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| VRL VOLVO B9R MULTIAXLE SEMI SLEEPER : FILE PIC CLICKED AT BELAGAVI (KARNATAKA) |
Operator : VRL Travels
Category : VRL Volvo B9R 13.7 mtr Multiaxle Semi Sleeper Coach
Regd Number : KA25 C 9347
Journey Route : Belagavi to Bengaluru
Road Distance : 507 Kms
Date of Journey : 2nd May 2018
Departure (VRL Triveni, Belagavi) : 21:00 hrs
Arrival (Anand Rao Circle, Bengaluru) : 06:15 hrs
Amenities : M-Ticket Support, Blankets, Charging Point, CCTV, Overhead Reading Light, Video / Music - Onboard Entertainment, Track my Bus Utility
Fare : Rs 1147/- (including GST)
Ticket Booking Portal : www.vrlbus.in
Journey Scheduling and Booking :
It was only three days past, that i was back to Belagavi from a three months trip to my native of Guwahati (Assam). There was a sudden plan for a Bengaluru visit on 2nd May 2018, and i was busy packing my bags and scheduling a journey plan. Having taken continuous to and fro journeys with my regular tourmate - SRS Travels, I decided to try a VRL Volvo B9R Multiaxle this time, to Bengaluru. With the holiday season on, and buses going totally packed, it was almost difficult to find seats in the front rows of buses. As i searched on the VRL Online portal, I selected a Belagavi origin VRL Volvo B9R Multiaxle to Bengaluru, with departure timing of 21:00 hrs from Triveni, Belagavi with an estimated arrival time of 06:15 hrs in the morning, at Anand Rao Circle, Bengaluru. With almost a packed bus, I booked my seat in the second last row of the coach on the VRL online bus ticket portal (Seat No : 40 encircled in red in the seating layout shown below).
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| SEATING LAY OUT OF VRL VOLVO B9R MULTIAXLE SEMI SLEEPER |
Journey Day :
I hopped on an auto rickshaw near my home, at Maratha Colony, Tilakwadi, Belagavi to Triveni, which was my departure point for the VRL Volvo to Bengaluru. I reached the boarding point at 20:00 hrs, one hour before the scheduled departure of my bus. After waiting for around half an hour, the VRL Volvo with their traditional yellow livery KA25 C 9347 arrived at the departure point. It was an estimated 6 year old Volvo B9R Multiaxle, maintained in an excellent way.
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| VRL VOLVO B9R MULTIAXLE SEMI SLEEPER |
I handed over my cargo baggage to the Bus Crew and boarded the coach. I took my seat on the second last row of the coach, beside the right hand rear emergency exit. The VRL B9R was a semi sleeper coach with calf-support. Blankets were provided for each semi sleeper seat. I checked the mobile charging points. It was kept 'ON' as predicted. An usual ticket-check was done by a VRL official, followed by a gestured 'Thank You' greeting, which i generally miss on the buses of other operators. VRL Crew have good social gestures of greeting the passengers and behaving very well, which makes the travelers happy, thus preferring to travel more on VRL Coaches, over other operators.
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| INTERIORS OF VRL VOLVO B9R MULTIAXLE SEMI SLEEPER |
There was a delay of around 10 minutes from the scheduled departure timing of 21:00 hrs, due to late passenger arrival. At around 21:10 hrs, we finally left Triveni. There was a pick up at Gandhinagar, before we finally hit the NH4 highway at around 21:25 hrs, towards Dharwad, enroute Bengaluru. The driving was sedate with the Volvo multiaxle cruising at an average speed of around 70 - 80 kmph. A well dressed in-uniform VRL crew gets disciplined driving and crew management training at their headquarters at Varur, Hubballi, which makes them perfect for their job. No movie was played on the coach, as it was a late night service, and passengers generally prefer to sleep without disturbance. At 22:25, the VRL B9R took the Dharwad City diversion from NH4 highway for a pick up. After a regular pick up at Dharwad VRL departure point, we left for Hubballi at 22:55 hrs. After half an hour, the coach entered Hubballi, where the last pick up was done. At 23:50 hrs, our coach finally hit the NH4 highway again towards Bengaluru. An one and half hour was spent entering and doing the regulatory passenger pick ups at Hubbali-Dharwad twin cities. Most Belagavi origin premium AC Coaches of the various fleet operators cater to Hubballi-Dharwad passenger pick up as an operation strategy.
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| VRL VOLVO B9R |
Driving on a good average speed, soon we crossed Hubballi City limits, Haveri and Davangere By Pass. I dozed off to sleep, after Davangere to wake up near Chitradurga VRL Rest Stop. It was around 03:00 hrs, early morning. The VRL rest stop is a check point for VRL buses equipped with proper facilities for toilets for gents and ladies, and snack-shops. Its a huge facility with VRL's own petrol pumps for refueling their buses. After a 15 minute break at Chitradurga at VRL rest stop, we again set off towards Bengaluru at around 03:15 hrs. Crossing Tumkuru city limits, we reached Bengaluru outskirts early morning at around 05:15 hrs. With regular passenger drops at 8th cross, Jalahalli cross, Yesvanthpur and Navrang, we finally reached Anand Rao Circle at 06:30 hrs, where i was suppose to get down. The VRL Volvo reached on time, with only 15 minutes delay of its scheduled arrival timing of 06:15 hrs. I got down the coach, collected my cargo baggage against the baggage tag, greeted the VRL crew - a thank you, before leaving to my hotel.
Summary and Ratings :
Crew : Well Behaved Crew. In uniform. Professional VRL Crew, as expected. Rating : 5/5
Bus Maintenance and Amenities : Around 6 years old VRL Volvo B9R Multiaxle Coach. Well maintained with clean interiors. Mobile charging points kept ON throughout the journey, and blankets provided inside the coach. I suggest VRL providing 500 ml (half litre) mineral water bottles in future for passenger convenience. Rating : 4/5
Speeding : Sedate and Safe driving at around 70-80 kmph. No unrequired overtakes. No honking horns unnecessarily. Use of dippers at night. Rating : 5/5
Overall Rating : 4.67/5
Conclusion and Feedback :
A comfortable journey undertaken on VRL B9R Multiaxle. I appreciate VRL's professional approach on board its services. I wish VRL will induct new premium coaches soon, replacing its ageing fleet, making its services - a step ahead towards sustainability.
Will I recommend the operator on this route : Yes...
Thanks for reading my journey review...
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