2007 experience:
Please think twice before switching a train ticket for a bus ticket especially a KPN ticket. I had the misfortune of travelling with KPN thrice the last month and in 2 of the 3 occassions the bus broke down, there was a 4 hour delay in a backup bus reaching the breakdown location and a 5-6 hour delay in reaching the destination. The management seems to have been shifted from one generation to the next and the staff courtsey has gone down with that. The drivers now do not care to give a break at the time when the travellers need to have food. And if they take a break, it will undoubtedly be at a place which charges maximum and gives them a max commission. The KPN buses are all pretty old now and the buses frequently breakdown leading to a lot of time wastage to travellers. In some routes, eg:- Bangalore - Trivandrum, Bangaloree-Velankanni etc where the bus lobby bribes the Government and makes sure that there are no good train services put up, please think twice before switching to KPN travels. They cost twice as much as the train, and there is absolutely no guarentee that you’ll reach on time. Chances are that you’ll be later than the train. Also, they do not make any alternate arrangements for your comfort / return tickets on an alternate date.
Another experience in 2016:
The bus departure was scheduled at 8 PM, I reached Madiwala at 7.45 when I was told that a local van will take us to Bommanahalli to board the bus. The local van had no AC, was dusty and dirty and there was no help with the luggage. I found this very difficult with 2 young kids.
The van departed Madiwala only at 8.15 and took 45 minutes to reach Bommanahalli. The driver stopped in the middle of a lane and we had to walk a long way to board the bus. Many customers raised this issue with the van driver, but he was discourteous to all of them.
The bus finally started only at 9.30(Scheduled time being 8 PM) . The ride was very bumpy and we could hardly sleep. The staff was loud and disruptive, brushing aside the curtains to check who is inside without any respect for privacy.
The bus reached Trivandrum at 10.15 AM instead of the schedule 8 AM and there was no toilet break or tea break in the morning all of which led to extreme discomfort.
I will never again travel with KPN.