[binaiks]

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Apart from this, was a pleasant ride and yet another good experience with KaSRTC's premium service. Departed on time and for a change, the driving was unlike the typical slow KaSRTC driving. I was exhausted and slept well, but from the timing looks like the guy was doing extremely good speeds. Departed Thrissur at 2140, picked a couple of folks from somewhere near Palakkad at 2300 and we crossed Hosur by 0500 AM. So this is some fast driving. There was a bad jam at Attibele and was dropped off at Silk Board by 6 AM.

I traveled in the same service the weekend before this (on September 3rd). On that day, the bus departed from Thrissur on time. We lost quite some time before reaching Palakkad. The crew lugged the bus most of the time, and they decided to even take a tea break at Krishnagiri

We finally landed up at Majestic only at 0650! Almost 9 hours for the ride. That was my worst on this service.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by Vis2249696

Diesel in the air!
I was traveling to Hyderabad from Bengaluru in an M/s Orange Tours & Travels' bus (Volvo A/C - Multi Axle Semi sleeper) booked it through redBus (based on "highest rating") and just after few minutes of drive, I and my fellow travelers smelled diesel in the cabin. We made the driver stop the bus and check for any leakages. He was hesitant, but we insisted... he quickly got down, checked and said there was no problem.

Wow. Orange charges a premium for their service, and in return, passenger are subjected to this!

Did you get any refund from Redbus?

[ontheroad]

Travelled in Orange travels from Trivandrum to Banglore last thursday. My boarding point was Music college jn, TVM and bus arrived in the location before scheduled time. A clean blanket, neatly folded inside a plastic cover, was placed on the seat. There was also a small snack box with some snacks (i didnt open it) and a 500ml water bottle. Bus started exactly on scheduled time at 8 30pm. Picked up passengers from Balaramapuram, Nagarkovil etc. There was no rash driving and very low use of horn. We reached Krishnagiri toll gate at 630 am. Electronic city at 745 and Madiwala at 7 55am, 5 minutes before scheduled time. All together a good service.

[ontheroad]

For the return trip from Banglore to Trivandrum, I booked in KalladaG4 which was scheduled to start from Madiwala at 845pm. The bus arrived in Madiwala by 8 30pm but started by 9 15pm only. The attitude of the staff was not very good. No freebies like water bottle, snack box etc were given. The ride was quite bumpy . The scheduled arrival time in Trivandrum was 630am, but the bus arrived at 830am only. Orange travels was far better than KalladaG4 in this trip.

[PVS]

I recently travelled by TSRTC "Vennela" AC Sleeper Service(No: 1295) from Bengaluru to Hyderabad - This service starts somewhere near Electronic City, departs Majestic at 2230 hours, and has an advertised arrival time of around 0650 hours at MGBS. As per the TSRTC website, it proceeds to ECIL from MGBS, with dropping points at Vidyanagar and Tarnaka. Since I stay at Vidyanagar, I chose the dropping point as Vidyanagar, and boarding point as Majestic. Paid Rs 1234 and got berth U-5.

The Vennala has an Indian Railways AC 2 Tier configuration sans the side berths. The berths are narrow too, however a tall person like me could clamber up and could get adjusted quickly. When I saw the bus board at Majestic, the destination was mentioned - JBS (Jubilee Bus Stand). I was confused and was under the impression that the Vennela would head to JBS after covering the Vidyanagar- Tarnaka - ECIL route.

The bus departed sharp at 2230, and I took my upper berth. We were handled a bottle of water, after departure. A blanket was already arranged on the berth. The TV,(Each berth has a separate TV) was not working, and I was more or less expecting this. I had a long day at Bengaluru, and slept off after 15 minutes.
When I would up at around 0615 the next day, I was surprised to see the Vennela pulling into Jedcharla bus stand. That means we were around 70 odd Kms to Hyderabad. Basically, TSRTC website took me for a royal ride.

After a 20 minute break, we departed Jedcharla, and the Vennela progressed at a rapid clip, and we were in front of MGBS by around 0815. the Vennela did not enter MGBS. After departing MGBS, instead of heading straight towards Chaderghat, the bus veered left and proceeded towards Koti. I was left flabbergasted, and immediately asked the driver to pull over. Got down, collected my baggage from the luggage area, and immediately flagged an auto home.

Interestingly, service 1295 does not appear when I now search for Services from Bengaluru to Hyderabad in TSRTC online. However, I would not travel Vennela in the near future. Would prefer a Garuda Plus/Garuda or even a Rajdhani (TSRTC Non Volvo A/C service).

[JMaruru]

How is 'Orange' for travel between Mumbai and B'lore?

This would be for a lady and the other options are 'Anand' and 'National'.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

How is 'Orange' for travel between Mumbai and B'lore?

This would be for a lady and the other options are 'Anand' and 'National'.

I would prefer VRL or SRS over others on any day for the Mumbai - Bengaluru route. They have multiple schedules operating out of Mumbai and have excellent backup in case of any breakdowns.

[drhoneycake]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

I would prefer VRL or SRS over others on any day for the Mumbai - Bengaluru route. They have multiple schedules operating out of Mumbai and have excellent backup in case of any breakdowns.

Same here. VRL, SRS or KSRTC anyday on this route. Service is excellent, they stop at good hotels and are punctual. Driving is sedate too. KSRTC being a little slower than the other two would be the only issue. Also they have multiple services to suit all timings (dep and arr). Also they don’t stop at random places to pick up passengers. If the bus is booked for half capacity, it will goto to its destination in the same capacity.

Originally Posted by JMaruru

How is 'Orange' for travel between Mumbai and B'lore?

This would be for a lady and the other options are 'Anand' and 'National'.

No idea about Orange on this route. I would avoid National/Sharma at all costs. They stop at shady and dingy places for food, pick up passengers enroute from everywhere, drive rash and god save you if your bus has a breakdown. Also Drivers and cleaners very rude.

[greenhorn]

I had a friend who was singing the praises of Corona buses to high heavens. Booked a Parveen corona and found the bus nothing exceptional. Heck, the operator had placed a divider between the two double beds - probably for some privacy, but very inconvenient for me as this left no space for my toddler to sleep. Removed it with some difficulty. The beds also had a slight bucket contour - probably better for induviduals, but again very tough to keep an infant there

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

I would prefer VRL or SRS over others on any day for the Mumbai - Bengaluru route. They have multiple schedules operating out of Mumbai and have excellent backup in case of any breakdowns.

Originally Posted by drhoneycake

Same here. VRL, SRS or KSRTC anyday on this route. Service is excellent, they stop at good hotels and are punctual. Driving is sedate too. KSRTC being a little slower than the other two would be the only issue.

Sis, traveled via VRL on the way in to B'lore from Mumbai. Now, for return travel to Mumbai, tickets are showing upwards of 2K on VRL and other worthy operators for Monday.

I checked out KSRTC and they have fares starting around 1.5K and they have both diamond n club class available at this fare. Which would be better among these two for a lady? Also, the site shows just one single drop point as 'Mumbai Central'. Doesn't KSRTC service travel up until Borivli?

If NOT, are there any alternatives for pre-deepavali travel to Mumbai?

Please advise!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

I checked out KSRTC and they have fares starting around 1.5K and they have both diamond n club class available at this fare. Which would be better among these two for a lady? Also, the site shows just one single drop point as 'Mumbai Central'. Doesn't KSRTC service travel up until Borivli?

Diamond Class is a Scania, and Club Class is a Volvo. They are similar in terms of comfort (Volvo being a lil' better). They do have buses terminating at Borivli. They have cut down the number of services from 3 to 5. The 1705 Diamond Class terminates at Borivli. The remaining two terminate at Mumbai Central.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Diamond Class is a Scania, and Club Class is a Volvo. They are similar in terms of comfort (Volvo being a lil' better). They do have buses terminating at Borivli. They have cut down the number of services from 3 to 5. The 1705 Diamond Class terminates at Borivli. The remaining two terminate at Mumbai Central.

Just got her booked on 1705 Service from KGBS. The bus terminates at Pai Travels, Borivli at around 1130. Hope, they keep the schedules.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Just got her booked on 1705 Service from KGBS. The bus terminates at Pai Travels, Borivli at around 1130. Hope, they keep the schedules.

Expect upto an hour's delay. Its quite rainy these days, and with peak days the traffic is also on the higher side. KSRTC is known for sedate driving, any ways.

[AbelAFC]

Has anyone travelled on a bus from Delhi to Bhuntar? I need to, this Tuesday and I'd like to know which one of the multiple travel services is any good.

[hserus]

Haryana Roadways driver video’d smoking a hookah while driving his bus one handed. Dismissed from the service.

http://www.timesnownews.com/amp/indi...n-delhi/108418