Hassan. Lunch was included in the ticket price.

[ontheroad]

Dear all, Any recommendations in Ekm- Madgoan route? We are planning a Goa trip on March and train tickets are sold out.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

Dear all, Any recommendations in Ekm- Madgoan route? We are planning a Goa trip on March and train tickets are sold out.

AFAIK, no buses operate on that route anymore. You'd have to break journey at Mangalore, or travel via Bangalore.

[adithya.kp]

hi binaiks,
I too am a big fan of buses. love your posts. could you tell me how much does a 30 seater 2+1 non ac sleeper bus cost? Ashok leyland or tata, built by any builder (veera, prakash etc). I am talking about the final on road price.

[urzdeepu]

Originally Posted by binaiks

AFAIK, no buses operate on that route anymore. You'd have to break journey at Mangalore, or travel via Bangalore.

Isnt Akbar servicing the Mumbai route from Thrissur?