This bus service is a good example of an alert PSU responding well to public demand and competition. The Volvo bus has become synonymous in India with an unprecendented level of passenger comfort. To its credit, Maharashtra State Raod Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has moved quickly to prevent private operators from grabbing a huge share of the lucrative Mumbai-Pune sector in this segment.
Its Shivneri bus service (what an appropriate name!) combines the comfort of Volvo buses with the corporation’s unparalleled frequency of service between Mumbai and Pune. Buses leave every 30 minutes from major terminals in Mumbai-- I boarded from Dadar, but I believe the service is available from Thane, Borivli, and Mumbai Central as well. On a holiday weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to find a ticket available although I turned up just 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. The bus was full and by the time my bus departed for Pune, the line of passengers for the next available bus was as long as it had been when I arrived.
The seats are very comfortable and you have plenty of leg room. I was in the corner most seat in the last row--I dread that seat at most times and wasn’t pleased instinctively. But the comfort and leg room made me relax after a while, and I actually stopped worrying about repeated jerks and bumps on Mumbai’s ’wonderful’ roads. There was only one bad bump all the way to Panvel, and that was just outside of Vashi. Of course, once the bus hit the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the ride was so smooth, I began to nod off and only woke up when the bus stopped at the scheduled halt near Lonavla.
What about the inside of the bus? Each seat has been thoughtfully provided with two hooks at the back where you can hang rainwear or just about anything you need at your fingertips but don’t want to carry on your lap. There’s a bottle holder and the usual newspaper/magazine rack. The luggage space seems more than adequate especially if you are traveling light, and there was none of the jostling and cramming that most passengers do in regular buses. There are small fire extinguishers as well installed on the luggage racks. That’s a small but important feature. The low floors are great for senior citizens, pregnant women, and physically handicapped. However, I thought the seat base is too high; this probably defeats the purpose of making the floor low.
The FM radio service is a bonus--the system switched smoothly from the Mumbai-based stations to the Pune-based stations as soon as the bus entered within range. Both the Mumbai and Pune based channels belonged to the Times Group so perhaps MSRTC has a contract with them. I don’t know because I didn’t attempt to ask the driver to change channels. The driver’s station is probably the most comfortable I have seen in any bus.
The bus takes the Baner-Hinjewadi route into Pune, and that’s where even the superior suspension system of the Volvo failed to provide satisfactory damping against the bad quality of the road. The bus is only scheduled to halt once at Lonavla, but so many people request a stop at Schwarzenegger aka Shivajinagar that MSRTC should consider making that a scheduled halt.
Re the pricing, I don’t know how competitive it is wrt private operators. However, I suspect if you are a regular traveler, Rs200 one-way would be a steep price. In fact, MSRTC should consider seasonal/frequent traveler passes for this service. I don’t travel regularly so I don’t mind spending Rs200 because I know it’s not a regular expense. The next price point is Rs155, and that is not a Volvo bus. In fact, the difference between the two in terms of smoothness of ride and comfort is worth more than Rs45. I travelled in the other type on the way back, and I suspect if I had been in a last-row seat on the way back, I would have been aching all over.
As it turned out, the ride to Pune on the Shivneri bus was nothing like the endurance test you expect when traveling in a bus in most places in India. I will certainly consider using this service again. I would however love to see at least one more scheduled halt before Pune, and some system of communication between the driver and passengers.
Shivneri Bus (Volvo) Service
Times: begins 6 am every day ; buses every 30 mins
Rates: Rs 200 one way