[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by binaiks

That is neither the Bliss nor the Superia. Both the Bliss and Superia are sold as such.

Then please advice what it is??? Price is the same (50 Rs premium). I went through all the services in the KaSRTC website on the day I posted, not to prove a point to anyone but merely doe to the fact that nowadays I travel on this route often and use them as the operator of preference and hence go to their site regularly. That day the Superia was not sold separately. Today, two days later if I check Superia is sold as you mentioned separately as a 2249 CHNBNG service at Rs 729 while the 2309 CHNBNG "Entertainment TV" service is even more expensive at 742.

Back to the original topic of reviews, I tried out the Rajahamsa service this time time between Bangalore and Chennai. Took the first night service 2101 BNG CHN via Chitoor from Bangalore and return, again the first night service leaving 2005 from Koyambedu. Prior to this I had taken the Single Axle Volvo services in both directions.

Well my feedback is that Rajahamsa services are more than enough for this route. The fare difference for a return ticket is 400 Rs between the two services and if you ask me the Rajahamsa services are more than enough as the time saved is just about an hour each way.

Some specific feedback.

2101 BNG CHN - Rajahamsa- Via Chittoor.

On Saturday evening , the bus still went full. It was a very new bus . Bus was open for boarding from 2020.A few seats empty were filled up by the conductor with walk ins even before the bus started from Shanti Nagar. There are scheduled pick up points at NGEF and KR Puram. There was a stop at Kamat about 90 min after bus started. Reached CMBT at 4.25 Am

2005 CNB BNG- Rajahamsa - Via Kancheepuram, Chttoor. Bus looked old from outside but was ok inside. The expected rattles and creaking did not materialise. The bus was full 5 days out as expected for a Sunday Departure.
The bus was driven well. The bus is scheduled to leave Kancheepuram at 2200 and the bus is a preferred option for many from that city , since more than 60% boarded from there.Left on time from CMBT, left at 2200 as scheduled from Kancheepuram and was at Majestic by 4 AM. There was a dinner halt around 45 min out from Kancheepuram.

That the KaSRTC does not have a "drop at my doorstep if my house is on the way" policy during night hours, unlike their counterparts from Kerala was made clear rather emphatically when one passenger wanted to get down at some major junction before NGEF but after KR Puram, both places where the bus stops. The crew was not willing to oblige and the passenger's angry threats of complaint to higher authorities was responded with a "You are most welcome to do sir if you wish" response.


Summary - Highly reccommended if you can put up with the "dinner stops". The upgrade to a Volvo is not required for this route considering that time difference is very less.

[Rajeevraj]

Had a question on Bangalore-Calicut Buses. Which are the reasonably good providers which can be booked online? (Note: Apart from the KaSRTC which I am aware of). I have not traveled by bus to Calicut for 2-3 yrs now. I have booked Kallada-Sleeper/Semi Sleeper a few times for a relative but he has not been happy with that service.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by binaiks

The two-axle Mercedes Bus uses a 7.2litre engine, while the three-axle ("Tri-axle") uses a 11litre engine. The two-axle bus was very crude - to be serious, I felt that Mercedes approached the market in a very wrong market, may be an over-confident approach. Those buses had a lot of complaints about the suspension. The cabin of Multi-Axle looks much much better than the two-axle one.

You are absolutely spot on sir. Mercs have been doing this and still doing it in every market segment. They simply think they can command a premium for the name. But, for sure, if not for Volvo, atleast, auto-enthusiasts like us would have been left griping about a no-equipment bus being sold and run as a premium bus.

Cross posting from my earlier review on Merc-Travego multi-axle.

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

It was a Mercedes-Benz Travego Multi axle intercity tourer. The total capacity is 50 seats and the bus is rated with 4 stars for comfort by EU standards.

See the equipment level available in the original bus and see what we get. We dont even get disk brakes, unlike volvos, which is equipped with disk brakes. I see that the Multi-axle merc in India is no better than its single axle one, although I have not travelled in one, I can vouch that the seating comfort or pracality of the bus is no where near to a volvo multi-axle. At the end of the day it all boils down to what the operator wants to offer and at what price.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Had a question on Bangalore-Calicut Buses. Which are the reasonably good providers which can be booked online? (Note: Apart from the KaSRTC which I am aware of). I have not traveled by bus to Calicut for 2-3 yrs now. I have booked Kallada-Sleeper/Semi Sleeper a few times for a relative but he has not been happy with that service.

There are few multi axle services by Kallada

Bangalore-Calicut: 4am & 1.30pm

Trivandrum-Bangalore, dep Calicut at 3am
Calicut-Hyderabad, dep Calicut at 2pm

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

There are few multi axle services by Kallada

Trivandrum-Bangalore, dep Calicut at 3am
Calicut-Hyderabad, dep Calicut at 2pm

Thanks. I did look at these options for Bangalore-Calicut. The Hyd-Clt bus timing at Bangalore is 4am and the Bangalore-Trivandrum is at 1.30PM. Both not really convenient times. Preference is for an overnight trip. If there are no better options, I guess I'll book in the 1.30PM Trivandrum Volvo

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Had a question on Bangalore-Calicut Buses. Which are the reasonably good providers which can be booked online? (Note: Apart from the KaSRTC which I am aware of). I have not traveled by bus to Calicut for 2-3 yrs now. I have booked Kallada-Sleeper/Semi Sleeper a few times for a relative but he has not been happy with that service.

I believe Golden Travels and PK Travels operate to Kozhikode from Bangalore. Both of them have online reservation. But - these buses would go via Kutta-Mananthavady route, and buses on that route do not have air-suspension. Ka/KeSRTC would be the best bet for the route.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Both not really convenient times. Preference is for an overnight trip.

There is a KeSRTC air bus at 11.45pm and another air bus at 4pm (Munnar). 4pm bus should reach Calicut by around 11.30pm

[aroonanand]

I may have to travel from Pune to Mumbai by road during the day (~12-1 PM departure) and was wondering who the best operators are - Redbus shows hourly departures by Neeta and Prasanna Purple. Have not heard good things about Neeta. How's Prasanna Purple? Is it better to take them or Shivneri by MSRTC? My destination is Nerul in Navi Mumbai and hence will alight somewhere near Vashi. Also, how long will it take to reach Vashi, say 3 hours?

[binaiks]

Did a Kodungallur (Thrissur) - Bangalore journey by Kallada B9R yesterday. A small review:

I had booked a right side window seat in the fourth row of the Volvo B9R departing on Monday, July 23, 2012 from Kodungallur. Did the booking through the Kallada website - the fare was Rs. 1050. The sole criteria of booking this bus was that it would land in Bangalore by 6AM (5:30hrs promised arrival).

I reached Kallada's booking agent in Kodungallur by 1745hrs (for a 1800hrs departure). The agent gave a surprised look when I showed the ticket to him - I hadn't seen the bus at their usual parking place. Coupled this with the surprised look on the agents' face had me in a confusion - is the bus really running? The agent quickly said that the actual bus was parked at Irinjalakuda (15kms away) and we would be taken to the actual bus in a pick-up van. The van came in at 1800hrs, and we left at 1815hrs (with three passengers on board). We picked up another three passengers at Moonupeedika (on NH-17). The pick-up van reached Irinjalakuda 1855hrs.

The bus (KA-01-AB-1361) started off at 1910hrs - with a total of 18 passengers on board (too good for a working day). It was a struggle taking the bus out of the narrow road - a 10 minute circus later, the bus was on the main road cruising at decent speeds. The driver was quick right from the word go. There were two drivers and a Cleaner (all from TN). Some devotional music was played in the bus. We reached Thrissur at 1950hrs. Started from Thrissur (Kallada office near Sakthan Nagar Bus Station) at 2012, with 24 more passengers on board (18+24 = 42 passengers already!!). Now, that is seriously good loads for a working day!!

We picked up one more passenger near Thrissur railway station, and quickly headed to the highway. They played a recent Malayalam flick in the bus - I was longing to see that movie! The bus came to a standstill on Kuthiran ghat section - we did not move an inch for the next 35 minutes! The bus crawled on for quite some time - the snarl ate in about an hour. The bus stopped for dinner at a wayside motel near Alathur (wonder if the Kerala food safety guys even saw their kitchen). The break was from 2205 to 2238. The delay in starting after the break was due a Rajahamsa parked across our bus at the back.

I slept off after the movie got over. Woke up just as the bus reached Palakkad for pick-up (2309hrs). A lot of parcels were loaded, and about 4 passengers got in as well. We left Palakkad at 2317hrs, with a grand total of 47 passengers on board!!

There was a mini traffic block at Walayar (vague memory - not sure of exact time lost at the block). I remember seeing the bus pull in for a break - I did not bother getting up or stretching. Slept through the journey, and woke up just at the cleaner shouted out "Hosur" in the morning - around 0530hrs. Another small block at Attibele Toll. The bus took the elevated highway from Electronic City - the driver was firing on all guns on the flyover. I was dropped off at Silk Board exactly at 0600hrs. It took close to 11 hours from Irinjalakuda to Bangalore - high for a Volvo, but considering the traffic blocks on the way, the timings were fairly decent.

Overall: A good service. It has picked up fairly well - going by the 47 bookings for a working day!

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by aroonanand

I may have to travel from Pune to Mumbai by road during the day (~12-1 PM departure) and was wondering who the best operators are - Redbus shows hourly departures by Neeta and Prasanna Purple. Have not heard good things about Neeta. How's Prasanna Purple? Is it better to take them or Shivneri by MSRTC? My destination is Nerul in Navi Mumbai and hence will alight somewhere near Vashi. Also, how long will it take to reach Vashi, say 3 hours?

Don't look for any other operator than the Msrtc for PUNE Mumbai travel. A separate thread is present here for relevant information and discussions.
And you will have boarding point at Nerul as well as cbd belapur for Msrtc if you pre book.
For Msrtc it takes almost an hour from its starting point at dadar. Boarding timing at nerul/Vashi is not shown in the msrtc website.
Cheers.
Abhijeet

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by aroonanand

I may have to travel from Pune to Mumbai by road during the day (~12-1 PM departure) and was wondering who the best operators are - Redbus shows hourly departures by Neeta and Prasanna Purple. Have not heard good things about Neeta. How's Prasanna Purple? Is it better to take them or Shivneri by MSRTC? My destination is Nerul in Navi Mumbai and hence will alight somewhere near Vashi. Also, how long will it take to reach Vashi, say 3 hours?

Aroon- For your timings and the fact that your destination is Nerul, NEETA is NOT A BAD OPTION prvoided your boarding point is Wakad, or Hinjewadi at Pune. Go the Neeta agent at Hinjewadi,buy a ticket and get on board the first bus which comes..... I did quite a few Mumbai Pune trips (Andheri Hinjewadi) and it was just like a HOP IN HOP OUT service. Buses vary depends on what turns up first, quit a few times it was new B9Rs.

While I agree MSRTC is good, it is the most effective one on the Dadar Pune run and not on Borivali Pune where Neera frequency is better.

[coolclouds]

Kallada is starting Ernakulam-Mumbai service via Coimbatore-Pune from August 15. The fare is Rs. 2500 and departure time 11.30am from Ernakulam and 6.30 pm from Mumbai.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Kallada is starting Ernakulam-Mumbai service via Coimbatore-Pune from August 15. The fare is Rs. 2500 and departure time 11.30am from Ernakulam and 6.30 pm from Mumbai.

They've received a white coloured bus for the route (looks like they are planning to operate on a tourist permit).

Kallada is also launching:
1. Bangalore-Kollam via Sengottai
2. Chennai-Kollam via Sengottai
3. Hyderabad-Ernakulam (2nd Service: 1530hrs from Ernakulam and 1900/1930hrs from Hyderabad).

They launched the Mercedes Benz Multi-Axle Sleeper bus on the Bangalore-Trivandrum (via Nagercoil) route last week. They also launched TVM-Manipal (via Mangalore), Bangalore-Kottayam (late night) and Kayamkulam-Chennai (Via Ernakulam-Vellore) earlier this month. They are currently operating around 44 Volvo B9Rs and 2 Mercedes Benz Multi-Axle buses. They are taking delivery of some 8+13 more B9Rs very soon.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by binaiks

They've received a white coloured bus for the route (looks like they are planning to operate on a tourist permit).

Good to see that more services are coming up. I hope this is going to be a late night service on Bangalore-Mumbai route and hope they will get good patronage if they stick on to good timings.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by binaiks

They are currently operating around 44 Volvo B9Rs and 2 Mercedes Benz Multi-Axle buses. They are taking delivery of some 8+13 more B9Rs very soon.

Any specific reason for them to repeat orders to Volvo rather than split it with Merc?

Cheers!