Karnataka Private Transportation : Photos & Updates

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Where are they going to allow parking of trucks?

I think one can live now without cars and two-wheelers as buses are available almost to every place except remote villages but living without trucks is impossible as you need them for transporting essential items like vegetables, grains, cooking gas, etc.

Constructing ramps for aged and handicapped is fine. But, the current design of busstops force people to walk between vehciles getting in and getting out of parking areas.

[schumi0101]

Date: 23/6/2012
Route: Mumbai to Mangalore
Operator : VRL
Regn Number: KA 25 D1400

About a month ago my friend invited me to Mangalore to attend his bachelor's party however, two weeks ago I was informed at my office to visit Mumbai to undergo a training session. I'd to do a lot of thinking on whether to visit Mangalore or to cancel my visit as my last day of work in Mumbai was on 22nd June and the party scheduled on 24th June. I discussed the same with my friend's and upon lot of insistence from my friends I decided to visit Mangalore from Mumbai. Thus began my bus hunting session. I knew there were many reputed operators such as Canara Pinto, Anand, VRL, Neeta, Southern Tourist, KSRTC who operate regular buses to Mangalore.

Initially I thought of taking Canara Pinto which leaves Mumbai around 12:30pm on Saturday. However i was also meeting a friend in Mumbai and he asked me to spend a day with him at Mumbai. Finally with all the confusion I was left with either Neeta, Southern Tourist and VRL which by the way departs 2:30pm, 3pm and 5:30pm respectively. I have heard some real bad reviews about Neeta and did not want to risk booking my tickets on it. Tried booking for Southern but only the last row seats were available. Checked in VRL and finally got lucky and booked a window seat.

An hour before my pickup from Dahisar, I got a message from VRL informing me about the regn number of the bus. Reached the boarding point just minutes before the departure. All thanks to the autowallahs in Mumbai. I was refused by almost 10 guys before getting lucky. Anyways I waited for almost 10minutes and finally she showed up.

The bus was brand new, could see the covers still on few seats, leather seats with a combination of maroon and white, pleasant interiors and the temp inside the bus was also very cool. The bus had done around 40000kms on the odo. The crew including the cleaner were uniformed. I was carrying a heavy backpack which had my laptop, camera to name a few. I was worried to stash my luggage at the belly hence got it on board and was thinking whether she would make it inside the overhead carrier and to my surprise she did it with ease.

I was the only pick up at that point and my friend had come to see me off. I got inside and requested the driver if he could drop my friend off to Kandivali, which by the way is just few stops from Dahisar. The driver strictly refused and started to drive. The bus had come in from Borivali (W) and had around 5 passengers sitting at their seats. I settled down and looked outside the window while the bus was crawling near Andheri and fell into a power nap. When I woke up the bus was still in Sion and had stopped to pick up few passengers. A lady at the door was arguing with the driver for coming in late and she had to wait for almost 30mins. The crew were very polite and apologized to the lady saying they were caught up in traffic. Again I slipped back into a nap and when I woke up the bus was in Chembur and was going around in circles.The bus had to pickup some parcels and passengers here but since it's a busy junctions, cops wont allow any pvt operators to pick up passengers at the point. Though the passengers boarded the bus, the parcels had not arrived yet. Hence the bus was being driven around a circle for almost 5 times wasting fuel and time by the time we completed the 5th round of circling the parcels had arrived and the bus pulled over at the side and the parcels were loaded. A traffic cop was noticing this all the while came running and warned our bus driver to move.

Finally the bus crawled out of Mumbai and reached Navi Mumbai where a checking agent from VRL came inside the bus with the passenger list, ensured if everyone was on board and got off the bus. The bus took the expressway and stopped at a food mall for dinner at 8:30pm The dinner halt was brief and after the dinner the bus which was crawling on Mumbai's crowded streets unleashed it's power. The driving was very sedate, no risky maneuvers, no harsh braking or overspeeding. The bus was constantly driven at 95kmph and very occasionally touched a three figure mark. The fastest being 117kmph showed by the GPS on my cellphone. After a couple of minutes we caught up with a Neeta Multi Axle Merc Benz and she was trying her best to stay ahead but our monster showed no respite and overtook her after which I never saw her again. We reached Pune by 11:30pm while few passengers got down and few more boarded the bus. An old bollywood flick was being shown on the screens and the moment it got over the cleaner came over closed down the screen and I slipped into a deep sleep.

The next thing I remember was when the cleaner came back and woke us all up stating the bus will be stopping for refreshment and Breakfast. I woke up and saw the time and it was 7:30am. Got down from the bus and asked the watchman about our whereabouts. He told me that we were in Ankola. The bus had covered around 540kms in 8hrs and that was some impressive driving. It was also my longest sleep in a bus. The bus was halted for almost 30mins while the passengers got freshened up and had breakfast.

The bus again departed by 8:05am and was driven amazingly well on the highway with speeds of 60-65kmph on a two lane highway. I got up and walked over to the front to enjoy the beautiful view of the Marvanthe Beach on the right and the back waters on the left. Soon after this the bus reached Kundapur followed by Udupi where almost all the passengers got down. The bus dropped me off at Lalbagh junction at 12:30pm. Overall an amazing journey and the best part of it was I never felt tired and headed out to my friend's place to enjoy a great party.

Attached are few pics I took when the bus stopped for breakfast at Kamat Restaurant. Also attached is a video of bus passing through the lovely Marvanthe beach on NH-17








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLdmt...layer_embedded

[hakindian1984]

fb/nakknikk

[kadri_007]

Buses from Chickmaglur District in Karnataka. The greenery of western ghats adds beauty to these buses.







More pics : Chickmaglur bus pics - Click here

[s.yogendra]

http://epapervijayavani.in

[s.yogendra]

http://epapervijayavani.in

[s.yogendra]

Madikeri to get private bus shelter

The long pending demand of the residents of Madikeri to have a private bus shelter will be realised soon. The work on the bus shelter will be taken up at the earliest. With the High Court quashing the PIL filed by an individual against the construction of the private bus shelter in the identified land, the process for the construction of the bus shelter has begun.


The present private bus shelter situated in the heart of the city is highly congested. With the increase in number of vehicles, there is not enough space for the parking of the buses.
A full-fledged bus shelter will come up on three acre land belonging to Agriculture University, Bangalore, on Race Course road.

The Agriculture University had handed over its land to the district administration in 2009 itself. Later, the district administration handed over the land to the CMC to take up the work. However, a PIL filed in the High Court against the construction of the private bus shelter in the agriculture land in 2010, affected the construction of the bus shelter. Now, the High Court has quashed the PIL.


The CMC had prepared detailed project report of the bus shelter in 2009. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 7.85 lakh.


The bus shelter building will have a hotel, lodge and hall. The work on the shelter will be taken up on BOT basis. The private company will be given contract for 25 years to maintain the bus shelter. The tender will be invited shortly, said CMC commissioner Shashikumar.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...s-shelter.html

[rocky23]

Buses of Chickmagalur District(Mangaluru-Shivamoga)

image hosted on flickr

DSC_0703 by rakeshsr_2004, on Flickr

[rocky23]

Tiny,tidy cute mini bus

image hosted on flickr

DSC_0702 by rakeshsr_2004, on Flickr

[ravi_shankar]

Originally Posted by s.yogendra

Sharma Multi-Axle Bus speeding on NH-4 gives a good pursuit for our Speeding Shimoga Intercity Express

Thanks for copying My video and posting here.... Whoever copied this Gave 513 views out of 10,000 views.

[prince02]

Originally Posted by s.yogendra

Madikeri to get private bus shelter

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...s-shelter.html

How are the KSRTC buses in Madikeri? How is their service?

[ravi_shankar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAeTGAaqw3g

[s.yogendra]

Amazing video Ravishankar sir

plz post it in KSRTC thread also - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...75022&page=142

[Manjunath kasigavi]

RR Bus Services doing Hubli - Belgaum


image hosted on flickr

[N!th154]

Ashoka doing B'lore to kannur

[N!th154]

Virajpet buses

[hakindian1984]

CHIKMAGALUR: Workers of a private bus company, who were faced with the tough choice of losing their jobs 22 years ago, turned it into an opportunity by starting their own bus company. Locally called 'Sahakara Sarige', the Transport Co-operative Society of Koppa, has created history by running buses in Koppa, Sringeri and Narasimharajapur after the closure of Shankar Transport Bus Company 22 years ago.

In 1990, the private bus company announced lockout as it was reluctant to meet the demands of its workers. The workers, who were faced with the threat of losing their sole livelihood, were helped by trade union leader B K Sundresh to start their own bus company on co-operative basis.

When the workers took up on the proposal, it was mocked upon and every one predicted that the company would be shut down within months. But the workers managed to silence the naysayers by gathering 125 workers, who became the company's shareholders, and raised an initial capital of Rs 12 lakh. The company now has 80 buses, transacts Rs 12 crore annually and employed 300 workers.

In 1998, the University of Ritsumekin of Kyoto city in Japan heard of the 'Sahakara Sarige' and sent a 21-member team to Koppa to study the transport company run on co-operative basis. The company grabbed the curiosity of the government too which granted Rs 5 lakh in 1999.

Now, the Sahakara Sarige has decided to open its own bank and automobile parts store in Malnad taluks. It has opened workshops at Koppa and Sringeri.

The society has won accolades from several corners. The state government considered it as the best co-operative institution in the state.

TCS president G R Vishwanath said for the year 2011-12, the company has earned Rs 6 lakh profit and they have decided to open a spare parts sales and service centre to cater to the needs of all types of vehicles by using condemned spare parts.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c.../16718240.cms?

[N!th154]

More Buses from South Coorg

[s.yogendra]

Private bus fare likely to go up in Dakshina Kannada soon

The decision will be taken after considering opinions: DC

The private bus fare is most likely to go up in the district soon. The decision would be announced at the next Regional Transport Authority meeting, the date for which has not been announced yet.

Chairing the RTA meeting at the DC’s office on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner and RTA Chairman Dr N S Channappa Gowda, who heard the versions of the private bus operators and the members of general public, said that the decision on increasing the private bus fare will be taken based on the opinions expressed by both the sides.

The private operators have demanded for thehike the fare, in the wake of increase in prices of petroleum products.

Some of the associations, representing the public, opposed the 15 per cent hike demanded by the bus operators.

Speaking on be half of the public, Nagarika Hitharakshana Vedike President Hanumanth Kamath said that though 15 per cent hike does create an illusion that it is a small hike, the reality is different.

“When the 15 per cent hike is converted into rupees, it will lead to an increase of at least Rs three per ticket for every stage. Hence, the extra bucks that one has to spend for traveling would be considerably high,” he argued. He also questioned that if the KSRTC buses could earn profit, by maintaining the same fare. Why private operators are demanding upward fare revision?

Another citizen Sadananda said that if the minimum fare of government buses is Rs 4, it is already Rs 5 in the private buses.

“The over crowded private buses carry the load three times more than the actual capacity are definitely earning profit. There was no need for them to seek fare revision,” he said.

Former Panchayat member Ismail from Someshwar accused the private bus operators of providing wrong information to the RTA. The price for spare parts have not gone up. Though tyres are costing more, , it could be managed, as some of the spare parts have become cheaper, he said.

Govt city buses

The members of public demanded the RTA to introduce more number of KSRTC city buses on new routes and not to cancel the already introduced buses on seven routes on temporary permit. Hanumanth Kamath urged the RTA not to cancel the permits of KSRTC city buses on Mangalore-Mudipu route, budging to the private bus lobby.

Though the private bus owners have approached the High Court and the issue is now before the RTA, the RTA should take a decision in favour of the public by not cancelling or revising the permit, he said.

The DC refused to comment as the matter is sub judice.

DK District Association for Physically Challenged President Dinesh Shetty said that 50 per cent concession should be given for the physically challenged in private buses.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...likely-go.html

[N!th154]

Durgamba Started new volvo service to Kundapura Mysore route Please any one can post new Volvo bus photo's ......