SRS Volvo Multi Axle Bangalore - Trivandrum Review Travelled on SRS Travels Volvo Multi Axle from Bangalore to Trivandrum (via Madurai - Nagercoil) and back last weekend and had very mixed experiences
Onward:
Scheduled departure was 2030 PM on 2-Mar-12 from Madiwala; reached around 2010 and was informed the bus will arrive by 2030. Enough room to sit and clean toilet facilities. So far so good. Bus arrived at 2040 hours; was a very new B9R and was clean and well maintained.
Got into the bus and was shocked to see very less legroom for a 11-12 hour journey. Seats / leg room was the same as offered in KSRTC AIravat Club Class, which I find is extremely uncomfortable for long journeys. When the passenger in front seat reclines, they are practically on your lap !!!
Bus started ~2050 PM and promptly began playing a Tamil movie in very high volume. Was turned off around 1130 after the movie got over. AC temperature could have been much cooler and most of the journey I did not use the blanket. Bus used the E City elevated expressway and saved some time. No water provided. Overall driving was sedate with no sudden braking or rash overtakes. Halted near Krishnagiri for dinner at Hotel Uthaiah - I always prefer A2B or Sri Krishna for the highway stops (KPN and KSRTC usually stop here). Reached Trivandrum around 8 AM - Not a bad journey overall but for the poor leg room which is a deal breaker for me. Precisely the reason I stopped taking KSRTC Airavats for long journeys !
Return:
Return journey by same bus on 4-Mar-2012 at 630 PM from Trivandrum - reached the boarding point by 620 PM and bus was already waiting. Departed ~650 PM after waiting for 2 passengers who did not turn up eventually. AC was maintained at much cooler temperatures this time (~20 degrees). Reached Nagercoil around 845 PM... Now begins the harrowing experience for the next 10 hours
What was originally a 10 minute halt became an endless waiting game as the Nagercoil agent had a few unsold tickets + the 2 seats from Trivandrum and so the bus will not move till the seats are sold !!! So a range of agents / middlemen / drivers started the solicitation to bring in passengers for the bus... None in the bus other than I seemed to protest - everyone else was happy watching the movie played at super high volumes !!! A couple of seats were sold with few more remaining unsold... More time spent on bringing passengers and finaly the bus moved at 10 PM....
Now they realized that they accomodated 2 more passengers than what the bus can seat - shoirt distance folks to Madurai and Salem.. So what happened was this - these 2 passengers were asked to sit in the cabin (cleaners seat + on the floor) and the cleaner and spare driver decided to lie down and sleep in the gangway !!!!
And because the driver has no company in the cabin now, here's what he resorted to to avoid sleeping
1) Engage in mobile phone conversations with all and sundry to gossip about family, friends movies etc etc, all during the time when he was driving !!
2) Play music which was enough to disturb the sleep of most passengers... After the movie got over, he started playing some comedy clips which a couple of us protested so the TV was switched off.... But the cacaphony called music began !!!
The bus moved on to Madurai where a couple of folks got down and 2-3 more got in.. Again, arrangements made for extras to sleep in the gangway and the driver continued his phone / music....
Finally reached Bangalore ~ 730 AM at Silk Board... Driving was ok and sedate but was really irritated with the way the crew behaved... Cared zilch for the passengers and their sleep.. Now these fellows have nothing to do on Monday so they can sleep till the next evening.. But we have offices to attend - and it is not a good experience when you have been listening to music all through the night in the bus....
And they have the audacity to endanger the lives of 40+ passengers by driving with the phone on... All they care was a few hundred rupees for the extra passengers... Am going to send a mail to SRS and see if they even respond...
Will make sure I never again travel SRS on long distance travel.. partially due to lack of comfort and the rest due to the attitude of the crew.... Guess paying 100 bucks more for SRM or KPN is worth the assurance of a comfortable and peaceful journey !!! No wonder the bus was not fully sold out on such a lucrative route on a Sunday evening.. Am sure no one will want to travel this bus the 2nd time..... |