I did not feel any tiredness, so I can say that Chennai-Pondy bus journeys can be enjoyed (at least on weekdays).
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A tale of 2 bus journeys
I had to attend a function in Chennai on 21st August (Thursday) at 6 PM. On the 19th, my wife confirmed that she would not be able to make the trip. For a single person, I did not want to use the car and decided to use the bus.
After wife got transfer to Pondy in March 2019, I used to visit every weekend using a bus (she did too) in the first year but in the last five years (after Covid) always used the car (or Train) but never a passenger bus (I took VR in 2020 and settled in Pondy with Wife). Initially, I did not do any planning as plenty of buses are available between Chennai and Pondy. But as the day approached, there was no sign of any rains and the temperature was climbing up. So decided to use the AC bus and as SETC/TNSTC AC buses are infrequent, checked the Nuego Site.
12 Noon Schedule was convenient and the bus was almost empty 2 days before the actual journey. Booked (Rs 260/-) first row left window seat (1D) as I always like to watch the road view during bus trips. They offered 10% off for the return journey on the same day but the last return trip appeared was 7 PM, which was unsuitable for me. So checked the TNSTC site and booked SETC UD (Rs 215/-) at 10 PM for (later found that Nuego has one 9 PM trip also, which I would not have booked anyway). Another problem was that since SETC reaches Pondy at 1.30 PM I could not take the risk of walking to my house due to the stray dog menace. So arranged for scooter parking in consultation with my Vegetable shop people.
The journey:
On the 21st morning, skipped breakfast, cooked lunch early (wife had an overnight shift and went to sleep in the morning) and took early lunch by 11 AM.
Bus 1: Nuego EV: 12 Noon:
When I reached the Pickup point (Muruga Theatre) at 11.30 AM, got an SMS which said the bus had left the previous stop (Indira Gandhi Square), which was a bit early. But while tracking the map, the bus showed at the start point only (Near the Bus stand). At 12 Noon bus started and picked me up at 12.03. Attendant didn’t ask for a ticket but only the seat no. Since I did not have any luggage, got seated in no time. Front row gave a good view of the road and had good leg space also. 250ml water bottle was provided (can get more if required for free).
The bus looked a little old now but well cleaned. Only thing was that both USB charging points in my seat were not working. I praised myself for booking this bus as the AC was a chiller and in no time, I forgot how much I was sweating while waiting for the pickup. Journey was smooth as there was no sudden acceleration/braking. Though almost empty 2 days ago, it was running with full occupancy.
Stopped at Hotel Sai Saravana for a bio break and lunch. AC was running for the whole 15 minutes and so I did not get down.
Important: No Battery Charging in this route.
ECR expansion work was in full swing, and many places had taken diversions, though the road condition overall was ok. One Toll under construction (apart from the Chennai toll which is under the State so not covered in the Annual Pass).
Got down at Ashok Pillar (as the function Hall was in Arya Gowda Road, West Mambalam). My bladder was full already and fortunately found a public restroom at the junction of 100ft Road and Ambedkar Road, which was ok for an emergency. Walked through Ambedkar Road and reached the Hall by 4.30 PM. Function went through smoothly. Met my relatives (families of sister, brother, Uncle, cousins etc.,) and had a good time for at least 2 hrs (wife’s absence might have helped somewhat). Finished a quick dinner at 8 PM.
Bus 2: SETC (Brown): 10 PM
Started walking from the Hall at 8.30 PM and reached Vadapalani junction on 100 ft road by 9 PM. Plenty of buses were going to the Koyambedu Bus Stand. Got a bus and reached Koyambedu at 9.10 PM (13/-). At present, only 2 platforms were operational which were on the end right side. One for ECR-bound buses (Pondy, Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam etc.,) and the other one in westward routes (Bangalore, Hosur, Vellore etc.,). It seems West-bound buses will be moved to Thirumazhisai New Bus stand and ECR-bound ones will probably be moved to Anna Nagar or KK Nagar bus stands. Restroom and water facilities were still operational.
Waited for some time and one bus came with a name board Cuddalore. Probably refurbished yellow one. There was not much crowd being a weekday. There were other buses going to Chidambaram, Nagapattinam etc., without reservation (or being weekday bookings might be less).
At 9.30 got an SMS from TNSTC with bus reg. no and conductor’s mobile no. which was the same Cuddalore bus. Immediately got a call from the conductor asking about my location which I explained as I was waiting in front of the bus. It seemed I was the only booked passenger and they asked me to get seated and started early at 9.45 PM.
Overall, the bus was neat and clean. Though almost empty at the starting point, got filled to about 75% at ECR. There was a bio break for 5 minutes and I reached Pondy at 1.30 PM. SETC could manage 70 km/h as traffic was less. Seats were comfortable in both buses, but SETC was a bit better as the seats were wider.
In both journeys, no tiredness was felt in the end, which made me confident of saying Chennai-Pondy bus journeys can be enjoyed (at least on weekdays).
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