A review of Bangalore - Hyderabad Bus service

I've been travelling on this route  more than once a month for nearly 2 years. I would like to think I've been thru it all - good, bad and ugly. Even though reviews on redbus are helpful, having bad experience on reputed buses are not uncommon.Here's my review of all the bus services I have traveled on so far....


1. KSRTC - Punctual, fixed rates. They don't hike the price during weekends and festive season. I was traveling on a sleeper once. Couple of passengers got off to pee. The conductor didn't pay attention and we left without one passenger. The bus waited for nearly 30mins at the next traffic light and went back looking for him. Finally got him at the next Ksrtc check post. None of the private agencies would have done this!The big downside is no pick up or drop off. Only MGBS -Majestic.Beware, Ksrtc non-AC buses(Rajahamsa) suck. Seats are uncomfortable and the bus makes a stop at 1am to fill 1-2 seats.

2. APSRTC- Close to Ksrtc. But not as good. When I ask the conductors for a ticket, they say 1000. Difficult to say if they were just kidding or wanted to overcharge. Buses are not as well maintained as Ksrtc.


3. Diwakar, Jabbar travels - Life just goes on with diwakar travels. They have lots of buses, both AC and non-AC. Damn driver left without picking me up. Didn't stop even after waving, screaming, & beating on the bus. Had to take an auto to Lakdikapul. Driver blamed it on someone else. No refund, of course.Diwakar's non-AC bus is usually filled with bed bugs. I've traveled twice without sleep. If you complain to the agents they just blame it on you. Otherwise, the service is good. The bus doesn't even go to Lakdikapul and get caught in traffic/chaos. Any bus which avoids lakdikapul/Anand rao circle is good.

4. Dhanunjaya, Kaleshwari - Not much difference between the two. Both have good service. But beware, Kaleshwari doesn't do much if you are late at the pick up point. Both increase price based on demand.

5. Kesineni - One of my favs. Punctual, calls before pick up. Never increases price. You can book 45 days in advance on their website.

6. VRL - Recent entry. Introduced lots of buses on this route(~6). Had a great intro offer -400/- from blr-hyd on a double axel volvo! Those days are long gone.VRL is pretty decent, but they increase price at every opportunity they get. Where's the customer service? The idiots don't even care to call before pickup. You miss the bus, you're screwed. VRL is never early. They use 2 drivers. This is the only agency that has 2 drivers on this route. Some of their buses are not well maintained. The volvo that departs from hyd around 7pm has a faulty suspension. They've been fixing it for 6months now. Remember- no free water bottle in VRL. I really don't understand why every VRL bus has to go to VRL's bus stop in Anand rao circle before departing. This just results in more delay. I know it helps them with logistics, but think about the customers sitting in the bus and just waiting.

7. HKB - Another fav of mine. Always on time. Calls before pickup. Drops to Kondapur! Never increases ticket prices. Same price for single/multi axel. Free chips, goodday biscuit and aquafina. But I'm sick of the same goodday flavor. Time to change guys.On the downside, HKB doesn't stop for dinner. They do stop for a pee break. But ladies beware, the pee stop is on roadside.Had one bad exp with HKB. They changed my ticket without informing me. A call would have been nice. But still these guys are way better than other travels.

8. Sindhu - Another new player on this route. They have lots of buses on other routes. Nothing special. They suck. Redbus has 4/5 rating. They don't deserve it at all. Pick up is by van. It gets crowded. The van drops off at lakdikapul. You'll have to wait for the bus for nearly 1hr.These idiots(and redbus website) said they drop off at BTM layout. But they don't. Just another lie to make some money.

9. Omer, Saleem, SL travels, AP tours n travels, Vishal & other bastards - avoid at all cost. Better not to travel at all. AP tours n travels has rats in their AC bus. I would rather go to MGBS from hitech city and then travel on Ksrtc/Apsrtc.

10. Kaveri Kamakshi - decent. The customer service is nice, almost professional. They don't drop off at KPHB.

11. SRS - decent. No bus pick up. Van pick up -- lakdikapul--bus. Just like VRL, they hike the fare when demand increases. Who the hell wants to pay 1200/- for a backseat in Isuzu. Recently, they've started departing 1hr late(~11pm).

12. SNR, Sharma, SRE - slightly better than omer and gang. If SNR is not full, this guy is gonna wait overnight to fill the bus. Try to avoid. Sharma seats are not comfy. SRE departs from Kacheguda. Pick up is by van. Takes 2.5hrs from hitech to Kacheguda.

13. Geepee - slightly better than omer and the gang. My very first hyd-blr trip was on non-ac Geepee. The pick up van was late. I called him like a 100 times. Came at 9.30 instead of 7.30.


Redbus(the website) - really good to have redbus. But sometimes it's just annoying. Why can't a website work all the time, or atleast on friday/sunday evenings. I select a seat on the bus, proceed to payment, enter all payment details, and then I get "this seat is booked, please select another". Why can't I get this message before I enter the freakin payment details. This continues like a cat n mouse game until I quit and just book thru ksrtc.


Makemytrip - horrible customer service. Looks like they don't have a dedicated department for bus segment. The travel agency numbers on the ticket are almost always wrong. Check before you travel.


Travelyaari - new player. Started by a bunch of IIMs. Who cares. Just make it work and make it work well. And yeah! if you want my business, give some discounts.


New Munawar dhaba - Why not review this too. This place is Overcrowded. Food tastes good. But every time I've eaten here, my throat is soar after I wake up. My advice - eat before you travel or get something packed (May I recommend KFC). Don't forget to have tea at munawar. It's really good. I think most buses stop here, so that the driver and cleaner can eat free.VRL stopped at another place before munawar. I don't remember the name. It was like a semi-resort. The 100/- buffet was awesome. Of course, they never stopped here again. Food quantity wasn't enough it seems!
Maybe you've realized by now that I am a last minute traveler. Redbus has failed me numerous times on Fridays! Without Kstrc, I'd be screwed.I think Kstrc and HKB won't increase the ticket price, even if it's the last day on Earth.
What about Trains?Traveling on train, means leaving office early, which means missing meetings etc.The worst thing about train is, it takes longer than the bus. huh! C'mon SC railways, introduce a train from hitech city to Bangalore.I used to love traveling on trains. But recent experience hasn't been so good - cockroaches all over, people smoking (happened once). Moreover I have to go to Kacheguda and Yeshwantapur to board the train.Both far far away from hitech city and BTM layout. The best thing about train is sleep - you can sleep like a baby. I've never been able to sleep well on a bus, no matter how comfy.If you ever plan to travel on this route, avoid the greedy ones and omer gang at all cost.

Take care of the customer and the business will take care of itself.                                                                                                                - Ray Kroc