I recently had to go to Hyderabad on very short notice, had only hours ahead to prepare. And what better place to book bus tickets for long distance journeys in India ? Online of course.
Now I was new to Hyderabad, and heard about the ridiculous rates the auto drivers charge in the city. I wanted a bus service which would start and drop at places I already knew in both cities, Hyderabad and Bangalore. And when I entered my query, the online booking system gave me results for services by Orange Tours and travels. It was a leeeettle pricier than the competition, but I booked it anyway.
One of my best travel decisions. If every service from Orange is on par with what I experienced, then they are the best private bus service providers in the country, hands down.
I was travelling with my wife, and had a load of luggage on the way back. We decided to board the bus from Kondapur and alight on old airport road in Bangalore.
SMS Alerts: In addition to the SMS alert we received from the ticketing website, we received an SMS from Orange tours, with the registration number of the bus, and the phone number of the 2nd driver.
“- Orange Travels - Your journey details: BusNo: KA01AB4978, ServiceNo: OTT39, SeatNo:A1A2, CRO No: 9640650729.Track YourBus at http://goo.gl/VyWwx”
The link points to yourbus.in, showing real-time location of the bus.
We also got subsequent alerts when the bus arrived at each stop.
“YourBus (OTT39) left Miyapur at 9:08 pm approx. It is running as per schedule.Track YourBus at http://goo.gl/VyWwx”
With these many free alerts, Orange makes sure you cannot miss their bus because you did not know the timings.
Service: The staff of the bus were extremely courteous, all dressed in uniforms. They also spoke multiple languages, and verified the identity of the travellers at each stop.
While loading luggage into the bus, they put a baggage tags on each piece of luggage, handing us the counter slip with the same numbers. Thus ensuring we don’t leave with someone else’s luggage. Awesome ! Although I have not lost luggage on buses, I have heard instances of luggage getting stolen.
The Bus: The bus itself was a Mercedes Benz air conditioned 49 seater. There was a running Orange color theme throughout, and bus itself was clean and dry.
They provided water ,biscuits, and blankets, and for the first time in my life, the blankets on the bus was sealed in plastic cover. The sticker on top said the blanket was dry cleaned specially for that one journey ! I am allergic to dust, and normally carry my own blankets and avoid any provided on the bus. But the dry cleaned blankets they provided on Orange didn’t cause any allergic reaction in me.
Punctuality: The bus was punctual, it started and arrived at destination at the times they had advertised on their website. I had no problems making the last mile journey from the drop point to home.
Awesome service. Ill be sticking to this service whenever I can.
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