[nitkel]

Originally Posted by professor.march

There are 8 services now from Bangalore to Jodhpur. At about 36-38 hours, it's one insanely long journey. Who is the route aimed at? And is there any particular reason that these ultra long routes are mainly between Bangalore and Rajasthan? Don't find Bangalore to some other states for example.

Rough guess is that Bangalore acts like a hub for Marwaris/Rajasthani people living in the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which have a huge resident and migrant population. And due to lack of sufficient direct trains, buses are a good alternative. Also, as these buses pass through Pune, Mumbai, Surat and Ahmedabad they can fill seats in between these cities and destinations in Rajasthan, improving the yield. Earlier, this route was dominated by VRL and SRS, but since the pandemic, Rajasthan based operators have taken over.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by professor.march

There are 8 services now from Bangalore to Jodhpur. At about 36-38 hours, it's one insanely long journey. Who is the route aimed at?

Originally Posted by nitkel

Rough guess is that Bangalore acts like a hub for Marwaris/Rajasthani people living in the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which have a huge resident and migrant population. And due to lack of sufficient direct trains, buses are a good alternative.

Agree with nitkel's analysis.

Not only there is a large migrant population of RJ people in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, but also they maintain good bond with their motherland, they keep visiting often. Many of them even organize the marriages of their children at their native place though they are permanently settled in south.

Obviously train is a preferred mode of travel for them. But even before pandemic, I have witnessed them not hesitating a bit to board a bus, if the train tickets aren't available. So as nitkel says, these services might be keeping in mind this customer segment.

One query for professor.march; are 8 services a day really operational these days or it is just displayed on their portals?

[professor.march]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Agree with nitkel's analysis.

One query for professor.march; are 8 services a day really operational these days or it is just displayed on their portals?

Just what I found on redBus for tomorrow. These routes have been there for a while but I was reminded of them because I saw a couple of travel videos on YouTube recently.

[nitkel]

Originally Posted by professor.march

Just what I found on redBus for tomorrow. These routes have been there for a while but I was reminded of them because I saw a couple of travel videos on YouTube recently.

Just to add, small businessmen/traders from Gujarat/Rajasthan dealing in textiles, home floorings and furnishings also form a significant portion of the travellers on this route.

[bht]

Originally Posted by nitkel

Rough guess is that Bangalore acts like a hub for Marwaris/Rajasthani people living in the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which have a huge resident and migrant population. And due to lack of sufficient direct trains, buses are a good alternative. Also, as these buses pass through Pune, Mumbai, Surat and Ahmedabad they can fill seats in between these cities and destinations in Rajasthan, improving the yield. Earlier, this route was dominated by VRL and SRS, but since the pandemic, Rajasthan based operators have taken over.

+1, I have travelled couple of times to Surat/Ahmedabad from Bangalore and seldom these are empty. They get passengers till Pune/Surat/AMD from Bangalore and to Rajasthan from there on.
They are very convenient in case of emergency travels and when train tickets aren't available.

I do miss BNG-Rajkot SRS service that was once active.

[dmplog]

Has anyone used the IntrCity SmartBus service https://www.intrcity.com
Looking to get some real world feedback on its service. It seems to be a Pan-India service provider which has an Onboard Toilet

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by dmplog

Has anyone used the IntrCity SmartBus service https://www.intrcity.com
Looking to get some real world feedback on its service. It seems to be a Pan-India service provider which has an Onboard Toilet

IntrCity is an aggregator much like Ola/Uber. Buses are owned and operated by smaller operators. Facilities provided in buses aren't consistent - so some buses may have an onboard toilet, while a predominant majority don't.

[deetee]

Originally Posted by dmplog

Has anyone used the IntrCity SmartBus service https://www.intrcity.com
Looking to get some real world feedback on its service. It seems to be a Pan-India service provider which has an Onboard Toilet

I have traveled by their bus with onboard toilet , very recently.
Those buses are just like that of any other travels, except for onboard toilet. Not every bus may have the toilet though. These bus bodies are built on regular bus chassis and divided into 5 cabins of 6 berths each. A regular ac sleeper bus (not volvo sleeper) also has same number of cabins and berths. So to accomodate the toilet at the back berths are shortened a bit , i didn't measure though, about 6ft long but head rest padding eats about 2-3 inches, so effective length can be shorter and cramped if you are a tall person (>5'10").
That apart , being a regular bus body, it has lot of body roll during travel as they frequently hit 90-100kph on high ways. That body roll is there with any other regular carrier not using volvo sleepers. It may cause nausea if the passenger is not comfortable with such body roll.

Coming to toilet facility, they say it is strictly for urinals only and that too outside city limits. The key to toilet will be kept with bus captain (the person who acts on behalf of Intercity ) . So they don't allow you to use it inside major city where bus picks up or drops passengers , may be because the captain is busy with boarding and departing passengers. So to use the toilet, the key has to be collected from captain and given back to him after usage (even in middle of the night). Imagine going to front of the bus negotiating the body roll and then going to toilet and back again to front of the bus to return key , all this in middle of night. Not a pleasant affair but, if presence of onboard toilet is a necessary requirement of your travel , you will have to put up with all that.

So, other than for that onboard toilet, I wouldn't prefer Intercity buses unless their tickets are on par with other buses. But frequently , they charge a few hundred more than other AC sleeper buses.

Hope that helps.

[Roan J]

Would welcome reviews of any recent pvt or KSRTC (Kerala and Karnataka) bus travel between Bengaluru and Ernakulam/Kottayam. Thank you

[mazda4life]

After ages , traveling to Mangalore by KaSRTC by the 7 AM bus. Bus is clean and appears to be in a tip top shop. Very less patronage , which is a blessing in disguise.

[mazda4life]

Reached Mangalore at 3:30 PM and post Hassan till the concrete section of Shiradi ghat , roads are in shambles and even the Scania was not able to smoothen the ride. Very sedately driven and the crew took their own sweet time to reach Mangalore. Got off at Lalbagh and took a local bus to my place near Surathkal and this driver was the polar opposite of the KSRTC driver

[ask_017]

Kerala RTC acquires 8 new Volvo sleeper buses. The news mentions it is the first time that Volvo themselves have done the body building on their chassis for the sleeper kind. KSRTC going to start a new company for operating long distance services, named KSRTC SWIFT.

Related news link, in Malayalam though

https://www.manoramaonline.com/distr...ift-buses.html

[W@SIM]

travelled from Pune to Bangalore using KSRTC Club class 4pm Service on 15th May 2022
Dep: 4:05 pm/4:25pm (sch/actual)
Arrival: 6 am/715 am (sch/actual): traffic jam had caused this delay

Few points
1. Bus starts Swargate (waits in front of stand number 15 & 16). Please call the number mentioned in the SMS to know exact location inside Swargate bus stands as bus terminal is very chaotic
2. Maintains 90 kmph, and offers a very smooth ride with very less honking
3.although bus mentions last drop point as Shantinagar, the drivers warn that it could take long to reach as they need to drop the cargo
4. dinner stop was pathetic so please carry your dinner.
thanks

[Superleggera]

I was trying to book a ticket from Bangalore to Coimbatore, and as usual i logged into KPN Travels website. I Couldn't see any buses. Same was the case with all routes I tried and then I realized that I haven't seen a KPN Travels bus on the road after pandemic which is a usual sight on Bangalore to Tamilnadu roads. Have they shut down?

[vandemanw]

Originally Posted by Roan J

Would welcome reviews of any recent pvt or KSRTC (Kerala and Karnataka) bus travel between Bengaluru and Ernakulam/Kottayam. Thank you

Is there a specific query you had of buses between bengaluru and central kerala?
This is from multiple experiences between bangalore- Thrissur/Ernakulam

If timing and comfort is priority - Private sleeper buses (Surya Connect/Aaliya express/Greenline Travels)
If you are ok with a slightly delayed arrival - KSRTC ambaari volvo sleeper is usually the first to fill up on the ernakulam route
If you want the cheapest multiaxle services - Kerala RTC volvo/scania. KSRTC Swift volvo sleepers are the cheapest in the route

Regarding night halts- Most buses stop between shoolagiri and Krishnagiri for dinner towards kerala. On the return journey it varies based on origin.

Duration:
KSRTC takes about 9.5-10 hours to Angamaly from bengaluru
Kerala RTC lesser than that based on class of bus
Private buses cover the same distance in 8-8.5 hours (might not enter palakkad/thrissur town)