Reader Feedback: Neeta Mangalore - Mumbai Volvo multi-axle review

Name: Rudolf
Operator: Neeta
Route: Mangalore to Mumbai

I traveled in a Neeta Volvo multiaxle bus from Mangalore to Mumbai on 28th April 2012. Having traveled earlier by Neeta on the same route, I felt the service is deteriorating. The driver who was driving the first section was very rude and abusive, hurling choicest abuses in Kannada and Tulu language which many could not understand to all those who went to talk to him. There was a Gujarati family with a small kid who were desperately wanting a halt for their baby, but after much cajoling did the driver agree to halt but was mumbling some abusive jargon in Tulu because he had to halt. As usual the bus halted in Ankola for dinner. There I pointed out to the same driver that the destination board displayed was Mangalore and should be Mumbai for which he just said "woh mera kaam nahin hai"! From here the drivers seat was taken over by a bearded UP guy (I know this coz I have spoken with him on several occasions before while travelling in Neeta! He is an expert driver as experienced by me. But he has developed this habit of stopping any and everywhere to passengers wanting to get to Mumbai. In this particular trip, he halted for a group of 7 clumsily dressed men after Hubli-Dharwad who wanted to get to Mumbai and made a deal with them (400bucks each) and got them inside even though there were no vacant seats. These men occupied all available space in the drivers cabin and spread to the gangway. The bus was completely dark with no lights on. As usual the night reading lamps are never on in Neeta buses!! But there were quite a few young girls and families in the bus!! In between the bus halted at a RTO checking station where I (seated in the third row on the left) made a desperate attempt to get down for relieving myself, but could not due to the extra passengers sleeping in the gangway and drivers cabin as they were deep in slumber!!! Then again, this driver took new passengers from Pune at 4AM!!


Overall a very bad experience with Neeta and their goonda type drivers!! I would suggest Neeta only when one is left with no option!!!

Worth a read:
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Reader Feeback: Chennai to Trivandrum - Parveen travels

1. Your name: Praveen Paul
2. Route : Chennai - Trivandrum
3. Operator name : Parveen Travels
4. Bus brand : Mercedes Benz Multi axle
5. Month of travel : July

The travel Experience was very positive. The Bus was scheduled to leave Chennai Koyembedu at 8:00 PM to Trivandrum, the fare was Rs 1050 which is bit more than what the Volvo operators charge ( ~Rs 950). Due to traffic inside the Bus stand itself, we only managed to leave around 8:30. The Bus itself was what you would expect from a bus competing against the volvos : comfortable seats, excellent air conditioning and very smooth ride. Parveen Travels provided Complementary snacks for the journey, a very nice touch! The Drivers were friendly and didnt chat loudly all night or anything. There were 2 LCD tvs inside the bus and i was sitting at the front and the in bus entertainment is the usual Tamil movie. Unlike other volvos that i have traveled by, the front of the main aisle of the bus wasn't covered and you had a good view of the road ahead though there was no light problem from the oncoming traffic as the roads are 4 laned.


The bus traveled at a fast speed ~100 Km/h and made quick time (including a race with a KPN multi axle Volvo!) to get to Trivandrum by 8:15 AM, which is very fast considering that Anantapuri EXP takes 16 hours! All in all the journey was very pleasant, quiet and there were no unnecessary stops. I would really recommend travelling by Parveen's Mercedes bus!

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Reader Feedback: Hyderarabad to Mangalore - Kesineni Travels

Your name: Deepak
Route: Hyderabad - Mangalore
Operator name: Kesineni Travels
Bus brand: Volvo 9400 6x2 B9R
Month of travel: June 2010
Short experience: Enjoyable & decent service

Rating:
· Bus Interiors: 4.75/5;
· Bus Exteriors: 4.5/5;
· Crew Service Courtesy: 4.75/5;
· Drive experience: 4.5/5;
· In-bus Entertainment: 4/5;



I had booked on this service from ‘Hyderabad (pick-up Kondapur, near Hitec city)’ to ‘Manipal –Bye-pass’. The pick-up time was scheduled to be 5:30 PM. Kesineni is covering pick-ups pretty well in South-West region of Hyderabad.

The B9R bus starts from Garage @ Nizampet road and picks up from Miyapur, Kondapur and last stop Mehedipatnam. There are van pick-ups from Erragadda, Ameerpet, Punjagutta. This is well handled in the website as they have online booking.

This 6X2; 9400 (B9R) has 49 seats. Last seats are normal seating. Since it is a semisleeper, the leg-space is pretty good.

Apart from Service to Mangalore from Hyderabad, Kesineni has B9R service to Goa, Coimbatore, Mumbai & Surat (via Mumbai, Valsad). Coimbatore & Mangalore service start at the same time.

At Kondapur the first service came was to Coimbatore at sharp 5:30 PM, followed by Mangalore at 5:45 PM. This lag was to handle the parking & boarding of Coimbatore bus at Mehedipatnam.

The bus had maroon color exteriors and blue interiors (regn: AP16TU6800), it appears that all their B9R have regn number ending with 00). The bus left Mehedipatnam at 6:35 PM to stop for dinner at Jadcherla by 7:45 PM. After dinner break at Jadcherla, with driver change the bus started around 8:15 PM on the route to Raichur-Koppal-Gadag-Hubli-Ankola-Kumta-Bhatkal-Kundapura-Udupi-Mangalore. The bus crossed Raichur around 10:20 PM and around 12:45 AM bus had stopped for loo and I was surprised to see then KSRTC B7R passing by (that was 1705HYDMNG service). The bus reached Hubli at 2:45 AM trailing behind the KSRTC B7R. KSRTC B7R entered the Hubli old bus stand for drop and this bus had advantage and started before B7R, after crossing Hubli at the outskirts this bus stopped around 3:00 AM for driver change and tea. After this the bus was speeding inspite of heavy down pour on NH17, when I opened my eyes the bus was crossing the Sharavathi Bridge and by 6:50 AM was at Bhatkal. He stopped for ladies to use the Ladies toilet at Hotel Vaibhav, then I saw 2 KSRTC B7R’s (1705HYDMNG & 1300MUMMNG) going towards Mangalore. Do not know when KESINENI had overtook them. The only hitch point was 12 passengers were picked from Bhatkal to Mangalore (assuming) and started towards Mangalore. Due to Heavy rains (Kundapura had experienced 27cm of rain in 24 hours) there were trees uprooted & encroached exactly infront of KSRTC bus stands. So this bus had to wait for close to 90 mins, till it was cleared. While KSRTC bus entered the Kundapura KSRTC bus stand and steered off ahead.

This bus left after the path was cleared and reached Udupi at 10:00 AM, Kesineni’s context Udupi Bus stand is Manipal Bye-pass as I expected. However while returning back from Mangalore it also enters Manipal (TC) for pick-up.

Had there been no block at Kundapura then it would have reached Udupi by 8:30 AM. A decent 15 hour journey covering 850 kms, even I cannot achieve this timing if I prefer to drive down by car.

This service is good competitor for KSRTC B7R & may propel KSRTC to upgrade to B9R.

The only drawback is that the blankets have no white linen as in KSRTC service.

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Reader Feedback: KSRTC Mangalore to Hyderabad

By: Deepak Sarvade

Route: Mangalore-Hyderabad
Operator name: KSRTC (trip 1601MNGHYD & return 1705HYDMNG)
Bus brand: Volvo 9400 4x2 (B7R) -Mark III
Month of travel: June 2010
Short experience: Met expectations

Rating:
· Bus Interiors: 4.75/5;
· Bus Exteriors: 4.0/5;
· Crew Service Courtesy: 4.75/5;
· Drive experience: 4.0/5;
· In-bus Entertainment: 4.5/5;



I had booked on this service from ‘Udupi’ To Hyderbad (MGBS drop). I had booked sheet no: 26 (in new KSRTC 9400 series; the emergency door is here and get superb leg-space. The bus was scheduled to arrive at 17:15 hrs, and it arrived & left at 17:30. The KSRTC drivers focus on Fuel efficiency and a steady speed is maintained. At Kundapura, they stopped around for evening tea around 18:15 hrs. After the snacks the bus steered out and the movie that was played - Chachi 420. At around 21:30 hrs the bus stopped for dinner at Kamat Upahaar , Ankola. This seems to be a decent place.

With driving change, the bus departed at 22:00 and by 00:15 hours crossed Hubli old bus stand (no pickup or drop). By 3:00 hrs this stopped at Koppal outskirt for driving change. The bus reached Raichur at 5:00 hrs. When I got-up it was around 6:45 hrs and the bus was crossing Mahbubnagar town and since it was not raining the sun rays did not make me to sleep further. The bus stopped for morning tea at Jadcherla (not called for) for 30 mins at 7:15hrs & reached MGBS by 9:15 hrs as expected. Though the KSRTC time is 9:45 hrs; there were times when this bus has reached MGBS at 7:30 hrs.

The monsoon plays havoc on NH17 killing the road & increases the travel time.

If KSRTC updates the service to B9R it would be fun, to see the competition on road between Kesineni and KSRTC. The rumor is that soon this service would be updated to B9R.

Now this service has both pick-up and drop at Manipal. So students travelling to Manipal from Hyderbad need to select Udupi and then drop or pick point as ‘Manipal bus stand’.

KSRTC has added another service from Mangalore to Hyderabad & back (1300MNGHYD & 1230HYDMNG), this service was going full in May. With Kesineni this service is not full, not sure how long the additional service would be in place.

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Reader Feeback: DOLPHIN SIDDIQUE TRAVEL

By: Anonymous

Pathetic service by bus driver-Issue with AC, Leakage and mis-behaviour

I have trvelled on 25 aug 2010 , from Thane to Shirdi
I have booked my ticket from Karishma Travells(Teen hath Naka,Udan Pull,Near Telco Co. LBS marg ,022-25806303)
We all pasangers have been given ticket for AC bus charging rs. 250/- Bus-Dolphin number (MH-04 G-5444)
ticket number 1494 seat no. 16
Bus has started moving at 10.30.
It was suphocating badly so all passanger including me asked driver to start AC, but he completly ignored us. At bhiwandi all passanger shouted at him to start AC and then he used really rubbish language. He did not start AC at all.
After some time it started raining heavily and his bus started leaking. So all of us had to suffer alot during whole night. We all decided to take this issue forward so I called Siddique travells (o2224173717) DADAR office. And we explained whole issue. Their Agent said Mr. Naushad is owner of this firm and nobody have guts to go against him. I told him we are suufering and instead of giving solutions or sympathy he again misbehaved with me.
I found that its waste in talking with him and I asked him Mr. Naushad's number. But he talked so rudely and put the phone down.
Now my concern is if this private tourist companies misbehaving with customers who pays them the amount they say aren't deserve atleast good service??

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Reader Feedback: Cerita / Isuzu / Volvo B9R

From our reader Deepak (Bangalore)

Dear Bunny

In response to your call in travelbyvolvo.blogspot.com i would like to share my experiences in different types of buses.

Cerita :

Photo for representational purpose only

Kinglong make I travelled in cerita bus between Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam operated by kesinenitravels a leading operator of Andhra Pradesh in April 2008. The bus has a total seats of 45 and divided into 11 rows. The bus interiors are good and the interior body and seats have same upholstery. The seats are placed at a height of 4 inches above the middle pathway or gangway. The front seats do not have any legroom and the last two rows are placed at a height. There is a step of 6 inches for the 10th row and 11th row has two steps of 6 inches each. So the 10th and 11th row will also have less legroom as their leg will be obstructed by the preceeding seats and they cannot stretch their legs below the seat space as in Volvo. This means the seating will be comfortable for only 8 rows. More over it seamed like the engine is occupying more space. Recently they removed one row for this bus to make more legroom for the 8 rows and the seating is reduced to 41 seats.

ISUZU :

Pic: www.team-bhp.com. Photo for representational purpose

I travelled in ISUZU from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam by Sree Kaleswari Travels in May 2009. The bus has a total seats of 41 divided into 10 rows. The seats are placed directly on the gangway floor except the last two rows which are placed on steps of 6 inches each as in Cerita. when you push back your seat fully you could see outside the window freely as in Volvo as the seats are on the gangway floor. As the bus is 11.5M long the leg space for 9 rows will be equal to 10 row volvo semi sleeper. So the operator has removed one row but the last two rows have the same problem.

Volvo B9R :

Pic: www.team-bhp.com. Photo for representational purpose

I Travelled by volvo multiaxle from Bangalore to Vijayawada The bus has 12 rows with 49 seats all the rows have equal leg spacing including the last row. The engine occupies less space and 13.7 metre space is used for seating. Unloke the other brands the seats are placed at a height of 6 inches from the gangway floor and as you reach the back the seating floor height is gradually increases to about 9 to 10 inches (Gradient and not in steps). So there is uniform spacing between the rows and legroom is maximmum in volvo and also the seats used by them from Harita are the best seating systems then all other brands.

Volvo costs around 72 lacs and other brands like TATA Hispano, Ashok leyland IRIZAR, Cerita, Isuzu cost around 55 lacs which have less horsepower and the seating system should be more comfortable for all the rows which will have have a positive impact on the customer and also the maintainance costs and service stations for the operator will have a impact on the market.The engine design should be compact and should not consume the innner seating space. Though may are in the market and may planning to enter like Hino (toyota) the price and seating and service costs and service station availability will decide the existence of market for the players. Many operators prefer to buy Volvo than others which are less priced because of the brand value and the acceptance of the customer. Though ISUZU was acquired by VRL 8 Nos, Seabird Tourist 4 Nos, Varsha Travels 2, Sree Kaleswari 4 Nos in the last two years of its launch from june 2008 there are many takers of Volvo B7R and B9R.

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Reader Feedback: Royal Cruiser Volvo

C) Royal Cruiser



1. Your name: Kanth
2. Route: Siliguri - Kolkata
3. Operator name: Royal Cruiser Travels
4. Bus brand: Volvo B7R
5. Month of travel: May 2009
6. Short experience:

Rating: Bus Interiors: 3.5/5; Bus Exteriors: 4/5; Crew Service Courtesy: 3.5/5; Drive experience: 2.5/5; In-bus Entertainment: 2/5;

From: Siliguri

To: Near Mayapur (some 2 hours before CCU)

Travel Time: Evening 6ish – 5ish morning (next day); Approx 11 hours

You will like: Only that you are riding on a Volvo. Baggage tags given.

You will dislike: The road condition between Siliguri and Calcutta and lack of proper in-bus entertainment.

Overall: I had a very unfortunate travel experience with RC. Booked seats on the first row and the harsh driving and breaking by the driver, I felt the necessity to wear seat belts. Even then it was discomforting considering the rash over taking, hard breaking, steep turns by the driver. He seems to be not trained by/at the Volvo facility. The NH was narrow and the driver’s arrogance only made the displeasure. Otherwise it was a nice experience and I wouldn’t mind traveling by RC again in future.

Tit Bits: Royal Cruiser is considered as a major operator of repute in WB. All drivers are dressed up in uniforms similar to airline pilots.

Disclaimer: My experience on that day could just be coincidental. Considering their reputation I would still recommend their service.

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Reader Feedback: Sree Kaleswari Travels

Sree Kaleswari Travels

Pic from zadeus

1. Your name: Kanth
2. Route: Bangalore - Vijayawada
3. Operator name: Sree Kaleswari Travels (SK)
4. Bus brand: Volvo 9400 6x2
5. Month of travel: November 2009
6. Short experience:

Rating: Bus Interiors: 4.75/5; Bus Exteriors: 4.5/5; Crew Service Courtesy: 4.75/5; Drive experience: 4.5/5; In-bus Entertainment: 4/5;

From: Kalasipalya Bus stand

To: Varadhi Junction, VJA

Travel Time: 1800 hrs – 0600 (next day); 12 hours; Break Time: 30 mins;

You will like: Crew’s punctuality sense, bus inside and outside cleanliness, livery and interiors. Booking experience online.

You will dislike: If you had a wrong choice seat choice, except for your seat you will not dislike anything else.

I later understood the commercial aspect here. When we started in CHN the occupancy was 50 % and by the time I got down in VJA the bus was running with full load. Even when some willing extra passengers volunteered to travel in cabin the driver promptly said no. To make the utmost profit out of every sector that they operate these buses should run with a minimum of 75% occupancy. This was ensured by the company even on a Wednesday.

Overall: Considering this was my first B9R experience and previous pleasant experiences with SK, I was looking forward for an exciting journey and Sree Kaleswari lived upto the excitement and did not disappoint me as before.

Tit Bits: SK recently rented a huge (read huge) space for it’s own bus stand in the heart of VJA (near Benz Circle). It has moved there recently from it’s own Petrol Station cum bus-stand close to this current place. The SK bus-stand has all comforts for the passengers viz., proper waiting area, parking area, ticket booking facility, snacks stall with working refrigerators. We have to note a point here that SK is ISO certified operator.

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Reader Feedback: Kaveri Kamakshi Travels

From our reader Kanth (Chennai)

Hi Bunny Punia,

First congrats on your blog gaining wide popularity (noticed that RedBus featured TravelbyVolvo survey recently). I came across a post asking for feedback on Volvo operators that I have traveled recently. Came across your blog through Google and been following for few months.

Here’s my two-cents and hope it will add some colour to your blog. Also, I would be interested in learning a bit more about you.

A bit about myself:

I am Kanth living in Chennai basically from Andhra. As part of my job and lifestyle I make routine trips across and outside India. Pertaining to TravelByVolvo, I make regular trips between Chennai-Vijayawada and occasionally between CHN-BLR, BLR-VJA. I make sure that I travel by the best operators and buses. I share the same passion as you, Cars, Buses and travel. Here’s my experience so far and will post my upcoming Volvo experience (CHN-BLR).


A) Kaveri Kamakshi Travels
1. Your name: Kanth
2. Route: Chennai - Vijayawada
3. Operator name: Kaveri Kamakshi
4. Bus brand: Volvo 9400 6x2
5. Month of travel: March 2010
6. Short experience:

Rating: Bus Interiors: 5/5; Bus Exteriors: 5/5; Crew Service Courtesy: 4/5; Drive experience: 4/5; In-bus Entertainment: 4/5;

From: Chennai Koyambedu Private Operators Bus Stand

To: Ring Circle, NH 5, Vijayawada

Travel Time: 1730 – 0115 (next day); Approx 7.5 hrs; Break Time: Dinner 30 mins after Nellore;

You will like: Crew’s punctuality sense, bus inside and outside cleanliness, livery, interiors, a huge Sony LCD TV to show a movie in the front. The other screen (in the middle of the bus) was a normal China built Carbon over head video set. Booking experience online.

You will dislike: Enters every city on the way (Nellore, Ongole and Guntur) between CHN-VJA for boarding passengers. This is rather a disliking point as this being a CHN-VSKP service, consumes atleast 1-1.5 hrs extra for entering cities on the way.

I later understood the commercial aspect here. When we started in CHN the occupancy was 50 % and by the time I got down in VJA the bus was running with full load. Even when some willing extra passengers volunteered to travel in cabin the driver promptly said no. To make the utmost profit out of every sector that they operate these buses should run with a minimum of 75% occupancy. This was ensured by the company even on a Wednesday.

Overall: I have been longing to try out their service ever since I came to know that Kaveri Kamakshi launched operations. I personally liked the body work, livery, interiors of the bus not to mention the pretty female seated behind my seat. Overall a satisfactory and pleasant experience.

Tit bits: Sree Kaleswari Travels recently cut down it’s CHN-VJA services from 3 to 2 making room for Kaveri Kamakshi Travels. I sense a route sharing agreement between operators for better profits. SK also stopped it’s CHN-HYD service to make room for Dhanunjaya Travels. Either they must be sister concerns or operators must be following Airline’s foot steps to share sectors. CHN-VJA-VSKP is served only by SK, KK and Kesineni travels now.

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Reader feedback: KPN Volvo

From our reader Sridhar

1. Your name : Sridhar
2. Route : Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore
3. Operator name : KPN Travels
4. Bus brand : B9R & Veera AC
5. Month of travel : May 2010
6. Short experience : Bangalore to Chennai was a B9R multi-axle bus. The ride was very comfortable. It was 2+2 seater and the fare was 620/- Bus Left Bangalore around 2.15 PM and was in Chennai by 8.15 PM. In between there were 2 stops one for 20 mins and other for 5 mins. It was a pleasant ride.

Return I booked for a 2+1 semi-sleeper Volvo KPN bus from Chennai to Bangalore. Bus was supposed to start at 10.45 PM. I opted for T-Nagar boarding point. When I reached the T-nagar boarding point at 10:15 PM I was told the bus broke down and I have to take a different bus from CCCBT. There was a mini bus that dropped us at CCCBT. When I reached the terminus the bus was almost full and I got a different seat and not the one I booked. Though it was semi-sleeper bus, it was not a Volvo bus. It was Ashok Leyland Veera AC bus. I paid more for this bus but ended up travelling in a non-volvo. Bus left Chennai at 11.15 PM and was in Bangalore by 6.15 PM. Ride was not very comfortable as compared to my onward trip which was in a B9R.

These private travels cheat people in the name of Volvo buses.

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