I took a Sharma Volvo from Pune to Davangere on 2nd August 2008.
This is the Mumbai to Bangalore Sharma Volvo that leaves Boriveli at 10am.
It reaches Vashi, the outskirts of Mumbai by around 12:30pm and the schedule is to reach Pune (Swargate, natraj hotel) by 3:30pm.
I reached the pick up point of natraj hotel, Swargate by 3:15pm. The bus reached only at 4:10pm, leaving at 4:45pm. Not a good thing - I, along with others had to wait for a good 1 and a half hours. The least Sharma Transports could do was spend Rs2 to make a call to the passengers (from pune) about the delay.
The bus left at 4:45pm. We had a non-stop journey till we stopped for fuel around 10-15mins after crossing Kolhapur. Kolhapur, 231km from Pune was crossed in 3.5hrs. Not bad, considering we took 20min to leave Pune city. This bus was Mark III, ie, the CRDI engine one (290bhp). I had seat no 29, and was disappointed with the engine noise. Have travelled in other Volvo B7Rs sitting behind but this time, there was too much engine sound
We stopped for dinner just 5mins after the fuel stop. From there on, it was again a non-stop journey til Davanagere. Davangere is 570km from Pune and i was dropped at 2:05am. That means 570km were done in just 9hours 20min which equates to an avg speed of 59km/h. The bus generally cruised at around 95-100km/h, which is more or less what other operators also do.
The ticket cost was Rs 800 (they charge full Pune-Bangalore rate). VRL was 1020 so it was out of question. KSRTC was 800, except on the 3pm Pune-Mysore Volvo which was Rs 700. But KSRTC has 11 rows whereas as Sharma and VRL have 10 rows hence more leg space.
In one hour, i am taking Sharma Volvo back to Pune. Shall update tomm!
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR BUS TICKET ONLINE
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sharma Volvo : Pune to Davanagere
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The JCBL Kinglong Bus
CLICK TO EXPANDKinglong is a Chinese based company. JCBL is importing the chassis and engine and making the bodies locally here in India.
Read more about the Kinglong HERE
Updated:
Here are two more pictures, thanks to Binai.k.sankar
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
How to travel from Mumbai to Pune in a Volvo
Across websites and forums, I have come across this common query of how to travel between Mumbai and Pune / Pune and Mumbai, on a Volvo B7R bus.
Here is a lowdown.
1. Mumbai to Pune
Experience says that the best bet is to take a Shivneri Volvo, run by MSRTC. These start from Dadar. Just ask the cab driver to drop you at the Asiad bus stand. The Shivneri Volvos (they also have Cerita buses, which are based on Kinglong buses from China) run from 5:30am to 11:30pm at night. The frequency is generally 30min.
You will have to stand in a small queue to book the ticket for current buses. You can also fill a small form and book you ticket in advance. The fare is Rs 220 and usually you get a small mineral water bottle along with a newspaper too.
The fare might be 20-40 bucks more than other buses like Neeta and Metro Link, but the money spent is worth it. Stops are fewer, buses are better maintained and you usually reach Pune station in less than 4 hours, sometimes even 3.5 hours - this is one to one and a half hours less than other Volvo operators.
Buses generally run full from Dadar itself. So, if you stay in Chembur / New Mumbai areas, then you have no option but to take Neeta / Metro Link ones. But, if you can reach the Vashi Volvo bus point, then in evenings, if you are lucky, you can get a seat in one of the long distance Volvos which run to Bangalore / Hyderabad. They have some reservations from Pune and hence the seats are empty. These include operators like Sharma / KSRTC / VRL etc
2. Pune to Mumbai
Again the best bet is to hit the bus stand next to Pune station and take a Shivneri. Stay away from Neeta / Metro Link services. But if you stay in places like Aundh / Wakad / Kothrud, then you have no option but to take the private operators. All the best!!
Related Reading:
Metro Link Experience
Neeta Experience
KSRTC Volvo experience
I have used KSRTC volvo service lot of times, mostly between Pune and Davanagere and back. The latest one was around a week back from Davanagere to Pune.
A week back, rates of other (VRL Volvo Read, Read, SHARMA Volvo
Read) travel opeators were very high. My ticket was booked from the Davanagere KSRTC bus stand on the 1900BNGPNQ (leaves Bangalore at 7pm). First of all, on the ticket it was mentioned the bus would reach Davangere by 11:30pm. I have traveled between Bangalore and Davanager and knew the bus would not reach before 12pm at any cost. So I reached the bus stand at midnight, just to wait for a full one hour before it turned up.
I had paid a full fare of Bangalore-Pune, but luckily got the seat behind the driver. The journey was good, but I alteast expected a complimentary water bottle. It seemed that other passengers who got on from Bangalore did get a bottle. We left Davanagere at 1am, and reached Pune by 10:30am. Had a morning break at around 7am, but the thing that bothered me was that when the bus stopped, the staff said it would be a 10min break. It turned out to be a 30min for no reason. The staff took all the time in the world to get back to the bus.
I have read such instances online - KSRTC is getting a bad name due to its staff!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Volvo B7R pics
Here are some pictures of different Volvo B7R buses being used by different bus operators.
NEETA VOLVO
NEETA VOLVO AGAIN
PRASANNA / METRO LINK VOLVO
SHIVNERI VOLVO
SHIVNERI AGAIN
Look closely and you will notice that the Swami and Neeta's second Volvo are the first generation B7Rs (see the front wheel - they are running on drum brakes as compared to disc in the other buses)
Also, none of these are the latest CRDi version B7Rs which were launched Jan last year!
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR VOLVO TICKET ONLINE NOW!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Hyundai Travels : Pune to Udaipur / Udaipur to Pune
While searching for more long distance buses from Pune, I happened to know about this. Hyundai travels operates a Non Volvo service from Pune to Nathdwara via Mumbai and Udaipur.
This bus leaves Pune (D.P road) at 3pm and reaches Udaipur the next day by around 11am or so. They dont claim the bus to be airconditioned, but the bus does have an A/C. What they say is that sometimes it doesnt work and hence they dont promise A/C services. The fare for sleeper is around Rs 900, and for the seater is around Rs 700.
The bus is also said to have a toilet on board! It has a mix of seating as well as sleeping (all 2*1)
The bus bypasses Mumbai and goes via Ghatkopar and hence is able to reach Udaipur by around 11amish.
Contact Details
Pune : Karan travels - 020-26121244
Udaipur : 09352524253
