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Kerala SRTC review: My budget trip experience to Ramakkalmedu

8th March 2024, 18:50 by Rahul Nagaraj

It is no secret that I enjoy travelling by public transport. Hence, it was inevitable that when KSRTC started its Budget Tourism Cell (BTC) operations, I would try them out.

BHPian TKMCE recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

When Covid stuck in early 2020, like most transport operators, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was also badly affected. Diversification became the key.

By late 2020, the Munnar depot of the corporation hit upon the idea of arranging AC dormitory sleeper accommodation in converted buses parked at the depot. It proved to be very popular.

A KSRTC inspector Dominic Pereira of the Chalakudy depot (in Thrissur district) then hit upon a bright idea next year in 2021. The depot's regular services to the Kerala border at Malakkapara on the Chalakudy Valparai route which passes the Athirapally and Vazhachal en-route were getting good patronage from tourists on weekends in particular. So why not package all these destinations together and run a tour on the regular KSRTC buses? So thought Pereira and convinced his superiors to give the necessary approvals. The first service operated on 26 September 2021 from Chalakudy.

The idea proved to be a super hit and soon KSRTC's tourist services from many depots across the state were operating services to Malakkapara. At an all-inclusive fare (currently 350 Rs from Chalakudy), you could visit Athirapally Vazhachal, Sholayar and Malakkapara on a day trip of around 12 hours end to end. Soon after the Malappuram depot taking advantage of the availability of the sleeper dormitory accommodation in the Munnar depot started two-day trips to Munnar from their home depot which again proved popular.

The success of these trips and others ended up in the corporation setting up a Budget Tourism Cell (BTC) headed by a Chief Traffic Manager with Zonal and District coordinators to assist. The trips are organized mostly on weekends using regular KSRTC buses and BTC operations are now into the third year. Itineraries are mostly of one day duration although a few 2 day ones are also there. Not all depots have BTCs but usually one or two are there in every district. Entrance tickets and some meals are included in many of the packages.

This travelogue is about my latest (my 6th) BTC trip which was to Ramakkalmedu, a hill station in the Idukki district of Kerala. This trip was organized by the Chalakudy BTC, the depot which first started it all in 2021.

The operations of the Budget Tourism Cell (BTC) are very decentralized. There is no centralized computerized booking system. Most BTC have a WhatsApp group where by the 25th of the month the details of next month's itineraries are announced. UPI payment mode is available and encouraged by many BTCs.

20th December 2023.

In the Chalakudy BTC WhatsApp group, the depot BTC coordinator Mr Unnikrishnan posts the January trip details. There are about 25 trips in the whole month to 11 different destinations, almost all on weekends. I am looking for Ramakkalmedu which I have not travelled till now and there are 2 dates available, on January 7 Sunday and January 27 Saturday. Timings are advised as between 6 AM and 1130 PM. I make a mental note to book for the 27th January trip although it is early days yet.

09 January 2024.

I decided to wait no longer. Chalakudy BTC trips are justifiably popular and the 27th is the middle of a long weekend. I sent a WhatsApp voice message to the booking number which is that of Unnikrishnan, the unit's coordinator. He had accompanied the group in both my previous BTC trips to Vagamon and Nelliampathy and so I am a "regular ". As usual, I am travelling alone and I am enquiring about the availability of seats and in particular about a window seat.

In about an hour he reverts. If I need a window seat, the ones towards the front are all taken. But if I am looking for a seat with a view he can offer me seat no 5 which is an aisle seat immediately behind the driver and has a clear view of the front. He informs that Seats 1 to 4 are taken by a family. I decide to accept Seat 5.

He sends me another voice message about the details of the trip. The trip starts at 6 AM and traffic permitting ends at 11.30 PM. Breakfast, Lunch, evening tea and snacks as well as all entrance tickets and jeep trekking are included in the fare of Rs 1200. Dinner will be at one's own expense.

Breakfast is to be at Thodupuzha, and the first viewpoint of Thumpachi Mala will be soon after. This will be followed by the Kulamavu hydroelectric dam, followed by Lunch and a viewpoint of the Idukki dam before we reach Ramakkalmedu. There it is 3 viewpoints again but two of them are reached by an off-road journey on a jeep. Looks like this is a "viewpoint" trip, but then I like them.

He sent me the QR code to make payment to the Chalakudy depot and informed me that I pay only 700 through UPI and the remaining 500 is to be paid on the bus. I make payment accordingly and although a handwritten receipt is available I request him to merely give a confirmation message on WhatsApp with the date and seat number which he promptly does. The entire booking process takes 10 minutes. I get on with my work with the assurance that things will go smoothly from my earlier experiences with Chalakudy BTC. It did this time as well.

27 January 2024

The day of the trip. The alarm goes off at 3 AM. I am ready by 4. Chalakudy depot is 25 km away I get an Uber surprisingly quickly and reach Angamaly KSRTC depot by 4.30 AM.

Now I can join the tour at Angamaly but I always prefer to board from the starting point. Angamaly bus station is huge and not very busy at that time. A few street dogs also appear to be waiting for the buses arguing vociferously at the same time which is not a very comforting sight to the passengers. Many buses come and go but none are towards Chalakudy. Finally, a Guruvayoor Fast Passenger turns up and I reach the Chalakudy bus station, 15 kms away by 5.15 Am.

Chalakudy is a compact well well-organised bus station. It has some clean washrooms as well. The stall near the station entrance is active and already doing good business. I grab a cup of tea and go back to do some bus spotting.

Chalakudy has a Budget Tourism Cell office at one end of the bus station. At 5.30 someone switches on the light. It is the coordinator Unnikrishnan. I drop in to say Hi and ask him whether he is accompanying the group today as well. He answers in the negative.

But then our group is lucky, today it is, going to be none other than his boss the district BTC coordinator Dominic Pereira who will be accompanying us. A person who knows the inside out of BTC operations, for Dominic, customer satisfaction and attention to detail are both paramount. I had travelled earlier with him as well and was very impressed with his dedication.

I go back to waiting. Around 5.40 AM, a well-maintained KSRTC Fast Passenger bus pulls up with a destination board "Ullasayathra" (LeisureTrip). The driver and Unnikrishnan lug abroad a large Bluetooth speaker. Soon Dominic comes by recognises me and asks whether I am traveling today. I reply in the affirmative.

At 5.50 AM boarding starts. Clear directions are given by the staff about the location of the seats. Soon the family of 4 who have booked the seats next to me turn up. But the bus is half empty even at 6 AM. Clearly, we are waiting for some delayed passengers, but so many?

A few more passengers turn up in the next 15 minutes and we leave. Dominic mentions that today a lot of passengers are joining at various points en route including a big group of college students.

Passengers board at various en-route points right to Perumbavoor. The big group mostly board at Angamaly. There was a delay at Perumbavoor as the last few passengers were waiting at the wrong point. Cannot blame them as they are from Ernakulam. They eventually board and apologize for the mixup. No one minds.

Dominic picks up the portable microphone introduces himself and welcomes everyone on behalf of KSRTC. He runs through the program for the day. and invites everyone to introduce themselves.

Typical with BTC groups it is a wide spectrum of passengers today also. There is a group of girls, students of a nursing college, another group of 4 women travelling together and the rest are mostly families or couples, some retired. Only two solitary travellers today, a retired bank officer sitting in the row behind me and myself. There is also a couple who are celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary with a BTC trip.

Breakfast is at Thodupuzha and there is still half an hour to reach there. As with most BTC trips, the entertainment starts. A few passengers sing some nice songs and in no time the bus is reaching Thodupuzha and it is breakfast rine.

Breakfast is at Hotel Bharath, a popular eatery next to the KSRTC bus station where the bus parks. It is Appam and Egg Curry and Dominic is omnipresent, making sure everyone has got their breakfast including assisting the hotel staff in serving the BTC passengers. The food is good and after a half-hour halt, we are ready to proceed to our first stop, the viewpoint at Thumpachi Mala, about half an hour away.

Meanwhile a few photos.