I took an overnight Scania bus from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Here’s how it went

Earlier this year, my Ahmedabad to Mumbai journey by an overnight bus happened at very short notice.

My Plan A had been to go to Kutch with a friend. When the friend became unavailable, I did not want to visit Kutch alone and decided to head to Mumbai. Looking at options, I realised I didn’t want to pay that much money for the short flight and train tickets weren’t available. Bus seemed like the best choice.

I did not choose the cheapest option, which was be less than INR 500. I was not expecting a sound sleep, but I did expect a somewhat comfortable rest, which is why I chose an air-conditioned sleeper Scania coach operated by Chirag Travel Company. I made the booking through Redbus and it cost me INR1,166.

Scania is major Swedish company that makes trucks and buses.

This was going to be my first time in a flatbed overnight bus and I was looking forward to it. The bus was delayed by an hour of so because of traffic reasons, but it finally arrived at the starting point.

I deposited by bag in the yellow bus’ belly and went through the door. It was quite like an Indian Railways train where you have to open a second door once inside to the air-conditioned part.

Being my first time in such a bus, I found it quite fascinating. Just like an Indian long-distance train, it had a corridor between two rows of double-tier beds. On my left were a row of two double beds, one on top of the other. My right side had the same, but two single beds. Unfortunately, even though I was travelling alone, I had got a double bed that I had to share with a stranger.

That part was a bit weird, but thankfully, the bunks were wide enough and we both had our own spaces (and he was a friendly but non-intrusive guy).

My bed was a top one towards the back and I was on the corridor side. I wanted to take pictures, but I am a little weird about taking random photographs with so many strangers in it. And there wasn’t a chance to take long shots here! So, I didn’t take any.

The bed was surprisingly comfortable and the window guy had great views of the road (so did I, but  I had to look across the guy) as we went ahead. There was a TV on the separation wall over my feet, but nothing good was on and we turned it off.

I made myself comfortable and had a bit of chit-chat with my co-passenger, who I later realised had  family in the next cubicle. A bus company guy gave us all a bottle of water as we hit the road. You can pull the curtain and make the cubicle your own little room.

I looked out of the window for a while, but as the bus left the city, the roads got dark and I tried to sleep. Though the bed was very comfortable, sudden breaks and turns gave me lessons on inertia and woke me up intermittently.

They dropped me exactly where I wanted to get down in Mumbai. So, here is my take on the Chirag’s Scania air-conditioned sleeper overnight bus ride from Ahmedabad to Mumbai.

Customer support: 2/5

The bus, I and the other passengers got to know at the starting point, was delayed by at least an hour because of traffic restrictions by the police. This had been going on for the past 10 days or so.  But the company only alerted customers with an hour to go before departure. I (and most of the other passengers) had already left for the starting point by that time. They could easily have let us know earlier. I also found the company people, at times, losing patience with cranky passengers who had been waiting for delayed bus.

Coach condition 4/5

Bed and linen were clean.So was the bus. Blanket, as almost everywhere else on public transport, was questionable. Also, there was no toilet board.

Sleep quality 3.5/5

The bed was very comfortable. It’s true I frequently woke up, but that is because I am not used to sleeping in a moving bus! But the driver on occasions did a bit of rough driving which didn’t help my sleep either. But I’d do another overnight journey on that bus without a second thought.

Overall impression

Should you do it? Definitely, even if it is for the experience (which is basically why I chose this particular bus). It’s comfortable, cheap and booking hassle-free.