Schumi0101: May 2024

Saturday, 4 May 2024

KKRTC| Kalyana Karnataka Saarige| Cabin ride|Bidar to Kalaburagi| Non Stop Service

It had been a while since I travelled on this stretch between Bidar and Gulbarga. After reaching Bidar Bus Stand, I had to wait patiently for 45mins watching non stop buses departing towatrds Gulbarga. The buses were brand new BS6 front door buses which were recently inducted by KKRTC. Approx after 45mins, it was the turn of my bus which was waiting in the queue. It was a BS4, Ashok Leyland painted with Blue and White livery. Fare: ₹127/- I boarded the bus and headed straight to the front row seat(Single seat). I checked with the crew if I could occupy the seat and the response was positive. Within no time the bus was full and we departed. The heat was unbearable as we exited Bidar and headed towards Gulbarga. Most part of the highway was 4 lane with some construction activity happening at few plavces but what kept me enthralled was the sound of the gruntling engine next to me. After a 2hr 20mins ride with a short stop at Humnabad Bus Stand, we reached Gulbarga Central Bus Stand.

KSRTC| Airavat Club Class| Cabin ride|Mysuru to Bengaluru|VolvoB9R

KSRTC| Airavat Club Class| Cabin ride|Mysuru to Bengaluru|VolvoB9R It was time to head home from Mysore and reached the Mysore Bus Stand. Bangalore bound buses were all lined up for departure. However, it had been a while since I tried the erstwhile Volvo B9R. I knew a bus from ooty was scheduled to arrive however, was not sure about its timings. Hence, I boarded an EV Power+ bus and was settling in when my friend comfirmed that the bus is reaching soon. He had co-ordinated with the crew of the bus and thanks to his efforts, I was now sure of getting a seat for the ride back home. Journey Date: 1st March 2024 Fare: ₹390/- After alighting from the EV bus, i waited for a mere 5mins and the bus showed up. The bus had departed from Ooty at 11:18 AM and its scheduled time to reach Mysore was 15:45hrs. However, the bus was running early and reached at 15:15hrs. Most of the passengers alighted here while a remaining few stayed back. Myself and one more person boarded the bus and the crew without wasting anytime resumed the journey. The bus quickly made its way out of Mysore city and the crew change happened just before getting on the highway. The friendly crew obliged my request for a cabin ride and thus the journey started. The bus was being driven at good speeds and with the new highway, we were inching closer to Bangalore at every passing minute. We reached the famous drone pint on the highway and to my delight we encountered Gol Gumbaz express with an EMD heading towards Bangalore as we drover over the bridge. Within no time we entered the Bangalore city limits and were dropped off at Kengeri Bus Stand at 17:20hrs

Ashwamedha Classic| KSRTC| Point to Point Service| Bengaluru to Mysuru|

Ashwamedha Classic| KSRTC| Point to Point Service| Bengaluru to Mysuru| KSRTC in the month of February launched saarige buses in a new avatar, Ashwamedha Classic. These newly inducted buses, which are upgraded versions of Karnataka Saarige buses, will operate on point-to-point routes. The buses come equipped with mobile charger(Only at the front row seat), front and rear LED destination boards, panic buttons and public address system among other features. It was time to try this newly launched service. Journey Date: 1st March 2024 Fare: ₹186/- The bus was already ready for departure towards Mysore from Satellite Bus Stand in Bangalore. Luckily, i was able to grab a front row seat and we left immediately with around 20 seats on board. We picked up few more passengers along the way and the bus had appox 30+ passengers while we departed from Kengeri. Speed locked at 80kmph, driving was very sedate on the Highway. The seats of the bus does not have a proper headrest. This will ensure passengers having a sore neck while travelling on longer routes. Hope KSRTC identified this and makes changes in the next set of buses. Apart from this, the engine noise was bare minimum and in no time we had reached Mandya. With over 100+ buses already delivered, we were able to see many Ashwamedha buses on the opposite lane towards Bangalore. We reached Mysore and were greeted with a line of brand new buses being delivered, heading their way to the depot. The driver of our bus mentioned that Mysore division is expected to get appox 40 buses in the upcoming days. We reached Mysore Bus Stand with a total travel time of 2hrs 20mins

PALLAKKI |KSRTC| Kalaburagi to Davanagere | Non AC Sleeper Bus

Kalaburagi to Davanagere in KSRTC's Pallakki Non AC Sleeper Bus Pallaki buses with a tagline ‘Happiness is travelling was recently introduced by KSRTC to cater overnight journeys. Built on 13.5mtr patform, these buses have 30 sleeping berths and has a facility of reading lamps and mobile charging facilities. The buses have wider berth spaces which ensure a comfortable ride throughout the journey Journey Date: 16th Feb 2024 Fare: ₹967/- I reached Kalaburagi Bus Stand way ahead of the departure time only to spot my bus getting ready for the journey. 20mins before the scheduled departure time, the bus made its way to the platform. I had my ticket checked and made my way to the berth. We had appox 15 passengers in Kalaburagi and another 5+ passengers boarding at destinations along the route. We departed on time and slowly made our way out of the bus stand. After a 20mins ride, we had reached the outskirts of the city and were heading towards Jevargi The bus had to negotiate traffic and speed breakers along the route slowing the speed considerably. We stopped for dinner after a 90mins drive and were soon joined by the gleaming Kalyana Ratha Volvo Sleeper. We resumed our journey on the bumpy roads while I headed for a nap. When I woke up the bus was exiting Hospete Bus Stand and soon headed towards the tunnel. The narrow and curvy roads kept the speeds checked and at appox 6:15AM we reached Davanagere

KALYANA RATHA| KKRTC| Bengaluru to Kalaburgi | Volvo 9600s Sleeper Bus

Kalyana Ratha, KKRTC's newest crown jewel in its inventory. Introduced in August 2023 these swanky Volvo buses based on 9600s platform are the comfortable sleeper buses on the road. KKRTC initially introduced these buses between Bangalore and Sindhanoor and in January 2024 introduced buses from Kalaburgi(Gulbarga) to Bengaluru. The route from Bangalore to Kalaburgi is via Ananthapur, Gooty, Mantralaya, Raichur, Shahapur and Jewargi. Journey Date: 15th Feb 2024 Fare: 1517/- I reached Kempegowda Bus Stand appox 40mins before the departure time of 20:00hrs. However, the bus was not parked at the regular platform catering Gulbarga bound buses However, was parked at the Hyderabad bound bus terminal. I checked in my ticket and made my way to the seat. The bus was neat and well maintained. The bus departed at 20:15hrs, thanks to few passengers showing up late We made our way out of the city by picking up passengers at Esteem mall and Yelahanka and in no time crossed the toll gates near KIAL. The bus was speed locked and was cruising at a max speed of 80kmph. We soon pulled over for dinner near Chikkaballapur. Both the service and dinner here was average and very soon we were joined by other buses heading to Hyderabad We resumed over journey back on NH-44 with the bus steadily being driven. We crossed Karnataka border and entered Andhra Pradesh. We crossed Penukonda and in no time crossed Ananathapur toll. After crosing the toll, we took a deviation towards Gooty. With this deviation, we were all set to say good bye to smooth roads of National Highway and welcomed the battered and bruised roads leading to Gooty and beyond. The roads were narrow at some places making it very difficult for vehicles to pass. The battered roads meant we had to drive very slowly negotiating crater sized potholes. We reached Mantralaya by 3:30am and couple of passengers got down here. We resumed our journey towards Raichur with the road conditions showing no sign of improvement. We headed towards Devadurga and entered Shahapura. The roads here were quite challenging to drive on. The part of the roads where you could drive on were riddled with unscientific speed breakers at every few 100mts and the remaining stretch of the roads had no asphalt. However, the crew did their best to ensure a smooth ride. We were dropped off in Kalaburgi at 8:30am.

Bengaluru to Gokarna| KSRTC| Non AC Sleeper 13.8mtr Proto|

KSRTC in the month of February launched a prototype version of AC and Non AC sleeper buses. These buses which are 13.5-mtr in length has 36 sleeepr berths which were built on Tata LPO 1822/69 chassis by IMAC Coach Builders. Fare: ₹975/- Reaching the bus stand early, i was eagerly waiting for the bus to show up. I had spotted this bus during my previous journey and planned for a journey on the same. The bus arrived and backed up to the platform. Being a weekday, the bus had apox 25+ seats full. The bus departed on time and made its way towards the highway. We pulled over for dinner at Sree Rathnam on NH-4. After the journey we resumed our journey. Initially the bus was travelling via Shivmoga however, was recently changed and now goes via Haveri, Sirsi and Kumta. The bus was speed locked however was not severely underpowered. We reached Haveri in no time and deviated towards Sirsi. We entered Devimane ghat roads and negotiated the roads which are under construction. We reached Kumta before time and took a short break before resuming the journey. Most passengers alighted here and we resumed our journey. We reached Gokarna on time ending an amazing journey from Bangalore to Gokarna --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amoghavarsha|Panaji to Kalaburagi| KKRTC| Non AC Sleeper

KKRTC recently launched Non Ac Sleepers to replace their existing fleet of buses, These buses built on Ashok Leyland chassis are branded as 'Amoghavrasha'. The buses built by Shree Damodar Coach crafts have 30berths with 2x1 configuraton. Fare: ₹975/- These buses have been recently introduced between Kalaburagi and Panaji.We reached Panaji bus stand before time and spotted the bus already parked at the platform. The bus departed 5mins beyond scheduled time due to delay in passengers boarding the bus. We exited city amidst heavy traffice and made our way towards Anmod Ghat. The route of the bus takes us via Belagavi, Bagalkote and Jewargi. We reached the ghat roads and were welcomed with huge truck traffic. We negotiated through bad strecthes of the Ghat road and stopped for Dinner. The food was average but slightly expensive. We resumed our journey and I decided to take a nap. When I wokeup the bus had reached Belagavi around 10:45PM. The bus was constantly being stopped at various checkpost for checking on account of the upcoming elections. We reached Kalaburagi at 6:45AM, delayed due to bad roads and checking related stops along the way. The service is a must try if you have plans of travelling on this stretch

Vijayanand Travels |Hubli to Mumbai| VRL| Volvo 9600s AC Sleeper

Vijayanad Travels(VRL) has recently upgraded their fleet and added Volvo 9600s AC Sleeper coaches. These fully built coaches of Volvo comprises 40 Sleeping berths in 2x1 configuration. Fare: ₹1250/- I reached VRL office at Basava Vana in Hubballi. The place was buzzing with activity. A pickup van soon arived and picked up passengers. My bus was arriving from Bangalore and was running late by 30mins. We reached the pickup point on the highway near Gabbur Toll and waited for 20mins for the bus to arrive. The bus arrive at appox 8:40PM and we departed few mins later. The bus had took a break for dinner immediately after crossing Dharwad Bypass. The place was filled to the brim while the food and washrooms were average. After a 30mins break we resumed our journey while I decided to take a nap. The comfort of Volvo ensured I slept all the way till Satara. I woke up somewhere after Satara. The road construction work and bad patches at certain stretches had delayed the bus further. We reached Pune by 5:50AM. We pulled into their Pune office to find brand new 9600s buses(3nos) and Volvo Eicher AC sleeper (2 nos) awaiting for registration. We resumed our journey and took our breakfast break on the Expressway. After a 20mins break, we resumed our journey again. I was dropped off at Borivali National Park at 10:35AM while the bus headed towards Mira Road

Cabin Ride|KKRTC| Kalyana Karnataka Saarige|Gulbarga to Vijayapura

Fare: ₹ 210/- A Short cabin ride from Kalaburagi to Vijayapura(Bijapur). The distance between these two cities is appox 150kms and takes apox 3.5hrs to complete the journey. We boarded KKRTC's Kalyan Karnataka Saarige from Kalaburagi Central Bus stand and headed towards Bijapura via Jewargi. Witnessed quite a few overtakes along the route before reaching Vijayapura completing the journey in 3.5hrs journey.

NWKRTC|Vijayapura to Hubballi|Airavat Club Class|Volvo AC Semi Sleeper|Travel Vlog

Fare: ₹371/- (Reserved Online) Hubli division has introduced Airavat Club Class (Volvo Semi Sleeper) buses between Hubballi to Vijayapura( Bijapur). We departed at 14:00PM and took the route via UKP, Gaddanakeri Cross, Nargund and Hubli. The bus was driven at a steady pace and the journey took appox 5hrs as we encountered traffice along the route

KSRTC|Pune to Bangalore|Ambaari Dream Class|Volvo AC Sleeper|Travel Vlog

Video Link: KSRTC|Pune to Bangalore|Ambaari Dream Class|Volvo AC Sleeper|Travel Vlog

While the newest edition of sleeper buse are the Ambaari Utsav, Ambaari dream class services were launched few years ago. These buses are built on Volvo B11R chassis. powered by a 10,800cc turbo-diesel engine We decided to try this service for our journey from Pune to Bangalore for two reasons. 1. This bus was built by MG Automotives in which I had not travellled before and teh second reason being the crew was well known to me Fare: ₹2087/- We reached the Pune Swargate bus stand on time to spot the bus being reveresed to this scheduled pickup spot. The crew greeted me and with passengers already waiting, we finished boarding in less than 15mins. We departed on time with the Shirdi-Bangalore service trailing behind us. We exited Pune via Katraj wonder city and soon joined NH48 traveing through New Katraj Tunnel. With the road consruction along the NH, the bus was running slighty behind schedule and we pulled over for Dinner at Hotel Navami. We resumed journey post dinner and entered KA border. Our bus was stopped as a part of routine checking. After spending appox 20min here we resumed our journey again. We crossed Belagavi after which we picked up some speed. The next morning when i woke up we had crossed Chitradurga but the bus was already running late by 40mins. Traffic jam near Tumkur ensured the bus was delayed even further. We stopped for Breakfast for 20mins and resumed our journey. We reached Bangalore (Kempegowds Bus Stand) at 10:30AM delayed by 2.5hrs