[carboy]

My cousin lives in Mumbai & travels to Pune at least twice a month. He goes in the morning (has to be there by 9:30) & leaves Pune by 5:00 pm. In Pune he goes to the Hadapsar/Magarpatta side of the city.

With such frequent trips, we were wondering what is the safest mode of travel.

1) Drive yourself in your own car. This is ruled out because it's too tiring & there is loss of concentration by evening.

2) Hire a driver for the day who will drive you to Pune and back in your own car. Are there reliable agencies which provide you with a driver on demand - how much does it cost? Also there is an uncertainty of whether he is a good driver or not.

3) Hire a taxi. Are there agencies who are reliable - i.e. will always provide taxis in good condition with all safety features and will provide a good driver. I have hired a few taxis and half the taxis don't even have a working seat belt at the back. The reupholstering of the backseat has been done in a way that there is no slot to hook the seat belt. Are there any taxi companies who are known for safety.

4) Volvo Bus - how safe is this as compared to driving in your car! Are private operators better or Shivneri? Are there any private operators who are know for their safety?

5) Train - are there convenient trains for a day trip? How far in advance do you book? Money is not a big issue - 1st class or whatever can be booked if necessary. My cousin lives in Ghatkopar. What's the most convenient train?


I wasn't sure whether to post this on one of the main forums or shifting gears because it's not just about cars.

[ani_meher]

Trains won't be useful, because Indrayani reaches Pune at 9.15, so no way he can reach by 9.30 in office. He may take it while going back - 6.30pm from Pune station.

Own car- Self driving is not really that bad an option, especially just four times a month. Expressway is effortless most of the times. Else can hire a driver for that day. Sorry no idea about the agency.

Taxi hire - Can be considered. He covers more than 300kms in a day, so a taxi for a day can be surely hired.

Shivneri is a good option. Don't go for private operators as most of them operate under various shades of shoddiness.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Trains won't be useful, because Indrayani reaches Pune at 9.15, so no way he can reach by 9.30 in office. He may take it while going back - 6.30pm from Pune station.

If 9:30 can be pushed to 10:00 am, is this a decent option? Are there any earlier trains in the evening? For someone in Ghatkopar - what's the best place to board the Indrayani? How far in advance do tickets have to be booked?

[Engine_Roars]

Since there is a time constraint, personally I would have chosen to drive myself. It may not be as economical as the other options(Bus, Train) are, however you have already mentioned that money is not an issue here.

To put things in perspective, I have done two trips from Pune to Mumbai and back in recent months. One was from Pune to Mumbai International Airport & back and the other one was Pune to Bandra Terminus & back. Both of these trips were half day trips. For the first trip, I left around 7:00 AM in the morning, picked up my relative around 10:00 AM from the airport and was back before 2:00 PM. For the second trip, I left at 7:30 AM, reached Bandra Terminus around 11:00 AM and was back around 2:30 PM. On the expressway, an healthy speed of 80-100 KMPH can be easily maintained, which makes things much easier. OT - I personally never cross 100 KMPH and I still cover the distance in pretty good time.

The kind of comfort and flexibility self-driving provides is way better than any other means of transport. Your cousins needs to drive down twice a month which I think is easily doable. If he feels tired or lazy, he can always hire a driver as a backup once in a while.

Hope this helps.

[StepUP!]

Train is definitely a better option. He can get down at Pune station and book Ola / Uber to reach his destination. From Pune station, Magarpatta is not very far.

Another option he can try is Blah Blah car.

[the_skyliner]

I would say the best option is Shevneri bus from Andheri or Dadar. It leaves Dadar at around 5:30. Might not get your cousin to Magarpatta before 9:30 but by 10:00 he could be there.

He can get down at station/Swargate and take a rickshaw or book Uber.

Driving back to Mumbai after a days work and that too from Magarpatta to Ghatkoper is no fun. He will end up with fatigue and that is worst in terms of safety.

Also, he can get some work done on the way.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

I would say the best option is Shevneri bus from Andheri or Dadar. It leaves Dadar at around 5:30.

Doesn't this go through Chembur? Do they pick up passengers in Chembur?

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

Might not get your cousin to Magarpatta before 9:30 but by 10:00 he could be there.

He can get down at station/Swargate and take a rickshaw or book Uber.

Which is better, station or swargate?

[kotirajendra]

In this case I guess, the most important requirement is to reach at a consistent and predictable time and hence train is the best option.

Bus - Shivneri and otherwise are not predictable. I have been bitten multiple times.

Taxi - For safety I always rent an Innova. 2 times a week will be expensive if not rented in a shared mode. In a shared mode, timings are not predictable and consistent.

Self driven - Individual choice. However express way can sometimes have traffic jam around lonavala ghat.

[vibbs]

Let Me give you my perspective. I travel to Mumbai from Pune 7-8 times in a month. Many of these trips being up and down on the same day.

My preferred mode of travel is always Shivneri, except during rains when there can be frequent hold ups in the Ghats due to landslides. Those times, I travel by train. I have stopped taking my car for official trips as it becomes tiring to drive 7-8 hrs in a day and then do you work also in between.

Tickets for the train are taken care of by my company's travel agent.

From Ghatkoper, my suggestion would be to get Shivneri from Maitri Park Chembur. 5:30/5:45 bus from Dadar should get you to Railway station by 9 AM.
Timings can be tweaked after first couple of trips.

Shivneri to Railway station is more frequent than the ones to Swargate.

[humyum]

Since I live in Ghatkopar and travel to Pune quite often, the best part about your cousins reaching time is, he has to leave from Ghatkopar early, when there is no traffic and since I leave from Ghatkopar at around the 6 to 6:30 times too when I have to go Pune, its an effortless drive, takes me 2 hours and a few minutes all the time to make this distance, my place of going is in Aundh though, don't know how further up is your cousins place of reach.

I think the best mode is your vehicle, potter down at around 100, listen to good music and voila, Pune will appear even before you realise.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by vibbs

My preferred mode of travel is always Shivneri, except during rains when there can be frequent hold ups in the Ghats due to landslides. Those times, I travel by train. I have stopped taking my car for official trips as it becomes tiring to drive 7-8 hrs in a day and then do you work also in between.

Tickets for the train are taken care of by my company's travel agent.

From Ghatkoper, my suggestion would be to get Shivneri from Maitri Park Chembur. 5:30/5:45 bus from Dadar should get you to Railway station by 9 AM.
Timings can be tweaked after first couple of trips.

Shivneri to Railway station is more frequent than the ones to Swargate.

+1 to that. Shivneri from Chembur / Dadar would be very convenient, then you don't have the hassle of driving after a tiring day in office.

Shivneri to Swargate would be more suitable than Pune Station as your end destination is Hadapsar.

Shivneri buses are mostly on time and the best part is they do not stop at all and sundry places to pick up passengers (saves time) and are driven sanely as compared to the private Volvos.

During the monsoons though I would prefer the train as there are frequent landslides and road closures on the express highways which result in huge pile ups. If you can tweak your timings a bit than the Indrayani express from Dadar is a decent bet. If you look for Indrayani bookings there are approx. 20+ seats available from 19th May onwards. So I suppose booking 5-7 days in advance should give you confirmed bookings.

Regards
Dieseltuned

P.S :: I did Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai every weekend for 3 long years, so this is from my experience.

[auto-one]

I feel the safest and comfortable mode would be Shivneri. Trains are convenient as far as the time factor is concerned, but getting the ticket could be a hassle. Self driving could be tiring and not that safe. Hiring a trustworthy driver or hiring a cab would be a better option than self driving and you can reach well in time along with a comfortable journey. However it won't be as safe as say the Shivneri or train .

[carboy]

Thanks guys and apologies for a lot more questions.

Originally Posted by vibbs

Tickets for the train are taken care of by my company's travel agent.

Which train do you take & from what railway station? What time does it leave & what time do you reach

Originally Posted by vibbs

From Ghatkoper, my suggestion would be to get Shivneri from Maitri Park Chembur. 5:30/5:45 bus from Dadar should get you to Railway station by 9 AM.

What time does the 5:30/5:45 bus reach Maitri Park? And can you buy tickets in the morning or does it have to be bought before hand?

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

If you can tweak your timings a bit than the Indrayani express from Dadar is a decent bet.

What time do you have to reach Dadar Station to get the Indrayini? Do you enter from Dadar East or West?

[Skyline_GT]

In my opinion self driving is the most relaible and safest way out. Can even be the quickest way if one wants to. Also Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai isn't too much of a distance to cover and shouldn't be that stressful at all!
Buses/Trains can be an alternative but one would eventually have to hire a taxi/rickshaw to reach the destination from the bus stop/train station. Not to forget the added fatigue due to train travel.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by carboy

If 9:30 can be pushed to 10:00 am, is this a decent option? Are there any earlier trains in the evening? For someone in Ghatkopar - what's the best place to board the Indrayani? How far in advance do tickets have to be booked?

10AM Can be doable in Indrayani. It leaves Thane at 6.05AM something, so the person will have to be at thane. While going, the early train is Intercity, at 5.55pm. It reaches Thane at about 8.25PM, and if you have AC chair car ticket till Dadar, you can get down at Thane and travel to Ghatkopar in first class.

Getting tickets is no hassle especially if it is planned well in advance - atleast a week prior. Only weekend tickets are booked fast, else weekdays are generally ok for a week-prior booking for AC/Second class.

Don't know budget matters, but if it does, then trains is THE MOST affordable journey even if one travels by AC.