On Sat, 25 Dec 2004 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
This is to relate my experiences of Paulo Travels. I booked a sleeper ticket to travel from Paulo Travels bus on the 12 th of this month from Bangalore to Margao.
The ticket was booked well in advance by paying Rs. 750/-. On arrival at the appointed time at the bus, I found that my ticket number 26 A was also allocated to someone else. Besides, the sleeper number 26 was divided into two sleepers 26A and 26 B. It was not just impossible to climb into the sleeper but I cannot fathom how two people can share the same sleeper, unless they are a husband wife couple or gays/lesbians. Who gave Paulo Travels permit for such an arrangement?
The bus was of course full and all people mostly tourists put up with the arrangement. Paulo Travels bus seems only good for pigs to travel in, not human beings.
I demand that Paulo Travel's licence be immediately revoked. This is also to let fore-warn Goans what happens if you book your ticket by this Paulo Travels.
I have been a long-time traveller with Paulo Travels, and have had a mixed experience with this service. But disagree with some of what Samir says.
Paulo runs a fleet of buses, and seems to be quite alert to market needs (unlike our state-run Kadamba Transport Corporation, which is dominated by a mix of political interest, corruption in body-building and other deals, and a significant degree of lethargy.
Some years back, Paulo used to be my favoured mode of transport, specially to destinations like Bangalore, Hyderabad or Pune. It does have some serious flaws too: (i) drivers sometimes tend to be either too speedy (as seen by two ghastly accidents over two days earlier this season, then sought to be justified by Paulo) (ii) buses tend to take long breaks for dinner and drive casually sometimes, leading the buses to reach their destination late in the morning, after getting caught up the peak-morning traffic jams. I know these two statements might seem as contradictory; but any passenger would like to reach destination more or less on time; not meet with an accident due to a speeding bus, or reach 4 hours late. Specially if one has work to attend on the morning of landing.
Paulo has a good system of booking your return fare, without charging you extra for the phone call. This is particularly suited for those wanting to make short trips.
Paulo also tends to give Rs 50 discounts to regular travellers; one wishes they would plough back this money into a better service rather than cutting corners. One also dislikes the plastic-bottle of water they give to every passenger; can't we be more environment friendly?
To reach Bangalore, I found the KSRTC bus crew less friendly and informal, but more business-like and punctual. Hence if one needs to reach on time, one would prefer this service to both Paulo and KTC.
On one trip, I witnessed a rather strange experience. Some young tourists were begging the driver to stop for a short 'roadside toilet' halt. Their pleas turned more and more desperate. All that the bus crew did was to refuse to stop, and curse the guys (young, South Indian male tourists) for "coming to Goa just to drink".
Anyway, having said the above, I don't quite agree with Samir's reading. Also, it needs to be said that the sudden campaign against sleeper-buses in the early phases of Parrikar's regime was ill-founded and seemed targeted at Paulo, the main player in this sector at that time.
'Sleeper' buses are loved by some people, and hated by others. It gives me a restful night's sleep at a good price; but I know many others who dislike the idea very strongly.
Overbooking, specially in the peak season, does tend to happen, and this is one front where Paulo's could surely buck up. My experience has however been that the staff tends to be accomodative, realising that the error is on their side, and sort out the issue by making a request to the passengers.
For the price, I find nothing wrong in sharing a 'sleeper' with somebody else. I needn't be gay to do that; just respect each other's personal space. The other though-costier, option, deployed by some foreign tourists, is to block two adjoining 'sleepers' for a single passengers.
Bus operators in these parts generally try to avoid trouble by accomodating same-gender passengers on adjoining seats/sleepers.
That said, it needs to be noted that Paulo's (and other buses') sleepers can be a tight-fit. You could be in trouble even if you're tall just by Indian standards ;-)
At the end of the day, we need to note the lack of travel options in these parts. Between the Rs 400-600 bus ride and the Rs 3000-5000 plane fare, there are few options. The Swedish-technology Volvo priced approx Rs 550 to 750 for the Goa to Bombay or Bangalore route offers some option; but not much.
Sometime back, I had made a comment about the problems about getting into and out of a tourist destination like Goa. Ben Antao, in his writings, suggests that my view was not in keeping with his experience. Of course it doesn't, if you book well in advance through a global network, and fly. Or if you travel during off-season.
For most, getting in and out of Goa (not to talk about travel within the state) can be a mess. That's where I tend to agree with Samir. FN
