Happened to travel by the newly launched Kallada Multi-Axle day service between Ernakulam and Bangalore yesterday.
The bus was KA-01-AA-7638. The bus had just 138xxkms on its odo. The bus was in shape - no scratches or patch works till date. A sticker near the driver seat claimed that the bus was serviced a couple of days back.
The bus reached Vyttila at around 0900AM from Bangalore. The cleaner went about cleaning the bus at a very brisk pace - used water bottles were thrown out, blankets were folded and put on every seat, seats were returned to their default position and curtains drawn. The drivers went for breakfast in the mean time. The scheduled departure for the bus is 0930 AM, but it was brought to the pick up point only around 0940 AM. Only 5 passengers were there from Vyttila - we started off at 1000 AM.
There were 2 drivers and one cleaner. The bus runs almost non-stop - the crew work continuously for three days and then get off. They work non-stop in reality - the bus starts off at 0930/1000 from EKM, reaches Bangalore around 9 PM, it returns again at 10 pm reaching EKM only by 0830~0900 AM! The cycle starts again!!!
We picked up passengers at Edappally Toll, Kalamassery and Mannuthy. We had a grand total of 9 passengers now!!!! We stopped at Hotel Aaryas, Chandranagar, Palakkad for Lunch. 2 more passengers joined.
The bus went into Coimbatore town - three pax got off and some 5 got in. It was past 3PM when we left Coimbatore. The Road was inexistent around Kuthiran Ghats (Mannuthy-Vadakkenchery section). We stopped for Tea near Bhavani at around 1645. We had a pick up at Salem (1800hrs).
Since it was just a day since the Truckers strike was called off, the Toppur ghat section was infested with trucks - 2-3 of them running parallel to each other competing to prove who was slower! The driver had to resort to a bit of offroading to ensure that we did not lose much time.
We were stopped by RTO guys near Dharmapuri Toll Gate - they charged some section (Rs. 200 fine). After that, the bus made a mis-calculated approach - and we got stuck in the toll gate! Stuck in such a position that driver could either break the Left ORVM or suffer a deep gash on the body on the right side!
Finally after many forwards and reverses, there was no solution. We had to pull out completely, and then enter the next lane - which was wider than the first one! Lost a good 30 mins in the exercise.
Finally, it was 2130 by the time we crossed Attibelle Toll. The bus took the BETL from Electronic City to Bommanahalli. I was finally dropped near Silk Board flyover at 2158. The bus terminates at Madiwala - and has to start back at 2200!!!
Poor crew - they get absolutely no rest. The service was average - the cleaner misbehaved with almost all passengers. He did not agree to keep the curtains open (the one between the driver and the passengers), he did not want to play movies, nor did he play music! He played one movie - which got over as we reached Coimbatore. We people asked him to play another one his reply was "I just played a movie.. will play one after Salem". (as if he was doing a favour for us).
Later a couple of passengers almost shouted at him, when he half mindedly searched for a DVD and played a movie.
Kallada's inexperience in running Day Service was showing up - they would improve in the days to come. They get enough parcels for the service to survive. They also got passengers at Coimbatore and Salem - so, they've done their homework well.
I came to know from the driver that Kallada has purchased 8 new Multi-Axle Volvos - this bus was one from that lot. This particular guy has been driving with Kallada since long it seems. The Cleaner was a new guy - and was very inexperienced. The second driver was very slow - he was scared of overtakes - he'd trail a slow moving vehicle when there is space for an overtake. Finally when the road gets busy, he'll start getting restless to overtake the slow vehicle!
The driver stopped at a small wayside tea stall for evening tea - Female passengers are the worst affected. The service requires a lot of fine-tuning, but I hope it survives. Its a nice alternative for people who love traveling over the day (like me).
Some pics attached. The last pic was taken when the bus got stuck at the toll gate.