[vigsom]

Introduction

This is a review cum travel experience by a rather unusual type of bus, something that most bhpians wouldn't use at all - Tamil Nadu's AC sleeper-seater service operated by SETC. Even I had my own apprehensions about this travel , which were all laid to rest by the time the journey was complete. What blew me away was the upkeep of the bus, the clean interiors, the super-clean rest stop and the supremely comfortable travel.

[vigsom]

How I ended up choosing SETC for this ride?

Trichy-Bengaluru transport services are average, with

1. only one daily train servicing the route in the nights, on which accommodation is a hit or miss
2. a few KSRTC services plying - all in the night
3. a few private services - predominantly in the night

I had to make it back to Bengaluru from Trichy by night and had two options:

1. take a TNSTC bus to Salem and switch to an economy AC seater service from there
2. use SETC's AC Sleeper-Seater service from Trichy to Bengaluru

The TNSTC buses' seats are pathetic, with underseat pains post even 30 minutes, and that left me with opting for SETC.

My experiences with SETC this far

I've been using the Tamil Nadu Govt.'s express transport service since 1980 - was originally called Thiruvalluvar Transport Corporation (TTC) but re-christened SETC sometime in the late 90s. All these 40+ years, I have been a huge fan of this service despite some mixed feelings on many buses being rickety. What I found distinct in TTC/SETC was the quality of seats, which never disappointed despite the buses being in average shape. Another aspect that I always appreciated was the demeanour of the crew - several trips over several decades and not one incident of bad behaviour.

Related posts : here and here

[vigsom]

Booking Experience

I targeted their 12:30pm service and although I knew that there'd be few takers, I decided to go ahead and book my ticket to choose a preferred seat. I chose a single seat in the 1+2 seating configuration, and all I ended up paying was INR 615. A walk in ticket would have been INR 575 for the seater. Got a text message like KSRTC and I was also armed with a soft copy of the ticket. Here is a tip for those wanting to use this service in the day - there is an AC Sleeper-Seater at 10am, 11:30am and 12:30pm. The 10am and 12:30pm services are sure shot while the 11:30am sometimes gets merged with the 12:30pm one.

Why I didn't travel SETC for long

Although a long term SETC fan, I'd stopped using their services since 2018 when I wasn't in this part of the country. Also, from 2020 till a few months ago, I know they had dropped their max speeds to 70 kmph post Covid shutdown (and fuel price hike). That would mean longer travel times, while trains had become much faster by then. SETC's AC services took a long time to be restored since TN was one of the badly hit states during COVID-19. So, while I was looking forward to travelling in one of the white buses of SETC, the opportunity hadn't presented itself until that day when I had to get back to Bengaluru.

D-Day

I wasn't excited but did look forward to experience a cool journey on a sweltering summer afternoon. I was at the bus station about 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure, waiting for the bus. Every time a white bus came in, I'd get ready to move, only to discover that it was a false start. In a few minutes, I'd figured out who the other potential travellers by this bus were and I just waited, waited and waited. At approx. 12:50pm, there was an announcement that the bus would come in in a few minutes. This was primarily to reassure cat-on-the-wall passengers who were trying to get coaxed by travel agents to the waiting Red Express private bus to Bengaluru. Most passengers stood their ground, and this was quite surprising.

Waiting area at the Trichy bus station - nothing much to say


The many buses, except ours that came in one after the other - all of them were very well kept. Kudos to the Trichy SETC Depot

[vigsom]

Our steed arrives at 01:10pm

Our bus eventually came in at 01:10pm, forty minutes behind schedule. Within a couple of minutes of arrival, another text message came in which showed the bus regn number. Reason cited for the delay was that the originally allocated bus developed an issue in the AC blower which could not be fixed and another bus was then allocated. SETC has never been adept at solving AC issues quickly should they develop. Anyways, long story short, we were on our way in less than 15 minutes after arrival.

First impressions

The moment I boarded the bus, it was a wow feeling. Clean flooring, light blue and cool interiors perfectly complemented by stainless steel bits - this was a 2019 Prakash built coach. The single seats under the berths lent a cozy feel probably because it felt like one's personal space.

Likes

• Classy on the outside - barring a few scars, the exterior was stock
• Clean window panes; surprising for a 4 year old bus. The pics I took are testimony to these clean window panes
• Engine barely audible inside if the cabin door is closed
• Super clean interiors
• Easy to maintain upholstery
• Soft blankets available in the cockpit, maybe intended for the night passengers (I'd not use these though)
• 31 seats and 15 berths in a 1+2 combination – seats on the lower level and berths above
• Berths are neither too firm nor too soft – just right
• Seats well upholstered and designed for comfort even for travel to the moon!
• Seats' recline was outstanding and legroom was adequate
• Head cushions at each berth to prevent the head from impacting plastic panels when getting up or lying down
• Neat blue curtains to separate the berths from the aisle; there is a separator curtain at every double berth too
• Rack at each berth with a dedicated slot to place water bottle, and ample space to even put a small suitcase in
• Emergency exit at the rear – on the right

Dislikes

• Bottle holder straps on seats had disappeared, courtesy vandals
• Drinking water not provided (not a dislike, but just calling this out)

[vigsom]

First impressions (Contd.)

View of the cabin


Cabin view - seats below, berths above






Seat recline


Double berth


Single berth


Light and AC Vent for every seat/berth

[vigsom]

Riding the AC Seater-Sleeper

Sector-1 : Trichy to Salem 3hrs 30 mins non-stop

This ride also helped me assess Route No.1 as described here, and must say this route is best avoided. The road from No.1 Tollgate to a little ahead of Gunaseelam is still acceptable, but post Thottiyam all the way till Namakkal is absolute hell. This entire route has heavy truck traffic and therefore cars, please take route no.4 or 4.1 as described here.

Few pictures enroute that one can savour only when not driving. The pictures should help you appreciate how clean the window panes were.

Slip stream of Kaveri just upstream of Mukkombu


Kaveri at Mukkombu


Mukkombu Dam




Musiri bridge to cross over to the south bank of the Kaveri


In-Cabin noise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dGOJRQlRsg

Say Hullo to another SETC AC Sleeper Seater (image sourced from the net; credits to the creator)


Worst stretch of road - Thottiyam to Namakkal (images sourced from the net; credits to the creator)

[vigsom]

Riding the AC Seater-Sleeper (Contd.)

Sector-2: Salem to Bengaluru 4hrs 30 mins (with a 20 min rest stop)

This bus has to mandatorily enter the Salem Bus Station to pick up more passengers. I discovered to my surprise that a flyover takes one straight into Salem Bus Stand. So deviating off route, waiting time at Salem Bus Stand and again merging back onto the highway is approx. 40 mins

Flyover to enter Salem Bus Stand




Flyover at exit of Salem Bus Stand




Bird's eye view of Salem

[vigsom]

Riding the AC Seater-Sleeper (Contd.)

The bus left Salem full, and we had a generous mix of passengers from many regions of India. The conductor did have an issue communicating but never lost his cool. In exactly an hour from Salem Bus Stand, we crossed the Thoppur Toll Plaza and I was in for another surprise - the neatest rest stop ever experienced in a TTC/SETC journey ever. This place is called Shri Saravana Bhavan and is just past the Thoppur Toll Plaza when coming from Salem.

Navigating the Thoppur ghat in unexpected rain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELkYMKuKDI

Shri Saravana Bhavan with some letters gone




Views of the steed at dusk




The cockpit : this bus had done approx. 4,00,000kms and except the missing head unit, the cockpit was intact




Another video of In-Cabin noise - except the air horn, not too much was heard inside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0oC8u6E_tY

[vigsom]

Riding the AC Seater-Sleeper (Contd.)

After exactly 20 minutes at the rest stop, the officiating conductor took the wheel and actually drove way better than the officiating driver. The bus was again mandated to enter the Krishnagiri Bus Stand for a customary tick in the box, and this caused another 10 minute delay. Some passengers were dropped off at Hosur and post that we were finally at Silk Board junction in exactly 8hrs 30 mins. As soon as I got off the bus, I was greeted by a downpour, and that lasted all the way till I reached home and even later. The autorickshaw that I used was piloted by an extremely decent driver called Prasad.

Key takeaways

1. The suspension in this bus (Ashok Leyland) is outstanding, as experienced on the horrible Trichy - Namakkal sector
2. The seat that I occupied (a single seat) was supremely comfortable; can say the same for all other seats in the bus as I sampled a few of them enroute to Namakkal. These seats are way more comfortable than the seats on the Airavat Club Class.
3. The SETC AC Seater-Sleeper makes for a good mode of travel in the night, when one isn't too bogged down by the time taken. Both the crew never exceeded 85kmph, and did not indulge in swerving maneuvers. This is actually good especially if one wants to take this service as a sleeper in the night
4. Despite entries to Salem, Krishnagiri and Hosur, the bus managed good time
5. Although the journey was long, there was zero fatigue, and I got to enjoy some good sights!

The dark horse did surprisingly well in transporting me safely and comfortably!!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[rajeevsulu]

My wife used to do Erode-Coimbatore in SETC airconditioned seater often when she was posted in Coimbatore for a while. She was all praise for the service. From your pictures what I infer is the driver seat looks very pitiable. Is it to make sure that he feels so uncomfortable that he does not doze off?

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by vigsom

4. Despite entries to Salem, Krishnagiri and Hosur, the bus managed good time

For 5 months in 2023 I was working out of MG Road Bangalore and I was residing in Hosur. Bike and car didnt make sense during the 9am-6pm traffic on hosur road, all time saved from Hosur to Silk board was wasted away in between St.Johns signal to Residency Road.

I found these AC buses super comfy and also was great to catch up on laptop work (& calls inside the silent bus) during commute. Regular Hosur-Blore buses charged 60Rs, these SETC AC bus used to charge 100Rs which I gladly accepted because it was seemingly lesser than a car trip (100Kms in any car + 2 tolls was in excess of 600Rs a day).

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

From your pictures what I infer is the driver seat looks very pitiable. Is it to make sure that he feels so uncomfortable that he does not doze off?

I cannot be sure, but I think such seats are preferred probably because they have very good ventilation and as such drastically reduce any discomfort due to sweating. Many buses plying within cities also seem to have such seats.

[Satish Pari]

Nice review vigsom. I also did a trip recently on a AC Sleeper/Seater from Tuticorin to Madurai. Even though I had got a seat on the last row, the seat was very comfortable. It was pretty wide compared to a normal semi-sleeper seat. The only pain point was the time taken - it took 3 hours to cover the distance without a break. Whereas normal 3+2 seater buses cover the same distance in about 2 hours and 40 minutes with a 20 minute break.

[Arun_S]

Thank You Sir for another wonderful review. I admire you taking the effort to do these out of the box options and give a feedback.

Your review made me consider SETC for any future travels.