[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

@deepclutch - that is because the "canteens" at Perumbavoor and Angamaly are auctioned to the highest bidder. Especially at Perumbavoor, where the station is situated a bit off the beaten track, unless the vehicle spends some time at the station, the "licencees" will not be able to recoup the money. Hence the undue long halts there.

The logic is - spend more time at the station, make more money for the stalls / canteens, who in turn pay more to the KSRTC at the annual auction.

[deepclutch]

I think Buses are not stopping at canteen in perumbavoor.instead few shops are luring bus drivers/conductors to stop in front of their shop(s).Irritatingly hitting the bus body to make noise waking up long distance(kottayam-thrissur) commuters . I have witnessed buses which halt for more than 30 minutes in perumbavoor ksrtc station.the reason is ,only perumbavoor ksrtc allows long distance buses to get diesel.neither muvattupuzha or chalakudy stations allows this(very rare) for other depots buses.Thus ,in the name of getting diesel ,the buses are delayed at perumbavoor KSRTC Stand.This practice is very old.Most Buses can get diesel from perumbavoor station only between thrissur and Kottayam.

anyways ,this practice make sure Muvattupuzha-Thrissur(78kms) Journey will be atleast 2.15hours.while ernakulam-thrissur(82?kms) via NH47 comes under 1.40 hours.

PS: I have travelled in superfast starting midnight from thrissur stand to Muvattupuzha which reaches Muvattupuzha within 1.45 hours.This was during 2001-2004 years.(The Superfast is actually trivandrum-thrissur one from mvpa depot which returns at 12AM approximately- from thrissur to Muvattupuzha after completing a trip from trivandrum to thrissur via MC road).

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

(The Superfast is actually trivandrum-thrissur one from mvpa depot which returns at 12AM approximately- from thrissur to Muvattupuzha after completing a trip from trivandrum to thrissur via MC road).

Just curious, why cannot they operate Trivandrum-Thrissur route using bus from Trivandrum or Thrissur depots?, Why the Muvatupuzha bus. I have seen the same with some other routes also.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Just curious, why cannot they operate Trivandrum-Thrissur route using bus from Trivandrum or Thrissur depots?, Why the Muvatupuzha bus. I have seen the same with some other routes also.

I was told by a conductor that such allocations are to allow even smaller depots to make money. He was saying that most routes around "small" depots don't make much money, and hence highway routes between major cities are given to smaller depots. The information might not be entirely true.

The Guruvayur-Ernakulam Jetty (via Thriprayar, Kodungallur, Parur, Varapuzha) is a now a money spinner route. Most private buses on this route are now gone, and KSRTC has a service every 8-10 minutes. This route is operated by Parur, Kodungallur, Guruvayur and Ponnani depots. While I can understand Parur, Kodungallur and Guruvayur's involvement in the route, what is Ponnani doing on this route? The reason, it seems, is monetary.

[COUGAR]

As a non-resident mallu, i have always wondered why buses, even the so called "deluxe coaches" take like forever to get to places. The journey from my farmhouse near Punalur to my aunts place in Ankamali takes like 5 hours by the KSRTC SuperExpress or whatever that is called. and the distance is what 100/120 kms?

Since then i hire out a Qualis the moment i land in Kochi!

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by binaiks

I was told by a conductor that such allocations are to allow even smaller depots to make money.

Make sense. Then the question is why these "small depots" exist? I assume "political" reasons. Does it matter which depot makes money and which does not? We could also argue that this arrangement is to allocate more buses to smaller depots, which are otherwise not needed..

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Make sense. Then the question is why these "small depots" exist? I assume "political" reasons. Does it matter which depot makes money and which does not? We could also argue that this arrangement is to allocate more buses to smaller depots, which are otherwise not needed..

Small depots exist to serve rural routes. Rural routes ideally see traffic early in the morning, and the pattern is usually Rural --> nearby town. So, it makes sense to base these buses at rural depots, so that the early morning empty run from bigger depots can be avoided.

The performance of each depot is measured giving weightage to the revenue that the depot makes. The rating of the depot goes a long way in getting salary hikes for the crew. Usually, such long routes are cared for well by small depots, for whom the routes would be their "pride".

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Make sense. Then the question is why these "small depots" exist? I assume "political" reasons. Does it matter which depot makes money and which does not? We could also argue that this arrangement is to allocate more buses to smaller depots, which are otherwise not needed..

I saw somebody say that in 30 years, trains have not gotten any faster. That is because, local considerations take over common good and good for nothing Politicians ensure that a Superfast train stops at every village to take 2 or 3 passengers. Now, will those passengers travel to a town/main station to board a train? Of course not - Everyone would rather have the train stop in front of their house, than travel to a main station. So the average speed of the train is drastically reduced, and a Delhi bound SF train from Trivandrum operates as a passenger inside Kerala.

Same goes for Kerala SRTC. Routes are fixed as per political considerations. More often it is for a minister to boast that his consituency is well connected to all the places in Kerala, while the buses would be running empty between his elite depot and the original starting point. I remember several such cases, when a minister from Kottarakkare ensured that almost all services began and ended at Kottarakkara. To the tune that Kannur-Mookambika service(~250km) was extended to Kottarakkara(another 400+ km !!) to make it a Kottarakkara-Mookambika service. Collection and convenience of passengers be damned !!

[deepclutch]

small depots like Muvattupuzha runs chain services.in this case ,it is ernakulam-thodupuzha(60kms) route which is getting more number of passengers day by day.
perumbavoor subdepot runs n.paravur-aluva-perumbavoor-muvattupuzha ordinary/town limited services.similarly chalakudy depot runs chain between ernakulam and thrissur.I think these depots are called "subdepots".
OT:
Did you know ,Perumbavoor and Aluva Depots are having buses with place name written in Hindi along with Malayalam.Private Buses are using hindi boards for some time now.but KSRTC and that too in kerala!This is due to the number of workers from north india,nepal in places like south vazhakulam,mudikal,perumbavoor town,allapra,vengola,pezhakkappilly etc .



@kuttappan:I think those old days where politicians(Karunakaran and mala,balakrishna pilla and kottarakkara) controlled new bus routes-this tendency is slowly going down.moreover ,KSRTC is taking over many major private bus routes in travancore-kochi .though in malabar ,still private buses are the norm.

[pypkmsrikanth]

This thread has gone from antics of Private Inter-State Bus operators to why KeSRTC buses need to stop at so many depots and why the S/Fast and S/Express buses take so much time. Trust TBhp to continue discussions on anything to do with wheels even if the course of discussions changes faster than Brahmaputra changing its course during monsoons.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

@kuttappan:I think those old days where politicians(Karunakaran and mala,balakrishna pilla and kottarakkara) controlled new bus routes-this tendency is slowly going down.moreover ,KSRTC is taking over many major private bus routes in travancore-kochi .though in malabar ,still private buses are the norm.

KSRTC is attacking private operators big time now. Even in Malabar areas, the major trunk routes (Kozhikode-Kannur, Kannur-Kasaragod, Kozhikode-Bathery, etc) are now dominated by KSRTC services, and many people prefer KSRTC. The new "Venad" and "Malabar" services are working wonders, with KSRTC introducing more such services on a daily basis.

Routes like Kozhikode-Kannur, Thrissur-Palakkad, etc see a KSRTC bus every 8-10 minutes now. (Long back, KSRTC buses used to be a rarity on most routes).

[Mpower]

This thread is turning out into a fantastic guide and databank of reviews of intercity bus travel.

Please keep up the good work and also include good as well as bad reviews.

Will rename the title appropriately

[TKMCE]

A week after I travelled from Bangalore to Trichur on Kerala RTC , I did the return trip. This was the 8 PM depature on a sunday evening on their TATA Globus 8 PM AC bus. Bus left on time (it was fully reserved and unusually everyone was on board before time and all had boarded at the KSRTC bus stand itself). The crew stopped for two short breaks , one at around 11 PM and the other at around 3 AM, and most importantly for me the bus reached Bangalore (for me Bangalore = Majestic/ Kalasipalayam NOT Electronic City/Madivala) at 5.45 AM. Not even ONCE in the last few years ( and I make an average 20-30 trips an year) have I reached Majestic before 6 AM. I have tried SPS, KPN, Kallada, Sharma/Shama, the Karnataka SRTC Airavath/ Rajahamsa and what not , I rarely reach before 7 AM and on one memorable (for obviously the wrong reason) occasion, after having boarded a private operator from Alwaye at 0630 PM, I was dumped at Madivala at 930 AM (no accidents/breakdown enroute - the bus crew were taking their own sweet time for reasons best known to them) and told to make my own way to Majestic or wherever I care to go at my own expense!!!

For me, my requirement is simple, when I am travelling from Kerala to Bangalore, I would like to reach Majestic or Kalasipalayam by 6 AM, My office starts at 9AM and I dont have luxury of flexi time or working from home. At the same time my weekends/vacations I spend in Kerala are precious and I would rather take a overnight train/bus (my affluence or rather the lack of it does not permit me to take flights). So far the only optiion which has satisfied this need is the train which leaves Ernakulam at 5 PM on Sundays and reaches Majestic at 4.30 AM. But train reservations are difficult to get at short notice. With the 8 PM AC service by Kerala SRTC from Trichur to Bangalore, now I have a viable and good alternative. So much so I prefer to take a local KSRTC bus from Alwaye to Trichur and then connect with this bus rather than board the numerous alteratives whcih are available from Alwaye itself but which unfortunately does not meet my single most important criterion, an on-time ealy arrival in Bangalore.


Kuttapan : I fully agree with you on the so called express trains which Indian Railways run in Kerala. What better example than the 6629 "express" (more popularly known as the Malabar Express) which makes an unbelievable 50 (FIFTY) stops in the state as it traverses the length of Kerala between Trivandrum and Mangalore covering the 634 km distance in a mind boggling 15 1/2 hours @ 41 km/hour. Maximum distance between any two stops for this wonderful train in Kerala is 32 kms (between Trichur and Shoranur) and the shortest distance is 3 kms (between Chirayankil and Kadakavur). To reinfoce your point further, between Kannur and Kasargod, this train does not even travel 10 KM at a stretch without stopping (11 stops in a distance of 86 kms!) No, I didnt stay awake the whole night with a chronograph to get all this wonderful information - for IR all this information and much more are easily avaialable from their wonderful (and in this case I really mean it) websites INDIAN RAILWAYS PASSENGER RESERVATION ENQUIRY and Train running information - TrainEnquiry.com

Cheers

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Kuttapan : I fully agree with you on the so called express trains which Indian Railways run in Kerala. What better example than the 6629 "express" (more popularly known as the Malabar Express) which makes an unbelievable 50 (FIFTY) stops in the state as it traverses the length of Kerala between Trivandrum and Mangalore covering the 634 km distance in a mind boggling 15 1/2 hours @ 41 km/hour. Maximum distance between any two stops for this wonderful train in Kerala is 32 kms (between Trichur and Shoranur) and the shortest distance is 3 kms (between Chirayankil and Kadakavur). To reinfoce your point further, between Kannur and Kasargod, this train does not even travel 10 KM at a stretch without stopping (11 stops in a distance of 86 kms!) No, I didnt stay awake the whole night with a chronograph to get all this wonderful information - for IR all this information and much more are easily avaialable from their wonderful (and in this case I really mean it) websites INDIAN RAILWAYS PASSENGER RESERVATION ENQUIRY and Train running information - TrainEnquiry.com

Cheers

I have once travelled on this train from Trivandrum to Kozhikode. Booked myself a 2A ticket and slept my way to glory through all the stops, not to forget the numerous crossings between Trivandrum - Kottayam and again from Shornur - Kozhikode. It used to leave around 21.00 hours then. I have similarly travelled in this train's day time cousin "Parasuram Express" ( 41 stops between TVC and MAQ) though luckily only between Mangalore and Calicut. Used to travel 10 days a month on work in Kerala. Have possibly used every means of transport available including Ferry service from Fort Cochin to Ernakulam. Once have taken a Super Express from Trichur to Mangalore which stopped at all KSRTC bus stations through the night, including one in Payyanur where the driver decided to take a Loo break.

I doubt if I would be able to maintain this schedule even for a month, let alone for one full year which I did then.

[binoyb22]

I did book tickets from bangalore to calicut quite a few times in airavath service.

Yesterday when i booked it was only 421.Earlier the rate was 462

i don't know if its due to off season. Anyone aware of this?