[Satish Pari]

Travelled from Madurai to chennai on Wednesday by Parveen travels 22:15 Mercedes multiaxle. Trip was quite good and timings also were decent. Departed from periyar sharp at 22:15 and departed from mattuthavani at 22:50. Hit the highway at 23:00. Went into melur for a pickup and was in melur from 23:25 till 23:40(rejoined the highway). Reached trichy at 00:40and again joined back on the highway at 00:55. Crossed samayapuram toll at 01:20. Parveen always impresses me with their driving and customer service. Slept of after that and reached chennai at 5:15am (guduvanchery). Was dropped at guindy railway station at 5:45am. Overall a pleasant journey and both drivers did good speed but were never rash and usage horn was less.

[Captain Haddock]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

I have taken this service from Vytilla as well and the 1330 service from Vytilla is the one which originates from Palakkad. 6 hours is pretty well standard between Ernakulam and Trivandrum , which makes it a whopping average speed of 37 km/hour or so. Looking at the increasing number of accidents of private operators services to Kerala, this is not a bad option providied you can put up with the crawling.

That said, personally I would avoid these KeSRTC Low FLoor Volvos on routes like Trivandrum to Ernakulam. Fares are higher than Multi Axle Volvos, they stop at far too many places (during my last trip sone one boarded from PMG and got down at Karyavattom- on a Trivandrum Ernakulam long sistance service ), no luggage racks and ofcourse , non reclinable seats. Worst of all they allow standing oassengers. As soon as these buses enter a bus station, the short distance passengers rush in, the conductors do not make any efort to call out for longer distance passengers first to fill the vacant seats (as they used to do in the old TTC services ), and in the end you may end up standing half the distance while short distance passengers merrily occupy the available seats. Advance seat reservations are available only on some services. However seat reservation coupons are also not given for those services starting from Trivandrum (it is given out for many other long distance services 30 minutes before departure), which again means elbow power rules the roost unless you book in advaance.

These low floor services should be used more on shorter trips like Trivandrum Kollam or Ernakulam Trichur. One such route on which this has been done is Ernakulam Moovatupuzha where there are frequent services and they are well patronised..

Short distance commuters usually don't take this service as costs are pretty high. Kariavattom is quite a major stop because of the presence of kerala university's campus. All services stop there. I think it could be the number of stops which promotes rash driving among drivers, despite their reckless nature KSRTC long distance drivers are pretty talented and there is a method to the madness. The new scania services will be a good addition to KSRTC. But, personally I do not like long distance bus trips and it's quite strange that people are opting for buses to Bangalore or Madras from kerala. I usually take the trains. But reservation has become pretty complex these days, could be one reason why people for buses.

[amitdatta92]

Originally Posted by Satish Pari

Travelled from Madurai to chennai on Wednesday by Parveen travels 22:15 Mercedes multiaxle. Trip was quite good and timings also were decent. Departed from periyar sharp at 22:15 and departed from mattuthavani at 22:50. Hit the highway at 23:00. Went into melur for a pickup and was in melur from 23:25 till 23:40(rejoined the highway). Reached trichy at 00:40and again joined back on the highway at 00:55. Crossed samayapuram toll at 01:20. Parveen always impresses me with their driving and customer service. Slept of after that and reached chennai at 5:15am (guduvanchery). Was dropped at guindy railway station at 5:45am. Overall a pleasant journey and both drivers did good speed but were never rash and usage horn was less.

Was it the new multi axle that they recently launched or the old Sutlej one? Not sure if Parveen got the new ones.

[rohitoasis]

Call me a nut job. But even after being disappointed multiple times with KPN travels, i found myself back in KPN for Palakkad to Chennai this election weekend. Thanks in part to a friendly travel agent who was able to turn up tickets where there wasn't any available.

Was pleasantly surprised that the bus reached ahead of time at my stop. A glimmer of hope woke in me that i would be on time. The bus reached Salem also well on time. I woke up on dot at 5 AM to see the bus at rest which was unusual. Google maps indicated location as Ulundurpet. The bus started at 5:15 from there. A spate of accidents on the way slowed down progress further. (3 of them within 20 Km from Chengalpet, all involving an SETC buses bumping into vehicles in front, probably drivers misjudging the braking distance in the rains.) Little were we prepared for the traffic between before perungulathur.

After reaching Chengalpet at around 8 we were having decent progress. Between SRM and Perungulathur was the deadliest traffic aggravated by the rains. We crossed Perungulathur only around 11:15. With flared tempers around due to the delay, i decided to be patient about this all against my usual temperament.

As the roads cleared i decided to find the reason for the delay. I was expecting to see a different driver from the previous night but was surprised to see only the same driver and asked where the other guy was. The driver started venting out his frustration and said that due to the rush on the election weekend, the other driver was allocated elsewhere and this guy single-handedly had driven this bus since 3 PM on Monday. There was not even a helper available in this bus. I felt bad for the driver and chatted up with him for a while and he opened up saying that he felt sleepy while driving, so when he reached Ulundurpet bus resting stop, he took a short nap for a little over an hour.

I should have been angry at that moment, but whom should i be angry at.

The driver for having a taken a well deserved sleep.
The travels for not having allotted a second driver or even a helper.
Or
The system for not monitoring such practices are being followed.

I couldn't decide at that moment and thankfully remained calm.

Moving death traps like this are to be more rampant across India if such practices go on.

[Satish Pari]

Amit it was the old Sutlej one. But recently they have launched the new SHD on chennai-Madurai route.

[Waxeloquent]

Have to take first time bus trip from Coimbatore-Bangalore-Coimbatore; which is a good one to choose for day time travel? Thanks in advance, cheers

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by Waxeloquent

Have to take first time bus trip from Coimbatore-Bangalore-Coimbatore; which is a good one to choose for day time travel? Thanks in advance, cheers

Bangalore-Coimbatore: Aeon Connect has a Scania service at 7 o'clock. Punctual, comfortable and reliable, speaking from experience.

KPN has a Scania service at 7 from Coimbatore, but no idea if it's reliable. My experiences with KPN have always been terrible, considering punctuality, but good on other counts.

[rajesh1868]

Any feedback on KSRTC Ambari sleeper bus? Planning to travel to Kozhikode from Bangalore and return the next day. Some online reviews are not too positive

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by rajesh1868

Any feedback on KSRTC Ambari sleeper bus? Planning to travel to Kozhikode from Bangalore and return the next day. Some online reviews are not too positive

I have traveled in KSRTC Ambaari on BLR-Pune route. The bus is super comfortable with wide berths and sufficient head room. They also provide clean bed spreads, water and blankets.
KSRTC driving style did ensure almost zero rolling effect on my trip, but on Kozikode to BLR route, you may experience roll due to the independent air suspension system.

Cheers,
AB

[Waxeloquent]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Bangalore-Coimbatore: Aeon Connect has a Scania service at 7 o'clock. Punctual, comfortable and reliable, speaking from experience.



KPN has a Scania service at 7 from Coimbatore, but no idea if it's reliable. My experiences with KPN have always been terrible, considering punctuality, but good on other counts.

Thanks. Used KPN both ways, morning 7.30am trips supposed to each destinations at 2pm. Well both the trips started 15 to 25 late, reached 45 to 60 minutes late. Return from Bangalore the aircon was more off than on. Seats were comfortable and the video is a torture with loudness. Will I use them again, not unless I do not have better choice. I believe Conti is more punctual.

Cheers

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by silversteed

My experiences with KPN have always been terrible, considering punctuality, but good on other counts.

KPN is also known for their rash driving if my memory serves me right.

[SchumiFan]

Travelled to Chennai in the 15M Mercedes SHD service of APR on Friday evening. Not impressed.

The bus was there before time which was a good beginning. It started 10 minutes late because not all who booked came on time and they were trying to get more people inside the bus (it holds 61 seats a time). This continued till Hosur where every opportunity was taken to fill the bus up.

Coming to the bus itself, it was dirty and nowhere premium as a Volvo let alone a Scania. My seat was dirty with some oil stains. The luggage rack was big but again dirty. Never expected a weeks old bus to be this way. I was in the first row and there was no provision to place the bottles. The leg room is OK. Not as roomy as the Hebron let alone the KPNs.

The bus picks up speed pretty well and the AC was chilling with a provision to change direction as well. Sound insulation is good. Not a lot of wind noise even when the driver had the window open. The bus reached the destination 15 minutes late after a 15 minute stop for dinner.

Unless they run the service at Rs.450 again (it is 630 for Fridays), I will not be taking it in the future. The KPN/Hebron Scania around that time are much better.

In its current avatar (61 seats), I wouldn't say the Mercedes SHD is a premium mode of transport. The Volvos and Scanias are leagues ahead.

[addyhemmige]

Hi, this is not a review but a query. I am in Tuticorin right now and I need to get to Trivandrum tonight/tomorrow morning. What would be best way to get there? I searched for private buses but couldn't find any direct service nor could I find any direct trains. Can someone suggest how I can go about? Thanks

[Grand Drive]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

I am in Tuticorin right now and I need to get to Trivandrum tonight/tomorrow morning. What would be best way to get there? I searched for private buses but couldn't find any direct service nor could I find any direct trains. Can someone suggest how I can go about? Thanks

You have lots of trains for Tirunelveli to Trivandrum. You have plenty of choices if you go to Nagercoil from Tuticorin. Check SETC buses for any direct services between Tuticorin to Trivandrum.

[rajesh1868]

Originally Posted by coriollis

I have traveled in KSRTC Ambaari on BLR-Pune route. The bus is super comfortable with wide berths and sufficient head room. They also provide clean bed spreads, water and blankets.
KSRTC driving style did ensure almost zero rolling effect on my trip, but on Kozikode to BLR route, you may experience roll due to the independent air suspension system.

Cheers,
AB

Thanks, booked the KSRTC Scania. Hope it is better or as good as Volvo
Question to people who have taken day journey on KSRTC AC bus - Do they provide blanket or is that only for night trips?