[Ashley2]

I have never felt comfortable in 1+1 sleeper berth. Reason being we keep rolling back and forth during the bus acceleration and braking. Also width will be limited and may not be comfortable to sleep along with kid. So plz continue regular 2+1 berth booking 2 berths for kid and your wife.

OT- These buses where used by KPN in Cbe - Hyd route and now been shifted to Che - Mdu route. This one is fitted with an automatic transmission and are reregistered at PY from AP earlier.

[RajeswaranK7]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

I have never felt comfortable in 1+1 sleeper berth. Reason being we keep rolling back and forth during the bus acceleration and braking. Also width will be limited and may not be comfortable to sleep along with kid. So plz continue regular 2+1 berth booking 2 berths for kid and your wife.

@Ashley
Thanks for the timely info. I will go ahead and book the berths in their 2+1 bus.

[infotech58]

Guys,

Could anyone recommend a reliable overnight AC bus service to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai? If some bus has a drop point as Chennai Airport, that would be even better.

I searched on makemytrip but it shows too many operators and I have no idea whether they normally stick to the posted schedule or not.

My In-Laws need to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai on 20-May overnight and then catch a flight from Chennai Airport at 9:00 AM on 21-May which is why arriving in Chennai Airport in time (Latest by 7:45 AM) is a must.

I checked the train tickets and there is no availability for the given dates. Alternatively, how much it would cost to hire an Innova for a Chennai airport drop from Coimbatore?

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Guys,

Could anyone recommend a reliable overnight AC bus service to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai? If some bus has a drop point as Chennai Airport, that would be even better.

I searched on makemytrip but it shows too many operators and I have no idea whether they normally stick to the posted schedule or not.

My In-Laws need to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai on 20-May overnight and then catch a flight from Chennai Airport at 9:00 AM on 21-May which is why arriving in Chennai Airport in time (Latest by 7:45 AM) is a must.

I checked the train tickets and there is no availability for the given dates. Alternatively, how much it would cost to hire an Innova for a Chennai airport drop from Coimbatore?

You can refer them to ABT/ARC, Hindusthan, CONTI, Parveen, KPN, etc. Hindusthan or CONTI would be convenient in case if they travel with luggage since they can reach their depot conveniently.

Regarding the arrival time, regular travellers can confirm it better.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Guys,

Could anyone recommend a reliable overnight AC bus service to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai? If some bus has a drop point as Chennai Airport, that would be even better....

Originally Posted by v1kram

You can refer them to ABT...
Regarding the arrival time, regular travellers can confirm it better.

I suggest you can take ABT and get dropped at their Guindy drop point(last point). This is the nearest dropping point for Airport because none of the operators has a dropping point at Airport.

You can book a call taxi from ABT (Pickup point - ABT Maruti, is a landmark) and get dropped at Airport. Max fare will be around Rs.250.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Guys,

Could anyone recommend a reliable overnight AC bus service to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai? If some bus has a drop point as Chennai Airport, that would be even better.

I searched on makemytrip but it shows too many operators and I have no idea whether they normally stick to the posted schedule or not.

My In-Laws need to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai on 20-May overnight and then catch a flight from Chennai Airport at 9:00 AM on 21-May which is why arriving in Chennai Airport in time (Latest by 7:45 AM) is a must.

I checked the train tickets and there is no availability for the given dates. Alternatively, how much it would cost to hire an Innova for a Chennai airport drop from Coimbatore?

I wouldnt depend on the buses,as they are way too unpredictable esp when your parents have a flight to catch on the same day morning.An unexpected breakdown or something of that sort for the bus would throw all your plans to the wind.Also for a 0900 flight(for domestic flights)the counter closes by 0800 and they should be inside the terminal atleast by 0700 imo.Overall its a bad idea to take the bus and arrive at the airport on the same day.My reccomendation would be to arrive MAA by bus the previous evening or else take the innova option by departing CBE in the afternoon and arrive in Chennai the previous evening.CBE-Chennai is approximately 500kms and all cabs would charge you the return fare.An innova is usually charged at around 17-20rs for a round trip,which means the drop should cost you around 10K IMO.Opt for an Indica or the economy type cars and I think they charge between 10-14rs.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Guys,

Could anyone recommend a reliable overnight AC bus service to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai? If some bus has a drop point as Chennai Airport, that would be even better.

I searched on makemytrip but it shows too many operators and I have no idea whether they normally stick to the posted schedule or not.

My In-Laws need to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai on 20-May overnight and then catch a flight from Chennai Airport at 9:00 AM on 21-May which is why arriving in Chennai Airport in time (Latest by 7:45 AM) is a must.

I checked the train tickets and there is no availability for the given dates. Alternatively, how much it would cost to hire an Innova for a Chennai airport drop from Coimbatore?

What I would suggest is to ask your parents to make a trip to the ticketing agent locally check for the buses which go via Perungulathur, Guindy among ABT, KPN & Hindustan. These buses would pass Chennai Airport on their way to Koyambedu. Ensure they take a bus which leaves around 9 PM so that they reach Chennai early.

Nilgiri Express is on WL1 for 2A and WL5 for 3A both of which would get confirmed without any issues. I suggest you book them tickets by Nilgiri Express on 20th, ask them to take Fast Track Call taxi from Chennai Central to the Airport. It would be comfortable for them all the way

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Guys,

Could anyone recommend a reliable overnight AC bus service to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai? If some bus has a drop point as Chennai Airport, that would be even better.

I searched on makemytrip but it shows too many operators and I have no idea whether they normally stick to the posted schedule or not.

My In-Laws need to travel from Coimbatore to Chennai on 20-May overnight and then catch a flight from Chennai Airport at 9:00 AM on 21-May which is why arriving in Chennai Airport in time (Latest by 7:45 AM) is a must.

I checked the train tickets and there is no availability for the given dates. Alternatively, how much it would cost to hire an Innova for a Chennai airport drop from Coimbatore?

The best option is Kallada Volvo, Cochin-Chennai service. They take the Villupuram route, so you can get dropped off at Tambaram or airport.

The next best option is KPN Volvo as they drop you at Kathipara junction. But be wary of timing, as KPN never stick to their scheduled time. From there, your in-laws can hire a cab to the airport which is just 10 minutes away. ABT is another option, who I reckon can drop you off at Kathipara junction or ABT service centre, Guindy.

[infotech58]

Thanks Guys!

After posting this query here, I spoke with HVK and he suggested train as a better option.

I ended up making reservations (RAC) in 2AC of Nilgiri Express which arrives at Chennai at around 5:30 AM.

Originally Posted by v1kram

You can refer them to ABT/ARC,

Originally Posted by Ashley2

I suggest you can take ABT and get dropped at their Guindy drop point(last point).

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

I wouldnt depend on the buses,

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

Nilgiri Express is on WL1 for 2A and WL5 for 3A both of which would get confirmed without any issues. I suggest you book them tickets by Nilgiri Express on 20th, ask them to take Fast Track Call taxi from Chennai Central to the Airport. It would be comfortable for them all the way

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

The best option is Kallada Volvo, Cochin-Chennai service. They take the Villupuram route, so you can get dropped off at Tambaram or airport.

The next best option is KPN Volvo as they drop you at Kathipara junction. But be wary of timing, as KPN never stick to their scheduled time. From there, your in-laws can hire a cab to the airport which is just 10 minutes away. ABT is another option, who I reckon can drop you off at Kathipara junction or ABT service centre, Guindy.

[dhandapanik]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

The best option is Kallada Volvo, Cochin-Chennai service. They take the Villupuram route, so you can get dropped off at Tambaram or airport.

The next best option is KPN Volvo as they drop you at Kathipara junction. But be wary of timing, as KPN never stick to their scheduled time. From there, your in-laws can hire a cab to the airport which is just 10 minutes away. ABT is another option, who I reckon can drop you off at Kathipara junction or ABT service centre, Guindy.

8:15 PM(Ramnagar departure) Service of ABT goes via Chengalpet. If you use this, then you can get down at airport itself.

There are few buses from SRM which goes via Tambaram. You can also try this.

[vinair]

Came across this image on facebook and wow! I am really impressed! KSRTC has always been in the forefront of launching buses that have always been the best in the industry!

Any idea which model and make is this??

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by vinair

Came across this image on facebook and wow! I am really impressed! KSRTC has always been in the forefront of launching buses that have always been the best in the industry!

Any idea which model and make is this??

Its a prank. This is some international photo that someone morphed and added the KSRTC logo on it.

[VBoss]

What an awesome thread.

Ok about me. I live in Bangalore and I work and partially live in Hyderabad. With weekends being off that means every Thursday I spend half of my day trying to work out a way to reach Bangalore. Mind you this is no simple exercise. This involves a lot of planning, hit and miss and precise planning that includes cost, place of departure, departure time, travel time, arrival time, drop points at Bangalore. In fact I am so obsessed about it that now it seems to be a hobby for me.
So I reach work at 9:30 Am and the first thing that I do is log on to IRCTC. Please don’t ask me why but that’s where the treasure hunt starts. I guess anyone who manages to get a Hyderabad - Bangalore train ticket on Thursday morning should buy themselves a something nice. It is no minor achievement. But then I think it’s the worst option.

1. You would have to leave work by 5
2. No food and most of the times the washrooms are not clean.
3. Drop at SBC, that means again fighting with the auto guys and actually spending more money to reach home.

But still, I log in -> Enter details ->Communication error -> Absolute panic -> log back -> repeat process -> give up -> Look for a bus

But it’s fun. an absolute adreline rush.

I have been doing this for quite some time now and what I am gonna do now is list my small feedback/ review/ opinion of the different travels that I have used in the last 7 months

Quick Demographics -

Hyderabad - Banjara Hills
Bangalore - HSR Layout

1. State Govt guys (KSRTC and APSRTC) - The first thought that comes to your mind when you think of the above is "inter state buses" but my dear friends you all would be very very surprised (especially KSRTC). Their fleet of buses are amazing and I have heard some great stuff about their staff behavior and punctuality. But it doesn’t work for me. For me to board a KSRTC bus I would have to go to the MGBS first and then it will drop me off at Majestic. So again that same old fight with the auto guys. not worth it. But still they are highly recommended. The best part is that they do not change their prices as per demand and are pretty stable.

2. VRL / SRS – I had read and heard some very bad reviews about VRL, but honestly I guess they are very good. For starters their Non AC bus to Bangalore starts at 400 and Multi axle at about 750. The buses are always very clean and the staff behavior is also very good. The two things that bother me are, (A). Punctuality and (B). Increase in prices. I have travelled several times with them and a couple of the time the buses arrive late at the pickup point. One time I had to wait for 1.5 hours for the 10 PM bus to arrive. Second they seem to be very shameless in increasing their prices. 400 becomes 650 and 750 becomes 1200 in no time during weekends.

3. Kallada – well me mallu people like me Kallada is always the first option and why not. Their service is excellent. Recently they started their operations to and from Hyderabad and their timings are awesome. Their first bus leaves at 4 PM from Medhipatnam and reaches Bangalore by about 12.30 which is amazing. The best thing that I Like about them is their excellent feeder bus service. They drop you at Medhipatnam at about 6 Am and then they have a feeder bus that would drop you further in the city. I think and excellent idea where an auto guys charges 150 for a ride for net even 5 KM.

4. HKB / Orange – I have nothing but praise for these guys. I don’t know who the management is but this is how a bus service should be rum. Extremely neat buses, very courteous staff, and they don’t hesitate to give you a bottle of water, cookies for your travel. The best part is that their fares are fixed most of the time.

4. Diwakar, SVR, Jabbar, National – They have very good Volvos, and their service spread is also very good but one thing that puts you off is the staff behavior. This is one thing that I noticed in all of them. Second problem is that I have seen all of them stop at major cities to pickup people so that the staff could make some quick buck. This one time I was travelling in SVR and the driver stopped at about 100 KM from Hyderabad and close to 10-12 men rushed in and occupied the seats that were vacant. Now this could be potentially very dangerous IMHO. But one thing that really works for all of them is their excellent service spread. They have all kinds of busses (AC / Non AC/ Volvo/ Multi axle/Sleeper)

5. Finally the bad boys – Akbar / Saleem / Sahara / Omer / Rajesh and others… Well can’t comment much about them. But what I have seen is that they are more of commodity mover than people movers. Traveled with them a couple of times and the experience was just bad in all aspects. Will always be my last option.

My 2 cents on when the world is playing Holi and i had to come to work to do nothing.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by VBoss

4. HKB / Orange – I have nothing but praise for these guys. I don’t know who the management is but this is how a bus service should be rum. Extremely neat buses, very courteous staff, and they don’t hesitate to give you a bottle of water, cookies for your travel. The best part is that their fares are fixed most of the time.

Have generally heard that HKB and Orange are really good operators. HKB recently sold two of their Multi-axle buses. They might be getting a couple of Sleeper Volvos shortly (body work is in progress). I would not agree to the "fixed" fares part though - because Orange almost doubles their ticket prices at the lightest hint of a holiday. Not sure of HKB though.

[satyaanveshi]

A query regarding the KSRTC Chennai-B'lore Volvos running via Chittoor. Do they have any drop-off points on Old Madras Road? An acquaintance of mine needs to go to Indiranagar (100 ft road) and I can see on Google maps that this road meets Old Madras Road at a T-junction marked Binnamangala. Any drop-off point near Binnamangala?