Travel in Comfort and Style in the European Style Karnataka State Road Transportation (KSRTC) ‘AMBARI UTSAV BUS’ between Mangaluru-Bengaluru, and Bengaluru-Mangaluru
Mangaluru: If you had travelled on KSRTC ‘Airavat’ Multi-Axle Bus Slept ‘Slept Like A Baby’, but travel on the newly introduced ‘ ‘ AMBARI UTSAV BUS’, plying between Mangaluru and Bengaluru, and also return journey, it’s not like ‘Sleeping Like A Baby’, but beyond that. The KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transportation) in the state has purchased nearly 15 such buses, at a whopping cost of Rs 1 Crore 73 lakhs each, which started operating on Sunday, 26 February from KSRTC Bus Stand, Bejai, Mangaluru. Initially, the buses will operate between Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Bengaluru-Ernakulam, Mangaluru-Pune, Bengaluru-Kundapur/Mangaluru, Bengaluru-Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru-Thrissur and Bengaluru-Panaji.
The Ambari Utsav buses are Volvo 9600 Sleeper Coaches that come with a special Scandinavian design. The windows of these buses are designed in a way that the passenger can experience the panoramic views from the bus. Each bus includes 40 sleeping berths for passengers. Each berth comes with ample headroom, 2 USB ports, air vents, reading lights and a mobile holder. The drivers of these buses will also enjoy features like Knee Impact Protection Technology which absorbs the impact and enhances the drivers’ safety under severe circumstances.
Travelling in the latest Ambari Utsav buses will cost passengers 10% more than the current Ambari Dream Class segment in KSRTC bus services. They can book tickets through the KSRTC website. In the first phase, a total of 50 buses will get into operation and from Bengaluru Central, the buses will go to Ernakulam, Hyderabad, Panaji, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram. From the Mangaluru division, the buses will head towards Pune from Mangaluru and to Bengaluru from Kundapur via Mangaluru.
If you want to know who owns these buses- Nisha Grewal is the founder of Ambari Beauty, a Vancouver-based luxury skincare brand that blends ancient ingredients with modern innovation. Fifteen buses were launched as part of Phase 1 of the induction of 50 such buses: KSRTC; ‘Ambari Utsav’ sleeper buses are 15 meters long and have advanced built-in safety features. Buses to a few cities began operations during the weekend, mainly on the national highways and for inter-state transport. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai unveiled the operation of these buses a couple of days ago.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Rajesh Shetty, the KSRTC divisional controller, Bejai, Mangaluru said, ” The start of the FIRST bus journey from Mangaluru to Bengaluru was on a trial basis because we want to know how this lengthy bus will manage on the curves etc on the Shiradi Ghat. If everything goes on well without any problems, we will have more buses on schedule. You should know that the KSRTC is one of the largest public transport providers in India, operating 28 lakh km through its 8,000 schedules and carrying 28 lakh passengers, the state-owned public road transport corporation said in a statement. Around 17 per cent of students avail of the transport services provided by KSRTC, and it earns Rs 10 crore daily”.
” Regarding the ‘Ambari Utsav’ buses are a part of the fleet of sleeper buses, which are deployed for inter-district and inter-state travel by KSRTC. They are Volvo BS-VI 9600s buses with multi-axles and built on a “strong Scandinavian design tradition of safety, environmental concern and quality”. The ‘Ambari Utsav sleeper buses have advanced built-in safety features like improved survival space, anti-slip regulation system (ARS), enhanced pedestrian safety, improved rollover protection, knee protection for the driver, fire detection and suppression system (FDSS), fire extinguishers, roof escape hatches, front impact protection, front underrun and side underrun protection. Forty berths in 2×1 configuration with best-in-class headroom for superior comfort to passengers both in sleeping and sitting positions” added Shetty.
He further said, ” The front of the KSRTC Volvo-9600’s model vehicle is part of an aerodynamic masterpiece, complementing to reduce the air drag in high-speed operations, leading to fuel savings. The vehicle has good performance as well as luxurious qualities: the V-shaped headlights add a unique elegance to the grandeur of the exterior of the vehicle. Due to the advanced safety features and luxurious travel, the fares on these buses will be higher than the regular sleeper class buses of KSRTC. Passengers can book the tickets on the KSRTC website. The travel fare on this bus from Mangaluru to Bengaluru is Rs 1150. Travelling in comfort is the feature of such buses, and the first journey from Mangaluru to Bengaluru was fully-booked since people were waiting to experience the travel difference”.
One of the passengers traveling on the First operation of the bus from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, senior citizen Ms Shalini Shetty, a retired bank executive said, ” When I tried to book my ticket I was totally surprised to see the anxious wait of the people to travel in this bus in comfort and style. And it is worth what you pay, rather than face all the hassle in booking flight tickets, where prices go up and down, also reschedules/cancellations. I am happy that I booked my ticket on Ambari, based on the luxury/ facilities provided. I would have been a happier person, being an elderly person, if they had provided a mini washroom/toilet since it is hard to find a decent toilet where the buses halt at night. Hope they will consider my request and do the needful with an added e-toilet or something, which would benefit many”
Yet another Indian American citizen (who wanted to remain anonymous) said, ” I travel a lot, either in the US or when I visit Mangaluru/India, and the buses in the US are very comfortable. spacious, having personal facilities, including the much-needed main toilet or e-toilet. Not much to complain about the Ambari bus, because it has spacious space, and other facilities, but sadly lacks a toilet. Not sure why they never thought of including a mini toilet, which would have been an added benefit, rather than wandering around looking for a place to pee when the bus makes a pit stop at night. Other than that I am hoping for a great trip on the European-style Ambari coach. I and my wife are thrilled to travel from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, and probably return by Ambari”
In response to a query from Team Mangalorean about the request from passengers for toilets inside the bus, Rajesh Shetty said that when they had installed e-toilet/mini toilets in a few of their luxury buses, passengers misused them and left them dirty. Since the e-toilets were meant only for urinals, people used to shit, never flushed and it was a mess, receiving a bunch of complaints from bus passengers. “Anyways I will forward the request to the higher authorities regarding the inclusion of toilets on these buses lets hope for the best,” said Shetty.
The Drivers cum Conductors on the FIRST trip of Ambari Utsav Bus from Mangaluru to Bengaluru on Sunday were Clifford D’souza with 31 years of driver experience with KSRTC and Chandrahas, having 22 years of experience at KSRTC. Both were happy to be behind the wheels of this magnificent and stylish bus and hoped that everything would go on well on the Ghat section. On the launch day, along with Rajesh Shetty- the KSRTC divisional controller, Bejai, Mangaluru, Kamal Kumar-DTO; Jayakumar- Divisional Mechanical Engineer; Ms Nirmala- Assistant Traffic Manager; Karunakar- Depot Manager-2; Manjunath Assistant Traffic Superintendent; among others.
When KSRTC is a property of Karnataka state…then why these buses run from Bangalore to cities of other states?