Finally today i got an opportunity to test out the volvo journey all the way from Koramangala, upto Yelahanka, totally involving two volvo buses, one upto city centre and another upto the final destination. At a total price of about Rs.110 per head, it worked out to about Rs.220 both ways for two of us, which is way cheaper than an auto to the same 60km distance. With volvos on each route roughly 15 mins apart, it wasnt difficult to get a volvo soon enough. I must also say that compared to an auto, this is a swedish bus, with ultra refined suspension, and airconditioning to beat the searing heat of the day.
The seats are quite plush, much like buses in western countries, and there were many other welcome additions as well, such as a plasma TV (!!) and a camera at the doors, hydraulically operated doors, with a separate mini screen for the driver, and electronically printed tickets. For the money its truly value to use this bus. So much so that I even used my laptop for the entire journey in peace! The seating is two fold, one at a lower height for easy ingress/egress and the other part raised in height. And when you sit at a height, you can experience Bangalore like never before! Also there is an SMS service wherein if you send an sms with body: “yi v” to 9945634666 (for eg, from majestic to yelahanka it would be – “yi v402B u”, u/d for up or down direction), you would get a response indicating exactly where the three buses are at the moment on that route. Be advised that this service might or might not work at times. still a nice addition for the luxury and convenience factor.
