KSRTC Airavat Club CLass B9R Multiaxle VOLVO Semi Sleeper Journey Review

Operator : KSRTC

Depot : Bangalore Depot 4

Category : Airavat Club Class B9R VOLVO Semi Sleeper

Regd Number : KA01 F 9289

Basic Route : Bangalore to Kolhapur

Journey Route : Belgaum to Kolhapur

Date of Journey : 4th April 2013

Departure (Belgaum) : 05:20 hrs

Arrival (Kolhapur) :  07:00 hrs

Amenities : 

(a) Drinking Mineral Water 

(b) Blankets for Night Journey

(c) Television Entertainment 

Fare : Rs 205/- (Now Rs 236/-)

Journey scheduling and booking :

It was time for a planned monthly visit to Pune for my personal work. As I always try to make my journey to Pune adventurous, trying out different operators on Belgaum to Pune stretch, sometimes doing break journey from Belgaum to  Pune via Kolhapur, I thought of trying out the KSRTC “Sleep like a Baby” Multiaxle :) I mean the KSRTC Airavat Club Class B9R multiaxle VOLVO upto Kolhapur from Belgaum and further continuing my journey with a different operator.

As far as booking is concerned, I thought of taking an onboard ticket on the Club Class B9R, as it’s a short journey between Belgaum and Kolhapur of a 110 kms.

Journey Day :

On the morning of 4th April 2013, I headed towards Belgaum Central Bus Terminus (CBT) at 04:30 hrs, as the scheduled departure of the Club Class was at 05:20 hrs, according to the KSRTC website, which means it is scheduled to arrive atleast 15 minutes before at around 05:00 hrs in the morning.

I arrived CBT at 04:45 hrs from my house at Tilakwadi and awaited arrival of the Club Class. In order to have an idea of the status of the arrival and departure of my multiaxle, I went to the announcement cum enquiry section of CBT to ask about details. The NWKRTC personal told that, the arrival of the Club Class to Kolhapur depends on the traffic, sometimes it arrives on time, else sometimes its half an hour late.

After taking the information, my wait for the B9R started. It was 05:00 hours, no signs of the same. Half an hour passed by, 05:30 hrs till no whereabouts.  At 06:00 hrs, my suspicion was whether it has gone through by pass, if there were no passenger drops in Belgaum :( 

Thoughts of taking a NWKRTC Saarige also started crawling on my mind, as an alternative as I had to proceed towards Pune further.

But with the grace of Almighty, finally at 06:10 hrs – the white elephant of KSRTC – Airavat Club Class B9R Multiaxle VOLVO with Bengaluru – Kolhapura board arrived at Belgaum CBT with all its grace :)

I was happy because that was my first Airavat Club Class journey ever, doesn’t matter for a small route from Belgaum to Kolhapur.

Since the Club Class was late by a good 1 hrs 10 minutes, it stopped at a distance away from the CBT platform. I had to run to it, for boarding since there were other passengers too, who were rushing to it for a seat. I was hopeful to get a seat, as i was affirmative that may be some seats will be vacant. After some passengers deboarded at Belgaum, it was my turn to board finally.

I saw some seats lying vacant in the middle rows of the B9R. Finally caught hold of a window seat. Most passengers bound to Kolhapur were asleep in their seats, as it was early morning in Belgaum. 

After 5 minutes, the crew arrived after reporting in the counter and the conductor took out the tickets of the passengers from Belgaum to Kolhapur.

Finally, at 06:20 hrs our Club Class left CBT Belgaum leaving fort lake behind as we touched NH4 soon.

I was feeling nostalgic with the aroma inside the Club Class, these are small things which always makes me feel different in different VOLVOs :p I was feeling happy and smiling as I crossed kakti towards Kolhapur. After a long wait, I was undertaking a journey on one of my favorite VOLVO multiaxle for the first time.

Soon the B9R took high speeds, cruising like a speedstar. I took out my android mobile and checked the speed on my speedo app :

It was a nice feeling, as we crossed 100+ . :) After checking the speed, I finally dozed off in the cosy semi sleeper seat, as I had woke up early that morning for the journey. At 07:20 hrs I woke up near Kagal, after crossing Maharashtra – Karnataka Border. A passenger requested a drop at Kagal on the highway, after the drop we approached towards Kolhapur. Finally we took a diversion from NH4, towards Kolhapur city at 07:35 hrs. After drops at Shivaji university and Kavla Naka finally it was time to get down at Central Bus Stand, Kolhapur (CBS) which was the last drop point in Kolhapur. I reached CBS Kolhapur at 07:45 hrs.  As I bid goodbye to my White Elephant in Kolhapur, my journey would have meaningless without a pic of the Club Class . :) 

Here is a pic of the KSRTC Airavat Club Class B9R Multiaxle at Kolhapur doing its usual Bangalore – Kolhapur route, on which I travelled from Belgaum :

Summary and Ratings :

Crew : Well dressed in Uniform, Well behaved . Rating : 5/5

Bus maintenance : Good and comfortable Semi sleeper seats, Clean blankets, Rating 5/5

Speeding : sedate driving at a max of 101 kmph, No unrequired overtakes, No honking horns unnecessarily. Rating : 5/ 5

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Conclusion and feedback :

I would like to travel with KSRTC Airavat Club Class again. I am happy to have travelled on Club Class, doesn’t matter if it’s was small journey from Belgaum to Kolhapur. KSRTC VOLVO crew are always well dressed and well behaved, which totally defines professionalism. The Amenities provided are upto mark for a long distance journey. 

Will I recommend the operator on this route : A BIG YES :)