Booking on Kerala Lines was a no-brainer. We had taken Kerala Lines to Kerala on our trip to distribute deluge rehabilitation material. It was a precluded decision to book our return also on Kerala Lines. The tickets were booked when we reached their office for the outbound journey (read here) - the requirement was that we wanted a bus that reached Bangalore first - we were given tickets on the Adoor-Bangalore Scania.
October 11, 2018:
It was a very tiring, but a very content day. We wrapped up the day distributing 'return to school' kits to needy students in the Kuttanad area, and then returned to Changanassery. After confirming our pick-up point, we headed to a restaurant nearby for some good dinner and also to get fresh. We took our time to finish dinner and then headed to our pick-up point by around 1915hrs. I had already received an SMS that the bus had some technical issues with its GPS tracker, and hence it was un-trackable. The guy at the office called up the crew for us, and found that the bus was already nearing in. The bus came in at 1933hrs - about 13 minutes late. Boarding took a while - we moved from that agency at 1935hrs, moved a little forward and then waited again. We got moving finally at 1940hrs.
I was quite tired, and just wanted to sleep. We got to Kottayam (Baker Junction) by 2005hrs - picked passengers, and got moving by 2007hrs. There was a bit of traffic after Kottayam - crawling at places (there was an accident) - we got picked up passengers at Ettumanoor (2024hrs), and finally turned towards Kaduthurthy (Ernakulam route). We picked up more passengers at Kaduthuruthy (2044hrs) and moved towards Ernakulam. I dozed off some time in between - and woke up just as the bus was passing Vyttila (2139hrs). We picked a passenger at Kalamassery (2156hrs), and later stopped at a restaurant (Pathiri) for dinner (2158hrs) - I got off the bus for a stroll, took a juice and remained till the crew came back. We got moving from there by 2227hrs. We took in more passengers at Aluva (2232hrs) and continued rushing towards Bengaluru.
I was on a Scania 14.5 after quite long - I was enjoying the matured ride, but the terribly designed AC vents were surely an irritant. We passed Ankamaly by 2246hrs, then stopped briefly at Koratty to pick up a few passengers (2253hrs) and continued. We stopped by at Chalakkudy - 2300hrs - we got moving by 2302hrs. I dozed off after Chalakkudy, waking up only as the lights were turned on - we had stopped at Mannuthy bypass (2331hrs) - I dozed off before the bus started from there. I had a nice long sleep - did wake up in between - the bus was running all the time. There was another Kerala Lines bus for company as we passed Attibele toll. I finally got off at Electronic City toll gate by around 0643hrs - a little beyond scheduled time.
Remarks: The bus, KA-01-AG-9257, had about 3.08 Lakh kilometres on the odo. The crew members drove really well - very smooth and stable driving, with minimal honking. The vehicle was well maintained - there weren't any rattles (except those coming from bags on the overhead rack). Scania ac air vents are terrible - high time something is done about that, though. The run time (end-to-end) was about 11h03m - for about 620-odd kilometres. Overall a very good journey.
Amenities:
Blanket: Yes
Water: No
Snacks: No
Charging Point: Available. Worked.
Entertainment: Available. Not used.
Ratings:
Maintenance: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Driving: 5/5
Crew behaviour: 5/5
Punctuality: 4.85/5 (Acceptable delay)
Overall: 4.95/5
Pros: Value for money, excellent service
Cons: Nothing really - maybe the AC vents!
Will I take this service again? Perfect. Will love to travel again!
October 11, 2018:
It was a very tiring, but a very content day. We wrapped up the day distributing 'return to school' kits to needy students in the Kuttanad area, and then returned to Changanassery. After confirming our pick-up point, we headed to a restaurant nearby for some good dinner and also to get fresh. We took our time to finish dinner and then headed to our pick-up point by around 1915hrs. I had already received an SMS that the bus had some technical issues with its GPS tracker, and hence it was un-trackable. The guy at the office called up the crew for us, and found that the bus was already nearing in. The bus came in at 1933hrs - about 13 minutes late. Boarding took a while - we moved from that agency at 1935hrs, moved a little forward and then waited again. We got moving finally at 1940hrs.
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| The bus - KA-01-AG-9257 |
I was quite tired, and just wanted to sleep. We got to Kottayam (Baker Junction) by 2005hrs - picked passengers, and got moving by 2007hrs. There was a bit of traffic after Kottayam - crawling at places (there was an accident) - we got picked up passengers at Ettumanoor (2024hrs), and finally turned towards Kaduthurthy (Ernakulam route). We picked up more passengers at Kaduthuruthy (2044hrs) and moved towards Ernakulam. I dozed off some time in between - and woke up just as the bus was passing Vyttila (2139hrs). We picked a passenger at Kalamassery (2156hrs), and later stopped at a restaurant (Pathiri) for dinner (2158hrs) - I got off the bus for a stroll, took a juice and remained till the crew came back. We got moving from there by 2227hrs. We took in more passengers at Aluva (2232hrs) and continued rushing towards Bengaluru.
I was on a Scania 14.5 after quite long - I was enjoying the matured ride, but the terribly designed AC vents were surely an irritant. We passed Ankamaly by 2246hrs, then stopped briefly at Koratty to pick up a few passengers (2253hrs) and continued. We stopped by at Chalakkudy - 2300hrs - we got moving by 2302hrs. I dozed off after Chalakkudy, waking up only as the lights were turned on - we had stopped at Mannuthy bypass (2331hrs) - I dozed off before the bus started from there. I had a nice long sleep - did wake up in between - the bus was running all the time. There was another Kerala Lines bus for company as we passed Attibele toll. I finally got off at Electronic City toll gate by around 0643hrs - a little beyond scheduled time.
Remarks: The bus, KA-01-AG-9257, had about 3.08 Lakh kilometres on the odo. The crew members drove really well - very smooth and stable driving, with minimal honking. The vehicle was well maintained - there weren't any rattles (except those coming from bags on the overhead rack). Scania ac air vents are terrible - high time something is done about that, though. The run time (end-to-end) was about 11h03m - for about 620-odd kilometres. Overall a very good journey.
Amenities:
Blanket: Yes
Water: No
Snacks: No
Charging Point: Available. Worked.
Entertainment: Available. Not used.
Ratings:
Maintenance: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Driving: 5/5
Crew behaviour: 5/5
Punctuality: 4.85/5 (Acceptable delay)
Overall: 4.95/5
Pros: Value for money, excellent service
Cons: Nothing really - maybe the AC vents!
Will I take this service again? Perfect. Will love to travel again!
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