I just discovered Luxuria, the super luxury bus service between Bangalore and Chennai, and if first impressions are valuable, this service is amongst the best I've seen in the world.
I travel very frequently between Chennai and Bangalore, and I've been traveling by the Shatabdi lately because of the prices of airline tickets, the enormous distance to the airport (in Bangalore), the fact that we have to pay for food on board, the extremely cramped seats, the lack of any entertainment on board and the attitude of the on-board staff.
The Shatabdi, in contrast, is dirty, often delayed, and getting tickets at a short notice is practically impossible. Worse, waiting at filthy, smelly railway stations is not amenable to even the strongest constitution.
I heard about Luxuria on the radio in Bangalore, and decided to try it out. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm glad I tried it. They've modeled it along the lines of an airline without the problems of today's airlines. The service, both pre-boarding and on-board was very, very good - courteous friendly staff were everywhere. The bus ride was beautifully smooth, and I didn't experience a single jerk or bump along the way. The seats were awesome - huge amount of leg room, in-seat TV screens with DVD movies and DishTV - a lot like a first-class airline seat. Before boarding, we were put in a lounge in a 4-star hotel with free coffee. We were given clean blankets and pillows, and there were airline-style overhead bins for small luggage. The bus was wifi equipped and all seats had power extensions, and it let me work in peace along the way.
My only grouse was that the food was pre-packed, cold and consisted only of snacks.
All this came at a measly price of Rs. 1800 one way. I'd definitely recommend it, and would use it myself as often as possible.
