After the sudden spree of agents booking of tatkal ticket, it has become an easy thing to see 64 odd tickets vanish around 8:03am (sigh!). So we decided to book the tickets in redbus.in for the travel to my home town. Soon after the failed attempts in IRCTC, we queried redbus.in, few tickets available in one or two buses. One travels called Sangita, claimed in bold letters, "executive A.C. bus with 2+2 seater". Price of the ticket was Rs 930. First, I have never seen a bus ticket so pricey, second never booked bus ticket for ages. So we took the call and booked the tickets.
Friday, 9:45 PM Koyembedu bus terminus.
Friday, 9:45 PM Koyembedu bus terminus.
As the auto was nearing the bus terminus, traffic started to move inch after inch, we got down and decided to take a walk. (nostalgia of Majestic, BLR traffic). A mob of people were waiting to board their respective buses. Soon our bus was announced and we moved to board it.
On the first sight of the bus, I did not believe it was our bus and I started to look around for another volvo. Didn't spot any. Soon I inquired about the bus and where it was heading. Was shocked, when he said 'Yes, it was the bus'. It was a normal bus with sliding window and the interiors forcefully remodeled to work as A.C. bus. Sigh! Normal push back seat. Adding to it, AC duct right above our seat was broken and it was chilling the spine. Soon I had to stuff my hand kerchief to control it. Seats that bend unevenly, broken air conditioner from which the defrost water started to drop on the head, -cramped leg space and ...
Trouble did not stop there, one passenger learnt that he had got a high priced ticket (Rs1200/-) and started to yell that he was cheated. But no one listened, soon he demanded that they screen a movie on the t.v. since he had paid so much money. So they started it at 11:00 PM, and movie ended at 1:30 AM and we had a pit stop at 2:15 AM for break. Finally tried to sleep around 4 AM and the bus reached at 8:00 AM.
So who is to be blamed for these high priced tickets?
One thing is clear, the Sangita travels guys said that he got Rs 450/- for the ticket, rest the agent kept for himself. So is it redbus.in to be blamed to hike the price on demand? Unknown! Bottom line, start planning early, redbus.in sucks and I don't recommend it and I will try avoiding it at any cost.
On the first sight of the bus, I did not believe it was our bus and I started to look around for another volvo. Didn't spot any. Soon I inquired about the bus and where it was heading. Was shocked, when he said 'Yes, it was the bus'. It was a normal bus with sliding window and the interiors forcefully remodeled to work as A.C. bus. Sigh! Normal push back seat. Adding to it, AC duct right above our seat was broken and it was chilling the spine. Soon I had to stuff my hand kerchief to control it. Seats that bend unevenly, broken air conditioner from which the defrost water started to drop on the head, -cramped leg space and ...
Trouble did not stop there, one passenger learnt that he had got a high priced ticket (Rs1200/-) and started to yell that he was cheated. But no one listened, soon he demanded that they screen a movie on the t.v. since he had paid so much money. So they started it at 11:00 PM, and movie ended at 1:30 AM and we had a pit stop at 2:15 AM for break. Finally tried to sleep around 4 AM and the bus reached at 8:00 AM.
So who is to be blamed for these high priced tickets?
One thing is clear, the Sangita travels guys said that he got Rs 450/- for the ticket, rest the agent kept for himself. So is it redbus.in to be blamed to hike the price on demand? Unknown! Bottom line, start planning early, redbus.in sucks and I don't recommend it and I will try avoiding it at any cost.
9 comments:
The basic problem is dumb-ass Government policies, that are outdated. When KSRTC is allowing tickets to be booked via net, TN still expects people to come to the bus stand to book ticket (and that too before 6:00 PM atleast in BLR)
I wish they legalize private players in transport, so that all these daylight robbery of air-bus will go out of business.
Another problem is, railways are always managed by north-indian ministers and so the number of trains between chennai-blr, coimbatore-blr, coimbatore-chennai are always less (when compared with mumbai-pune etc.) [From what I've heard from many]
@Sankar : Chennai- blr service is good. I have almost always gotten tickets. It was never as desperate as the cbe-blr route.
@Vijesh : my back bone is still screaming insults at me. That was one yuck ride we had, no?
@Abirami: Oh Okay. However, It must be too tough for you city-grown-up to be settled in a village like CBE ;-)
@Sankar Objection! Coimbatore is a mature city, but not lavish or flamboyant. Not many cities in TN can beat it in climate. to note, I'm the one who is settled in chennai. :P
@Abirami actually I have traveled many such, so I'm seasoned to it by now.
@Vijesh: In weather updates, I consistently see CBE hotter than Chennai. Probably after ulaga-thamizh-maanadu preparation by cutting-trees.
@Sankar Agreed, but when I go there, I feel its much more pleasant. It also has a good breeze, thro out the year.
first, in my opinion, its no-way the fault of redbus.in . so, i dont agree with the subject. but still, if anything which can be made better in redbus.in, they can have any representative check/verify what the Travels guys has entered in their site. And, one good thing is, they have an option of feedback/rating against those travels buses on their site.
And if you have tried to read the feedback of this particular Sangitha Travels, i bet, u wont hav got good review. then the only thing, which makes them, to still survive in this travels business is, they open the reservation of ticket very late (very much closer to the travel date), which is the only last resort we have, when we dont hav any other buses to choose, as they get full long before. so, people who want to do all those reservations in mouse-clicks, dont want to roam around and approach travel agents, have no other choice.
and once, i too had this adventurous experience in Sangita Travels bus... the same AC problem, A/C controller knob not working, couldnt turn off the reader light, water leaking, variable push-back, searching for some meaning for the word 'leg-space' in the bus, etc, etc, etc... and on the way back, had to exchange my seat, which i reserved 4 days back, to some north indian couple, who booked it 40 mins back, as i was not there in that seat when they came and checked 40 mins before the start of the bus, though the bus started more than 1 hour delayed, and justified/argued that 'they are saying they cannot sleep sitting in the first seat row', etc etc... it was really an adventurous journey in Sangitha Travels... so, its to blame us, to book in that travels...
@red I slightly differ. Since the travel guy has sold the ticket directly from his booking office for 450/- Also he claims that he has got only 450/- for the other tickets that are booked by agents.
Also I did not really have the urge to read the review in redbus.in, since one of the last option to travel in train, went in vein.
Btw, surprised that you traveled in redbus! :)
@vijesh : well, red owns redbus (pardon the mokkai. well, he travels in *any thing*. Don't know the number of times I have nagged him to reserve a train ticket :D
@sankar : city bred? me? that's an insult to a thanjavur thamizhachi :-)
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