Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Commercial Vehicles (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commercial-vehicles/)

-   -   Intercity Bus travel reviews (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commercial-vehicles/54819-intercity-bus-travel-reviews-57.html)

I have seen quite a number of Benz buses getting into problems on the highway.
I may be wrong but I have rarely seen Volvos breaking down except for accidents.

You mean Mercedes-Benz? Or the Tata ones?

And what makes you think they were in trouble, if you werent travelling in them?

I mean the Mercedes-Benz buses.
I saw these buses stranded on the highways
Not to offend you I rarely take the long distance buses,most of the time I drive.

My friend took KPN A/C Volvo from Chennai to Munnar yesterday and unfortunately the bus broke down just before Chengelput. It was fixed after sometime I heard. Seeing this and couple of other posts in this thread seems KPN has gone down the drain in the past decade.

I have travelled very less in inter-city buses, but Parveen has always been good.

Oh, you have no clue how often they do!

Try driving on the Bangalore - Mangalore/Mumbai-Mangalore route; you'll see some breakdown or the other.

My parents were furious when I suggested they try KSRTC Volvo from Pune-Manipal instead of Canara Pinto and their bus broke down at 3am. Same thing happened to a friend's folks on the return leg. It's a routine story.

4 of my friends have been stuck on the Charmadi ghats when their Volvo broke down for either an a/c leak or something else.

It's not that the Volvos or Mercs are less reliable; they are pushed too much with their schedules, the turn-around time is very less; and maintenance, mostly patch work.

which one broke down, Canara or KSRTC?
Due to the high cost of spares, I wonder if the operators run it till it fails instead of replacing parts at recommended intervals.

KSRTC buses break down. I haven't heard of private operators' (Canara Pinto, Vishal etc) breaking down.

I suggested KSRTC because they have a dedicated Pune-Mangalore service that originates at Swargate unlike the private guys who run only Mumbai-Mangalore; one has to catch the private buses at the Katraj bypass.

I spoke to the driver of my Bangalore-Pune bus some time back; he said, the buses have just a few hours turn-around time. Everyday! They run at night from B'lore and start back in the afternoon the next day. The maintenance schedule is supposed to be there but is rarely adhered to. It is mostly patch work. If you see a repaired Volvo; with say a replaced panel or lamp; it is replaced with local spares, not Volvo original. I hope they don't follow this even for the engine and other technical parts!

OK thanks. I thought KSRTC being a large organisation will have a strict service schedule unlike smaller operators who may resort to penny pinching.

That is the only way to recover the high initial investment with out increasing the fare too much.

Did the Mysore - Ooty trip by Airavat Volvo on 24th as planned. Except that the bus from B'lore arrived an hour late at Mysore bus stand, the trip was very comfortable. He made up for most of the lost time though - when we arrived at Ooty bus stand we were late by only 20 minutes.

are you joking, in the past few (5-6) years i had the opportunity of travelling in buses operated by Durgamba, Sugama, Vishal, KPN, VRL, KSRTC, KeSRTC, SETC, APSRTC, Kallada, SRS and Seabird where buses have broken down, the most breakdowns have occurred for me on APSRTC, SETC, Kallada and VRL
Buses breakdown regardless of the operator, In KSRTC, Mangalore (including Kundapura depot) division has the worst maintainance of Volvo buses, even new buses become in bad shape after just few months, part of it is attributed to buses travelling in Shiradi and Sampaje ghats, but still they can maintain the buses. KSRTC Bangalore/Mysore and even NWKRTC maintains their buses in good condition

Well I was speaking specifically to the Mumbai-Mangalore sector. The private buses are not known for breakdowns.

KSRTC, yes they are! The Kundapura depot has dedicated Volvo mechanics. Try going to Majestic between 8 and 11; you'll see all the buses heading to Mangalore/Udupi/Manipal. 8 out of 10 buses will sound like a jet engine and belt out smoke equivalent to a train. There are regular failures, I know because I/my friends frequent that route.

Guys, I have to make a day return trip from Pune to Bombay (South) on a weekday. Most of the buses I know either go to Dadar or to Borivli. Is it recommended to take the one to Dadar and then take the train to VT? Or are there any buses that ply up to Dakshin Mumbai (South Bombay)?
Which bus is the mroe reliable one - both in terms of safety and timings? The last time by Neeta Volvo a few years ago; it took 6 hours from Kothrud to Dadar!

If not, would you recommend taking the train from Dadar to VT or from Vashi to VT, which one would be quicker?

MSRTC anyday. They are reliable as well as punctual. They usually finish the run is 3:30 hrs. (Depending on traffic).

Dadar to VT - there are more trains, and the frequency is much better than from Vashi. Alternatively, you can also change over to another bus from Dadar to head to your destination in South Mumbai.

Any reviews on Angel Bharati MBenz service from Kochi to Bangalore (Starting at 8PM and reaching by 6AM)
and
Sharma Transports Volvo Multi Axle service from Kochi to Bangalore (Starting at 9.30PM and reaching by 6AM)