Ever since ‘Engeyum Eppothum’ & those stupid KPN accidents, bus journeys have turned hell. They are bloody expensive but still the most effective way of travel. Trains, you ask? HELL NO! In the last 6 years,I’ve taken the train twice, both times I didn’t reach the destination on time triggering a lot of delays! I written off most of my wealth over to ABT/KPN/KSRTC.
I might be in a slightly inebriated state but will still try to write about my experiences with few of these travels
ABT Travels – Run by the ABT group from Pollachi, they started operations around 2006. My goto travel guys, always reliable & ontime . Although they don’t operate Volvos/Benz their buses are above average, maintained better than all the other buses out there. They are probably the only ones who provide the complete travel pack with the sleeping mask,vomit bags,tissues,water & fresh shawls everytime! The first time I took their buses, prices started from 450/- Over the last 4 years their prices have risen to 575/- now. A round trip to Chennai costs almost 1200/- Their biggest letdown is the frequency of trips to each city; they operate only a single bus on each route & if there is a heavy rush(around diwali, pongal) they introduce one other bus. The other minor annoyance is that they let all the seats to be booked online rather than holding up a few for offline booking. Heard a lot of complaints from local guys that all the IT people sitting at their terminals tend to book the tickets a month in advance & they were not able to get any.
KPN Travels – My travel guys by choice & comfort during my initial stint in Bangalore. Had a guy on the inside who used to arrange tickets even an hour before the journey. Always preferred their Volvos, each journey cost north of 600/- 5 years back. Initially the numero uno until ABT/ARC started knocking away their marketshare. Didn’t provide any accessories initially but i guess they do now,not sure though. Biggest advantage is their frequency, had a bus every 15 mins to almost all destinations in Tamil Nadu. Took the biggest hit to reputation when one of buses bound from Chennai took a tumble near Vellore, burning everyone aboard alive. Have also been hearing about bedbugs on almost all their buses due to lack of maintenance. If you stay in a remote part of Tamil Nadu, you didn’t get train tickets, missed your ad-hoc buses via Salem THEN I would suggest going with KPN.
KSRTC – Probably the only state owned transport organization that provided this level of service, in a good way! They have 3 levels of comfort~ first is Rajahamsa which is a A/C~Non A/C Semi Sleeper, pretty decent buses. Next is their Corona/Corona Ambaari coaches, slightly more expensive but still affordable. Buses are pretty good & well maintained. Their top-of-the-line service is Airavat comprising of Volvo & Benz single/multi axle buses. Ultimate in comfort, pretty well maintained & comparitively cheaper than the private ventures like ABT/ARC. All their buses start from the Shanthi Nagar Station in Bangalore and are pretty much on time(give or take 10 minutes). Hard to think of any cons ~they don’t provide any amenities other than the used shawls,that’s all I can think of at the moment.
