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I was going to post the detailed version from Facebook but thanks, it has already reached here.

With safety being the last priority, I believe KSRTC or any government service would be a second or third choice for me. I've always found government service inter-city buses to be a little over-hyped. There isn't any aim for growth, profit, service or maintenance unlike their private counterparts. The least that was expected was good maintenance, especially with regards to safety. Even that hope goes in vain now!

I am yet to come across any serious, private inter-city player to have flouted maintenance norms in this manner (except Neeta Travels).

KSRTC bus drivers are to behaving in such a way is quite beyond imagination from what I read and heard and experienced about them till date (or any government service like Shivneri)

The case looks to be a little complicated considering that KSRTC driver took to the police station. Though I have never lived in BLR, I can imagine the road rage is definitely one of the highest in country based on many of the street experiences on the forum.

The article does not seem to be mentioning about pending violations by the same bus, any other sources that indicate to this? Looks like it is 'habitual'! :Shockked:

Well, I have a totally different opinion in this matter. For my bus trips to Kerala, I prefer the KSRTC (Kerala, not KaSRTC) to private players, simply for the reason that they maintain a minimum standard of maintenance and punctuality, unlike the private buses which are (in my experience) a hit or miss affair.

There's a portal maintained by the Bangalore Traffic Police where you can search for pending traffic violations and also pay the fine online.

Three people were killed and 10 injured in bus accident near aruvamkuzhi in kanyakumari district yesterday. The ill fated bus was Trivandrum -Bangalore Kallada volvo.

Traveled by Padikkal Volvo yesterday from Bangalore to Ernakulam.

Scheduled pickup at E.City was 9.10pm but bus arrived at 9.45pm. Had pickup at Attibelle and Hosur and left Hosur at 10.30pm. Stopped for fuel and reached Edappally at 6 am. Driving was fast and safe but use of horn, though its not loud was more.

This is a Bangalore - Pathanamthitta MAV clocked about 2.6L kms.

Any input on travels for a Bangalore-Nagercoil trip? Have used KPN multiple times (last maybe 2 years back). No major concerns. But wanted to check if there was a better option now?

Chennai - Trivandrum -= Nagercol
Bangalore Trivandrum (via Tirunelveli) = Nagercoil
Bangalore Trivandrum (via Palakkad) = Alappuzha
Bangalore- Kollam/Alappuzha/Kottayam/Pathanmthitta = Ernakulam
Bangalore Ernakulam = Coimbatore
Chennai-Ernakulam = Coimbatore
Anywhere from Kerala to Bangalore - Madivala (except Kerala SRTC).
Anywhere from Kerala to Chennai = Tambaram/Peungalathur


This is how the intercity buses to/from Kerala work as far as timings are concerned . The places at the end of each line is the point where one has a reasoanble guarantee to reach early in the morning to make it for work by
10 AM.

So based on this formula ask around for the earliest arrival to Trivandrum via Tirunelveli and then book that bus for Nagercoil. You will be fine.

Last experience (like you more than two years back) was on KPN on the Nagercoil route to Trivandrum,. Except on Fridays be careful that there is high probaility they will combine the trips and you may end up with a later arrival than planned. Heard from others including those in this forum that the SRM and Kallada G4 services to Trivandrum are good options.

Hi All,

I once traveled in a Volvo B9R Multi-axle bus. I was travelling from Bangalore to Haripad ( Alapuzha , Kerala). The total distance is 630 kms. The bus left Bangalore at 9.45 PM in the night and halted in Hosur for about half and hour for dinner. The next stop was may be at Salem for refuelling ( if I recall correctly). The next day morning at 6.15 AM I was at my destination!. It means the bus took only about 8 hours or even less to cover 630 kms. Also, I would like to keep you informed that the road conditions deteriorate once we are in Kerala. The roads are narrow and dangerous. Even then these guys managed to pull pretty good average speeds.

Warm Regards,,

Sajeesh

Not sure if this was posted here before. Palakkad KSRTC bus stand renovation is underway.



The main building has been demolished for quite sometime now and the pile of rubble still remains. The enquiry section has been relocated to another building in the same complex.

Booked tickets for Bangalore-Chennai travel in Road Link Volvo for tomorrow's date. However, I am not able to print the ticket out of their website. I have the Paytm Invoice PDF printed out and the SMS confirmation that my friend sent to me.

Can someone let me know if this will be enough or should I take it from Road Link Site as well? Can anyone help with the Ticket Number as well, it is a long sequence of letters including words/numbers (ex. TS-RB1234567ABC/123456/BLR-CHN). Which part constitutes the ticket number here?

Thank you!

Call them up and mention your seat number, to confirm that the ticket has been booked in your name. IIRC, the Roadlink Volvo leaves Madiwala at 11 o'clock, visit their office at least half an hour before the scheduled departure time and collect the boarding pass, by showing the SMS & Paytm invoice. They used to be a cordial and professional lot when I used to take their buses some 2 years ago, not sure how their service levels are now.

Thank you silversteed! A little twist in the tale though. I am boarding at Hosur and not anywhere in Bangalore. I do have a couple of numbers mentioned in the SMS related to Road Link.

I will call them up and confirm them that the ticket has been booked in my name. That sounds like a good way to validate the ticket.

They didn't sound professional over the phone when I called the e-ticketing customer care. They bluntly told me to deal with Paytm when all I asked was how to interpret their PNR number in order to print the ticket through their site.

Paytm CC for Bus Tickets is a dead end. The phone rings, message says it is only for bus tickets and then cuts off automatically. Did it 5 times before I decided it was futile.

Folks,

Help me with a few service providers that you can recommend for an early arrival at Bangalore from Cochin. I'm looking for A?C multi-axle semi sleeper only.
I was looking for SRM but couldn't find their service in their official website not Redbus. The travel date from Cochin will be either 23rd or 25th of this month.

Cheers!

You can check the KSRTC Garuda services - there are two, one at 7pm and the other one at 8pm (the TVM-BLR service), have seen the latter pass Silk Board before 6:30am consistently, and the former usually arrives much before 6am, IIRC. You can book online at keralartc.in

My experiences with the KaSRTC Airavat services have not been so great wrt timing, so I prefer the Garuda to KaSRTC. However, between the private operators and these two SRTCs, I'd pick one of the SRTCs instead of the private buses.

I agree with silversteed. Take the first Volvo of Kerala SRTC which is an Ernakulam starting service. This will get you to Bangalore before 6 AM. However keep in mind that this is a single driver operation and there were some "rest period" issues earlier but I believe these are now sorted out. The Trivandrum service is a dual driver operation but the bus may get delayed reaching Ernakulam depending on traffic on NH 47. Both these buses also enter Trichur KSRTC bus station.

Airavath services are hit and miss. Usually the first one leaving Ernakulam at 1830 reaches most times by 6.30 AM at Majestic. However this bus has a dinner break usually near Ankamaly and has a scheduled pick up from Trichur KSRTC bus station at 9 PM, so in effect the other two departures from Ernakulam at 8 PM and 8 30 PM will not arrive too much later as they do not entter Trichur town.

As for private buses, forget it. Timings are not their strong point and if your drop off point is anywhere after Madivala then dont even bother to take them. Stick to Kerala or Karnataka SRTC. There were a number of times I have been dumped at Madivala after travelling in badly late buses and told to make my own way.

If you have an early morning flight or train to catch from Bangalore, then do not depend on any of the Volvos. The one service which will get you 99% of of the time before 5 AM at Bangalore is the 4 PM departure of Kerala SRTC. This is now a Non A/C Super Deluxe, upgraded from the earlier Express service.

So, this happened a few days ago. A KPN driver was caught driving under influence by passengers. After erratic driving, passengers got suspicious and caught him red handed with a bottle of alcohol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0A1MWQXKyY