[srikant]

Originally Posted by MaserQ

Stick to your own set of wheels!

I completely agree with you on this dude, No need to check for ticket availability, Take break when ever and where ever you want and reach the destination enjoying the drive

Originally Posted by rajesh1868

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

I too had similar experience a year back in the VOLVO service of Kallada (Trichur to Bangalore via Calicut). And when i reported to the crew, they came and stuck some tape around that area blaming it on the AC hose.

I too feel Karnataka KSRTC VOLVO service is good, though they drive too slow and reach the destination with longer travel time.

[mail4loys]

Originally Posted by rajakumar

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.

You are true, I once booked 2+1 KPN Volvo from Chennai to Bangalore, the bus started at 10:30 PM from T.Nagar and we reached Silkboard Junction at 6:30AM. The bus almost stopped at all places along the highway starting from Kanchipuram, Vellor, Ambur, Krishnagiri, Hosur and Electronic City. I saw them loading & unloading cargos at all these places. On top of that he took a U turn between Krishnagiri & Hosur to fill fuel in BP which has A2B!!! That was the last time that i travelled in KPN

Originally Posted by mjothi

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.

KSRTC Airavat service is really good but the only drawback that i faced was the space between seats. I travel with my 1 and a half year old son on our lap and it is very difficult if the person in front had to lean back.
I found that S.E.T.C buses are very good in terms of space between seats and after using its service once i have not gone to other operators. (though it take 7hrs from Bangalore to Chennai)

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

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.

I have used the ABT and ARC (both parcel service operators), ac bus services from chennai to coimbatore. Their staff and management is very courteous, buses are well maintained and the buses are operated on time. (So far!)

[rajakumar]

Off late I have switched my loyalty towards ABT. I have traveled a couple of times from Bangalore to Coimbatore and vice versa on their tourist coaches. First thing I notice is that their online booking has not failed for me till now. There were couple of failed online bookings with KPN earlier.

Secondly ABT starts the buses on time (max 10 to 15 mins) delay. Their staffs are courteous. Buses are good. Interiors are plush (art leather seats). We are offered a blanket and water bottle. Thought the buses are not Volvo's, but does not compromise more on the travel comfort.

Surprisingly last time (it was a weekday) when I took ABT to coimbatore from bangalore, the bus started at 10:40pm and dropped me at PSG college around 4:10am . Awesome speed.

[tsk1979]

I always used PK travels from Calicut to BLR and vice a versa, pretty good service, and fast nice bus.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by rajakumar

Off late I have switched my loyalty towards ABT. I have traveled a couple of times from Bangalore to Coimbatore and vice versa on their tourist coaches. First thing I notice is that their online booking has not failed for me till now. There were couple of failed online bookings with KPN earlier.

Secondly ABT starts the buses on time (max 10 to 15 mins) delay. Their staffs are courteous. Buses are good. Interiors are plush (art leather seats). We are offered a blanket and water bottle. Thought the buses are not Volvo's, but does not compromise more on the travel comfort.

Surprisingly last time (it was a weekday) when I took ABT to coimbatore from bangalore, the bus started at 10:40pm and dropped me at PSG college around 4:10am . Awesome speed.

Yes, they call up the latecomers and say that we can't wait more than 10 minutes for you, you can catchup at the outskirts of the city if you want. I really liked that, no point causing inconvenience to 40 passengers for the convenience of one.

[subbusos]

On Friday 20th March 2009, I took ABTXTravels to Trichy. Bus was scheduled to leave around 11.00 pm. I was there at their Madiwala office by 10.30 and inquired about the arrival. I was given the boarding pass and told that the bus would arrive by 11.15-11.20 pm as there was a delay. The staff apologized for the delay as well. I said 'fine' and waited for the bus to arrive.

Bus promptly came by 11.15 pm and the staff with whom I inquired came to me and said that the bus has arrived and I can board. I went in and occupied my seat.

Seats are pretty comfortable and there is enough leg room. The passenger at the front seat pused back his seat, even then my knees were not getting hurt (which used to hurt in Volvos and other normal buses).

I was given a bottle of water and a nice blanket. Blanket was clean and fresh as opposed to other similar services. I just turned little and to my astonishment I saw a SEAT BELT. A good and very welcomed saftey feature. I promtly wear the seat belt and slept comfortably, though the other passengers ignored the seat belt.

Keep it up, ABT.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

KSRTC has service to Volvo Kerala and its mostly Cochin.

Karnataka SRTC operates Volvos to Palakkad (via Hosur), Ernakulam (One service each via Hosur and Kozhikode) and Trivandrum (one service via Hosur)

Kerala SRTC operates one Volvo service to Trivandrum (via Hosur).

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I believe they also operate to Kottayam (not sure) and Palakkad.

Kottayam gets only Rajahamsas, and Palakkad only Volvos.

Originally Posted by ArunV

Karnataka SRTC- I travelled only once and they were goin through all the bus stands and took 13 hours instead of the normal 11 hours.

Surprising! I had once taken their Volvo from Trichur to Bangalore, and the bus was more than 40% empty. Still it skipped all enroute bus stations - it did enter CBE, but did not wait for passengers. In December 2008, I took their CBE-Bangalore volvo, and the guy did the entire distance in just a shade over 6 hours (left at 2245, arrived Bangalore at 0500)! The load was pathetic - hardly 30% occupancy.

Originally Posted by ArunV

Kerala SRTC - Never got a ticket. The new A/C semisleeper looks nice. But the booking starts 5 days before departure and bookign is restricted to few places.

Amazing service. Their charge the lowest, and service is usually punctual. Tickets can be reserved 21 days in advance at their booking counters - at Majestic and the Mysore Road satellite bus station. Typically these buses get filled up only a day prior to the trip unless it is some festive season.

The leg room is tight if you are anything over 5'7". The staff are courteous and the service is fast. One guy covered Trichur to Bangalore in just 8:30 hours - compared to 9:30 on a Kar.SRTC volvo. On weekdays, though, these buses tend to be slow, since they enter bus stations in search of pax - but on weekends they are truly "by-pass riders".

One major plus point is their punctuality. Their buses would be at the departure point atleast 30 minutes prior to departure, and the departure is usually within 10 minutes of departure time.

Originally Posted by srikant

I too feel Karnataka KSRTC VOLVO service is good, though they drive too slow and reach the destination with longer travel time.

Kar.SRTC provides an amazing product. Very well maintained buses with courteous staff. The drivers tend to be lethargic and they tend to make frequent stops for refreshments. The evening EKM-BLR volvo stops twice for refreshments, while a similar service on the Trichur-BLR section run by the Kl.SRTC stops only once.

The Kar.SRTC volvo from TVM to BLR takes 15 hours to complete the journey (TVM dep 1600, BLR arr 0700), while the Kl.SRTC does the same trip in around 14 hours. (TVM dep 1515, BLR arr 0500~0600). In the return leg, the Kar SRTC guy leaves BLR at 1605 and arrives TVM at 0730, while the Kerala guy leaves at 1600 and makes it to TVM by 0530!

The difference is that the Kerala guy skips all bus stations enroute, while the Karnataka guys enter all of them! The Kerala bus picks passengers from Vytilla Junction on the NH47 instead of entering the bus station, while the Karnataka guy enters the bus station.

The Kerala bus rocks!

[benbsb29]

Two weeks back, i got to travel on a Shama Volvo from Kerala to Bangalore. The bus arrived on time (I was surprised!) and also reached Bangalore (Silk Board) at 6:30AM. This was a Friday evening start. The interiors of the bus were well-maintained, but on bad roads there were creaks from some of the seats, which proved to be an irritant while trying to catch up on sleep in the night. The bus stopped for dinner at a decent restaurant but was surprised that self-service was the order of the day there. Quite a few passengers just sat and waited for the waiter, but realized it only later. Since timings were adhered to, i could live with the creaks and noises.

[TKMCE]

One of the Volvos run by the private operators on the Bangalore Kerala route has collided with a truck yesterday (monday) night at Thoppur between Dharmapuri and Salem according to Malayala Manorama online. Atleast 3 bus pax dead.

I think I iwll stick to KSRTC (Karnataka). Drvers may be lethargic and there may be 2 or 3 stops instead of one in for a 12 hour trip, but atleast I will reach the destination in one piece! I have travelled quite a few times on the Bangalore -Kochi route by their 2000 Airavat which used to go via Hosur (unfortunately this service is now routed via Calicut), and the driving all the time was absolutely safe (but on the slower side).

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

One of the Volvos run by the private operators on the Bangalore Kerala route has collided with a truck yesterday (monday) night at Thoppur between Dharmapuri and Salem according to Malayala Manorama online. Atleast 3 bus pax dead.

The private operatorin question is Shama, and the bus which crashed was one from their Gold Class fleet (the black ones). The casualities included 3 passengers from the bus, as well as the cleaner of the lorry into which the bus crashed. My colleague's acquaintance happened to be one among the deceased.

Apparently, the bus was completing an overtaking maneouvre when it crashed into a stationary lorry with a punctured tyre which was parked on the road.

One of the Malayalam news portals even had a pic of the bus.

Come to think of it, the day this happened, i had just returned in the morning on a Shama Volvo Gold Class to Bangalore, sitting on the 2nd row seat. Shucks!

[esteem_lover]

And here's the pic from this source



The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : 8 killed in two accidents on Krishnagiri-Thoppur highway

[menonrajesh]

OOPS!!! Thats bad! Even at the cost of spending a day on road, it is wise to drive down in your own vehicle. Atleast your life is not in someone else' hands!

[unni.ak]

The Thoppur section is kind of bad, and one needs to be real careful. The newspaper article states that the driver was trying to avoid someone crossing the road and ended up crashing on to a parked lorry. A few months back they had relaid the entire section and put up speed breakers as well. A sad incident.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by menonrajesh

OOPS!!! Thats bad! Even at the cost of spending a day on road, it is wise to drive down in your own vehicle. Atleast your life is not in someone else' hands!

Driving in your vehicle, still your life is not in your hands.

Both have pros & cons, let's not digress from the topic too much.