[silverado]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

i remember taking this bus for around Rs.180 a few years ago! switched to trains

Rs 180! how many years ago was that? I remember the fare was Rs270 in 2011.

While Switching to trains does save you money, it does not save you time especially if you are staying/working near waked.( This is where Shivneri really comes in handy )

[SAE40 in veins]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

I was thinking of the same!! The fares have gone up almost 2.5 times since i remember taking this bus for around Rs.180 a few years ago! It just doesn't make financial sense to take this bus if you are traveling as a family. I plan in advance now and switched to trains - the fare is still around Rs.98 until Thane and the risk of getting stuck on the expressway is zero.

They won't find takers for such a luxury service and i don't think they can pull it off! The buses just aren't kept in great condition after a few months! Besides, i can't imagine this clientele really opting for buses esp. the fare will be almost as good as hiring an Innova to Mumbai.

+1 to that. I would like to share a very recent experience of the Pune - Mumbai Dadar bus taken on 18th of this month(Volvo Shivneri, single rear axle). The journey started from Chinchwad railway station stop at 7.30 am (bus starting at 6.30 am from Pune Station and supposed to reach Chinchwad by 7.00 am). So the journey started half an hour late. The speed was not much and I am assuming that some kind of a speed governor was in place. Even after hitting the expressway, the bus was easily overtaken by Ashok Leyland buses which was like adding salt on the wounds. The bus was a rattle trap and the NVH was screaming Old bus!!!. The journey was fairly smooth till Nerul when the Driver stopped the bus and got down. Ten minutes and no movement made us curious and many of us got down from the bus only to be informed that a 'paving brick' had got stuck between the rear twin tyres on the left and it was not coming out. Driver was wary of running the bus in that condition and was trying to take it out. The bus did not have a tool kit and not even a jack lever . He stopped another Shivneri to get a jack lever and tried again. After wasting half an hour in DIY trials, he took the bus to a puncture shop in Nerul where the outer tyre was deflated and brick removed. Now that was another half hour lost(cumulative loss is now 1.5 hrs). New problem starts now, the tyre simply could not take in air as it was a tubeless and needs to be removed and laid flat prior to filling
Finally the driver drives the bus(with one deflated tyre) back to the highway and packs us off in two batches in oncoming Shivneris. One good point is that we could spot a Shivneri every 5 minutes on the highway and hence some kind of a continuation upto Dadar was assured. Bad thing is that the buses don't even have basic tool kits with them and the drivers are not trained enough to do what is required.

Return journey started at 3.15 pm on the same day and was with lesser drama except for the fact that the seat no 3 allotted to me (aisle immediately behind the driver) would not recline. The bus, (again a single rear axle Volvo) was in better overall shape and also felt to be moving faster. The journey till Chinchwad took a decent 3.5 hours (so no complaints there). Overall a bad experience considering that the fares charged by the rattle trap Shivneris are similar to better maintained 'Neeta' and 'Purple' buses.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by silverado

Rs 180! how many years ago was that? I remember the fare was Rs270 in 2011.

While Switching to trains does save you money, it does not save you time especially if you are staying/working near waked.( This is where Shivneri really comes in handy )

I guess @Nilesh meant to say - Rs. 180 till Navi Mumbai that would have been a few years back when the fare till Dadar was around 230. I am a frequent MSRTC Shivneri traveller and suppose you too might be well aware that the fare is lesser than full fare if you are boarding at any of their intermediate pick up points in Pune/Mumbai than the origin point of respective Shivneri routes. Currently the fare from Vashi is lesser by Rs.50 compared to Dadar and by Rs.135 compared to Borivali. This applies to online booking and Asiad Hirkani semi luxury buses as well. Completely agree with you that Shivneri or any other private Volvos come handy for point to point travel.

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by SAE40 in veins

Overall a bad experience considering that the fares charged by the rattle trap Shivneris are similar to better maintained 'Neeta' and 'Purple' buses.

Those "neetas" and "purples" are also notorious for stopping for infinite time till they fill up the bus. Atleast the major advantage of Shivneris is the quick skimming through all the stops, even if the bus is 10% full.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Those "neetas" and "purples" are also notorious for stopping for infinite time till they fill up the bus. Atleast the major advantage of Shivneris is the quick skimming through all the stops, even if the bus is 10% full.

, Shivneri is the bus to travel if you are hard pressed for time.
I have once travelled in a bus which just had 2 passengers when we started from dadar!

[SAE40 in veins]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Those "neetas" and "purples" are also notorious for stopping for infinite time till they fill up the bus. Atleast the major advantage of Shivneris is the quick skimming through all the stops, even if the bus is 10% full.

Puneikars have found a way out of that issue as well. After i narrated my Shivneri experience, a friend told me that they usually wait at Indira college wakad, wait for the first bus to stop, do a hard bargain (mostly less than Rs 300) and just board the bus. Considering that Indira college is one of the last stops while leaving Pune, there may not be further delays to the journey till Mumbai.

[thoma]

I and my mother in law have to travel from Mumbai to Pune in the wee hours of 23rd Dec. Our train stops at Panvel, Thane and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and we can alight at any of the three. The given arrival timings at Panvel is 2:30am, Thane is 3:30am and LTT is 4:00am but the train is usually 2-4 hrs late!

Do we have to catch an Uber to Dadar from LTT and then a Shivneri to Pune or is it better to wait till the first train from Thane? Or will an Ola be the right choice from Panvel?

[neofromcapone]

First bus from Dadar at 5:30 and Thane-Pune at 6 am. Irony is, to hope the train is late and you don't have to spend time waiting somewhere till the first bus.

I would suggest taking the Shivneri from Thane. Time should be marginally less, but you cut out the hassle of reaching Dadar.

Here is the link to the timetable
http://www.msrtc.org.in/msrtc-timetable.php

[thoma]

Originally Posted by neofromcapone

I would suggest taking the Shivneri from Thane. Time should be marginally less, but you cut out the hassle of reaching Dadar.

Thanks, but I do not know the places well; been to LTT once before and Dadar very long back.

From where do we alight the bus from Thane? Is it very far away from the railway station? How do we reach there? Will the buses starting from Dadar have seats from Thane?

[silverado]

Originally Posted by thoma

Thanks, but I do not know the places well; been to LTT once before and Dadar very long back.

From where do we alight the bus from Thane? Is it very far away from the railway station? How do we reach there? Will the buses starting from Dadar have seats from Thane?

If its early morning, you can go to Dadar from LTT. Book a OLA/Uber from LTT to Shivneri Stop in Dadar. Frequency of buses is better in Dadar.

You need to book tickets for specific route since Shivneri has 3 routes from dadar.

1) Going to Pune Station via Wakad/Aundh
2) Going to Pune Station via Pimpri chinchwad
3) Going to Swargate via wakad.

Buses from Thane do not come to Dadar.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by thoma

Thanks, but I do not know the places well; been to LTT once before and Dadar very long back.

From where do we alight the bus from Thane? Is it very far away from the railway station? How do we reach there? Will the buses starting from Dadar have seats from Thane?

Head to Dadar Shivneri bus stop instead of Thane. The first Shivneri Volvo/Scania to Pune is at 5:00 a.m sharp and during early mornings you will reach Pune pretty quickly.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Head to Dadar Shivneri bus stop instead of Thane. The first Shivneri Volvo/Scania to Pune is at 5:00 a.m sharp and during early mornings you will reach Pune pretty quickly.

Is Ola or Uber available in the early morning from LTT to Dadar? Is there any other means of cheap transportation? Where exactly in Dadar I have to get down to catch the Shivneri? Can I board from Dadar without pre-booking?

[neofromcapone]

@thoma, LTT to Dadar East is ~11 kms and you should get Ola/Uber at that hour

[prateekm]

The start point of Thane (Vandana Cinema bus stop) - Pune (Swargate) service is very close to the Thane station, maybe 1.5-2 km. Assuming a 2 hour delay, you will reach Thane by 5 and you can take the first bus of the day to Pune. If there is no delay, you can continue to Dadar and catch the first bus on the Dadar - Pune route.

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by thoma

Is Ola or Uber available in the early morning from LTT to Dadar? Is there any other means of cheap transportation? Where exactly in Dadar I have to get down to catch the Shivneri? Can I board from Dadar without pre-booking?

Uber/Ola can directly drop you in front of bus station which is just below the flyover. All Shivneris and Asiads start from there. You can do a reservation but since your train timings are not sure, I won't recommend it. Frequency from Dadar is more than from Thane. You can buy tickets there on the spot from the booking counter.