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That my friend is actually an added service they are doing and is there for all buses, not just to those going to TVM. Why do you want to pick on that? You are very much at liberty to take your own transport to Bommanahalli just before you expect the bus to be there.

I am sure there are many people out there thankful that KPN is at least doing this service with no extra charge. :)

Very true. They do the same here in Chennai as well since the bus stand is in Koyambedu. They pick up passengers from all over the city and also drop them if feasible.

@ Jaguar... I have not heard of such torture as far as KPN is concerned. BTW, when was this ?

I don't think this as an added service. When I select my boarding point as Madiwala 8 P.M. I expect the bus to pick me up from madiwala. I don't want to be loaded into a over-crowded minibus and stand for 1/2 hour to reach bommanahalli and then wait another hour or 2 for the actual bus to arrive.

I have not travelled with KPN (or any other operator for that matter) in the past 1 year in the bangy-tvm sector. But, I used to travel a lot before that and I got the worst (comparatively) service from KPN.

I am not saying that KPN is the only operator doing such antics. Wanted to share my experiences with KPN just for others to know that KPN is not at the top of their like some people have claimed.

The other option for KPN, if all start complaining of the comfort for the 20 minutes ride from Madiwala, will be to cancel the Madiwala pick up point itself. So what will you do, either go to Double Road, Majestic or Bommanahalli on your own. Am sure, it is definitely not something you would like.

Agree with this. After all, they are a business house and have their own set of tactics. But they are slightly better off than the rest of the jokers at Madiwala, at least based on my experience.

Myself and couple of my close friends had real bad experiences with KPN. We try to keep KPN as the last option to travel. I feel dreaded when I had to go with this last option.

I have couple of posts in my blog recounting the horrifying KPN experiences. My friend had put his own experience as well.

Raja Kumar: KPN monopoly and pathetic customer service

Raja Kumar: Against KPN

Random Thoughts: KPN dupes again

Raja Kumar: KPN monopoly rant

Finally, here is the savior for me

Raja Kumar: End of KPN monopoly?

When all other operators (the ones towards kerala) can bring their buses to madiwala, why can't KPN?
Even if I ignore the 20 minutes ride, why make me wait for hours at their bommanahalli office?

Mmm... AFAIK, the Bangalore Traffic Police has banned any buses from picking up passengers from Madiwala in the evening / night. They (buses) are only allowed to drop off passengers in the morning since it is the route they take towards Majestic.

And let me give your what I do for reduce the waiting time (unless you already know this) - the usual boarding time given on the ticket is the boarding time at Double Road or Majestic. So, add the time it takes to come down from there to Bommanahalli and you get a rough estimate of when you can expect the bus to be there. I usually add 40 minutes to the ticket boarding time and have never missed a bus, so far (touchwood! :))

I dont suppose that's true. A lot of operators pick up their passengers from Madivala, even with the cops being around. They may have banned them from picking up passengers from Madivala when the road was a two-way, but with the one way rule implemented, there is sufficient space for traffic to flow.

The one time i have decided to try something like that to drop off my BIL, the bus was already waiting at Madivala about to leave by the time we got there. This was on a Kallada non-A/C service. Dont know how the scene is now.

Happened to travel on the Kallada Bangalore-Calicut sleeper service recently. Had booked a single berth well in advance.

Upon boarding, I was asked if I would be willing to swap my berth for an empty double berth at the rear without any extra charge (they wanted to accommodate a young lady) I had some extra luggage with me and with all the under-seat luggage space taken up, I decided to take the offer.

After about 10 minutes, a passenger boarded from Mysore road and got pushed into my double berth. I immediately took it up with the driver who in turn spoke to the Madivala office. The driver-office conversation went something like this (whilst driving the bus):

Driver: There is a passenger here who does not want to share a double berth. What to do? (I interject and say that I paid for a single)

Office: blah blah blah

Driver: Let him keep rambling, we can't do anything now. We are full.

The driver ended the conversation and in a sarcastic tone, told me that the double berth was designed to sleep 2 people!

By then I realised that the crew already knew a male passenger was getting on from Mysore road, which was why the lady was given a single berth and I was conned into accepting a double berth into which they could draft the extra male passenger.

I argued that I had paid up for a single and I had changed seats on their behest so they could accommodate another passenger! At this point, I asked to be changed to my original single berth.

After much hue and cry, the passenger next to me was given a separate seat. The rest of the journey was uneventful and I slept peacefully, having brushed aside the episode.

The next morning, whilst getting off the bus, the driver called me back and proceeded to provoke in the same sarcastic tone by asking if I wanted anything else and then shoots out expletives as if it was no ones business! By this time, I was fully awake and gave him a earful as well.

I reported the incident to Kallada customer service (yes, they do serve customers supposedly). The following was the reply I got:

It is true that you had to undergo an unconfortable situation on our Bangalore-Calicut bus on 19/01/09. But our enquiry reveals that nobody had to be blamed for the situation. It was an oversight from our Staff : They did not inform the crew of the bus about the change of seat. The driver says that the person who was asked to share the berth with you had some back-ache and wished to have berth a little in the front. So, the staff was just trying to accommodate him.

The crew of the bus, so far, have had a clean record. Their behaviour on duty have been unblemished. There are no complaint against them pending either. So, suggest us what shall we do.

However, we do undertake that such a situation will never araise in the future. We would appreciate your cooperation in the matter

I did not bother replying. The sender of the email contradicts himself in every second sentence! What a joker!

The truth of the matter is that I paid for a single berth, got shifted into a rear double with a fellow passenger and then had to take bad mouthing from the driver, for no fault of mine! It goes without saying that I would never travel with Kallada again.

Stick to your own set of wheels!

Completely agree, I too felt that KPN was very reliable and had good service levels. Has anything changed recently?

Actually a lot has changed at least on the bangalore KPN sector. They have grown to a state of monopoly and they pay very little heed to customers. They never bother to listen to the customers. For more incidents relating to this read my earlier post on this thread.

coimbatore based ABT(and another company) started tourist bus services recently.I have seen their new buses in gandhipuram.
hubli based Vijayananda roadways(VRL) got truck services to kerala.but not yet have tourist bus service.
saw konduskaar bus service(kolhapur?) sometimes back in cochin(volvo).I don't know if the service is still there.

Used to be a frequent bus traveler some 2 yrs back. but these days im planning travels in advance and go by train.

One incident that happened while travelling in Kallada was leaky roofs and that too in a volvo. It was raining heavily and had an annoying time
i complained at their bangalore office and they said "whatever happened was really bad"

I have travelled in Karnataka RTC and found this to be a good service

Not sure of those Rajahamsa etc, but the Airavat [volvo] service is really good. Atleast between the bangalore - Chennai sector.

Heard ABT is also very good. The problem is they have only one service a day.

Has anybody tried Kerala State Super fast b/w Bangalore/ Cochin.
I think that one is the cheapest and fastest.

Not really comfortable though.